Bankrate expert Garrett Yarbrough strives to make navigating credit cards and credit building smooth sailing for his readers. After regularly featuring his credit card,…
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for . The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
Why you can trust Bankrate
At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to:
Meet you wherever you are in your credit card journey to guide your information search and help you understand your options.
Consistently provide up-to-date, reliable market information so you\'re well-equipped to make confident decisions.
Reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible, so you can make the right decision for you.
At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next.
Editorial Integrity
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
How We Make Money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
Insurance Disclosure
This content is powered by HomeInsurance.com, a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 8781838) and a corporate affiliate of Bankrate.com. HomeInsurance.com LLC services are only available in states were it is licensed and insurance coverage through HomeInsurance.com may not be available in all states. All insurance products are governed by the terms in the applicable insurance policy, and all related decisions (such as approval for coverage, premiums, commissions and fees) and policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the underwriting insurer. The information on this site does not modify any insurance policy terms in any way.
Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Best for hotel loyalists
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Rewards rate
2X–17X
Earn up to 17X total Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card. New Benefit! Earn 3X Bonvoy points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. 2X Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
Annual fee
$95
Intro offer
Earn 3 Free Nights (each night valued up to 50,000 points)
Earn 3 Free Nights (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after qualifying purchases.
Regular APR
16.24% to 23.24% Variable
Recommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent
(670 - 850)
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a
person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for.
However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any
financial product.
Editor’s note: Some of the offers on this page may be expired. Check out our Best Credit Cards page for the most up-to-date offers for our favorite credit cards.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card overview
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card returns with its previous Free Night Award welcome offer, ending the previous 100,000-point offer for new cardholders (which was available by spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months). By spending the same $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening an account, you can once again earn three Free Night Awards. Since each night is worth up to 50,000 points, this adds up to essentially 150,000 points for a $1,200 value (based on The Points Guy’s latest valuation of 0.8 cents per point), which can technically be more valuable than the previous bonus points’ value.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card offers up to 17X points at participating Bonvoy locations, which includes a network of over 7,000 hotels around the world, but this card also brings 3X bonus categories to reward your grocery store, gas station and dining spending. You’ll also receive 2X points on all other purchases. For added convenience, the Bonvoy Boundless will also have contactless payment capabilities.
This card offers quite a few perks for Marriott and SPG® loyalists—a free night’s stay each after your card renewal month and automatic Silver Elite Status with a path to Gold Elite Status, to name two. Other card benefits include:
15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, plus 1 Elite Night Credit for every $5,000 spent
Free in-room premium Wi-Fi (through the automatic Silver Elite status)
Access to exclusive events through Marriott
If you frequently stay at Marriott, SPG, and Ritz-Carlton hotels, the perks can be well worth the $95 annual fee.
A deeper look into the current card offer
Quick highlights
Rewards rate: Earn 6X total Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card (up to 17X points through the Bonvoy loyalty program with Silver Elite status), 2X Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on all other purchases and 3X points on grocery store, gas station and dining purchases (up to $6,000 in combined purchases each year, then 2X points)
Annual fee: $95
Intro bonus: Earn three Free Night Awards (worth up to 50,000 points each) after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first three months from account opening
Get the most value from the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
The Bonvoy Boundless card is all about the Marriott perks. The first step in realizing the card’s full worth is to make sure you’re maximizing the value of each benefit that comes with the card. Make sure you’re utilizing your automatic Silver Elite Status, the 15 Elite Night Credits and additional Elite Night Credit opportunities (one extra credit per $5,000 you spend) that count toward the next tier. Take advantage of the anniversary free-night-stay, and always use this card to pay for your Marriott Bonvoy hotel stays.
You’ll want to make sure you’re strategically booking award stays, which may be during off-peak periods whenever possible to take advantage of the lull between peak seasons if the redemption portal shows redemption value differences. Although Marriott no longer uses a redemption value chart with property categories (formerly Category 1 to Category 8) and defined seasonal point values, the new dynamic pricing model may give you more rewards mileage out of your stays for less in-demand travel times.
Finally, consider pairing this card with a more flexible rewards card from Chase to maximize your earning potential. Marriott is a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, so you’ll be able to pool your points before booking high-value award stays.
How much are rewards worth?
According to TPG point valuations, each Marriott point is worth 0.8 cents. That doesn’t quite hold up against many fan-favorite travel card rewards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (2 cents per point) or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (1.85 cents per mile), but that doesn’t mean that this isn’t the right card for you.
How much your rewards are truly worth may depend on which Bonvoy hotel brands you frequent the most and when you travel. Unfortunately, Marriott moved away from using their handy chart that categorized properties by award night value and the set points required during whichever season you stayed (standard, off-peak or peak) by the end of March 2022. This means your points’ value isn’t transparent but sticking to a similar strategic booking approach may help you make the most of your hard-earned rewards.
How to redeem rewards
You can redeem your points for free nights within the Marriott Bonvoy network, experiences, shop with points or book nights with a combination of cash and points. To learn more, read our guide to Marriott Bonvoy.
Bankrate’s Take: Is the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless worth it?
If you take more than a couple of trips each year and stay exclusively at Marriott and SPG locations, this is definitely a card worth considering. However, if you’re looking for a more flexible travel card, there are better options available.
You can rack up a lot of points with this card if you frequently stay at Marriott brand hotels, and the perks offered by this card can really enhance your travel experience. Silver Elite Status includes a 20 percent bonus on points earned during stays, access to exclusive savings and rewards redemption options, dedicated reservation and guest services contacts and more.
While using the Bonvoy Boundless is an easy way to maximize points on Marriott Bonvoy purchases, it offers little in the way of everyday spending rewards. You can pair this card with others in the Chase lineup to maximize the rewards you earn in other categories and then transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards® to Marriott, but keep in mind Chase’s strict 5/24 rule that limits how many cards you can apply for within a 24-month span.
There was quite a bit of discussion previously about how the 2018 Marriott and SPG merger had affected the overall quality of the Marriott rewards program. The Bonvoy name got quite a bit of flack, but beyond that, many patrons expressed concerns about rewards devaluations and points difficulties since Marriott and SPG combined programs. However, Marriott credit cards and the award program rebounded to become one of the stronger hotel card lines worth considering. The new dynamic pricing model removes the transparency that gave Marriott Bonvoy points a leg up, which may deter potential applicants looking for consistency as well.
Ultimately, the value that the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless adds to your wallet comes down to how often you’ll utilize Bonvoy brand hotels and the associated perks of this card. You might be happier with another card if you’re looking for more broad travel perks or rewards flexibility.
The information about Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Bankrate.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact how and where products appear on this site. Bankrate.com does not include the entire universe of available financial or credit offers. Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
Share