The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card by Chase is the mid-tier Marriott Bonvoy card available to new applicants. Marriott points are useful because of the variety of hotels available in the Bonvoy program in addition to the other ways you can redeem your points with their travel partners.
Sign Up Bonus
You can get 3 free nights (up to 50,000 points per night) when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account.
If you’re interested in this offer, here’s our link (we receive a referral bonus if you sign up and are approved for the card—thank you for supporting us!)
There are some truly confusing rules for signing up for the Marriott Bonvoy cards since there are cards available from both Chase and American Express. First things first. Like most Chase cards, this card is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule. The Chase 5/24 rule means you won’t be approved for this card if you’ve applied for five or more credit cards (from any issuer) in the past 24 months. The Bonvoy cards have their own set of additional rules for new applications.
Please read the “Offer Details” for the sign-up bonus before applying. Frequent Miler also has a great description and a graph of the Marriott Bonvoy cards.
Annual Fee
This card has a $95 annual fee.
Bonus Earning Categories
When spending on the card, you earn points in the Marriott Bonvoy program as follows:
- Earn 6 points for every dollar of eligible purchases at participating Marriott Hotels
- Earn 3 points per dollar on the first $6,000 spent each year on gas, groceries, and dining, then 1 point per dollar thereafter.
- Earn 2 points for all other eligible purchases
Card Benefits
Let’s look at some of the best benefits you get with Marriott for having the card:
- Free in-room premium internet (when booking directly through Marriott)
- Automatic Silver Elite Status and the ability to earn Gold Elite Status if you spend $35,000 or more in eligible purchases in a calendar year.”
- Receive 15 Elite Night Credits to be used to reach the next level of status. This can currently be stacked with the 15-night credits from a Marriott Bonvoy Business card for automatic Gold status and a jump towards Platinum.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. The Free Night Award can be redeemed for one night at any participating hotel where the redemption rate is 35,000 points or fewer. Be mindful of potential resort fees, which can vary by property.
- Earn 1 Elite Night Credit toward Elite Status for every $5,000 you spend.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
How to Use Your Bonvoy Points
Points earned with the Bonvoy Boundless card can be used to stay at Marriott properties. In addition, you’re able to transfer points to many different Airline Frequent Flyer programs (possibly with a bonus, depending on how many points you transfer). That’s not counting the additional options of Marriott Bonvoy Moments (which I will explain later in this post).
Hotel Stays
Points can be used for award stays at Marriott hotels. They cover 30 chains worldwide where you can spend your points:
- EDITION
- The Ritz-Carlton
- The Luxury Collection
- St. Regis
- W Hotels
- JW Marriott
- Marriott Hotels
- Sheraton
- Marriott Vacation Club
- Delta Hotels
- Westin
- Le Meriden
- Renaissance Hotels
- Autograph Collection
- Tribute Portfolio
- Design Hotels
- Gaylord Hotels
- Courtyard Hotels
- Four Points
- SpringHill Suites
- Fairfield Inn & Suites
- AC Hotels
- Aloft Hotels
- Moxy Hotels
- Protea Hotels
- City Express by Marriott
- Four Points Flex
- Homes & Villas
- Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy
- MGM Collection
- Residence Inn
- TownePlace Suites
- Marriott Executive Apartments
- element
Marriott Bonvoy has some incredible properties like the ones we’ve visited in Austria, Germany, and England.
Flights
You can transfer points to 39 airlines’ frequent flyer programs. The transfer ratio is 3 points to 1 mile for most airlines, and you get a bonus of 5,000 extra miles when you transfer 60,000 points. That means it’s best to transfer only in 60,000-point increments when your 60,000 points give you 25,000 miles. The 5,000-mile bonus does not apply to American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca LifeMiles, and Delta SkyMiles. On the other hand, you’ll get 10,000 bonus points when sending 60,000 points to United.
| Airline | Points to Miles |
|---|---|
| AEGEAN Miles+Bonus | 3:1 |
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 3:1 |
| Aeromexico ClubPremier | 3:1 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 3:1 |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | 3:1 |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 3:1 |
| Air New Zealand AirPoint | 200:1 |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan™ | 3:1 |
| American Airlines AAdvantage® | 3:1 |
| ANA Mileage Club | 3:1 |
| Asiana Airlines Asiana Club | 3:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 3:1 |
| British Airways Executive Club | 3:1 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 3:1 |
| China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club | 3:1 |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | 3:1 |
| Delta SkyMiles® | 3:1 |
| Emirates Skywards® | 3:1 |
| Etihad Guest | 3:1 |
| FRONTIER Miles | 3:1 |
| Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club | 3:1 |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles® | 3:1 |
| Iberia Plus | 3:1 |
| InterMiles | 3:1 |
| Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank | 3:1 |
| LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass | 3:1 |
| Multiplus Fidelidade LATAM Pass | 3:1 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 3:1 |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 3:1 |
| Saudia Alfursan | 3:1 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer® | 3:1 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® | 3:1 |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | 3:1 |
| Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus | 3:1 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 3:1 |
| United MileagePlus® | 3:1 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 3:1 |
| Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer | 3:1 |
| Vueling Club | 3:1 |
Other Ways to Use Your Bonvoy Points
In addition to hotel stays and flight transfers, Marriott Bonvoy Moments allows you to bid on unique experiences like concerts, dining with chefs, and VIP sports tickets. It’s a great way to use your points for something extraordinary.
Final Thoughts
I’ve always kept a stash of Marriott points, earned with this card, hoping to one day redeem them for a luxury experience. But with limited vacation time, I realized it was time to start using them. The good news? Marriott hotels offer incredible value, especially when you take advantage of the fifth night free on reward stays, as I did at the Sheraton New York and St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London.
One of the most common uses of this perk was to stay for five nights at the Swan or Dolphin hotels at Walt Disney World with points for the price of four nights.
I value Marriott Bonvoy points at .667 cents per point but still save them for opportunities where I can get 1 cent per point or more in value. I sometimes can find redemptions worth much more than that, like when I managed to get 2.25-cent per point value booking a room at the Residence Inn in New York over Thanksgiving weekend.
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