Comparing the best Marriott credit cards

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At the moment, Marriott offers four of the best hotel credit cards, with every card except the no-annual-fee Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card offering an anniversary free night certificate (which are potentially worth several hundred dollars).

If you want to know how to earn Marriott points quickly, earning credit card welcome bonuses is key. With three of the four cards offering the exact same bonus, the intro offers alone won’t be enough to sway you one way or another. What you need to consider here is the application rules each issuer has, including the Chase 5/24 rule (which means you won’t be approved for Chase travel cards if you’ve opened five or more personal credit cards in the last 24 months) and Amex’s rule that you can only get the bonus on each credit card once per lifetime.

Unfortunately, the complications don’t stop there. Chase and Amex have teamed up to share customer data and restrict new applications even further. For example, you aren’t eligible to apply for the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex if you’ve held the Chase Ritz-Carlton card (issued by Chase) in the last 30 days, have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card (from Chase) in the last 90 days, or received a welcome bonus on the Bonvoy Boundless in the last 24 months (note that these terms and conditions have been edited for clarity, please make sure to double check the terms of the application yourself before applying).

Plus, if you know the right card combo, you can begin every year with THIRTY elite night credits — that means you’ll achieve prestigious Platinum elite status by staying just 20 nights per year! Platinum status comes with complimentary suite upgrades when available, 50% bonus points, free breakfast and more.

Let’s take a look at the Marriott Bonvoy credit cards, as well as some of the best ways to use Marriott points.

Best Marriott credit card

• Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card: Best no annual fee Marriott card
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card: Best mid-tier Marriott credit card
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card: Best Marriott card for benefits and perks
• Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card: Best Marriott card for small businesses

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card

The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold comes with a bonus of 30,000 Bonus Points after spending $1,000 on purchases in your first three months from account opening. We estimate Marriott points value to be generally 0.8 cents per point, making this bonus worth $240 on average.

• 3 points per dollar at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
• 2 points per dollar on other eligible travel purchases (including airfare, trains, taxis, etc.)
• 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases

Why this card is best for no annual fee

This is the only no annual fee Marriott card.

Why we like this card

There’s no risk to this card since there’s no annual fee, so if you’re a newbie, you should feel comfortable dipping your toe into this hobby with the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold.

Who this card is best for

This Marriott card is the best for anyone looking to earn a few extra Marriott points without having to pay an annual fee. This is a decent starter card if you’re new to the hobby, but just know that the card bonus and its ongoing perks aren’t going to net you a night in a fancy hotel with potential room upgrades like the rest of the cards on this list. 

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card

The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless comes with three free nights (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first three months from account opening.

• 6 points per dollar spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
• 2 points per dollar spent on all other purchases
• 3 points per dollar on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on gas stations, grocery stores and dining
• Earn one credit towards elite status for every $5,000 you spend.

Why this card is best for a mid-tier Marriott credit card

This is the best mid-tier Marriott card because of its manageable $95 annual fee.

Why we like this card

This card has a very manageable annual fee, and it comes with a free night worth 35,000 points each year you renew the card. That perk alone makes the card’s annual fee worth paying, as you can get hundreds of dollars in value from it.

Who this card is best for

This is the right Marriott card for anyone who can take advantage of the free night this card offers. Read our review of the Marriott Boundless card for all the details.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card

With the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, you’ll earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points and 1 free night award after you use your new card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first three months.

Cardholders also earn:

• 6 points per dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program
• 3 points per dollar at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines
• 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases
• Terms Apply

Why this card is best for benefits and perks

Although this card has a hefty $450 annual fee (see rates and fees), it, by far, offers the best benefits and perks of any of the Marriott cards. So many, in fact, that many will find it’s worth paying the annual fee year after year. 

Why we like this card

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant does have a large annual fee. However, it offers an up to $300 annual Marriott statement credit on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program, effectively dropping your out-of-pocket cost in annual fees to just $150 for this card (so long as you’d organically spend $300 per year at Marriott). This credit is valid on room rates and eligible property charges (like dining or drinks at the bar), and it’s as good as cash to me.

Who this card is best for

This particular flavor of Marriott card is best for Marriott loyalists who value additional perks and travel with some frequency. If you can’t take advantage of the card’s perks, consider one of the other Marriott card’s with a lower annual fee.

Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card

Marriott Bonvoy Business cardholders can earn 100,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after you use your new card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.. Offer ends 5/18/22.

Cardholders will also get:

• 6 points per dollar at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program
• 4 points per dollar of eligible purchases at participating U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased from U.S. service providers and on U.S. shipping purchases
• 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases
• Terms apply

Why this card is best for small businesses

This is the only small business card on the list. If you have a for-profit venture, like freelance writing, selling items on eBay, or dog-walking, you qualify for a small business card. Opening this card won’t count against the Chase 5/24 rule, which makes it perhaps the most enticing card on this list for many. 

Why we like this card

The card also comes with a free night worth 35,000 points per year awarded after your card renewal month — but it also comes with another annual free night after you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year (valid at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program). That’s one of the amazing Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business credit card benefits for those who have a lot of business expenses.

Who this card is best for

This is the best Marriott card for those who qualify for small business cards. With a very reasonable $125 annual fee (see rates and fees), it’s easy to see how the perks of this card can outweigh what you’ll pay to keep the card. Be sure to read our review of the Marriott Bonvoy Business card.

Annual free night certificates

Free night certificates are the easiest way to justify paying the annual fee on a hotel credit card, and the Bonvoy family of cards is no exception. While the no-annual-fee Bonvoy Bold doesn’t offer a free night, the other three cards do.

The entry-level Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business each offer an anniversary free night worth up to 35,000 points, which maps over to a Category 5 hotel or lower (during standard award dates). I have no problem getting $300 or more in value out of these free nights, which makes it a no-brainer to keep paying the $95 or $125 annual fees, respectively. In the past year alone, here are some of the 35,000 point redemptions I’ve made and how much they would have cost in cash:

• JW Marriott Chicago ($780)
• St. Regis Beijing ($344)
• W Atlanta Buckhead ($290)

With 35,000 points you’ll have enough to book some luxury Marriott hotel brands, including many JW Marriott/Westin/W Hotels, and occasionally a cheaper Ritz Carlton and St. Regis hotel. If you pick and choose when to use your free night certificate, even the most casual traveler should be able to get $250 or more in value from it.

As you would hope from a premium credit card, the Bonvoy Brilliant free night certificate is much more valuable, worth up to 50,000 points, which covers most Category 6 hotels. For me, that’s meant the following redemptions:

• Le Meridien Seychelles ($540)
• Ritz-Carlton Perth ($375)

Again, the average traveler should be able to recoup nearly the entire $450 annual fee just by using this free night certificate, not even accounting for the card’s other perks.

The math stops here. If the free night certificate, on its own, wipes out the annual fee you’re paying (and then some), then every other benefit these cards offer is just icing on the cake. Keep in mind that you won’t earn the free night certificate your first year, but you will get it on your first cardmember anniversary.

Elite status

Every Bonvoy credit card comes with 15 annual elite night credits, which is enough to get you automatic Marriott Silver elite status. You’re limited to one set of credits per Marriott personal card, so even if you have two or three personal Marriott credit cards, you’ll still only get 15 elite night credits per year. HOWEVER, you can stack the elite night credits from a Marriott personal card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business card. Having one personal and one business card will net you 30 elite nights per year. For more info, read our post on how to earn Marriott elite status with credit cards.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and Marriott Bonvoy Business cardholders can upgrade to Gold Marriott Bonvoy elite status by spending $35,000 in a calendar year on the card. Gold status in the new program doesn’t offer all that much, so you should strongly consider whether this is the best use of your limited spending power.

Qualifying for Marriott Platinum status normally requires 50 elite nights a year (or as little as 20 nights once you subtract the 30 nights you get with Marriott cards). That’s not that much traveling in the grand scheme of things, and if you aren’t actually spending 20 nights a year in Marriott hotels, the benefits of Platinum status may be lost on you. In other words, Platinum status is very easy to earn if you travel even semi-frequently.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card offers automatic Gold status to all cardholders with the ability to earn Platinum status by spending $75,000 in a calendar year. Gold is a nice step above Silver, but I don’t put too much weight into this perk since you can also earn automatic Marriott (and Hilton) Gold status with cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express (enrollment required).

One thing to note is that you won’t get your choice benefit (i.e. suite night awards) if you earn Platinum status by credit card spending instead of through actual hotel nights.

COVID-19 benefits enhancements

Marriott has suspended points expiration through February 2021. Marriott also announced that it will extend the status you earned in 2019 an extra year, so instead of expiring in February 2021, it will expire in February 2022. They’re even depositing extra elite night credits into your account in the amount of 50% of the nights required for the status you earned last year (read this post for details). And on that note, Suite Night Awards earned from Platinum or Titanium Marriott elite status that were meant to expire on December 31, 2020, will now be extended to December 31, 2021.

Bottom line

I’m a firm believer that the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant offers the most compelling value of any of these cards, between its $300 annual Marriott property credit and 50,000 point free night. However, if you aren’t looking to pick up another premium card with a hefty annual fee, that’s okay. I think most people would be best off getting the Amex Bonvoy Business, even though it has a marginally higher fee than the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless. There are two reasons for this:

1. You have the option to earn an additional free night each year along with helpful bonus categories that the Bonvoy Boundless doesn’t have
2. Opening this credit card won’t count against your Chase 5/24 status. You can keep applying for valuable cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited®

But what about the Marriott Bonvoy Bold? While I appreciate Marriott offering this option, I think this is the wrong choice for most people. The 30,000 point bonus isn’t worth wasting a 5/24 spot, the card’s earning rates are simply mediocre and while you won’t pay an annual fee, you miss out on a ton of value year after year by not getting that free night certificate.

Let me know which card appeals most to you in the comments.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex card, click here.