Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card

Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card Review

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Last updated on August 25, 2021 Comments: 14

Chase-Marriott Rewards Premier VisaThe Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ card can be a great option for those who are loyal to the hotel brand, especially those who don’t want to pay a high annual fee. Cardholders have the opportunity to earn some decent rewards for hotel stays and other rewards like flights. Plus, you can get a free hotel stay each year you’re a cardholder.

If you’ve been considering getting this card, check our review below to learn about important details and whether it’s the right fit for you.

Benefits and Features

 

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ card has a $95 annual fee and offers a pretty decent signup bonus of 30,000 points once you spend at least $1,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening. Think about that as spending just $350 each month for the next three months.

In addition to the bonus, you’ll also earn regular ongoing rewards:

  • 6x points for each dollar spent at Marriott Bonvoy hotels
  • 2x points for each dollar spent on all other purchases

Other perks include no foreign transaction fees, automatic Silver Elite status and a faster path to Gold status, free wifi at participating Marriott hotels and a free night at participating Marriott hotels each cardholder anniversary (valid for a one-night hotel stay with a redemption level up to 35,000 points).

What You Need to Know About the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card

While this seems like a simple co-branded credit card, there are some things you’ll want to keep in mind. These perks will help you take advantage of all the value-added bonuses you’ll get which can help to offset the annual fee.

Annual Free Night Award

Although you have to pay a $95 annual fee, the free hotel night you’ll get each cardholder anniversary can more than offset that upfront cost. You can use it at any participating midtier Marriott hotel on rooms that are valued at up to 35,000 points. Of course, it depends on the hotel you book, but that free award night can be worth more than triple the annual fee.

Get More Out of Marriott Stays

This co-branded card is a great idea if you plan on staying at Marriott properties often since you get to earn a lot more points — six points for every dollar you spend at participating Marriott hotels.

The cool thing is that you can also earn an additional 11 points for every dollar you spend at participating Marriott hotels since this card offers complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status. This means you’ll earn 10 base points and an additional 10% bonus as a Silver Elite member.

Speaking of the automatic Silver Elite status, you can get a bunch of perks every time you stay at a participating hotel. This includes priority late checkouts, but perks may vary from hotel to hotel and is based on availability. It might be a great benefit since there could be times you have a later flight and you want to relax in your room until it’s time to head out.

Cardholders can also upgrade to the Bonvoy’s Gold status each year. You’ll need to book at least 25 nights at Marriott hotels or spend $35,000 on qualifying purchases. Considering you’ll earn the equivalent of 15 nights once you cross over your cardholder anniversary, it means that you’ll only need to book 10 nights to receive this perk.

Want to know what you’ll get with Gold status? Perks include complimentary room upgrades at participating Marriott hotels, though that’s based on availability.

No Hotel Credits (Though There’s a Signup Bonus)

Yes, get a big signup bonus of 75,000 points once you spend at least $3,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening. This amount might not be a lot if you pool your regular purchases on the card, meaning you don’t have to spend more than you need to in order to earn that bonus.

So sure, you’ll get the opportunity to rack up a huge balance, but you won’t be able to get an annual hotel credit to give you extra value, unlike other higher-tiered Marriott co-branded cards.

How to Redeem Your Rewards

Here are a few ways to redeem your points:

  • Use points for hotels: You can book rewards nights starting at 5,000 points for the lowest-tier and rooms at off-peak times, 7,500 for standard times and 10,000 for peak times. There are also PointSavers rates which are discounted nights at participating hotels. If you don’t have enough points, you can combine them with cash to redeem for hotel stays — starts at $55 and 1,500 points. Don’t forget: try and take advantage of Marriott’s promotion for the fifth night free. Basically, if you book five nights, you’ll only need four nights worth of points.
  • Additional hotel charges: You can also redeem points for incidentals such as trips to the spa, beverages, and food.
  • Cruises and travel packages: Your points may not get as far, but you can look at what you can book through the booking portal — book cruises, travel packages and even covering the cost of TSA Precheck.
  • Flights: There are a bunch of partner airline programs you can transfer your points to, typically at a 3:1 rate. The Bonvoy program will also offer an extra 5,000 points for every 60,000 transferred (though it may change, so check the fine print for details).

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • High signup bonus
  • Earn more points for stays at participating Marriott properties
  • Receive automatic complimentary Silver Elite status
  • Get a free hotel stay for every cardholder anniversary

Cons

  • Need to pay $95 annual fee
  • You’ll need to spend at least $3,000 to get the signup bonus
  • Benefits are better for those who are Marriott loyalists

Is The Marriott Card For You?

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Card might be a good fit if you’re a regular Marriott customer who is interested in getting some decent perks but isn’t interested in paying a lot for a luxury card. That and you’re also not interested in the other luxury perks (you’re happy with things like free nights and free wifi, for example).

You get the opportunity to get a lot of value that will more than offset the annual fee of this card. If you’re not interested in only sticking with Marriott or want more benefits like free spa trips, then you’ll need to look elsewhere.

Article comments

14 comments
Anonymous says:

Does anyone have experience on the travel insurance coverage for trip cancellation or interruption or any other coverages that are now included in the Marriott Visa Premier credit card? These coverages seem to good to be true when compared taking out other trip insurances.

Anonymous says:

Hi!

I was just recently approved for a CL of 5k with Chase (Marriott PR Card). I’m in the process of repairing my credit and clearing up my report. I was told to get my score to jump up is to request an increase on my new card. Do you guys believe that’s the best move?

Thanks in advance for your help:)

Anonymous says:

@ Margaret When I went on marriots website it said no foreign transaction fees… which is great for a visa card.. I think that and the free night are worth the 65 bucks

Anonymous says:

I am confused – is there a foreign transaction fee or not on either of Marriott cards?

Anonymous says:

This is not a review. It only reiterates the same information you get from Marriott’s own promotion. Any decent review should also talk about interest rates, fees and penalties. Without that information, you can’t make an intelligent decision. Many new credit card offerings today increase your interest rate to 29.9% if you are late with a payment. This interest rate is permanent on all past and future purchases. So unless you like paying 30% interest, don’t apply for a card without knowing the cerdit card conpany’s terms.

Anonymous says:

As I posted in a response above – no need to pay any fees on this or any other chase card! Get the bonus points and when the annual fee is due – cancel the card.

I have done this 4 times with a United Chase card, 4 times with the Marriot Chase card and 2 times with the Priority Club (Holiday Inn) Card. I have always received all of the bonus point offered by Chase.

Yes, I know this has an effect on your credit score, however, my score is still around 790 and thus, I’m not worried about the effect on my credit score.

Anonymous says:

Flexo, I’ve got the regular old Marriott Rewards card. Any idea if you can get the 30k bonus for upgrading?

And any thoughts on whether the extra $35 per year is worth it?

I was actually considering moving to something else entirely as well since I rarely travel and stay at Marriott’s anymore (they used to be like a second home….but not anymore).

Anonymous says:

I remember there was a time when I chose my credit card based on how cool it looked. If I was still doing that, this card would have made the list. Based on my current criteria and spending habits, this one definitely isn’t making the list. Not that I need more credit cards anyways since my available credit already far exceeds my annual income. But I guess that’s what you should do, right: If you can’t make enough money, charge it and pay it “later”.

Anonymous says:

It’s been about a year since I crunched the numbers, but back when I did this card was only worth using if you were going to use the points on Marriott stays (anything else made a cashback card a better deal). Moreover, you should only charge Marriott stays on this card — anything else is better charged to a cashback card. Those two facts taken with the annual fee make this card a solid “no” in my book.

Anonymous says:

Of course the best deal it at a Marriot, the cost to Marriot to give you a room is ZERO. It costs them $ to allow you to use the points for anything else.

You absolutely do NOT have to pay a fee. When the one year is up – cancel the card and repeat again. I have done this at least 4 times and have always gotten the 30,000 bonus points when I signed up again.

Anonymous says:

Thank you so much for the tip. I was thinking about doing just that. If I renew for $85 I get a free Cat 1-5 night, but I’m seeing some great offers for 50,000 points plus 2 free nights Cat 1-4. My question for you is how long did you wait to apply again? I’m guessing 3-6 months since most forms ask if you’ve had that particular card in that time frame. What was your experience? Thanx, A

Anonymous says:

If you stay in a hotel atleast once a year, then the card pays for itself and beats any cash back return….for the $65 annual fee – you can potentially book a one night stay which can or without the free nigh would cost upwards of $150.00.

Anonymous says:

I try to save money by staying at Motel 6, LoL.
Seriously, seems to me that most Marriott Hotels are out of a frugal
price range.

Luke Landes says:

Marriott owns a number of brands, some more frugal than others. I believe Fairfield Inn is a reasonably-priced Marriott property that would be valid for accumulating points.