Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa Signature

Updated January 12, 2024. 
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The Facts
  • Annual Fee: $95
  • Signup Bonus: five free nights (each with a redemption level up to 50,000 points) after you spend $5,000 within 3 months of new account opening.  The bonus is not available if you currently have Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card, Marriott Bonvoy Premier Card (also known as Marriott Rewards Premier Card), or Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card (also known as Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Card), or have received a signup bonus for either of these cards in the past 24 months.  The bonus is not available if you (i) have or had Amex Marriott Bonvoy Card (also known as Amex Starwood Preferred Guest Card) in the last 30 days, or (ii) have or had Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business Card (also known as Amex Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card) or Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card (also known as Amex Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card) and received a bonus in the last 24 months, or (iii) applied and were approved for Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business Card (also known as Amex Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card) or Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card (also known as Amex Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card) in the last 90 days.  Based on anecdotal reports, this card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (you won't be approved for this card if you have opened 5 or more new accounts within the past 24 months; any new account with any issuer will count, not just with Chase; new accounts include most credit cards and charge cards but exclude non-Chase business cards and store charge cards).  Historical best bonus of this card: (1) five 50K-point free nights in 2020 & 2022 & 2023 & 2024; (2) 125,000 points + one 50K-point free night; (3) three 50K-point free nights & up to 20K bonus points for gas & groceries & dining purchases in 2021; (4) three 50K-point free nights in 2022; (5) $300 giftcard + 75,000 points in 2022; (6) 100,000 points in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
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  • Rewards: 6x points at Marriott portfolio hotels (over 7,000 worldwide), 3x on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases per year on groceries & gas & dining, and 2x everywhere else.
  • Best Use of Marriott Bonvoy points: (1) You may redeem points for hotel stays or upgrades at over 7,000 Marriott portfolio hotels worldwide, including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, JW Marriott, EDITION, W Hotels, Marriott, Renaissance, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Delta, Gaylord, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels, Courtyard, Four Points, Fairfield, SpringHill Suites, AC Hotels, Protea, moxy, aloft, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, element, Marriott Executive Apartments, and Marriott Vacation Club.  (2) You may transfer points into airline miles of 40+ frequent flyer programs, mostly at 3:1 ratio.  If you transfer 60,000 points in a bulk you will get 5,000 miles as a bonus (60K points = 25 miles).  Please see our review on Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. CR for details of the programs that allow frequent flyer miles transfer.  (3) You may also redeem points for Marriott Hotel+Air Travel Packages - you exchange a certain number of Marriott points for a certain number of frequent flyer miles plus a 7-night certificate for a Marriott portfolio hotel at a certain redemption level.  Generally, the new Travel Packages represent devaluation from the old Travel Packages before August 2018 - you save some points when use this option, but in our opinion most of the time the saving is not big enough for the hassle of finding a single hotel to stay seven nights in a row.
  • Marriott Benefits: (1) One free night at Marriott portfolio hotels with a redemption level up to 35,000 points upon each cardmember anniversary; the e-certificate expires 12 months after issuance; you might also top off the free night certificate with your own Marriott points, up to 15,000 additional points for a higher redemption level.  (2) 15 night credits toward elite status each calendar year.  (3) Earn 1 night credit towards elite status per $5,000 spend on the card.  (4) Automatic Marriott Silver Elite status, the entry level status which isn't much.  (5) Upgrade to Marriott Gold Elite status, the third tier status, when you spend at least $35,000 per cardmember year.  Marriott Gold, normally achieved by stating at least 25 nights per year, is still nothing much.
  • Other Benefits: Waived foreign transaction fees with an embedded EMV chip.
  • Other Facts: this card is made of regular plastics instead of the metal design we have seen in the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa.
  • ​History: In anticipation of the new combined Marriott loyalty program, Chase introduced Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Visa ($95) in May 2018, replacing the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa ($85).  With the new name of the combined program finally unveiled in February 2019, Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card was rebranded as Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card. In early 2022, new 3x bonus categories (groceries, gas, dining) and 1 elite night credit per $5K spent were added.

The Math
As Marriott points are normally valued at less than 1 cent per point (0.75 cpp in our book), this card is decent for general spending.  Based on our value, this card returns 1.5% travel rewards and will be outshined by a 2% cashback card (such as Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Visa).  The 3x points categories won't return much more (2.25%) than the 2% cashback either.  However, if you points valuation is higher or if you know how to maximize points value (especially when transferred to frequent flyer miles), you might still find this card better than 2% cashback cards.  In addition, 6x points at Marriott portfolio hotels may be another reason to spend on this card, because 4.5% travel rewards hold up well to the competition, especially considering the versatility and the large number of transfer partners of Marriott points.

Even if you don't plan to spend much on the card, you might still want to keep it after the first year thanks to the annual free night capped at 35,000 points level, as well as the 15 night credits towards elite status.  Actually, this is one of the few cards that you may want to pay annual fees happily but keep it in the drawer.  

The Conclusion
While Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa may be a good option for spending for certain Marriott customers, the card actually has a wider appeal due to the annual free night.