Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card Review [2024]: A Free Night and a Jump-Start on Status

Every points-earning journey has to start somewhere, and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card is (almost) as good a place as any if you often stay at Marriott hotels. This simple but effective hotel card gets you a leg-up on Bonvoy elite status, significantly elevated earning rates on Marriott spending, and even one free night a year.

But if you’ve got limited real estate in your wallet, I’d recommend considering just how much value you’ll actually get out of the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card.  

Card basics

Who should get the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card?

If you’re just getting into credit card rewards and traveling on points, this card is a good, but not stellar, choice. With a low annual fee and high rewards potential, the Boundless gives beginners a simple pathway to see the fruits of their spending, but only if you know you’ll be spending the night at a Marriott property with some regularity, as the most notable earn rates you’ll get on purchases are all for spending with this brand.

And even though this card has a $95 annual fee, cardholders can get a yearly Free Night Award upon renewal, valid for stays at Marriott properties that cost 35,000 points or less. Marriott uses dynamic pricing, meaning award-night rates vary based on demand, but hotels in this point range typically cost at least $200 plus a night, so the card pays for itself even if you only stay with Marriott once a year.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card benefits and perks

• Generous welcome offer: Cardmembers earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. This could be a great starting place when it comes to planning your next vacation or adventure.
• Instant status: Another great perk of this card is that you’ll automatically be given Marriott Silver Elite status. With Silver Elite status, you’ll get 10% bonus points on Marriott stays, priority late checkout, exclusive member rates, and free Wi-Fi.
• Credits toward even better status: Along with automatic Silver Elite status, cardholders receive 15 Elite Nights Credits annually toward earning higher statuses. Additionally, you could earn one Elite Night Credit for every $5,000 you spend on the card. But this only really matters if you’re traveling a decent amount and looking to earn a higher status with Marriott Bonvoy.
• Free hotel stay: As mentioned above, you’ll get a Free Night Award worth 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Redemption rates are dynamic, but properties like the scenic Courtyard Miami Coconut Grove or trendy Aloft Harlem would qualify for the free night.

Earning & redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points

Earning rewards

Marriott stays

The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points with the Boundless is simple: Stay at Marriott properties and charge it to your card. While you’ll get the highest earn rate on spending with Marriott, there are lesser but still decent earn rates for spending on gas, groceries, dining, travel, and general purchases as well. Marriott, of course, wants to incentivize you to stay at its properties, along with spending on its co-branded cards. However, there are other ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy points besides this.

Uber

If you link your Marriott Bonvoy account to your Uber account, you could earn 2X points per dollar spent on UberX Reserve rides, 3X on Uber Premium rides, and 2X on Uber Eats restaurant and grocery orders of $40 or more when delivered to certain Marriott locations.

That’s nice on its own, as you don’t even need to use your Boundless card to get these earn rates, but it’s even better when you consider that you could stack your earnings by linking your accounts and using your Boundless card to pay for your Uber purchases. That way, you’ll earn whatever bonus you’re eligible for through the Uber partnership on top of the earn rate you’ll get from spending on the Boundless, which would be at least 2X through the all other purchases category, but possibly more if your Uber Eats order classifies as grocery.

Travel partners

You could also earn points when booking with Marriott’s travel partners — such as Hertz — or by booking a cruise through Marriott. Again, you don’t have to use your Boundless card when you do this, but you’ll earn more if you do.

Potential earnings in years one and two

Here's a look at how your points can add up with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card. To calculate these values, we used a point valuation of $0.01.

Remember, this is an estimation. The actual value will be determined by how much you spend and in which categories you spend.

Year one earnings: $2,794

Year two earnings: $844

These values are based on the FinanceBuzz Credit Card Rewards Valuation Model, which takes into account points earned via spending, the welcome bonus, and the annual fee. Note that they do not reflect the up to 17X points you would earn at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. If you stay at Marriott properties often, the value you get from this card may increase considerably.

Maximizing your redemptions

When using Marriott Bonvoy points, be sure to do a bit of research to find the best redemption option. As mentioned above, Marriott uses a dynamic pricing model for its award nights, which means exact redemption rates will vary based on demand. Regardless, the process for determining whether or not a redemption is worth it is quite simple.

How to determine redemption value

To give an example of how to optimize your redemptions, let’s book a room at the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles for a Friday night in early February 2025:

For that night, the points rate for a traditional guest room with a king bed is 38,000 as of the time of this writing. To understand if that’s a good deal, you need to determine the value of the points used.

To do that, use the following equation: Divide the price of the hotel stay in cash (you can find that in the Standard Rates tab on the Marriott search page) by the number of points required to book the stay, then multiply that by 100. To get a truly accurate value, you should use the hotel price after taxes and applicable resort fees have been added, as shown below.

So, in this case, the equation is $336.93 divided by 38,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. That equals a $0.88-per-point value, which is a pretty average redemption rate per our reporting on Marriott point values.

Consider the value added by benefits

Keep in mind that if you have status with Marriott, the extra perks you receive while staying, such as an upgraded room, also count as value toward your points. That’s because the room you get upgraded to will most likely have a higher cash price than the room you booked, meaning each point you redeem ekes out a little more value.

Now, the Silver Elite status you’ll automatically get with the Boundless card doesn’t come with a room upgrade benefit, but Gold Elite does, and the 15 Elite Night Credits you get annually with the Boundless can go a ways toward getting you there.

Transfer partners

This is where the limits of the Boundless card really become clear. One of the ways many travelers get the most out of their points and miles is by optimizing value through transfers to other airline or hotel loyalty programs. With nearly 40 airline partners, Marriott Bonvoy certainly offers plenty of transfer options.

The issue is that all but one of these partnerships carry a transfer ratio of three Bonvoy points to every one airline partner mile, and the one partner that doesn’t is Air New Zealand’s AirPoint program, which requires you to transfer a staggering 200 Bonvoy points for just one AirPoint mile.

While it’s certainly possible to find high-value transfers, you’ll have to do a little math to determine whether you’re getting at least as much value out of your transferred Bonvoy points as you would have if you redeemed them for a hotel stay. In most cases, you probably won’t. That means that the Bonvoy points you earn with the Boundless card are more or less only good for use on Marriott stays. Points-travel beginners are likely to appreciate a little more flexibility than that.

Other cards to consider

The Marriott Bonvoy portfolio is vast, offering a range of hotels and resorts across 30+ brands in more than 140 countries. To the casual traveler, it might seem wise to have a few Marriott points in your pocket, just in case.

But if you’re just dipping your toes into the points world, you should aim for flexibility as you figure out how you’ll earn and redeem points and which brands you want to do that with. You could also benefit from carrying a card that comes with some critical travel perks like trip interruption insurance or a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

If you travel for work or spend a significant amount of money on credit cards, you may want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card instead. While this card isn’t specifically branded to Marriott, it comes with higher earnings for your spending and more perks. Plus, you could always transfer the points you earn on the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card directly to the Bonvoy program — along with an array of other hotel and airline programs — if you wanted.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you could earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. This card is great for those who spend a decent amount on travel and dining and even comes with some travel insurance coverage.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

You could also consider the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card if the Boundless card is too limited for you and you’re looking for a well-rounded travel card. With the Capital One Venture Card, you could earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. In addition, this card rewards 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day, 5 miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25.

It also has valuable travel perks like a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit benefit.

A Great Card for Travel Rewards Beginners

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card

4.5

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card

4.5

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Why We Like It

Earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening

See how these cards compare:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• Generous welcome offer valued at $750 when redeemed via Chase Travel
• High rewards on dining and bookings via Chase Travel
• 25% more value when redeeming points for travel through Chase Travel
• Up to $50 in annual statement credits for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel
• Receive valuable travel protections like trip delay reimbursement and primary rental car insurance

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Has a generous welcome offer
• Offers up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® statement credit
• Has an easy rewards program and highly flexible travel redemptions
• Doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees
• Offers valuable travel protections
• Rates and fees

FAQs

Easy-to-Earn Unlimited Rewards

Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card

Benefits

Card Details

• $0 annual fee
• Simple, flat-rate rewards
• Flexible redemption options
• Up to 75% preferred Rewards bonus potential
• Apply Now

• Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open.
• 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases.
• Use your card to book your trip how and where you want - you're not limited to specific websites with blackout dates or restrictions.
• Redeem points for a statement credit to pay for travel or dining purchases, such as flights, hotel stays, car and vacation rentals, baggage fees, and also at restaurants including takeout.
• 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.74% - 28.74% will apply. A 3% Intro balance transfer fee will apply for the first 60 days your account is open. After the Intro balance transfer fee offer ends, the fee for future balance transfers is 4%.
• If you're a Bank of America Preferred Rewards® member, you can earn 25%-75% more points on every purchase. That means instead of earning an unlimited 1.5 points for every $1, you could earn 1.87-2.62 points for every $1 you spend on purchases.
• Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
• This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.

4.1

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Apply Now

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Intro Offer

Earn 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases

Annual Fee

$0

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Why we like it

• The Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card is great for individuals who enjoy earning rewards and traveling.

• Cardholders will enjoy the flexibility to redeem points with no blackout dates and receive a statement credit to pay for travel and dining purchases.

• Earn 1.5X points on all purchases everywhere, every time.

• Apply Now