Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card Review: Rewards for Loyal Marriott Fans

But while the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is worthwhile for Marriott loyalists, it lacks in some other areas when compared with the competition.

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Overview of the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

When it comes to redeeming your rewards points with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, you can find outlying Marriott properties that give crazy-high value for your points. If you need a flight and not a hotel, you can also convert Marriott Bonvoy points into air miles. 

And while most hotel credit cards offer limited insurance, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card has both purchase protection and three forms of travel coverage: baggage delay, lost/damaged luggage, and trip delay insurance.

That said, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card’s perks are just okay. Some competing hotel credit cards give you more points for every dollar you spend, and reward big spenders with extra annual goodies that are notably absent from this credit card. 

While the annual fee is modest, many of the Boundless card’s features are comparable to those offered by the no-annual-fee Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card.

LEARN MORE: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Rewards

While points can’t be redeemed for statement credits, you can redeem Marriott points for:

• Free nights at 7,000+ Marriott hotels worldwide 
• Flights and cruises
• Car rentals
• Miles with frequent flyer programs
• Gift cards and merchandise
• Art, sport, culinary, and cultural experiences
• Charitable donations

Marriott Bonvoy points value

When redeemed for a free night, a Marriott Bonvoy point’s value typically ranges from about $0.007 to $0.014 (and averages out to about $0.009 per point), which is good for a hotel rewards program. 

Certain hotels may offer particularly good redemption values. For instance, as of writing, I was able to find a simple room at the TownePlace Suites in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a rate of $0.026 per point in the low season, which is effectively unheard of for room redemptions.

Other redemption options typically offer low values per point. For example, cruise redemptions tend to get about $0.003 to $0.004 per point. 

And, as is common with many rewards programs, redemptions for merchandise (like cookware, jewelry, or sports equipment) usually offer extremely low values, sometimes as low as $0.001 per point.

Marriott points transfer 

Marriott Bonvoy points can be transferred to the air travel rewards programs of the following 37 airlines, typically at a 3:1 transfer ratio unless otherwise noted. 

• Aegean
• Aer Lingus 
• Aeromexico
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air France-KLM
• Air New Zealand (200:1)
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• ANA
• Asiana Airlines
• Avianca
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• China Southern
• Copa Airlines
• Delta
• Emirates
• Etihad
• Frontier
• Hainan Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Korean Air
• LATAM 
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Saudia
• Singapore Airlines 
• Southwest
• TAP Air Portugal
• Thai Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• United 
• Virgin Atlantic 
• Virgin Australia

The 3:1 transfer ratio is better than ratios offered by competing hotel rewards programs, like Hilton Honors, which usually has a 10:1 transfer ratio, or IHG One Rewards, which usually has a 5:1 transfer ratio. 

But it’s not as strong as the 1:1 transfers for Chase Travel^℠.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card Benefits

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card comes with a few other perks for travelers and foodies.

Annual free night

You’ll get a Free Night Award annually after the anniversary of your account opening date. The Award can be redeemed for a room that would normally require 35,000 points or less.

Silver Elite Status

Cardholders are automatically granted Silver Elite Status, which is Marriott’s lowest status level. Silver Elite has the following benefits:

• 10% more points for every eligible Marriott hotel purchase 
• Late checkout, subject to the hotel’s capacity 
• Special room rates when available

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless also grants you 15 Elite Night Credits, which puts you well on your way to the 25 qualifying annual nights you need to reach Gold Elite Status and its associated additional perks, like a 25% rather than a 10% point bonus. 

You can close the gap to Gold Elite by staying 10 nights at Marriott properties or making $35,000 in purchases annually.

These perks are less impressive than those offered as part of automatic statuses associated with some competing hotel cards, like the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card’s automatic Platinum Elite Status (IHG’s second-highest status level).

Protections and insurance

Purchases made with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless are covered with three types of travel insurance and purchase protection:

• Baggage delay: Baggage delays over six hours are eligible for reimbursement up to $100 a day for five days. These are fairly standard terms for baggage delay insurance.
• Lost/damaged luggage: Luggage damaged or lost by your carrier is covered up to $3,000 per passenger.
• Trip delay: If your trip is delayed at least 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family will be repaid for unreimbursed expenses, like meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket.
• Purchase protection: New purchases are covered for 120 days against theft or damage, up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. Although $500 is better than nothing, it’s at the lower end of the usual coverage range for purchase protection.

Free DashPass membership

You get a free one-year DashPass, which provides unlimited $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on qualifying orders. (Must activate by December 31, 2024.)

This is a $96 value, which makes up for the Boundless card’s annual fee in the first year. 

Who Should Get the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless®?

Paying the annual fee for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card makes sense for those who: 

• Love specific hotel brands in the Marriott network and stay in them for at least a couple of nights annually
• Don’t mind doing a bit of sleuthing and math to find great deals for their points
• Frequently use DoorDash or Caviar

Who Shouldn’t Get the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless®?

If you’re open-minded when it comes to which hotels you stay in, other co-branded hotel credit cards allow you to earn back more points for your lodgings. 

Or, if you love to travel but don’t stay in hotels when you go globetrotting, you might consider a general travel credit card that gives you more options when it comes time to redeem your points.

Alternatives to the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless®

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

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The 17 points per $1 that the Boundless card gives for stays in Marriott properties may seem generous. But it’s actually not as big as the payout from the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, which earns up to 26 points per $1 spent at IHG properties. 

And the IHG One Rewards Premier card has a better array of benefits overall, including the opportunity to get a fourth night free if you redeem three nights with points, as well as bonuses of $100 and 10,000 points each year that you make at least $20,000 in purchases with the card.

That said, IHG One Rewards points tend to be worth a bit less on average than Marriott Bonvoy points, and Marriott Bonvoy’s transfer ratio to airline miles is far more generous than the ratio offered by IHG One Rewards.

LEARN MORE: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card

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You can earn plenty of Marriott Bonvoy points for your credit card purchases without paying an annual fee. 

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card’s reward rates are pretty good for a no-annual-fee card and the spending minimum to get its welcome bonus is relatively low, too. 

It also has the same insurance package as the Boundless and the same one-year DashPass, which are impressive for a no-annual-fee card.

Of course, you do sacrifice some benefits by forgoing an annual fee. For instance, the Bold won’t give you an anniversary award.

LEARN MORE: Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

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If you travel frequently but want more flexibility than a hotel rewards card offers, consider getting a more general travel card instead. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card doesn’t have massive points-earning potential on hotel nights, but it does offer greater freedom when redeeming the points you earn. 

Unlike Marriott Bonvoy points, Chase Ultimate Rewards can be redeemed directly for card statement credits at a rate of $0.01 per point. 

A 1:1 transfer ratio to popular rewards programs from airlines like United and Southwest gives you further flexibility.

LEARN MORE: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

FAQs

When do Marriott points expire?

Marriott points expire after 24 consecutive months of account inactivity. 

You can keep your account active by earning, purchasing, converting, or redeeming points at least once within a 24-month period.

How many Marriott points for a free night?

Our research found that room redemptions can range from less than 10,000 points per night at a budget Marriott property to well over 100,000 per night at a high-end hotel. 

The number of points required varies depending on the property’s brand and location, the room type you want, and the season you book in.

For example, you can get a simple room for 6,500 points at the TownePlace Suites in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when booking a weeknight in January. But you’ll need to fork over 130,000 points if you fancy a deluxe room on a Saturday night at the St. Regis in Venice, Italy.

The Bottom Line

If you’re a fan of Marriott hotels, you can benefit from the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, with a pretty high earning rate for Marriott stays, plus perks like free nights, late checkout, and automatic Silver Elite status. 

But it’s specifically best for Marriott fans — if you’re not loyal to Marriott, you may want to consider adding another travel card to your wallet. 

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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.