Card Review: Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless

I’m a huge fan of hotel credit cards because they are great keeper cards. When a hotel credit card has an annual fee, it almost always comes with lucrative perks that effectively offset the annual fee. For instance, the American Express (AMEX) Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card has an annual fee of $450, but it comes with a Free Night Award and a $300 credit toward purchases at Marriott properties, including room rates. While I already have two Marriott-branded credit cards from AMEX, I’ve been wanting to apply for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card to earn more Marriott points. I finally applied for the card on Chase’s website and was approved instantly. It took me nearly three years to get this credit card, and I’m happy that I secured the historic high sign-up bonus. Before I review why the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card deserves a spot in your wallet, I must explain why it took me a long time before I could apply for the card.

The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card could be a long-term keeper card in your wallet.

Welcome Bonus Qualification Rule

The first barrier to my application was my credit card portfolio. If you’ve previously had other Marriott-branded credit cards, you would need to strategize your application to ensure that you qualify for the welcome bonus. For instance, in order to be eligible for the welcome bonus, you cannot have received a welcome bonus from either the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card or the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business card in the last 24 months. However, you can have the card without the bonus. Because I applied and received welcome bonuses on both AMEX credit cards in 2019, I had to wait until 2021 to jump over the bonus qualification hurdle. The welcome bonus qualification rule could get complicated very fast, and TPG has written a detailed article about the matter, and I advise you read it before you apply for any Marriott credit cards.

Chase 5/24

The second barrier to my application was the infamous Chase 5/24 rule. It is a simple rule; you are only allowed to get 5 credit cards within a 24-month period. The 5/24 rule is not limited to only credit cards issued by Chase either. Almost all other credit cards, both personal and business cards, count towards the rule. However, charge cards like AMEX Platinum, AMEX Gold, and AMEX Green are exempt. If you ignore the rule and apply for a Chase credit card when you’ve already gotten 5 credit cards within 24 months, you will automatically be rejected - no matter what your credit score is, the denial is inevitable. Traditionally, Chase only imposed the rule on certain cards, but since November of 2018, the rule has applied to every Chase credit card. 

Double check your credit card standing with the infamous Chase 5/24 Rule. Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash.

Finally, I became under 5/24 in February of 2022, and I’ve been patiently waiting to apply for the right Chase credit card at the right time. Earlier this month, Chase announced a new historic high sign-up bonus for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card. I instantly knew I had to secure the welcome bonus because I couldn’t imagine the offer getting any better.

Sign-Up Bonus & Multipliers

The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card currently offers a sign-up bonus of five Free Night Awards after spending $5,000 in three months, each covering up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. To clarify, you wouldn’t receive 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, but you would earn five individual Suite Night Awards that are worth up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points each. Marriott recently updated its policy that you could combine Free Night Awards with additional points, but the limit is capped at 15,000. Thus, if your Marriott points bank has room, you could technically book properties that cost up to 65,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. I personally value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.8 cents each, making the 250,000 points offer worth $2,000. This is the highest sign-up bonus we’ve seen for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, and I highly recommend grabbing the card if you are under Chase 5/24.

250,000 Marriott Bonvoy points could be worth over $2,000 in value. Photo by Chase.

The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card earns 6X points per dollar when you book directly with Marriott, 3X points on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases every year on dining, grocery stores, and gas stations, and 2X points on all other purchases. The multipliers are not necessarily strong, but if you hold status with Marriott, you could amplify the earning potential on paid Marriott stays.

If you’d like to apply for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog operations and help visitors make informed decisions to maximize their rewards. Thank you!   https://www.referyourchasecard.com/252f/QJPU5UFB4R

Annual Fee & Benefits

The annual fee of the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is $95, which makes the card a Tier 3 card on my credit card totem pole. The card comes with many useful benefits that effectively offset the annual fee.

Free Night Award - Redeemable up to 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points

After your card anniversary, you will receive one free night award, redeemable up to 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, which can secure a night at a mid-tier property. I recommend aiming for a mid-tier property that costs between $300 and $400 per night. If you have additional Marriott points to spare, you could add up to 15,000 points to spend a total of 50,000 points at a luxury property. 

A night at Hotel Luc, Autograph Collection would cost you a hair under 35,000 points, but if you pay with cash, a nightly rate could be €401.

Your mileage may vary, but a free night certificate will allow card members to justify keeping the Marriott Bonvoy Business card for the long term. The free night certificate alone will normally offset the credit card's annual fee, and in most cases, it can yield more value than $95.

Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite Status

By holding the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, you automatically qualify for Silver Elite status, the lowest status offered in Marriott’s member ecosystem. Silver Elite members can earn 10% more Marriott Bonvoy points on eligible purchases and stays. The next tier would be Gold Elite status, and you can earn Gold Elite status after spending $35,000 on the card in a calendar year. If you have additional expenses, I can’t stop you, but by either holding another Marriott Bonvoy credit card, such as the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, on top of the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card or by holding the AMEX Platinum card, you can automatically qualify for Gold Elite status.

Silver Elite status doesn’t grant you distinctive benefits. Photo by Marriott.

15 Elite Night Credits 

I’m a Marriott loyalist, and by simply holding the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, I earn 15 elite night credits annually towards Marriott Bonvoy elite status. Unless you product-change or have been grandfathered into older products, there are four Marriott Bonvoy personal and business credit cards you can currently apply to. They are AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business, Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, and Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold. Each of those cards will award you with 15 elite night credits annually, but your ceiling is maxed at 30 annual elite night credits. Moreover, you can only earn 15 elite night credits from a personal credit card and the other 15 elite night credits from a business credit card. Even if you were to own all three personal Marriott Bonvoy credit cards, you would only receive 15 elite night credits annually. The only way to receive all 30 elite night credits would be by holding one of the personal credit cards and the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business card. 

You don’t need to have two personal Marriott credit cards to earn 30 elite night credits, but you do need one personal and one business Marriott credit card.

As of earlier this year, you’ll also get one elite night credit toward status for every $5,000 you spend on purchases with the card, so this could be another pathway toward higher status.

Other Benefits

Since the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is a travel credit card, it comes with other travel-related perks that could come in handy when you need extra help. The card provides baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay coverage, and purchase protection.

Summary

The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is a Tier 3 credit card and carries an annual fee of $95. However, the card comes with an annual 35,000-point Free Night Award, which could be worth double the annual fee. The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is a must-have credit card for Marriott loyalists, especially those who would like to jumpstart their elite night credits towards status. Chase is currently offering a historic high welcome offer of five 50,000 Free Night Awards, totaling 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that could be worth around $2,000. Make sure to check if you qualify for the welcome offer and under Chase 5/24 before you submit your credit card application.

If you’d like to apply for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog operations and help visitors make informed decisions to maximize their rewards. Thank you!  https://www.referyourchasecard.com/252f/QJPU5UFB4R