KEY LINKS:
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card – Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $0 annual fee. Read our full review here.
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card – Earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. $95 annual fee. Read our full review here.
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card – Earn 3 Free Night Awards, valued at up to 50K points each for eligible stays after spending $6,000 in 6 months. Free Night valued at 50,000 points. Certain hotels have resort fees. $125 annual fee (see rates and fees). Read our full review here.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card – Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $5,000 in 6 months. $250 annual fee (see rates and fees)
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card – Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 in 6 months. $650 annual fee (see rates and fees)
There are now 5 Marriott credit cards – 2 that are co-branded and issued by Chase, and 3 that are issued by American Express. Each of the cards comes with its own value proposition, and you’ll need to decide whether the benefits outweigh any annual fee for your particular financial and travel situation. While there is a decent amount of overlap in benefits between the cards, each card has slightly different benefits. Four of the cards are personal credit cards, while one is a small business credit card. Remember, though, that you may have a business even if you don’t think you do.
So let’s take a look at each of the five different cards to see which Marriott card is best for you.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card just came out with a brand new offer and it’s pretty compelling. You can earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
Keep in mind that with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, you’ll also get:
- 6x Bonvoy points for every $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®
- 3X points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining.
- 2X Bonvoy points on all other purchases.
- Complimentary Marriott Silver elite status with a path to Marriott Gold Elite status if you spend $35,000 on purchases in a calendar year
- Annual free night certificate (up to 35,000 points) each cardmember anniversary
- 15 elite nights towards status each year
- 1 Elite Night Credit toward your Elite status for every $5,000 you spend with no cap
- Read our full review here
The Bonvoy Boundless card does come with a $95 annual fee which is not waived the first year.
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card is the Marriott credit card with no annual fee. It also comes with:
- Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- 3x Bonvoy points for every $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®
- 2X Bonvoy points at grocery stores, rideshare, select food delivery, and select streaming, and internet, cable and phone services
- 1X Bonvoy points on all other purchases.
- Complimentary Marriott Silver elite status
- 5 elite nights towards status each year
- Read our full review here
The Bonvoy Bold card has a $0 annual fee
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
If you’re looking for a business card, then consider the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
- Earn 3 Free Night Awards, valued at up to 50K points each for eligible stays after spending $6,000 in 6 months. Free Night valued at 50,000 points. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- 6x Marriott Bonvoy points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program.
- 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a 7% discount on eligible Marriott bookings
- 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month (up to 35,000 points)
- Earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases in a calendar year (again, up to 35,000 points)
- Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status
- 15 Elite Night Credits towards the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status
The Bonvoy Business has a $125 annual fee (see rates and fees)
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card is a mid-tier card offered by American Express.
- Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $5,000 in 6 months.
- 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
- 4X points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets per calendar year, then 2X points).
- 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
- 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points per paid eligible stay booked directly with Marriott
- Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status
- 15 Elite Night Credits towards the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status
- 1 Free Night Award (up to 50,000 points) after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year
It comes with a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees)
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
The top-tier Marriott card is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. It offers the following:
- Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 in 6 months.
- 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®.
- 3X Marriott Bonvoy® points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.
- 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points on all other eligible purchases
- Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month (up to 85,000 points)
- Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Enroll in Priority Pass™ Select
- Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status
- 25 Elite Night Credits towards the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status
- Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases, you will be eligible to select an Earned Choice Award benefit, which can be another free night, 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards or $1,000 off a Marriott bed
The Bonvoy Brilliant comes with a $650 annual fee (see rates and fees)
Which Marriott Card Is Best?
With 5 different cards to choose from, pretty much anyone is likely to find a Marriott card that is right for them. Deciding which Marriott card is best will depend a lot on your travel patterns and what you are looking for. Remember too that the welcome offers on the different Marriott cards vary over time, and generally the higher offers come with the cards that also have the higher fees. Sometimes the welcome offers offer a certain number of Marriott Bonvoy points, and in other cases they offer free night certificates. Depending on which of those you value more, that can help you decide which Marriott card to pick.
I think most casual travelers will get the most value from the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. It offers a decent welcome bonus and comes with a manageable $95 annual fee. If you don’t want to pay an annual fee on a card, then consider the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card. If you’ve already had both of those cards, or are a Marriott road warrior looking for additional perks, then you can choose one of the other three Marriott cards for more benefits and elite status (though keep in mind that they also come with higher annual fees).
The Bottom Line – How To Pick a Marriott Card
KEY LINKS:
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card – Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $0 annual fee. Read our full review here.
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card – Earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. $95 annual fee. Read our full review here.
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card – Earn 3 Free Night Awards, valued at up to 50K points each for eligible stays after spending $6,000 in 6 months. Free Night valued at 50,000 points. Certain hotels have resort fees. $125 annual fee (see rates and fees). Read our full review here.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card – Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $5,000 in 6 months. $250 annual fee (see rates and fees)
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card – Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 in 6 months. $650 annual fee (see rates and fees)
Marriott has five different credit cards that you can choose from if you’re looking to increase your Marriott Bonvoy points balance. Two of the cards are issued by Chase and three are issued by American Express. One is a business card while four of them are personal credit cards. Each card comes with its own set of perks and benefits, as well as differing welcome offers and annual fees. Compare the different options to pick the best one for you. If you ever want my help, feel free to reach out to me as well and I’ll be happy to talk it over in more detail.
Which Marriott credit card do you think is best? Leave your thoughts in the comments below
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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