Ranking Marriott Credit Card Offers
Marriott launched some massive welcome offers for their lineup of credit cards a month ago. Those offers are ending sometime today and I know a lot of people are left debating which one to get last minute. Because of that I figured that I would break the value down for each card and put together a ranking. I have to admit I was surprised which card finished as the most valuable offer, although it was by the hair on its chinny chin chin.
There is another issue we should address first though. Marriott came out last week and said they were changing their program starting next year and blowing it up completely in 2023. Because of that I wouldn’t grab these cards speculatively. If you know you can use the points by the end of 2022 then go for it. If you don’t have any plans on using the points during that time frame I would suggest to get something else.
These Offers Have Ended
Ranking Marriott Credit Card Offers: From Worst to First
For this exercise I made the assumption that you would be able to max out any free night award certificates. That may not be the case for your personally, so adjust the valuations if you don’t think you would be able to. I also assume full value for the $300 property credit on the Brilliant card. Lastly, the value I used for the Marriott points was $0.006 each. That should hold true for most of next year at least.
Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card is the no fee card option. This comes in as the least valuable offer and I would skip it altogether unless you are simply allergic to annual fees.
- 60,000 points
- To qualify, new cardholders will need to charge at least $2,000 in purchases on their new Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card in the first three months.
- In addition to this limited time offer, cardholders receive 15 Elite Night Credits per calendar year, qualifying you for Silver Elite Status.
- For each dollar of eligible purchases, cardholders can earn: 3X points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, 2X points for travel purchases, and 1X points on all other eligible purchases.
- No annual fee.
Value Breakdown:
- 60,000 points X $0.006 = $360
- – $0 annual fee
- = $360
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card
Next up on the list is the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless. The offer would be decent most of the time, but it doesn’t really stack up when compared to the last two card’s offers.
- 125,000 points and one Free Night Award worth up to 50,000 points (Category six standard, Category seven off-peak rates)
- To qualify, new cardholders will need to charge at least $5,000 in purchases on their new Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card in the first three months.
- In addition to this limited time offer, annually cardholders receive: 15 Elite Night Credits per calendar year and automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year, a path to Gold Elite Status when cardholders spend $35,000 on purchases each account year, and a Free Night Award every year after the cardholders account anniversary, valid for a one-night hotel stay at a property with a redemption level up to 35,000 points.
- For each dollar of eligible purchases, cardholders can earn: 6X points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy and 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
- $95 annual fee.
Value Breakdown:
- 125,000 points X $0.006 = $750
- 50,000 point free night cert = $300
- – $95 annual fee
- = $905
Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express card offer may be my favorite of the bunch. You are getting 125,000 points and TWO free night certificates. All for a reasonable $125 annual fee. I was a bit surprised that it didn’t take the top spot though. Some may prefer the two lower level free night certificates vs the one more valuable one with the Brilliant card. It is also nice that this is a business card which avoids adding to your Chase 5/24 count.
- 125,000 points and two Free Night Awards worth 50,000 points each (Category six standard, Category seven off-peak rates and not stackable).
- To qualify, new Card Members will need to charge at least $5,000 in purchases on their new Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card in the first three months.
- In addition to this limited time offer, Card Members annually receive: a Free Night Award after the Card Member’s account anniversary and can earn another Free Night Award after the Card Member spends $60,000 in purchases on their Card in a calendar year, receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year towards the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status, and complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status.
- For each dollar of eligible purchases, Card Members can earn: 6X points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, 4X points at U.S. restaurants, gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on all U.S. purchases for shipping, and 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
- $125 annual fee.
Value Breakdown:
- 125,000 points X $0.006 = $750
- 2 50K free night certificates X $0.006 = $600
- – $125 annual fee
- = $1225
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card
Coming in as the most valuable is also the most expensive card. Who said paying annual fees is for suckers? The value of course depends on if you can maximize the 85,000 point free night certificate. If you end up using it on a 60K property then the value would drop below the business card option etc.
- 150,000 points and one Free Night Award worth 85,000 points (Category eight standard rate).
- To qualify, new Card Members will need to charge at least $5,000 in purchases on their new Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card in the first three months.
- In addition to this limited time offer, annually Card Members receive: one Free Night Award every year after the Card Member’s account anniversary which can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel, 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year towards the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status, and $300 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
- For each dollar of eligible purchases, Card Members can earn: 6X points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, 3X points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines, and 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
- $450 annual fee.
Value Breakdown:
- 150,000 points X $0.006 = $900
- 85K free night certificates X $0.006 = $510
- +$300 property credit
- – $450 annual fee
- = $1260
These Increased Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card Offers Are Great, But Are You Eligible?
The Marriott credit eligibility rules are some of the toughest to navigate out there. Ryan did a great job putting together an easy to follow chart to answer just that question.
Ranking Marriott Credit Card Offers: Final Thoughts
Hopefully this guide / ranking of the currently increased Marriott Bonvoy card offers is helpful. If you were trying to decide between a few of the cards this gives you an idea of what type of value you can get. I will say the choice between the Bonvoy Business and Bonvoy Brilliant comes down to if you can maximize the free night certificates. I am not sure that I would stay in an 85,000 point a night property over the next year. Because of that I would probably lean towards the business card and its two 50,000 free nights instead. But if you have a bougie hotel in mind to use the free night at then the Brilliant will offer you a little bit more value overall.
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I would edit the Boundless calculation to include the value of the single 50k cert.
Thanks – I’ll add that in. Not sure how I missed it
On the AMEX Bonvoy Brilliant the wording throws me off, the $300 credit expires end of the calender year (31 Dec) correct?
I’m struggling this year to use my $300 Bonvoy & $250 Hilton credit before the year ends. Looks like I may have to do a staycation to burn the credit this year.
Should be based on card member year not calendar year