Best credit cards for Marriott in 2024

Let’s play a game called Marriott Bonvoy credit card or old British warship. Here’s the list:

So, are these cards or ships? If you guessed “both,” you’d be mostly correct. The answer is: all five are Marriott Bonvoy cards, and weirdly, three of them are also British warships (the HMS Bountiful, Brilliant and Bold).

And just like a naval fleet facing down Napoleon, the Marriott Bonvoy cards also have their own flagship. Believe it or not, it’s not the ultra-premium $650-annual-fee Bonvoy Brilliant, although that card has plenty of merits in its own right.

So let’s explore the best cards for Marriott in 2024 — and evaluate which one is probably right for 90% of Marriott fans.

Overview of the 5 best credit cards for Marriott in 2024

Best overall: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

Why we like this card: Simply put, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless is a free night machine. Right from the start, it offers a welcome bonus of 5 free nights (valued at 50,000 points for each night) after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Or, to put a dollar amount on it, potentially around $2,250 in total value.

To put that into perspective, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant commands a $650 annual fee ($555 more than the $95 charged for carrying the Boundless) and offers a welcome bonus of “just” 185,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months from account opening (90,000 points higher than usual).

On top of that, you’ll score another free night stay in a hotel up to 35,000 points (every year after account anniversary), as well as instant Silver Elite status, 15 Elite Night Credits — meaning you’ll start each year just 10 nights away from Gold Elite — and 6X on Marriott purchases. Combine that with the 10X you’ll get just for being a Marriott Bonvoy member and 1X for being Silver Elite and you’ll generate 17X on Marriott stays, which ain’t bad. 

Plus, when you consider that award stays start at just 7,500 points, you could potentially earn enough points for your seventh free night of the year after spending as little as $450. 

Despite the name, the Boundless does still come with a somewhat ironic restriction — your five welcome bonus nights can only be worth up to 50,000 points each, and your free anniversary night is capped even lower at 35,000 points. 

That’s still a generously high bar to cross (for example, the famous four-star Atlanta Marriott Marquis starts around 38,000 points) but since you can’t just choose to receive points instead of nights, there’s no way to spend your bonus on a weekend stay at the Ritz. 

Even still, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless is a highly practical and massively generous rewards package that will delight the vast majority of Marriott fans.

Check out our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card. 

Best no-annual-fee Marriott card: Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card

Why we like this card: Even though the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless looks like an objectively good deal on paper, sometimes you just don’t want to commit to a $95 annual fee. Sometimes you just want a travel rewards card that you can use when you need it for the extra points — and store in a drawer until it’s time for another Marriott booking. 

That’s where the Marriott Bonvoy Bold comes in. You’ll get a welcome bonus of 30,000 points after $1,000 in purchases within the first three months from account opening (worth potentially around $270 in redemption value) and earn 4X on Marriott spending as a cardholder up to a total of 14X once you factor in 10X points for being a Marriott Bonvoy member at 1X for having Silver Elite status. 

Unfortunately, the Bold’s list of benefits is getting… less bold in 2024, with Chase removing the 2X rate on travel, 15 Elite Night Credits and complimentary Silver Elite status starting on 7/10/24 (ironically, the bank calls these deletions “new enhancements”). 

But even as a very lite version of the Boundless card, the Bold is worth applying for if all you want is points for a free night or two plus elevated earnings on Marriott bookings. 

Check out our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy Bold card. 

Best no-annual-fee card with flexible points: Bilt Mastercard

Why we like this card: The Bilt Mastercard rewards you for paying rent. Full stop. Even if your landlord doesn’t accept credit cards (most don’t), Bilt will send them a check on your behalf or let you pay in your landlord’s online portal by providing you an account number and a routing number like a checking account would have, and you’ll generate 1X per dollar for rent.

Plus, the Bilt Mastercard also generates 3X on dining, 2X on travel, 1X on other spending. Be aware rent earnings are capped at 100,000 points per calendar year. Also, to earn points, you must use your Bilt Mastercard at least five times per billing cycle.

The Bilt points you earn can transfer to Marriott Bonvoy at a rate of 1:1 (along with other airline and hotel chains for a total of well over a dozen transfer partners). So, for example, if you pay $2,000 in rent per month totaling $24,000 per year, you could generate 24,000 Marriott Bonvoy points annually — likely enough for an overnight stay at a Residence Inn. 

In addition, if you transfer at least 20,000 Bilt Rewards points in a single transaction, you’ll get a 5,000-point bonus. So all told, the cardholder in our hypothetical could generate 29,000 points potentially worth about $260 toward a Marriott stay, just for paying rent on time. 

The Bilt Mastercard also includes handy travel insurance such as trip cancellation and interruption protection, trip delay reimbursement and an auto rental collision damage waiver (primary coverage except for New York state residents). 

And, unlike the Marriott Bonvoy Bold card, you can also redeem Bilt points for cash back in the form of a statement credit if you’re in a pinch. We don’t recommend doing that, however, because the value of using your rewards for a statement credit is just 0.55 cents per point.

By rewarding you for paying rent — and rewarding you again for transferring your points to Marriott — the Bilt Mastercard easily earns a place on our list of the best cards for Marriott in 2024. 
You also have the option of booking hotel stays through Bilt’s travel portal, but be aware booking through an issuer portal usually means you can’t take advantage of any elite status you have with the hotel chain.

Check out our full review of the Bilt Mastercard.

Best premium rewards card: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

Why we like this card: On the flip side of things, if you’re dedicated enough to the Marriott brand to pledge $650 per year to the right credit card, you’re probably looking for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant. 

Sure, it may cost roughly as much as some Taylor Swift tickets, but the Brilliant card offers plenty of value in return. For starters, there’s a welcome bonus of 185,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months from account opening (90,000 points higher than usual). Plus, enjoy up to $25 per month in dining statement credits ($300 total), Platinum Elite status, a $100 Marriott property credit good at the Ritz or St. Regis, Priority Pass Select and 25 Elite Night Credits to accelerate your climb to Titanium Elite (75 nights). 

You’ll also get a free anniversary night, as the Boundless card, but with the Brilliant it’s worth up to 85,000 points (for context, the Atlanta Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis start around 66,000 points and 84,000 points, respectively). The cherry on top is that the Brilliant includes the best travel insurance of the Marriott cards, with car rental loss and damage insurance, baggage insurance, trip delay coverage and trip /cancellation/interruption insurance. 

Cardholders can also get reimbursed up to $100 after putting the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck on this card.

For a $650 card the rewards are a little humdrum, with just 6X points on Marriott purchases (21X total with Bonvoy membership + Platinum Elite status), 3X on dining/flights and 2X points on all other eligible purchases. But if you’re the type who values airport lounge access on your way to the local Ritz, the Brilliant may be a great fit for your travel wallet. 

Check out our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card. 

Best for general travel use: Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

Why we like this card: As much as we like the current lineup of Marriott Bonvoy cards, the main drawback to using hotel rewards cards in general is that your scope of redemption options is pretty limited. For the most part you’ll be generating hotel points toward hotel stays, and most don’t have a cash-back redemption option. 

So if you’d like a card that rewards you for booking Marriott stays but with far more flexible points, you’re probably looking for the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card. The card generates 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel purchases not booked through Chase and 1x points on other purchases. 

You can also earn a substantial welcome bonus of 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Points have a base value of 1 cent each when redeemed for cash back, and when used to book travel in the Chase portal, are worth 25% more. That means 60,000 points are worth a whopping $750 in travel booked via Chase Ultimate Rewards.

An important caveat is that booking Marriott stays through the Chase travel portal disqualifies you from earning hotel points or status. If you book directly with Marriott (and you’re a Marriott Bonvoy member) you’ll earn 10X with Marriott and 2X with Chase, which isn’t a bad return and may be the better option if earning points and elite status with the hotel is important to you.

Sapphire Preferred cardholders can also transfer their Chase points at a 1:1 rate to more than a dozen airline and hotel partners, including Marriott Bonvoy.

All things considered, while the CSP (as it’s popularly known) may not generate the combined 17X that the Boundless card does, the points you earn are far more flexible in case you need them for a flight, rental car or *gasp* a Hyatt or IHG stay.

Check out our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. 

Honorable mention: Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card and Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card

Why we (sort of) like these cards: To preface, the Bountiful and the Bevy are virtually identical. The chief difference is that the Bountiful is offered by Chase and the Bevy is an Amex. Otherwise, they’re twins. 

But unlike Venus and Serena Williams, there’s no healthy sibling rivalry here driving both parties to a higher standard. There’s a free anniversary night worth up to 50,000 points, but you won’t earn it until you spend $15,000 in a calendar year. The cards also offer complimentary Gold Elite status.

In terms of rewards, these sibling cards generate 6X on hotels (up to 18.5X total when you factor in Marriott Bonvoy membership and Gold Elite status), 4X on dining and groceries on up to $15,000 spent, and 2X on everything else.

The Bountiful comes with a ho-hum welcome bonus of 85,000 points, earned after spending $4,000 in the first three months. The Bevy does exceed its twin here, offering a welcome bonus of 155,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the first six months.

So far, you might think these cards are viable alternatives to the Boundless. There’s no free anniversary night, sure, but they come with better higher status (Gold vs. Silver). To some, that alone might be worth it. 

But the trouble is that the Boundless charges a $95 annual fee and the Bevy/Bountiful charge $250. And to be honest, we’re not sure why you’d pay $155 more for fewer benefits.

Still, the Bevy and the Bountiful earn an honorable mention due to one, quirky standout feature: you’ll earn 1,000 bonus points with each qualifying stay, regardless of length. That means if you do overnights at Marriott properties once a week, you’ll earn an extra 52,000 points per year, potentially worth nearly $470 — more than enough to cover the $250 annual fee.

Check out our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy review. 

Frequently asked questions

What credit card is associated with Marriott? 

At the time of this writing there are six Marriott Bonvoy-branded credit cards. The Marriott Bonvoy Bold, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful are from Chase and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant and Marriott Bonvoy Business are from American Express. That said, in terms of practical differences there are essentially five Marriott cards — the Bountiful and the Bevy are twins from different issuers. 

How much is 50,000 Bonvoy points worth? 

50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points is worth roughly $450 toward future Marriott purchases, assuming an average redemption rate of 0.9 cents per point. 

Is it hard to get a Marriott Bonvoy card? 

Chase and American Express don’t publish the exact required credit scores to qualify for their rewards cards, but in general, hotel rewards cards require a FICO Score of 700 or higher for strong chances of approval. 

Which Marriott cards give lounge access? 

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card includes Priority Pass Select (enrollment required), which grants unlimited access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide for you and up to two guests. It also includes Platinum Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy, which includes hotel lounge access and complimentary breakfast at participating brands.

Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying.

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefits guide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.