Card guide · Marriott Bonvoy points
Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold
Card guide overview
A no-fee way into Marriott Bonvoy—but the $95 Boundless is worth the upgrade for almost everyone.
Key card attributes
| Issuing bank | Reward currency | Currency type | Network | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase | Marriott Bonvoy | Hotel points | Visa | $0 |
Closest alternatives
At a glance
The card in three decisions.
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold is Chase’s no-annual-fee Marriott card. It earns 3X at Marriott hotels and 2X on groceries, rideshare, food delivery, streaming and telecom services—a decent everyday earning mix for a free card. Silver Elite status and 5 elite night credits come included, and there are no foreign transaction fees.
But the Bold lacks the single most valuable Marriott card benefit: a Free Night Award. The $95 Boundless gives you an annual free night worth far more than the fee, plus double the Marriott earning (6X vs. 3X) and triple the elite nights (15 vs. 5). The Bold’s clearest use cases are parking Marriott points with no annual fee or collecting the welcome bonus. For anything beyond that, the Boundless is the better $95 spend.
Best fit
Marriott members who want to earn points with no annual fee
Useful as a starter card, a downgrade path or a place to park Marriott points if you close a higher-fee card.
Current timing
45K for $1,000 spend is above standard
Double the standard 30K with one of the lowest spend requirements of any hotel card.
Main watchout
No free night award—the Boundless at $95 is the better keeper
The annual free night alone justifies the Boundless fee. Only choose the Bold if you truly need a $0 annual fee Marriott card.
Current & historical offer
45K is above the 30K standard, below the 60K tracked maximum.
We compare public points offers with public points offers. Referral, branch and targeted offers are outside this ladder.
Timing assessment
45K is above the 30K standard but below the 60K tracked maximum.
The current 45K offer with just $1,000 minimum spend is still a reasonable bonus for a no-fee card. The points are worth roughly $315–$360 toward Marriott stays. If you can wait, 60K has appeared before and could return.
Why someone may skip
The Boundless welcome offer is the better package.
For $95 more in the first year, the Boundless gives you 4 Free Night Awards and 6X Marriott earning. The Bold’s no-fee appeal is real, but the Boundless welcome offer more than covers the difference.
Card benefits
Silver status and 2X categories are the highlights—but no free night.
The tiers are a Points Brief editorial assessment of decision importance and rarity among no-fee hotel cards—not labels supplied by Chase or Marriott.
Tier 1 · Rare differentiators
Benefits uncommon enough among no-fee hotel cards to influence the card decision.
No annual fee with no foreign transaction fees
A rare combination: a hotel co-branded card with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. Most no-fee hotel cards still charge foreign-transaction fees abroad. This makes the Bold genuinely useful as a travel companion card.
- No annual fee—keep it open indefinitely at no cost.
- No foreign transaction fees on purchases made abroad.
- Useful as a downgrade path from higher-fee Marriott cards to preserve your points and credit history.
Know the limits: While $0 and no foreign-transaction fees is genuinely rare among hotel cards, the IHG Traveler and Hilton Honors cards also offer this combination. The Bold’s earning is better than both, but the Boundless’s free night is worth more than its $95 fee.
Tier 2 · Useful, but limited
Benefits that add value but should not drive the decision alone.
Silver Automatic Silver Elite status
Complimentary Marriott Silver Elite status with a 10% points bonus on stays, priority late checkout and free in-room internet.
Silver is the entry-level tier. The 10% bonus is modest and late checkout is priority-based, not guaranteed. This is the same status tier as the Boundless.
5 Elite Night Credits
Receive 5 Elite Night Credits each calendar year toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status.
This is 10 fewer than the Boundless and 10 fewer than the Bevy/Bountiful. Useful for incremental progress toward Gold or Platinum, but not a meaningful accelerator on its own.
Pay Over Time Travel purchases in installments
Break up qualifying travel purchases of $100–$5,000 into equal monthly payments with no interest and no plan fees.
Available on purchases made directly with airlines or at Marriott hotels. Access to Chase Pay Over Time is not guaranteed and eligibility varies.
Tier 3 · Expected card basics
Standard Visa Signature protections and Chase services.
Points don’t expire Card baseline
Points remain active as long as you make a purchase on the card every 24 months.
Trip cancellation and interruption Visa Signature
Coverage for eligible prepaid travel interrupted or cancelled for covered reasons. Guide to Benefits controls.
Purchase protection Visa Signature
Eligible purchases receive time-limited damage or theft protection. Terms apply.
Refer-a-friend bonuses Chase program
Earn bonus points for each approved referral. Terms apply.
Comparison method: No-fee and entry-level hotel co-branded cards including Amex Hilton Honors ($0), Chase IHG Traveler ($0) and Chase Marriott Boundless ($95); official public pages reviewed in July 2026.
Earning rates
3X at Marriott, 2X on select everyday categories.
Rates shown are total Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar. Merchant coding and Chase’s current terms control.
Marriott Bonvoy hotels
At participating Marriott properties booked directly. Stacks with 10X base Bonvoy points and Silver’s 10% bonus for up to 14X total.
Groceries, rideshare, food delivery, streaming & telecom
Grocery stores, rideshare services, select food delivery, select streaming, and internet, cable and phone services.
All other eligible purchases
One point per dollar on purchases not eligible for a higher rate.
Value context: Marriott points are estimated at roughly 0.7–0.8 cents each. At 2X on groceries, that is about a 1.4–1.6% return—below a 2% cash-back card. The card’s value is in the welcome bonus and as a no-fee points parking spot, not in ongoing earning.
Marriott Bonvoy program
The broadest global footprint among major hotel chains.
Marriott Bonvoy points are hotel-loyalty points rather than flexible bank points. They can be redeemed for free nights at 30+ brands across 8,500+ properties worldwide. Redemption value varies by property, date and room type under Marriott’s dynamic pricing. This card does not include a Free Night Award.
Key benefit
5thnight free on award stays
Book four consecutive award nights and the fifth night is free.
This is a Marriott Bonvoy program benefit available when you redeem points for standard awards—including cardholders. It effectively boosts your points by 20% on longer stays. Elite Night Credits from this card stack with nights earned from stays toward Platinum status at 50 nights, which unlocks free breakfast, lounge access and 4 p.m. late checkout.
Silver Elite status perks
What complimentary Silver status gets you.
- 10% points bonus on stays
- Priority late checkout
- Free in-room internet
- Dedicated reservation line
Popular Marriott brands
Where your points and Silver status work.
- Marriott
- Courtyard
- Fairfield Inn
- SpringHill Suites
- Sheraton
- Westin
- Four Points
- AC Hotels
Bold vs. Boundless at a glance
What the $95 upgrade gets you.
- Free Night Award every year
- 6X at Marriott (vs. 3X)
- 15 elite nights (vs. 5)
- Same $0 foreign transaction fees
- Higher welcome offer
Good use cases for the Bold
When this card makes sense.
- Downgrade path from other Marriott cards
- Welcome bonus only—then sock drawer
- No-fee Marriott points parking
- Building credit with a hotel card
Sources and methodology
Sources for this page
- Last checked: July 20, 2026
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