Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card: 4 Free Night Awards + $100 Airline Reimbursement

Marriott has updated the sign-up bonus to four free night certificates + $100 airline credit. The free night certificates can be redeemed for Marriott standard rooms costing 50,000 points, and must be used within one year of issuance. The airline credit works as $50 back after $250 in spending in the first half-year, and another $50 back in the next half-year. Basically, almost any airline charge can trigger it.

• Marriott application link

This is a pretty good welcome bonus, and we’ve also added it to our credit card welcome bonus rankings. If you’re interested in other cards, take a look.

• U.S. credit card welcome bonus rankings (personal cards)

Now another bonus has appeared online: 50,000 points + $400 e-gift card, worth about $800. In theory, the value is definitely not as good as the bonus above, but it is a bit more flexible. If you don’t like free night certificates with category restrictions, you can choose this one too.

• Marriott 50,000 + $400 application link

New applicants get this $100 airline credit automatically. Existing cardholders just need to activate it once using the link below, and there is no need to activate it again in the second half of the year.

• Activation link

According to the latest data points, buying UA Travel Bank can also trigger this credit. If you’ve been stocking up on Travel Bank with your Platinum, you can keep doing that too. After all, spend $250 and get $50 back, which is basically like buying airfare at 80 cents on the dollar. In theory, anything charged by an airline should work, so AA and Southwest gift cards probably work too.

Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (formerly Premier Plus) Credit Card Overview

Highlights

• 【New】3x points on supermarkets, gas stations, and restaurants: limited to the first $6,000 in spending per year.
• 【New】Big-spend bonus: earn one Elite Night for every $5,000 spent (for elite status qualification, not a free night certificate).
• Annual free night certificate: Starting in the second year, after paying the annual fee each year, you can get one Marriott free night certificate (valid for one year). This certificate can be used at any Marriott hotel costing less than 35,000 points. Some 35,000-point hotels in the table cost $200 per night, so if you keep this card long term, it should easily pay for the annual fee.
• Marriott elite benefits: Cardholders automatically receive Silver Elite status: official overview; annual spending of $35,000 earns Gold Elite status; in 2019, 15 nights will be gifted, which helps with reaching Gold status (50 nights).
• Travel protection benefits: Baggage Delay Insurance reimburses necessary items for you or your immediate family if your baggage is delayed more than six hours, for up to five days and up to $100 per day. Lost Luggage Reimbursement will provide up to $3,000 in compensation if your baggage is lost. Trip Delay Reimbursement will reimburse up to $500 per ticket for meals and lodging after a flight delay of more than 12 hours. These types of insurance require paying for the airfare or the taxes on an award ticket with this card.
• Metal card: this card is made of metal and feels great in hand.

Cons

• This card is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule.

Points system overview

• Point value: Average value is 0.8 c/p, 100 Marriott points = $0.80 (Point value and analysis)
• Hotel redemptions: Marriott points can be redeemed for stays at Marriott hotels, Ritz-Carlton, and hotels that were previously part of SPG. Marriott now uses dynamic pricing, so the number of points required depends on the room rate. You can also redeem using cash+points. All-points bookings qualify for a stay 5, pay for 4 offer.
• Point transfers: Marriott points can be transferred to the following airline miles at a 3:1 ratio, with an additional 10% bonus when transferring to UA. In addition, every 60,000 points transferred earns an extra 5,000-mile bonus, which means a maximum transfer ratio of 3:1.25 for miles (eligible miles only). Air Canada Aeroplan (AC) miles (domestic U.S. flights, one-way economy tickets between the U.S. and China, emergency flights, and infant tickets on two-cabin itineraries); Alaska Airlines (AS) miles (domestic U.S. flights, U.S.-China flights, U.S.-China two-cabin itineraries, free one-way Stop Over); ANA miles (U.S.-China flights, round-trip economy for just 60,000, business class for 95,000); AA miles (U.S.-China CX and JL two-cabin itineraries, no fuel surcharges); BA miles (domestic U.S. flights and short nonstop flights between China and Japan, very low change/cancellation fees, emergency tickets); Delta miles (domestic U.S. flights, U.S.-China flights, can be redeemed at 1 c/p); UA miles (U.S.-China economy, domestic U.S.)
• Point characteristics: Points can be transferred between different accounts, with an annual limit of 100,000 points. When booking rooms, you can combine your family members' points with no limit. Points expire after 24 months with no activity.
• My quick take: Marriott inherited SPG's extremely strong flexibility and can be transferred to many very useful airline miles, with pretty good transfer ratios as well. Point value for hotel redemptions is not as high as Hyatt points, but it is still decent. The ability to pool points for the whole family is also a big plus.
• Detailed analysis: Marriott points guide

My take

Overall, this card still has very strong value to keep. Based on our valuation, the welcome bonus is worth more than $1,000; the everyday 2x earning is effectively 1.6% cash back; hotel spending is an even better 4.8% cash back; and the annual free night certificate can definitely justify the annual fee. If you can use Marriott points, this card can also be a primary everyday card. If not, it can still be a long-term sock-drawer card. As long as the Marriott sweet spot and the ability to transfer to airline miles do not change, this card’s points remain very flexible and valuable.

Marriott, AMEX, and Chase all offer co-branded credit cards. You can check the article below to choose the one that fits you best.

• How should you choose among the 8 Marriott co-branded credit cards?

How to apply

• If any of the following apply to you, you will be instantly rejected: (1) you currently have the old Chase Marriott card, or you received the old version’s welcome bonus within the past 24 months; (2) you already have this card, or you received this card’s welcome bonus within the past 24 months; (3) within the past 30 days, or currently, you have AMEX Marriott Bonvoy (converted from the old AMEX SPG); (4) within the past 90 days, you received: AMEX SPG, AMEX SPG Business, AMEX SPG Luxury; (5) you currently have, or received within the past 24 months, the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business (formerly SPG Business) welcome bonus or upgrade bonus; (6) you currently have, or received within the past 24 months, the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (formerly SPG Luxury) welcome bonus or upgrade bonus.
• Because this card is a Marriott co-branded credit card, if you already have a Marriott number, you can enter it when applying; if you have never registered for a Marriott account, sign up through our link and you can earn extra rewards on stays (no bonus for signing up directly on the official site): Marriott account sign-up referral link (within one year of registration, each paid stay earns an extra 2,000 points. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email and rewards number, then a welcome email 48 hours later, after which you can register for an online account).

Other things to note when applying for Chase cards

Chase Credit Card Application Guide

• Chase application status check link (login required). Or call: 888-338-2586
• The 5/24 rule: if you have opened more than 5 new cards in the past 2 years (including cards from other banks), you will not be approved for a new Chase card
• You can be approved for at most two Chase credit cards within every 30 days
• If you have received the welcome bonus on this card within the past 24 months (48 months for the Sapphire family), your application will be automatically denied
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-453-9719) to expedite card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• Having a Chase Checking account can help with getting approved for a credit card
• More on applying for Chase credit cards

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