Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card Benefits & Review for 2024

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card is the entry-level rewards card for the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program. This card doesn’t have an annual fee and offers simple travel benefits. If you’re looking for an easy way to boost your Marriott Bonvoy loyalty, this card can be a good option and our Marriott Bonvoy Bold benefits guide can help you decide.

Who is the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card For?

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold can be an excellent option for travelers that might stay at Marriott properties a few times each year. Each card purchase earns hotel points and cardholders get accelerated loyalty status.

This hotel rewards card doesn’t have an annual fee, making this card an easy way to prevent your Marriott Bonvoy points from expiring. 

However, the other co-brand Marriott credit cards can be a better fit if you want free night awards and earning more bonus points on purchases.

Featured Marriott Bonvoy Bold Benefits

Here are some of the most valuable card benefits.

No Annual Fee

Not having an annual fee can make this a good starter credit card if you want to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

A $0 annual fee also makes this an excellent secondary card for travelers that want to keep their Marriott Bonvoy account in good standing and not lose their points balance.

30,000 Bonvoy Points Signup Bonus

The current Bonvoy Bold signup bonus is 30,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. 

Rewards nights can cost as little as 5,000 points making this bonus offer worth up to six free nights. Realistically, this bonus is worth one or two nights for most properties.

This bonus offer doesn’t include an introductory APR for purchases or balance transfers.

This offer isn’t available if you currently have another Marriott Bonvoy consumer card or received a Marriott Bonvoy signup bonus in the most recent 24 months. The small business Marriott co-brand credit cards are exempt from this qualification restriction.

Earn 3x Bonvoy Points on Marriott Purchases

Like other hotel credit cards, hotel loyalty program purchases earn the most bonus points. Marriott purchases earn 3x Bonvoy points.

As you have automatic Marriott Bonovy Silver Elite loyalty status as a cardholder, Marriott purchases earn a total of 14x points. The other 11 points per $1 come from being a Marriott Bonvoy member (10x points) and having Silver Elite status (1x points).

Earn 2x Bonvoy Points on Travel Purchases

The only other way to earn bonus Bonvoy points is on non-Marriott travel purchases. Qualifying travel purchases include:

• Airlines
• Hotels
• Timeshares
• Car rental agencies
• Cruise lines
• Campgrounds
• Buses
• Tolls

Most travel purchases qualify and you can book them directly from the travel provider or a third-party booking site.

Being able to earn bonus points on other travel is unique as most co-brand cards only award the base rate. 

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to earn bonus points on daily purchases like restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations. As a result, this credit card only earns bonus points when you travel.

15 Elite Nights Credits

Each year, you automatically receive a credit for 15 Elite Night Credits. This perk gives you instant Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status. 

This tier is the first upgraded tier above the basic Member level and requires typically staying 10 nights per year.

Silver Elite benefits include:

• 10% bonus points on stays
• Priority late checkout (when available)
• Free in-room wifi
• Ultimate Reservation Guarantee

The Ultimate Reservation Guarantee benefit pays for your stay at a nearby hotel if the Marriott Bonvoy property overbooks and gives your room to another guest.

You will need to earn Gold Elite status to get space-available room upgrades.

Bonvoy Points Do Not Expire

Occasional Marriott Bonvoy guests may gravitate towards this card as you can keep your Bonvoy points from expiring without paying an annual fee.

Marriott Bonvoy points expire after 24 months of account inactivity. However, making a small card purchase with the Bonvoy Bold several times a year earns points, renews the entire points balance, and keeps the credit card account active.

Other Marriott Bonvoy Bold Benefits

Here are some additional perks that cardholders can benefit from.

No Foreign Transaction Fee

No international purchases incur a foreign transaction fee. Credit cards without an annual fee are more likely to charge a foreign transaction fee of up to 3%.

Travel Insurance Benefits

Cardholders receive a few complimentary travel insurance perks:

• Baggage Delay Insurance: Up to $100 per day for 5 days for baggage delays over 6 hours
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement: Up to $3,000 per passenger for check and carry-on
• Trip Delay Reimbursement: Up to $500 per ticket after 12+ hours of delay or an overnight stay
• Rental Car Coverage: Secondary collision damage waiver when you decline the car rental agencies policy

Purchase Protection

New purchases from within the past 120 days can qualify for up to $500 per claim ($50,000 per account) for accidental theft or damage.

Visa Concierge

The Visa Concierge team provides 24/7 assistance for booking reservations, event tickets, and sending gifts. This service is free but costs apply for any third-party service or product.

Redeeming Marriott Bonvoy Points

You will only be able to redeem your credit card purchase rewards within your linked Marriott Bonvoy loyalty account. Here are some of the ways you can redeem Bonvoy points for maximum value.

Marriott Hotel Nights

The Marriott Bonvoy portfolio is one of the world’s largest 7,300 hotels and resorts. Guests can find the Marriott, Sheraton, and Courtyard brands in many destinations with reasonable award night prices.

Award nights either have an off-peak, standard, or peak pricing. Standard award nights start at 7,500 points for a Category 1 property and as much as 85,000 points at a Category 8.

Off-peak nights start as low as 5,000 points.

The standard award night can cost up to 35,000 points (category 5) at most destinations. The average redemption value is approximately 0.8 cents per point.

Air and Car Bookings

Award flight and car rentals start at 10,000 points. However, the redemption value is lower. A better option can be paying for these purchases to earn the 2x bonus and redeeming your points for Marriott nights.

Airline Point Transfers

You can transfer Marriott points to many airline loyalty programs at a 3:1 ratio (3,000 Bonvoy points equals 1,000 frequent flyer miles. The minimum transfer amount is 3,000 points. 

Transferring at least 60,000 points at once lets you earn 5,000 bonus airline miles after the exchange completes.
Other travel credit cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, offer 1:1 point transfers to similar programs to get a better transfer rate.

Card Fees

Here is a quick rundown of the Marriott Bonvoy Bold fees:

• Annual Fee: $0
• Foreign Transaction Fee: 0%
• APR: 19.74% – 26.74% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
• Late Payment: Up to $40
• Return Payment: Up to $40
• Over-the-Credit-Limit Fee: $0

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Compared to Similar Cards

The alternatives are also worth a look if you find the Marriott Bonvoy Bold lacking.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless:

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless is the mid-tier offering in the co-brand Marriott Bonvoy card family.

Card benefits include:

• 1 Annual Night Award each card anniversary (35,000 points or less) 
• Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status
• 15 Elite Night Credits
• Marriott purchases earn 6x points 
• All remaining purchases earn 2x points
• No foreign transaction fee
• Affordable $95 annual fee

Consider this card if you want to earn at least 2x Bonvoy points on every purchase. In addition, the free anniversary night award is an easy way to offset the $95 annual fee.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant:

Luxury travelers should consider the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card. Despite its high $450 annual fee, this card comes with several benefits: 

• $300 Marriott Bonvoy Statement Credit per year
• $100 On-Property Marriott Bonvoy Statement Credit (on participating luxury stays)
• 1 Free Night Award every card anniversary (50,000 points or less)
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
• 15 Elite Night Credits
• Priority Pass Select airport lounge access
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
• No foreign transaction fee

These benefits can easily be worth more than the annual fee if you book several Marriott stays and use the card’s air travel benefits. The perks may also convince you to stay at Marriott properties more often than competing brands like Hyatt, IHG, and Hilton Honors.

Despite the exciting perks, this card isn’t a good fit for infrequent Marriott guests due to the high annual fee.

Capital One VentureOne:

The Capital One VentureOne is a no-annual-fee credit card that earns unlimited 1.25x miles on purchases. Capital One Travel purchases earn 5x miles as well.

You can redeem your Venture miles for travel statement credits, upcoming trips, or transferring to select airline and hotel partners. 

This card can be a better option than a hotel credit card if you want to redeem your points for any travel purchase, including flights and rental cars.

Hilton Honors Credit Card:

The Hilton Honors American Express Card is another hotel credit card without an annual fee. Hilton may offer more places to stay at your travel destinations and the quality of properties can be similar.

This card also makes it easier to earn bonus points on lifestyle purchases. If you travel infrequently, earning bonus points on daily purchases can be vital to earn enough points for an award night quickly. 

Card benefits include:

• Earn up to 7x points on purchases
• Hilton Honors Silver status
• No foreign transaction fees

This card can also prevent your Hilton Honors points from expiring.

Chase Sapphire Preferred:

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee but can be worth it if you book as you have flexible point redemption options. However, you forfeit the accelerated hotely loyalty status.

• Earn a minimum 2x Ultimate Rewards points on travel.
• Earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points on dining.
• Points are worth 25% more (1.25 cents) for award travel redemptions
• 1:1 point transfers to airlines and hotels (includes Marriott Bonvoy)
• Robust travel insurance benefits

Your points can have a higher redemption value than with a Marriott credit card if you don’t need the Marriott Bonvoy Bold to prevent your points from expiring.

Each point gets a 25% redemption bonus when booking upcoming flights, hotel nights, and car rentals on the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel booking site.

You can also transfer your points in 1,000-point increments to over 12 airline and hotel partners. Marriott Bonvoy, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines are three of the available transfer options.

The Vacationer’s Final Thoughts

The best reason to get the Marriott Bonvoy Bold can be not having an annual fee. This card is one of the easiest ways to keep your Bonvoy points from expiring if you prefer earning travel rewards with other cards. 

Consider this card as well if you’re new to earning travel rewards or don’t travel often but want to earn hotel points on your purchases.

Regular travelers and those loyal to Marriott can benefit more from a Marriott or travel rewards card that charges an annual fee but has more ongoing benefits.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.