I’m not going to beat around the bush here.
No.
For almost anybody.
I just entered all of the details for the Marriott Bonvoy Bold credit card at Your Best Credit Cards and spent some trying trying to determine the card benefits that might distinguish it.
In this article
Here’s what I wound up with:
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold credit card is Chase’s “no fee” entrant into the lineup of Marriott Bonvoy credit cards. It is similar to the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card with one key difference:
The Bonvoy Bold has no annual fee but also does not come with any sort of annual certificate.
The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card, meanwhile, carries a $95 annual fee, but also comes with an annual free night certificate good for any Bonvoy hotel up to 35,000 points. If you stay in Bonvoy hotels enough to want a branded credit card, you will probably do better to pay the $95 annual fee and get the free night. It’s simple to get $200++ in value for that certificate.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card also has better earnings on stays at Marriott hotels (6x points vs 3x for this card and earns 2x on general spending, vs 1x on this card.
For that reason I would generally suggest the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card over this version of the card, despite the fee.
How does the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card earn?
- You’ll get 3x Marriott Bonvoy points for every $1 spend at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels and resorts
- 2x Bonvoy points per dollar spent on travel
- 1x Bonvoy points on all other purchases
What are the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card benefits?
- 15 Elite Night Credits every calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees
- No annual fee
While the 15 elite night credits will get you Silver status, that won’t mean much if you aren’t staying at Bonvoy hotels. And if you are, as stated above, you should consider the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card instead.
You may also want to consider the premium Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card ($450 annual fee) or the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card ($125 annual fee).
Don’t Forget the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Bonus Restrictions
As always, you will only be approved for a Chase card if you have applied for fewer than 5 personal credit cards within the last 24 months from any issuer. (Business cards do not count against the total, except for Capital One and Discover, but are subject to the policy). Learn more about the 5/24 rule here.
Additionally, you may not be eligible for this card if you already hold certain Marriott Bonvoy credit cards from American Express. Read the issuer’s terms carefully should you choose to apply.
In Short
I really can’t recommend that anyone apply for this card. The bonus at 50,000 is lower than the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless at 75,000 (and it was 100,000) and since you can only hold one of the Bonvoy family credit cards, I can’t see why you’d choose this one.
For a very casual Marriott person that stays even just a few nights a year, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless provides better value. The earning on this card isn’t better in any way than a simple cash back credit card earning 2%.
The only use-case I see is if you already have the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card and aren’t finding yourself using the annual free night certificate or, really, the card at all and want to product change to a fee-free version while you contemplate things. That would be better than closing the card outright in that case.
Agree? Disagree?
Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
