If you’ve known me longer than five minutes, you probably know that I am a Hyatt fangirl (and newly minted Globalist! But I digress). While I can appreciate the merits of both the Hilton and IHG loyalty programs, I’ve never understood the appeal of Marriott Bonvoy. Unlike Hyatt, it’s hard to get good value from Marriott redemptions. Unlike Hilton and IHG, it isn’t cheap or easy to acquire Marriott points. 

And yet. I’m here today to tell you why you should open a Marriott card.

The Offer

Chase just came out with what I believe to be their best-ever offer on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card:

The headline here is 5 Free Night Awards (FNAs), worth up to 50,000 points each; getting five free hotel nights from one $95 credit card is an excellent value. We redeemed our FNAs for five nights at the Courtyard Carolina Beach Oceanfront with a total retail price of about $3,000.

If you can find a similarly good use for these certificates, then this card is a no-brainer. The minimum spend is an approachable $3,000 in 3 months, and you’ll earn a 35K certificate every year that you choose to keep the card open. The $100 in airline credit (split up into two $50 credits) is icing on the cake.

The Catch(es)

There are a few caveats to be aware of:

• Marriott properties cost a lot of points! Scope out some of the places you might want to go and make sure you have an idea of how you would use these certificates before you commit. 
• Manage your expectations. Domestically, redemptions at this price are not likely to be at luxury properties at peak times.
• If a redemption you want costs more than 50,000 points, you can top off your 50K certificate with points, but only up to 65,000 points. You will find a number of desirable properties where rooms start at 66,000 points.
• Unlike Hyatt and Hilton, resort fees are not waived on award stays, so you may still have to pay some cash for your stay.
• These certificates expire a year after you earn them.
• If you hold or have held another Marriott card in the last 24 months, you might not be eligible for this card–check the offer terms to assess your specific situation.
• This is a Chase card, so you have to be under 5/24 to be eligible. (Probably. Who knows with Chase these days?)

I Didn’t Even Want This Bonus

To be honest, I didn’t open this card for the five free night certificates. I would have opened it for no bonus at all. (Who am I?) 

I opened this card with a long-term plan: to product change this card to the Ritz-Carlton card at the one-year mark. I made this decision when Capital One announced they would restrict guest access to lounges for Venture X cardholders. That’s because the Ritz-Carlton card is now the best option for lounge access for families.

The Ritz card is no longer available for new applicants, so product changing to it from another Chase Marriott card is the only way to get it. It’s been a cult favorite in the award travel community for some time, and there are many other reasons to love it, but for me, the Bonvoy Boundless card that we opened last summer was primarily a path to lounge access. That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised when we also got awesome value out of the welcome offer. I even–GASP–transferred some of my precious Chase points to Marriott to top off some of these certificates. (In my defense, there was a transfer bonus.)

Final Thoughts

While I don’t plan to continue engaging with the Marriott Bonvoy program, my experience with this card taught me to never say never. If you’re ready to get your five free nights, you can find this offer at my referral link. Bonvoyage! (See what I did there?)