After an almost two-year hiatus, Chase is back with a repeat of its 5-free-night mega-bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. This is one of the most lucrative hotel-card offers we’ve ever seen.
New applicants will receive five — count ’em FIVE — Marriott Free Night Awards for nights worth up to 50,000 points each after spending $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That means this offer is worth up to a quarter-million Bonvoy points if you redeem them for maximum value!
Most importantly, Marriott recently introduced a new option to combine each free night certificate with up to 15,000 points from your account. That is a huge deal because it makes it far easier to redeem these 50K certificates at top-tier hotels! Read on to get the full scoop on this extraordinary offer.
The Good and the Bad of This Marriott Card Offer
There’s no debating that this is a stellar offer, matching the best sign-up bonus ever offered for this card. In fact, it’s arguably one of the best sign-up bonuses we’ve ever seen for ANY hotel credit card. Five 50K Free Night Awards are worth as much as 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. However, the sign-up bonus is only this valuable if you plan to use the points for Marriott hotel bookings.
The downside of a Free-Night bonus (instead of points) is that it limits your flexibility:
- Five nights max — No matter what, the maximum number of free nights you get is five. This differs from points-based sign-up bonuses, which enabled applicants to stretch out their points for many free nights at low-category properties.
- Free hotel stays only — Some points and miles collectors value Bonvoy points for transferring to airline miles. Marriott partners with 40+ airlines. However, this bonus won’t let you earn points that you could transfer to airlines.
Combine a Free Night Award + Points
Marriott’s free night certificates are now easier than ever to use, thanks to this game-changing new redemption option.
The last time that the Marriott Boundless card offered 5 free nights as a sign-up bonus, those nights were worth a maximum of 50,000 points. Any night that cost more was simply out of reach.
But now, you can “top off” your Free Night Awards with up to 15,000 points from your account. That means each of these 50,000-point certificates can be used for nights that cost up to 65,000 Bonvoy points! Here’s a sample booking showing how to apply points to top off a free night certificate.
If you have some Marriott points, you’ll be able to use your bonus free-night certificates at nicer properties. And for those of us who shudder at the thought of leaving value on the table, the ability to “top off” certificates makes it much easier to use the full value of each certificate.
Need more Marriott Bonvoy points for this top off? Remember that Marriott Bonvoy is a 1:1 transfer partner of:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- United MileagePlus (for Premier Elite members only)
How to Maximize 5 Free Nights
Marriott has made some changes to its award pricing, so here’s a quick overview. Each hotel category used to have a fixed price for “off-peak”, “standard”, and “peak” redemptions.
| Category | OFF-PEAK | STANDARD | PEAK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5,000 | 7,500 | 10,000 |
| 2 | 10,000 | 12,500 | 15,000 |
| 3 | 15,000 | 17,500 | 20,000 |
| 4 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 |
| 5 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 40,000 |
| 6 | 40,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 |
| 7 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 70,000 |
| 8 | 70,000 | 85,000 | 100,000 |
For the remainder of 2022, Marriott says that 97% of its hotels will remain between their former off-peak and peak rates. That makes category 6 and 7 Marriott properties an ideal target to maximize this bonus if you use your certificates in 2022.
Starting in 2023, number of points required for a stay will vary with demand. But we still expect there will be plenty of award nights that will price between 50,000 and 65,000 points, allowing you redeem your certificates for maximum value. For more info on Marriott’s new flexible redemption rates, check out our post covering the changes.
Top-Value Properties Under 50,000 Points
If you don’t want to shell out additional points to top off your free-night certificates, there are plenty of great hotels in categories 5 or 6. Most dates should be priced at or below the 50,000-point cap, so you won’t have too much trouble finding availability.
One of our favorite Marriott properties that falls into this bucket is the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa in Vietnam. This stunning beachside property was originally a 19th-century French university. Now, it’s found new life as a sprawling resort offering picturesque views and fantastic Vietnamese cuisine.
A quick award search in October 2022 shows you could redeem a 50K free night award literally any day of the week.
If you’re looking for a hotel stateside, another great option is The St. Anthony in San Antonio. It falls under the Marriott ‘Luxury Collection’ banner, with beautifully appointed interiors, a central location, and ample access to vibrant nightlife and activities.
Again, you can’t go wrong for availability here:
Aspirational Properties—Now Easier to Book By Topping Off
Without a doubt, the best value for 50K free night awards is at properties that used to fall into the category seven classification. These aspirational hotels are often destinations in and of themselves—a fact that’s typically reflected in their steep price tag.
The problem—as you may have guessed—is availability. When demand is low, or you’re making a booking close to your check-in date, you may be able to find nights priced at 50,000 points. This requires a bit more digging, but it’s worth the effort.
And of course, if the cost isn’t more than 65,000 points, you can now “top off” your certificate with points.
There are a bunch of wonderful hotel properties that fall into this category. Some of my favorites include:
- The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort
- The St. Regis Mexico City
- Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel
- The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki
To find award availably, your best bet is to use Marriott’s ‘Flexible Dates’ search function. When selecting your desired dates to search, click ‘Flexible Dates’. Now, you can search whole months at a time to find when the award price suits your free night awards.
Once you know how to look, you might be surprised at the availability you’ll find!
Other Ongoing Card Benefits
Beyond the incredible sign-up bonus, the Marriott Boundless also offers a slew of other benefits that make it worth keeping long-term:
- Earn 6x Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 spent at participating in Marriott hotels
- Earn 2x Marriott Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive one free night award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after your account anniversary
- Automatic Silver Elite status each account anniversary year. Earn Gold Elite status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year
- 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees
To read more about the Marriott Boundless—including why we think it’s worth keeping—check out our comprehensive card review.
Application Restrictions
The application restrictions for the Marriott Boundless are a complicated maze of rules and restrictions which may confuse even the most seasoned points and miles fans. This includes Marriott-specific application rules that layer on top of Chase’s already restrictive 5/24 policy.
The Marriott Boundless is subject to 5/24. So, if you have opened 5 or more new personal credit card accounts in the previous 24 months, you likely won’t be approved for this card. You can get familiar with Chase’s application policy in our comprehensive 5/24 guide.
On top of the Chase-specific rules, Marriott co-brand cards are subject to a complicated set of restrictions which change depending on the cards you already hold, have opened in the recent past, or received a welcome offer on in the previous 24 months. For a full breakdown of the application rules, check out our dedicated post covering Marriott’s application restrictions.
Our Take
The increased bonus of 5 Free Nights on the Marriott Boundless is an unbelievable deal. Full stop.
Some travelers may prefer a point-based sign-up bonus. But, it’s easy to get excited about five free nights—especially when they are worth up to 50K points each and you can top off the free night certs with points from your account. It’s almost like getting a full luxury vacation from one sign-up bonus! Plus, I love building entire trips out of aspirational hotel bookings, and that’s precisely what I’ll do when I get this card.
As card-issuing banks and loyalty programs continue to battle for our business, let’s hope that this raised offer is a sign of things to come.
