Quote from Savings Beagle on September 27, 2021, 2:52 pm

The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is offering 125,000 points and a one free night award as its bonus, while the American Express Marriot Bonvoy Brilliant card is offering 150,000 points and a free night award - both require a $5,000 spend within the first three months from card approval.

And, the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business card is offering a 125,000 point bonus with two free night awards after a $5,000 spend within the first three months from card approval.

All of these sign-up bonuses, when factoring in the free night awards, are about as high as we've seen when it comes to Marriott credit card sign-up bonuses.

Here are the details for each card.

Chase Card

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card 

Earn 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $5.000 within the first 3 months from card approval.

Additionally, one free night award (redemption value up to a 50,000 point property) will be part of the sign-up bonus.

The $95 annual fee is not waived the first year and will be billed on the first statement after application approval.

Some of the card's benefits include:

Earn 6x Marriott points per dollar at Marriott properties

Earn 2x Marriott points per dollar spent on all other purchases

Free Night Award every year after your account anniversary (35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points level or below hotels)

Complimentary Silver Elite Status (Earn Gold Elite Status after making $35,000 in eligible purchases each account year)

You can see the additional benefits associated with this card at its link above.

This is a Chase card, meaning it is subject to Chase's 5/24 approval restrictions.  If you've been approved for 5 or more credit cards from any bank in the last 24 months, you will not be approved for this, or any, Chase credit card.

Additionally, due to both Chase and American Express offering Marriott credit cards, significant other restrictions apply for getting approved for the card, as well as being eligible for the sign-up bonus.  I'll copy and paste those restrictions from the Chase Offer Terms.

The product is not available to either:

(1) current cardmembers of the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card (also known as Marriott Rewards®Premier), Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus), Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card, or

(2) previous cardmembers of the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card (also known as Marriott Rewards®Premier), Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus), or Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card, who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 24 months.

If you are an existing Marriott Rewards Premier or Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier customer and would like this product, please call the number on the back of your card to see if you are eligible for a product change.

Eligibility for the new cardmember bonus: The bonus is not available to you if you:

(1) are a current cardmember, or were a previous cardmember within the last 30 days, of Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express);

(2) are a current or previous cardmember of either Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) or Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card), and received a new cardmember bonus or upgrade bonus in the last 24 months; or

(3) applied and were approved for Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) or Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card) within the last 90 days.

As you can see, both Chase and American Express issue Marriott credit cards, and the rules as to sign-up bonus and card eligibility can get confusing. 

If you've never held a Marriott credit card, it's not an issue.

If you have had any other Marriott credit card, read the above restrictions carefully so you don't make an application for nothing.

While 125,000 points may sound good, you have to consider Marriott's award chart and exactly what 125,000 points will get you. Here's Marriott's Award Chart for reference...or search specific Marriott properties to check award pricing for specific dates.

The card does have value, especially if you're looking for a way to add to your Marriott Bonvoy balance.

Just be aware of Marriott's award program and redemption options, as well as Chase's significant restrictions for getting this card and its sign-up bonus, before making an application.

American Express Cards

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Personal Card

Earn 150,000 Marriott points after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months from card approval.  

Additionally, a free night award (redemption value up to an 85,000 point property) will be part of the sign-up bonus.

Ongoing Earning

• 6 Marriott points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
• 3 Marriott points per dollar spent at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines
• 2 Marriott points per dollar spent on all other purchases

Additional Benefits

$300 statement credits each year of card membership for eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.

Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy™ points) at a participating hotel.

Book direct using a special rate for a 2 night minimum stay at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® and get up to $100 in credit for qualifying charges.

Annual Fee: $450

This is a high annual fee card.  However, if you take advantage of the $300 statement credit, its effective annual fee becomes a bit more reasonable.  And, if you factor in the free night award after your first anniversary, that helps, too.

If you feel this card can provide benefits to you, this sign-up bonus is pretty good.

And, it's American Express, so remember sign-up bonuses are "once per applicant lifetime" (really 7 or so years) so apply when the sign-up bonus is really good.  Which very well may be right now.  Especially considering the award night that's part of the sign-up bonus.

If you have business, the business version of the Amex Marriott card is also increased.

Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Credit Card

It's offering 125,000 Marriott points after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months from card approval.

And,  2 free night awards (redemption value up to a 50,000 point property) will be part of the sign-up bonus.

Ongoing Earning

• 6 Marriott points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
• 4 Marriott points per dollar spent at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping
• 2 Marriott points per dollar spent on all other purchases

Additional Benefits

1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Plus, you can earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Awards can be used for one night at a participating Marriott Bonvoy hotel with a redemption level of 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points or less.

Annual Fee: $125

Both of these offers are good through November 3, 2021.

If you're not familiar with the Marriott loyalty program, definitely check it out to see what award redemptions for properties you want to visit are pricing at.  While 125,000+ might sound like a lot of points, if you want free stays at high-end Marriott properties, you might be surprised at the nightly award prices.

And, it doesn't appear these offers are available via referral, so the best sign-up bonuses will likely be found on the American Express site itself (links above).