Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
Update 5/3/24: Welcome bonuses are now down to their business-as-usual offer.
Current Marriott credit card welcome bonuses
Marriott issues cobranded credit cards with both Amex and Chase. Here are the details on the best welcome bonuses on Marriott credit cards.
| Marriott Credit Card | Welcome Bonus | Full Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|---|
 Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card Annual fee: $0 | 30,000 bonus points | Earn 30,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening. Jump directly to this welcome bonus. |
 Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card Annual fee: $95 | 5 Free Night Awards up to a 250,000 total point value | Earn 5 Free Night Awards, up to a 250,000 total point value (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening. Certain hotels have resort fees. Apply by 3/27. Jump directly to this welcome bonus. |
 Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card Annual fee: $250 | 85,000 bonus points | Earn 85,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening. Jump directly to this welcome bonus. |
 Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card Annual fee: $250 See Rates and Fees | bonus_miles | bonus_miles_full Jump directly to this welcome bonus. |
 Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card Annual fee: $650 See Rates and Fees | bonus_miles | bonus_miles_full Jump directly to this welcome bonus. |
 Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card Annual fee: $125 See Rates and Fees | bonus_miles | bonus_miles_full Jump directly to this welcome bonus. |
My take on the best Marriott welcome bonuses
Here are the questions you should ask when deciding which card bonus is right for you:
Do you have a plan to use five free night certificates? If yes, then going for one of the welcome bonuses with free night certificates is probably the right call. The welcome bonus free night certificates expire within a year, but can be used for nights up to 50,000 points each. (They can even be augmented with 15,000 additional points if you want to use them for a slightly more expensive room.)
Which Marriott cards do you have or have you had in the past? Depending on which Marriott cards you have or have had in the past, you may or may nor be eligible for a welcome bonus on a new Marriott card. We have a guide to the Marriott welcome bonus rules available to help you decipher the complex rules around getting a new cardmember bonus on a Marriott card.
Chase 5/24 and Amex five card limit. If you have recently opened a lot of new credit cards, Chase’s 5/24 rule may prevent you from getting a new Chase card. Likewise, if you have 5 credit cards (business or personal) open with Amex, Amex isn’t likely to approve you for an additional credit card, since it usually limits the number of credit cards you can have open to 5.
What benefits are important to you? Some cards come with free nights. Others offer perks like airport lounge access. We are currently updating our guide to the Marriott credit cards, which you can use as a reference to decide which card is right for you.
More about the increased point welcome bonuses
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card both offer massive welcome bonuses to new cardmembers. These are the biggest welcome bonuses we’ve ever seen on these cards and represent a massive opportunity if you’re into collecting Marriott points.
The biggest advantage to the points bonuses is that Marriott points can be kept alive in perpetuity. As long as you have account activity at least once every 24 months, you won’t lose your points.
More about the five free night certificate welcome bonus
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card and Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offer by far the best welcome bonuses if you have a plan to stay with Marriott hotels. With either card, you’ll get 5 free night certificates, usable for one-night stays at Marriott properties costing up to 50,000 points, after qualifying spending.
You can get incredible value from these certificates. As an example, here’s what I found searching for a five-night stay at a random hotel in May in Amsterdam.
If you used all of your certificates at this hotel, you’d get a stay that would otherwise cost you €1,635, or about $1,750. This is far from the best possible use of these certificates, but you should be able to get similar value from these certificates without much effort.
Before applying for either card, be sure you have a plan to use the nights. Five free night certificates aren’t the same as 250,000 points… if you don’t use the free night certificates, they will expire within a year. The best thing to do is to head to Marriott.com and search for the hotels you want to stay at before applying and have a plan to use your certificates. If you don’t have a plan to use your certificates, one of the other welcome bonuses is likely better for you.
I picked up my Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card the last time this promotion came around. If you’re applying for this card, be sure to check out our article on Chase and Marriott’s rules about earning the welcome bonus. Depending on which cards you expect to apply for in the future, it may make sense to go for the business card’s welcome bonus, despite its higher spending requirement.
Which card am I getting?
Unfortunately, the Marriott welcome bonus rules exclude me from getting any card but the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card because of a welcome bonus I earned a year and a half ago. 🙁
More details about the Marriott credit card welcome bonuses
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card welcome bonus
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card welcome bonus:
Earn 30,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening.
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: This welcome bonus isn’t terribly exciting when stacked up against the other bonus unless you consider that this is a card with no annual fee.
The link above is a referral link. Someone on our team may earn points if you apply and are approved to the link above. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 3x Marriott. 2x other travel purchases trough 7/10/24. 1x other purchases.
Benefits: 15 elite night credits through 7/10/24. Trip delay reimbursement.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card welcome bonus
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card welcome bonus:
Earn 5 Free Night Awards, up to a 250,000 total point value (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening. Certain hotels have resort fees. Apply by 3/27.
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: This welcome bonus can be one of the most valuable credit card welcome bonuses available—if you have a plan to use the certificates. Have a plan to use the free night certificates before you apply. Unlike points, the certificates expire within a year.
The link above is a referral link. Someone on our team may earn points if you apply and are approved to the link above. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $95
Rewards: 6x Marriott. 3x on $6,000 of combined purchases on gas, grocery stores, and dining each year. 2x other purchases.
Benefits: Instant silver status. 15 elite night credits. Annual free night award.
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card welcome bonus
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card welcome bonus:
Earn 85,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening.
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: This bonus is a healthy amount of Marriott points for the spending required, but the other cards’ current welcome bonuses are more compelling if you can use the free night certificates.
The link above is a referral link. Someone on our team may earn points if you apply and are approved to the link above. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $250
Rewards: 6x Marriott. 4x on combined $15,000 in annual purchases at grocery stores and dining. 2x other purchases.
Benefits: Automatic Gold status. 15 elite nights per year. Earn a free night after $15k spend annually.
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: This card has been known to offer higher limited-time welcome bonuses in the past and the current welcome bonus on the similar Chase card requires less spending. Probably best to either wait or go for the Chase bonus.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $250
Rewards: 6x Marriott. 4x on $15,000 of combined purchases each year on U.S. supermarkets and restaurants worldwide, 2x thereafter. 2x other purchases.
Benefits: Gold Elite status. Earn a free night award with $15,000 spending. 15 free night credits. Terms apply.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: Although this card offers a handsome amount of points, you don’t get this card for its welcome bonus. The card has also offered much more generous welcome bonuses in the past. Maybe wait for a better bonus?
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $650
Rewards: 6x Marriott. 3x restaurants worldwide and flights booked directly with airlines. 2x other purchases.
Benefits: Platinum Elite status. Annual 85k Free Night award. 25 Elite Night credits. Terms apply.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: The personal card from Chase offers more free night certificates, but you might want to pick up this one first to preserve your ability to get a welcome bonus with a Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $125
Rewards: 6x Marriott. 4x restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, U.S. wireless services, U.S. shipping. 2x other purchases.
Benefits: Annual free night award. Marriott Gold Elite status. 15 elite night credits.
Amex rates and fees disclosures
- For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, see this link: See Rates and Fees
- For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, see this link: See Rates and Fees
- For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, see this link: See Rates and Fees
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
