New Marriott Bonvoy Bold Review

We’ve known for some time that a new Marriott credit card with no annual fee would be coming out and now that day has finally arrived. Chase has just announced the release of the no-annual fee Marriott Bonvoy Bold. Keep reading below to see if this card is worth it or if you should just pass up on it.

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold

Here are the highlights of the card:

• 50,000 Bonus points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening
• 3X points for every $1 spent at Marriott Bonvoy hotels
• 2X points for every $1 you spend on other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains)
• 1X point for every $1 you spend on all other purchases
• Marriott Silver status
• No foreign transaction fee
• No annual fee

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Sign-up bonus

• 50,000 Bonus points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening

For a no-annual fee card, 50,000 points isn’t that bad, especially considering the Boundless offers a 75K bonus (sometimes higher) and comes with a $95 annual fee. While 50K isn’t that bad, I’d still try to get the Boundless at 75K or wait for it to go back up to a higher amount like 100K.

Also, it goes without saying at this point but if you’re under 5/24 (you have not opened five accounts in the past 24 months), I would first seek out better options. I’d highly recommend going for a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards instead, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You’ll earn more points and be able to use those points in more valuable ways since you can transfer them to different transfer partners.

Bonus categories

3X at Marriott Bonvoy hotels

3X is 50% the earning rate as the Boundless card, so if you’re a heavy spender at Marriott properties you definitely want to consider the Boundless which will earn you 6X on all purchases.

2X on travel

The Marriott Bold will earn you 2X points for every $1 you spend on other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains). Meanwhile, the Boundless will earn you 2X on all purchases. It’s also worth noting that you could earn 2X on all travel purchases with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which once again will also allow you to transfer those points out to various travel partners.

Elite night credits

Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, qualifying you for Silver Elite status. Marriott silver status is pretty much worthless to me for real benefits like free breakfast but at least if gives you some perks like free wifi and late check out. You also get a nice little 10% bonus on your points earned.

Travel and purchase protections

With the Marriott Bold, you’ll get the following perks:

• Baggage Delay Protection — covered for delays over 6 hours up to $100 a day for 5 days
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement — covered up to $3,000 per passenger
• Trip Delay Reimbursement — covered if your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket.
• Purchase Protection — Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim, up to $50,000 per account

It’s notable that the baggage delay protection, trip delay coverage, and purchase protection are the same as those offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred, so that’s not bad for a no annual fee card. Of course, you can also get other perks like primary rental car coverage with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve.

No foreign transaction fees

This is becoming more of a trend, but it’s still not super common to see a no-annual fee card offer no foreign transaction fees so it’s a notable perk for this card.

No free nights

The big thing missing from the Marriott Bold is that it does not come with the the ability to earn free nights like the Boundless does. With the Boundless you’ll get an annual free night that you can use at a property with a redemption value up to 35,000 points. Read our article on Marriott category 5 properties to see some of the best properties to use your free night certificate at. 

That free night certificate can justify holding on to the Boundless by itself. With the Bold, there’s no annual fee so the good thing is there’s no need to calculate why you should or should not keep it based on special perks.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Eligibility issues

If you’re confused or annoyed by the eligibility requirements for the new Marriott cards you are not alone. There are eligibility requirements for getting approved for the card and then also separate requirements for getting the sign-up bonus as well.

Below are the terms you need to know.

Here are the rules for being eligible to get approved for the card:

The product is not available to current cardmembers of the:

• Marriott BonvoyTM Premier credit card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier),
• Marriott Bonvoy BoundlessTM credit card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus),
• Marriott Bonvoy BoldTM credit card

The product is not available to previous cardmembers of the following cards who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 24 months.

• Marriott BonvoyTM Premier credit card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier),
• Marriott Bonvoy BoundlessTM credit card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus),
• Marriott Bonvoy BoldTM credit card,

Here are the rules for being eligible to get the bonus for the card:

Eligibility for the new cardmember bonus:

The bonus is not available to you if you:

• are a current cardmember, or were a previous cardmember within the last 30 days, of Marriott Bonvoy^TM American Express^® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest^® Credit Card from American Express);
• are a current or previous cardmember of either Marriott Bonvoy Business^TM American Express^® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest^® Business Credit Card from American Express) or Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^TM 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
• applied and were approved for Marriott Bonvoy Business^TM American Express^® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest^® Business Credit Card from American Express) or Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^TM American Express^® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest^® American Express Luxury Card) within the last 90 days.

Product changing

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

This is where the real value of this card is in my opinion. If you don’t think you’re getting at least $95 in value from the free night of the Boundless (which is pretty easy to get), then you can downgrade or product change to the Bold. You should always be able to upgrade again if you were ever to change your mind, too.

Final word

I don’t think the Marriott Bold is an especially attractive credit card worth immediately jumping on. This is much more attractive as a product change option in the future in my opinion, after you’ve been able to accurately ascertain the value you might get from the free night of the Boundless card. However, if you’re in the market for a no annual fee card, you can earn a nice little bonus in the process and also get some solid perks like no foreign transaction fees and good travel protections.