Our Verdict
The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card* offers complimentary Gold Elite status, a generous welcome offer and many ways to accelerate earning Marriott Bonvoy points, making it a suitable choice for current and would-be Marriott-loyal travelers. The $250 annual fee may turn off those who can’t fully maximize the benefits though. You should also be aware that this card has a sibling, the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card (Terms apply, see rates & fees), which mainly differs in that it comes with American Express perks and not the Visa Signature perks of the Bountiful.
Pros
- Strong rewards rate on Marriott stays, dining and supermarket spending
- Generous welcome offer
- Complimentary Gold Elite Status
Cons
- One free night only after $15,000 in purchases per year
- High annual fee
- No intro APR
Highlights
- Earn 6 points per dollar spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- Earn up to 2.5X points for every dollar from Marriott with Gold Elite status
- Earn 4X points per $1 on the first $15,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores and dining
- Earn 2X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Enjoy a Free Night Award every calendar year, after spending $15,000, valid for a one-night hotel stay at a property with a redemption level up to 50,000 points. Certain hotels have resort fees.
Introduction
If you are looking for a card to quickly build up a stash of Marriott Bonvoy points, then the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card* is worth a look. Marriott offers this and a sibling card, the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, for those seeking an alternative to Marriott’s other co-branded card options.
Using a co-branded card is a way to supercharge the rate at which you earn points and the Bountiful card offers high earn rates on dining and restaurants. Big spenders in one or both of those areas can score a free night award, valued at up to 50,000 Bonvoy points after spending $15,000 on the card in a year. That night is eligible for Marriott’s Free Night Award Top-Off program, where you can combine the certificate plus points for a higher value redemption. But, it’s striking that Marriott chose not to just include a free night award in exchange for the stiff $250 annual fee, especially when you consider that it offers the $95-annual fee Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card*, which comes with a free night award valued at up to 35,000 points.
If you’re mostly tempted by that generous first-year welcome bonus, be aware of some eligibility restrictions with the Bountiful card. If you have had an Amex-issued Marriott Bonvoy card in the last 30 days, then you are not eligible for the Bountiful card’s bonus. In addition, if you have received a bonus for the Amex Marriott Bonvoy card in the last 24 months or were approved in the last 90 days, then you are not eligible for the bonus. That may decrease the card’s appeal to those chasing an introductory pile of points.
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Quick Facts
- Annual fee of $250
- Earn 6 points per dollar on eligible Marriott purchases, 4 points per dollar on the first $15,000 spent in combined yearly grocery and dining purchases, and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases
- Welcome bonus: 85,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first three months from your account opening
- 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points with each qualifying stay
- Complimentary Gold Elite status
- Free Night Award (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points) after making $15,000 in purchases per year
- 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year toward higher Elite status
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card Rewards
Earning Rewards
The card earns 6 points per dollar on eligible Marriott purchases, 4 points per dollar on the first $15,000 spent in combined yearly grocery and dining purchases, and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases.
Another way to earn points is through staying at participating Marriott hotels and resorts. Receive an additional 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points with each qualifying stay by using the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card*.
New cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of 85,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first three months from your account opening.
Redeeming Rewards
The easiest way to use Marriott Bonvoy points is by redeeming them for free nights at Marriott hotels. We estimate Marriott Bonvoy points to be worth roughly 0.74 cents each. Points can be applied toward eight categories of hotels that utilize Flexible Point Redemptions, also known as dynamic pricing. You can find nights ranging from 5,500 points at entry level hotels to more than 100,000 points for a night at luxury hotel brands.
A free night on award bookings is given to Bonvoy members with award bookings of at least five consecutive nights. This is a huge benefit when trying to get the most from your points. Another flexible option for members is to apply a combination of cash and points.
You can also transfer Marriott points to airlines at a typical transfer ratio of 3 to 1. However, you can get a 5,000-mile bonus when you transfer 60,000 points and if you’re a United MileagePlus member, you’ll get 10,000 bonus miles. With this in mind, you can take 60,000 Marriott points and turn it into 25,000 airline points or 30,000 United miles. This can be handy if you need a few extra miles to redeem a desired award ticket. Also, Marriott is partnered with less-available transfer partner airlines like JAL and Alaska Airlines.
In addition to earning points toward free stays, members can also redeem points for exclusive, unrivaled experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments™. The variety of moments can be explored based on your particular interests or something specific. These range from sports and entertainment to arts and culinary experiences.
Rewards Potential
To calculate reward earning potential, we use data from various government agencies. Forbes Advisor has developed estimates for a household in the 70th percentile of income spent annually in several categories. An average household in the 70th percentile earns $118,438 and has $39,337 per year in spending that can reasonably be put on credit cards.
Other Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card Benefits
- Complimentary Gold Elite status. Get 25% bonus points and late checkout subject to availability on Marriott stays, and room upgrades when available.
- 1,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points. 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points with each qualifying stay at Marriott properties.
- A free night award. Redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after making $15,000 in purchases per year.
- Elite night credits. Cardholders get 15 Elite Night Credits to help you toward higher elite status each calendar year.
- Purchase protection: Get coverage for new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per year.
- Extended warranty: Extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
- No foreign transaction fees: You won’t pay extra fees for purchases you make outside the U.S.
- Travel insurance benefits: As a Visa Signature card, you also get travel protections including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary rental car coverage, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay coverage, emergency evacuation and travel accident insurance.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 21.49% – 28.49% variable APR
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual fee: $250
- Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
- Foreign purchase transaction fee: $0
How the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card Stacks Up
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card* vs. Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express*
The Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express* carries an even heftier annual fee of $550 in comparison to the Bountiful card’s $250. However, when comparing benefits, the Hilton Honors wins. The Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express* offers its highest elite tier of Diamond to cardholders, which comes with money-saving perks like executive lounge access, a dining credit and higher earn rates. Plus the card offers up to $200 in annual incidental airline fee statement credits, up to $400 in annual Hilton resort credits and one free reward night each year upon card renewal. Enrollment is required for select benefits.
However, it’s worth noting that the variety and number of properties Marriott has is significantly higher than Hilton’s footprint.
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card* vs. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card*
For Marriott benefits with a lower annual fee, consider the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card*. For a $95 annual fee you earn 6 points per dollar at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3 points per dollar spent each year (up to $6,000) on combined grocery stores, gas stations and dining purchases and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases and the Silver Elite status that comes with the 15 annual night credits. Notably, the card offers an annual award night for hotels up to 35,000 points per night with no spending threshold.
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card* vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
If you’re seeking a premium travel card laden with perks and benefits that’s more general purpose, consider the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. It carries a $395 annual fee (rates & fees) but in exchange it earns rich rewards of 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25 and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel. The card is laden with perks including a $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, lounge access to Priority Pass Select, Capital One Lounges and Plaza Premium and a 10,000 anniversary points gift worth $100 every year after your card anniversary. Additionally, the miles earned on this card are extremely flexible and can be transferred to more than a dozen airline and hotel partners, although this partnership does not include Marriott. However, you can book a Marriott stay and use your miles to take a statement credit for the purchase.
Is the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card for You?
Overall, the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful is a nice entrant into becoming a Marriott loyalist. But infrequent Marriott travelers may be better off with a card that earns transferable points.
A key decision to whether this card will benefit you is your spending habits. Earning bonuses on restaurants is a common reward on cards, however earning rewards on supermarket spending is less common. Beyond that, do not disregard the power of earning an additional 1,000 points per eligible stay. That can stack up quite nicely with the additional earning from Gold status and the typical points earned on a stay.
Find the Best Hotel Rewards Credit Cards of 2024
Methodology
Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors including:
- Annual fees
- Welcome bonus offers
- Ongoing earning rates
- Value of individual points of miles
- Included travel or merchant credits
- Additional cardholder benefits
Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.
Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards
To view rates and fees for the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card please visit this page.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor: Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
