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Compare the Features and Benefits of Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card and
The Platinum Card® from American Express

Detailed Comparison Overview

Key Facts
Annual Fee
Avg. Min. Credit Score
Ongoing APR
Balance transfers fees
Best Multiplier
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
Bonus Offer
Rating
Review
Key features
Unique Card Benefits
Grants Hotel Status
Earns Transferable Points
Trip Protections
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
Purchase Protection
Extended Warranty
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Free Annual Hotel Night
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
No Fees for Authorized Users
Free Access to Credit Score
Airport Lounge Access
Annual Statement Credits
Grants Car Rental Status
Global Entry / TSA PreCheck Reimbursement
Return Protection
Cell Phone Protection
Has No Preset Spending Limit
Concierge Services
Metal Card
Annual Fee
$95
Avg. Min. Credit Score
740-850
Ongoing APR
-
Balance transfers fees
-
Best Multiplier
6x Hotels

Earn 6X when you book Marriott Bonvoy properties direct. Earn 2X on all other hotel bookings.

3x Gas Stations
3x Dining Out / Food Delivery
3x Groceries
2x Everything Else
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
$0.006
Bonus Offer

Earn a $150 statement credit after making your first purchase in your first 12 months from account opening plus earn 100,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

Rating
YBCC Card Rate Stars Filled
YBCC Card Rate Stars Empty
(3.85) Our Review

Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.

Review

Marriott Bonvoy offers co-branded credit cards from two major issuers: American Express and Chase. With so many options to choose from, it can be hard to narrow down the right Marriott credit card for you. If you’re interested in a Marriott Bonvoy credit card but don’t necessarily want to pony up a huge annual fee, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card could be the perfect fit. This card provides an excellent introduction into earning a ton of Marriott points, from the welcome bonus earned upon account opening to the everyday rewards rate.

You’ll not only earn 6x points (up to 17X total Bonvoy points per dollar spent when including your Bonvoy program earnings) on eligible hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, but the Bonvoy Boundless credit card is a solid match for everyday purchases. Cardholders can earn 3x points per dollar on up to the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases at grocery stores, gas stations and dining. By maxing out that limit, you would earn 18,000 Marriott Bonvoy points alone from everyday spend! Not to mention, you’ll still earn 2x points per dollar on all non-bonus category purchases.

Once you rack up a sizable sum of Marriott Bonvoy points, you can redeem them at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, where the 5th night is always free on awards, adding to the value.

With 8,500 properties and counting, you can find a Marriott Bonvoy hotel at virtually every corner of the world. It’s easy to search for properties through Marriott’s website, then press “use points/certificates” to see the award rate for your desired travel dates.

Another huge perk to discuss is the card’s free night award. You’ll receive the annual free night certificate every account anniversary year, and the free night valued at up to 35,000 points can be a huge money-saver every year – especially since you can add on up to 15,000 points from your account if the room you want is between 35,000 and 50,000 points. As we value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.6 cents apiece, this translates into roughly $210 in value — which is more than double the value of the $95 annual fee!

There are even more benefits once you get to participating Marriott hotels thanks to the card’s automatic elite status perks. You’ll be bumped up from your Marriott Bonvoy member account to Silver elite status with the automatic 15 elite night credits, and this level offers 10% bonus Marriott Bonvoy points (as reflected in the card’s rewards rate) and priority late check-out. You can easily bypass the ranks to earn Gold elite status by spending at least $35,000 on the card every year (although, at that point, you’d probably be better off with the premium Bonvoy Brilliant card which grants automatic Platinum status – admittedly for a high annual fee. This level can be particularly rewarding, thanks to enhanced room upgrades upon availability, 2 p.m. late checkout (based on availability), and 25% bonus points on eligible Marriott stays.

Bonvoy Boundless credit card

Last but not least, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card isn’t just a great pick for your hotel stays. When traveling, you’ll be covered with a plethora of protections, including trip delay reimbursement, lost luggage reimbursement, and secondary rental car coverage. Finally, some important purchase coverages that are standard with Chase are included, including purchase protection and extended warranty.

In summary, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card is a popular pick for the $95 annual fee. It’s easy for cardholders to justify paying this cost every year thanks to the free night award, and that’s before you consider all of the other benefits on the card.

However, if you’re interested in a higher elite status level, a free night valued up to 85,000 points per night, and the possibility to earn Marriott Bonvoy points faster, you may want to consider other Marriott Bonvoy credit cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card.

Read more
Unique Card Benefits
yes
Grants Hotel Status
yes
Earns Transferable Points
yes
Trip Protections
yes
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
yes
Purchase Protection
yes
Extended Warranty
yes
No Foreign Transaction Fees
yes
Free Annual Hotel Night
yes
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
yes
No Fees for Authorized Users
yes
Free Access to Credit Score
yes
Airport Lounge Access
no
Annual Statement Credits
no
Grants Car Rental Status
no
Global Entry / TSA PreCheck Reimbursement
no
Return Protection
no
Cell Phone Protection
no
Has No Preset Spending Limit
no
Concierge Services
no
Metal Card
no
Annual Fee
$695 (Rates and fees)
Avg. Min. Credit Score
Good-Excellent
Ongoing APR
See Pay Over Time APR
Balance transfers fees
-
Best Multiplier
5x Airfare

Earn 5x Membership Rewards points on airfare (booked directly with the airline or via AmexTravel.com and on prepaid hotels when booked via AmexTravel.com), up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.

5x Hotels

Only when booked via AmexTravel.com; Otherwise, hotels will earn 1X points per dollar spent

1x All Other Eligible Purchases
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
$0.017
Bonus Offer

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms apply.

Rating
YBCC Card Rate Stars Filled
YBCC Card Rate Stars Empty
(4.25) Our Review

Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.

Review

💳 This card earns American Express Membership Rewards points. American Express often runs transfer bonuses where you can get even more points when you transfer to airline or hotel partners at designated times. Transfer bonuses are awesome. Get 20%, 30%, 40% or more bonus miles when you transfer points at the right times. But they are easy to miss!

You can see all past Transfer Bonuses from American Express Membership Rewards here.

Even better? Get notified when a new transfer bonus comes out and again before it ends (either or both, your choice). Sign up for free alerts right here. 🔔

In many ways, the American Express Platinum card is the crème de la crème of premium travel rewards credit cards. There are not only a laundry list of embedded perks — from hotel and rental car elite statuses to complimentary access to airport lounges through the Global Lounge Collection — but this card also can provide serious value in the form of statement credits with partner merchants. You can see the full list of benefits above.

Truth be told, it may require some work to fully maximize the card’s many perks but it shouldn’t be difficult to recoup at least some, if not all, of the card’s $695 annual fee (Rates and Fees).

An overhaul of the Platinum in 2021 showed Amex wanted to expand this card well beyond travel. While it’s unlikely the Platinum will ever fully shed its decades-long roots in the travel sphere, Amex also hopes to play a role at the top of your wallet whether you are at home or away.

Of course, on the travel front, the card still earns 5X on airfare purchased directly with the airlines or through the Amex Travel portal (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year), 5X on prepaid hotels, provides the most access to lounges of any card issuer, and has built-in travel protections and elite-status perks. This is on top of all the other relatively-recent lifestyle benefit additions — from Uber credits, Equinox credits, preferred restaurant reservations with Resy, and much, much more.

airfare-the-platinum-card-from-american-express

 

A few notes you need to know:

Amex now has language restricting you from getting the bonus on this Card if you have or have had this card OR have had this Card, the Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Charles Schwab, the Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley or previous versions of these Cards.

Additional Platinum cards are $195 each.

If you want an Authorized User card with none of the benefits, that is still available as the “Companion Platinum Card.” They will simply be able to make charges that post to your account.

Bottom Line:

While the Platinum is a solid choice for most cardholders looking to level up their travel experience, consider other options from both Chase and Capital One including the $550-per-year Chase Sapphire Reserve and $395-per-year Capital One Venture X credit card.

Rates and Fees for the The Platinum Card® from American Express

Read more
Unique Card Benefits
yes
Grants Hotel Status
yes
Earns Transferable Points
yes
Trip Protections
yes
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
yes
Purchase Protection
yes
Extended Warranty
yes
No Foreign Transaction Fees
yes
Free Annual Hotel Night
no
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
no
No Fees for Authorized Users
no
Free Access to Credit Score
no
Airport Lounge Access
yes
Annual Statement Credits
yes
Grants Car Rental Status
yes
Global Entry / TSA PreCheck Reimbursement
yes
Return Protection
yes
Cell Phone Protection
yes
Has No Preset Spending Limit
yes
Concierge Services
yes
Metal Card
yes

Learn more about these cards today

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