The best Marriott Bonvoy credit cards of 2022

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The best Marriott credit cards of 2022

Marriott is the largest hotel company in the world, with more than 7,000 properties across 30 brands in 131 countries and territories. Thanks to its merger with Starwood a few years back, it’s now easier than ever to find a hotel where you can redeem Marriott points, no matter where you’re traveling. 

Read more: How to earn, redeem, and maximize Marriott Bonvoy points

If Marriott Bonvoy is your hotel program of choice, it can make sense to have a co-branded Marriott card to enjoy perks like bonus points, complimentary elite status, free reward nights, elite night credits, and more. There are Marriott co-branded cards at various price points, from a no-annual-fee option to a $450-a-year premium card (See Rates) with annual statement credits.

Several Marriott credit cards even offer a free night on your account anniversary, with a value ranging from 35,000 to 50,000 points, depending on the card. 

Here’s an in-depth look at the Marriott credit cards that are currently available to new applicants. 

Best for luxury benefits during Marriott stays: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card

If you know you’ll spend at least $300 with Marriott each year, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card is definitely worth a look. It offers up to $300 in statement credits each year to use at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program — and this applies to room rates as well as incidentals like room service.

This can effectively reduce the annual fee to $150, and keep in mind that the Bonvoy Brilliant gets you a free night award each year for properties that cost up to 50,000 points — this can easily get you more than $150 in value.

Read more: Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card review 

If you have other premium credit cards that also offer benefits like Priority Pass airport lounge access** and a Global Entry application fee credit, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card really only stands out for its high-end Marriott benefits. But if you frequently stay at Marriott hotels, you’ll find those perks to be very useful for saving money and enjoying elite status perks.

Best for occasional Marriott guests: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card

If you want to book your next Marriott stay on points and enjoy a few extras but don’t stay at Marriotts enough to warrant paying Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card a year for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card is a great option. 

Cardholders receive a free night certificate, valid at hotels that cost 35,000 points or less, each year on their card anniversary — which can be worth much more than the card’s Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card annual fee. 

Read more: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card review

The card offers low-level Silver status with Marriott, and if you spend $35,000 on the card in a calendar year, you’ll be upgraded to Gold status. (You can also get Gold status as a complimentary benefit with Platinum Card® from American Express**.)

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card recently got a refresh, adding new bonus categories and the ability to earn one elite night credit for every $5,000 spent on the card. 

Best for business travelers who prefer Marriott: Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card

If you travel for work and want to maximize your business purchases to earn Marriott points, the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card is a good option. It’s currently offering a great welcome bonus: Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card.

Read more: Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business card review

It offers helpful perks like complimentary Silver elite status and an annual free night award valid at hotels that cost up to 35,000 points. It also earns 4 Marriott points per dollar on a handful of business spending categories, like U.S. shipping purchases.

The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card rewards high spenders with a second free night award each year after their account anniversary when they spend $60,000 or more in a calendar year. There’s also the opportunity to spend your way to Gold status — you’ll get the bump after spending at least $35,000 in purchases in a calendar year.

Best Marriott card with no annual fee: Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card has a decent list of benefits for a no-annual-fee card, so if you want to earn Marriott points without incurring a yearly cost, it’s worth considering.

Read more: Marriott Bonvoy Bold credit card review

There’s currently an elevated welcome bonus of Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card, and cardholders receive 15 elite night credits per year (qualifying them for Silver elite status).

You’ll also get perks like no foreign transaction fees, baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay reimbursement, purchase protection, and Visa Signature Concierge access.

Best for elite status: The Platinum Card® from American Express

The Platinum Card is a good option if you want to enjoy perks when you stay at Marriott hotels, but you aren’t necessarily a Marriott loyalist. That’s because it offers complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold status to cardholders — along with complimentary Hilton Honors elite status**. 

Read more: Amex Platinum card review

Marriott Bonvoy Gold status gets you benefits like room upgrades, late checkout, a 25% points bonus on paid stays, and a welcome gift.

Keep in mind that the Platinum Card is a premium card — with a $550 annual fee (See Rates) — so you’ll want to make sure you’ll take advantage of its many other benefits before applying.

It’s currently offering a sky-high welcome bonus of The Platinum Card® from American Express.

Best for travelers who also like to stay at other hotels: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is our top card recommendation for earning travel rewards, because you can use the Ultimate Rewards points it earns to book travel with a great selection of partners — including Marriott Bonvoy.

Read more: Chase Sapphire Preferred card review

Right now, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is offering an excellent welcome bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three month of account opening. Because you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1 ratio, 60,000 points is equal to 60,000 points at Marriott.

Overall, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a strong pick because it earns bonus points on a wide variety of travel and dining purchases, and it gets you valuable travel coverage, all for a reasonable annual fee.

Best for travelers who also like to stay at other hotels and want premium benefits: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is definitely a premium option with a $550 annual fee — but if you want a travel card with all the bells and whistles, it’s a top contender. It’s currently offering a bonus of Chase Sapphire Reserve® after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Read more: Chase Sapphire Reserve review

The card’s $300 in statement credits for travel effectively cuts the annual fee down to $250, and other benefits with DoorDash and Lyft can add extra value. During the pandemic, Chase introduced a program called Pay Yourself Back through which you can use points for everyday purchases in popular categories, and with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® your points are worth 1.5 cents apiece when you redeem this way.

As with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can transfer the points you earn with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® to Marriott Bonvoy. 

Marriott credit card — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Are Marriott credit cards worth it?

If you like staying at Marriott Bonvoy brands and enjoy redeeming points for free stays, it’s definitely worth considering opening a Marriott credit card. Frequent Marriott guests can earn a lot of bonus points using a card to pay for stays, and if the card you open comes with elite status, you can get extra perks.

That said, if you’re not particularly loyal to Marriott or spread your travel among several brands, a travel credit card that earns transferable points is probably a better bet. You’ll earn flexible rewards you can use for hotels, flights, and other travel, without being locked into a single loyalty program.

What credit score do you need for a Marriott credit card?

As with many lucrative travel rewards cards, you’ll typically need at least good to excellent credit to qualify for any of the Marriott credit cards. That means a FICO score of at least 670, or a VantageScore of at least 700.

Read more: What is a good credit score? It depends whether you’re asking VantageScore or FICO

Read Insider’s guides to improving your credit score and using credit cards to boost your score if you’re new to credit or haven’t quite reached a good score yet.

Can you have more than one Marriott credit card?

The application restrictions around Marriott co-branded cards are a little tricky to navigate, because the cards are issued by both Chase and Amex.

For Chase-issued cards, the 5/24 rule applies, which means you won’t be approved if you’ve opened five or more cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months. And for Amex cards, you’re not eligible if you’ve received the bonus on the exact same card before (the “once per lifetime rule”). 

Read more: Guide to credit card application restrictions

In addition, each card has its own restrictions. Generally speaking, if you’ve recently opened or received a bonus on one Marriott card, you won’t be able to open a different one for a specified amount of time. You can find the card’s specific rules under “Offer and Benefits Terms” on the card application page.