For more than a month, Chase and American Express have been offering one of our favorite welcome offers on a pair of Marriott co-branded credit cards. But if either card has been on your radar, time is running out: Both of these new bonuses are set to end in a matter of days … if not hours!

With the current offers, new cardmembers can get up to three free night awards (worth up to 50,000 points apiece) after completing either card's minimum spending requirement.

That's right, two Marriott credit cards can get you three free night awards. Here's a look at these two offers:

  • With the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, earn 125,000 bonus points towards free stays at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • With the *bonvoy business*, you can earn five night awards (with each night having a redemption level of up to 50,000 points each) after making $6,000 in purchases during the first six months of opening the card.

To be clear, you'll have to pick one or the other: Marriott won't let you get both of these cards. And naturally, you'll need to be eligible for a small business credit card to get the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card … though that might be easier than you think.

While each free night award is capped at 50,000 points apiece, the value of those awards easily trumps even the best bonuses of 125,000 Bonvoy points or so we occasionally see with these Marriott cards. And you can even “top off” each free night award, kicking in an extra 15,000 Bonvoy points per night to cover pricier properties.

Unfortunately, you won't pocket 15,000 points if you use these award nights to book a hotel that costs 35,000 points per night. These free night certificates are yours to use for a full 12 months after you earn them … but you'll want to ensure you complete a stay in that span, otherwise you'll lose them.

Still, these are easily some of the best offers we've seen on either card – or any Marriott card, period. Just remember: Credit cards are serious business. No matter how many free nights it gets you, it's not worth racking up thousands of dollars in credit card debt if you can't afford to pay off every dime immediately.

Read on for full details on these cards and their exciting new offers.

 

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card Overview

  • Welcome Offer Bonus:Earn 125,000 bonus points towards free stays at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Free Night Certificate: Receive a free night certificate each year on your cardmember anniversary for properties that cost up to 35,000 points. This benefit starts in your second year of card membership.
  • Earn 6x Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program.
  • Earn 3X Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year at grocery stores, gas stations, and dining.
  • Earn 2x Marriott Bonvoy Points per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status.
  • Earn 15 elite night credits each calendar year toward Marriott Bonvoy Elite status.
  • $95 Annual Fee.

 

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card

 

Learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (just so you know, this is not an affiliate link).

There's nothing in it for us if you apply: This is a publicly available offer you can get directly through Marriott and Chase.

 

Marriott Bonvoy Business Card Overview

  • Welcome Offer: *bonvoy business bonus* 
  • Free Night Certificate: Get another free night certificate each year on your cardmember anniversary, eligible at properties that cost up to 35,000 points. This benefit starts in your second year of card membership.
  • Earn 6x Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar spent at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program.
  • Earn 4x Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on U.S. wireless telephone services, and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
  • Earn 2x Marriott Bonvoy Points per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
  • Earn 15 elite night credits each calendar year toward Marriott Bonvoy Elite status.
  • Get a 7% discount on standard room rates at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program.
  • $125 Annual Fee (see rates & fees).

 

*bonvoy business*

 

Learn more about the *bonvoy business*.

 

Why These Offers Are Great

On the surface, these offers are great. But just how good they are comes down to your plans for using the free nights.

You'll want to find a property that goes for as close to 50,000 points per night as possible to ensure you're getting full value out of them. And the pressure is on to use them: If you don't complete your stay within 12 months of earning these free night certificates, they'll expire. If you don't use them, you'll lose them. 

Banks love offers like these as they create breakage – they're counting on people not being able to use these free night certificates in time. But if you've got a stay in mind and can use the free night certificates within that 12-month timeframe, the value is undeniable.

For example, you could use the three free night certificates to book a three-night stay at the Le Méridien Maldives – a property we stayed at last year and loved.

 

Le Meridien Maldives
The Le Méridien Maldives

 

Spending three nights in the Maldives all from a single credit card welcome bonus is about as good as it gets. If you time it right, you might even be able to use either card's annual 35,000 point free night award to tack on one more night in paradise.

Read our full review of the Le Méridien Maldives! 

Got a trip to Istanbul in mind? You could also use these three free night awards to book a three-night stay this fall at either the JW Marriott Istanbul or the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul – a pair of hotels in perfect locations to explore the city that normally cost $400 a night or more. Either one is a phenomenal way to use this bonus, too.

 

ritz carlton istanbul
The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul

 

Which Offer is Right For You?

You'll have to choose one or the other. The terms of these two offers make it impossible to pick up both cards at the same time.

Let's start with the obvious difference. One of these is a personal credit card that everyday consumers can apply for while the other is only available to small business owners. But don't let that scare you off: If you've got a side hustle, do consulting work, or buy and sell items online, you've got a business and could still qualify for a business card … no matter how small it may be.

While both cards offer an identical three free night awards as a welcome bonus, the spending requirements are different. With the Bonvoy Boundless, you'll need to spend $5,000 in three months whereas the Bonvoy Business Card requires $6,000 in spending spread across six months (three night offer has expired on the business card). If you're not in a rush to earn the free nights and don't mind stretching your spending out over a longer period of time, the business card actually requires less spending on average, per month.

Finally, there's the annual fee that comes with each card. The Bonvoy Boundless comes with an annual $95 fee, while the Bonvoy Business is slightly steeper at $125 each year. You should be able to easily justify either card's fee with the annual free night award.

But there's no denying that the Bonvoy Boundless is the better deal. That said, there's one sneaky reason why you might opt for Chase's Bonvoy Boundless Card: It opens a pathway to eventually upgrade to the vaunted Ritz-Carlton Card!

Read more: Earn bonus points, elite status, free nights, and more with Marriott Credit Cards

 

Are You Eligible to Open a Marriott Card?

Determining whether or not you're eligible for one of these new welcome offers is about as confusing as trying to read Egyptian hieroglyphs. Actually, the rules might make more sense if they were written in hieroglyphs.

And on top of Marriott's convoluted eligibility rules, you'll also be subject to the Chase 5/24 Rule for the Bonvoy Boundless Card.

The 5/24 Rule is a hard-and-fast restriction that Chase rolled out years ago in order to limit card applicants from opening credit cards for the sole purpose of earning bonus rewards. If you've opened five or more five credit cards with any bank (not just Chase) in the past 24 months, you will not be approved for new Chase credit cards, regardless of your credit score or history with Chase. The rule does not count credit inquiries, but rather new cards that you have applied for and been approved for.

 

Marriott Credit Card Application Rules

First off, if you've never had a Marriott or Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card, you're good to go. Don't bother yourself with trying to decipher the rest of these rules.

For those that previously had, or currently have a Marriott co-branded credit card, you'll want to ensure you're eligible before applying for one of these increased offers. Since Marriott and their bank partners have made it a challenge to know exactly which card you're eligible for, we created a handy card eligibility matrix to help make sense of it all.

 

Marriott Card Eligibility Matrix

 

Again, the terms of these two offers make it impossible to pick up both cards at the same time. This means if you had your sights set on earning two welcome offers for a grand total of 10 free night awards, you're out of luck. You'll instead have to pick the card and welcome offer that works best for you.

Below you'll find the specific terms and limitations for each of the cards with increased offers.

  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless: You are not eligible for this welcome offer if you have or have had the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express® Card (no longer open to new applicants) in the last 30 days. Additionally, you're ineligible if you opened any of the following cards within the past 90 days, or if you received a new cardmember or upgrade bonus in the past 24 months on any of the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Cards – Marriott Bonvoy Business, Brilliant, or Bevy.
  • Marriott Bonvoy Business: You are not eligible for this welcome offer if you have or have had this card or the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card from American Express. Additionally, you're ineligible if you've had the Marriott Bonvoy® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Business® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Rewards® Business Credit Card from Chase in the last 30 days. Or if you have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase, in the last 90 days or received a bonus offer in the last 24 months.

Related reading: Which Marriott Credit Card Am I Eligible For?

 

Bottom Line

You can currently earn up to three free night awards with a pair of Marriott co-branded credit cards: The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card and the *bonvoy business*.

These free nights are good at any Marriott Bonvoy property that costs up to 50,000 points per night – or up to 65,000 points, if you want to kick in an extra 15,000 of your own Bonvoy points a night. But you have to be sure to use them within 12 months of earning them.

If you've got a Marriott stay (or a few stays) in mind where these free nights could be put to good use, the value of this offer is undeniable. Just be sure to apply now before they're gone.

 

Featured image courtesy of Marriott Hotels