- Best Marriott credit cards compared
- Methodology
- Sources
- About the author
- User questions & answers
Best Marriott Credit Cards Compared
| Credit Card | Best For | Annual Fee | Initial Bonus Offer |
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card | Overall | $95 | 5 Free Night Awards for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card | No Annual Fee | $0 | 2 Free Night Awards for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card | Business | $125 | 3 Free Night Awards for spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card | Bonus Points | $250 | Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after spending $5,000 in purchases in the first 6 months |
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card | Luxury Travel | $650 | Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points for spending $6,000 in purchases in the first 6 months |
| United Gateway℠ Card | Rewards Partner | $0 | 30,000 miles for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months |
| Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card | Any Hotel | $95 | 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months |
If you want to see more offers capable of saving you a ton of money on Marriott stays, check out WalletHub’s picks for the year’s best overall rewards credit cards. That’s an especially good idea if you don’t have the good or excellent credit needed to get a Marriott rewards card.
Methodology for Selecting the Best Marriott Credit Cards
WalletHub’s editors regularly update and review our comprehensive database of 1,500+ credit cards, including all available Marriott credit cards, offers from Marriott’s alliance partners, and other cards with general travel rewards.We compare the latest rewards, rates, fees, approval requirements, initial bonuses (main WalletHub Rating components) and secondary benefits such as free nights, anniversary bonuses and hotel credits to select the best options. Ultimately, we calculate the two-year cost of owning each card and rank the cards based on expected savings for the target user. We consider a two-year time frame to highlight both initial and ongoing perks.
WalletHub's Key Rating Components
Two-Year Cost: 38% – We project the average cardholder’s overall expenses and savings over a two-year span by weighing annual fees, points earned from spending, and the monetary value of Marriott-related benefits. Cards that generate more value than cost receive negative totals.
Rewards: 29% – We assess how many Marriott Bonvoy points each card earns, how flexible and practical those points are to use, and the value they deliver when redeemed for hotel stays and eligible Marriott purchases.
Editor’s Rating: 12% – WalletHub editors rate each Marriott credit card based on its rewards structure, hotel-specific benefits, fee levels, and how it stacks up against other hotel credit cards.
Fees: 11% – We review all expenses tied to the card, including annual fees, foreign transaction fees, and any charges that could reduce its usefulness for frequent or occasional Marriott guests.
User Reviews: 7% – We incorporate cardholder feedback to gauge satisfaction with the card’s rewards, benefits, and overall experience.
Other Features: 3% – We factor in additional Marriott perks such as complimentary nights, room upgrades, late checkout, elite status benefits, on-property credits, and travel-related protections.
How Two-Year Cost Is Calculated
Two-year cost is used to approximate the monetary value of cards for better comparison and is calculated by combining annual and monthly membership fees over two years, adding any one-time fees or other fees (like balance transfer fees), adding any interest costs, and subtracting rewards. Negative amounts indicate savings. When fees or other terms are presented as a range, we use the midpoint for scoring purposes.
Rewards bonuses and credits have been taken into account for two-year cost calculations. However, bonuses applicable to only a very small portion of cardholders are not considered. For example, credits and bonuses awarded for spending or redeeming rewards through a company portal with non-co-branded cards have not been taken into account. Similarly, bonuses and credits related to spending with specific merchants using a non-co-branded card have not been taken into account (for example, if Card A offers credits with DoorDash, this feature would not be factored into calculations because it is hard to assess how many cardholders would use the benefit or exactly how much value they'd get from it).
Cardholder Spending Profiles
Given that different users have different goals and are likely to use their credit cards differently, we identified spending profiles that are representative of different users’ financial priorities and behaviors. For each cardholder type, we have assumed a specific amount of monthly spending by purchase type (e.g., groceries, gas, etc.), as well as an average balance, balance transfer amount, amount spent on large purchases and average monthly payment. Spending assumptions are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for consumers and PEX data for businesses.
Sources
WalletHub actively maintains a database of 1,500+ credit card offers, from which we select the best Marriott credit cards for different applicants as well as derive market-wide takeaways and trends. The underlying data is compiled from credit card company websites or provided directly by the credit card issuers. We also leverage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop cardholder profiles, used to estimate cards’ potential savings.
