Changes Abound for the Marriott Boundless Credit Card

First, new cardholders will receive a valuable sign-up bonus: “Earn 100,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months from account opening.” NerdWallet values Marriott points at 1 cent each, making this introductory bonus worth roughly $700 when used toward hotel stays.

But the card is also permanently beefing up rewards for new and existing cardholders alike.

The hotel chain’s mid-tier $95-annual-fee card will offer cardholders 3 points per $1 spent in the following categories, on up to $6,000 in collective spend per year:

• Grocery stores.

• Gas stations.

Previously, the card earned 6 points per $1 spent at Marriott hotels and 2 points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases.

Cardholders will now earn one elite night credit per $5,000 spent on purchases on the card. Marriott’s metric for earning elite status, elite night credits are typically earned through hotel stays. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card automatically gives 15 elite night credits per year, along with automatic Silver Elite status. But this new perk gives cardholders another avenue to earn elevated status just through credit card spending.

These card changes come roughly a month before Marriott will make a transition to dynamic pricing for rewards nights. Currently, the hotel chain uses an award chart to set the prices for room redemption options.

Once this switch happens, the amount of points you’ll need for reward nights will not be based on a standard rate according to the hotel category. Instead, hotel reward options will look more like the corresponding cash price, according to an email from Marriott. That means it could be harder to know how many points you’ll need to save up in order to redeem for the hotel stay you want.

The hotel chain’s current redemption award chart will go away sometime in March, but nearly all hotels are expected to stay in their current rewards pricing range through the end of 2022, according to that same email.