Are you eligible for a new Marriott Bonvoy card? This chart tells you yes or no
When Marriott acquired Starwood Preferred Guest a few years ago, it merged three separate loyalty programs — SPG, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Marriott Rewards — into Marriott Bonvoy, becoming a massive rewards program with a global footprint of hotels and resorts.
This streamlined branding has helped minimize confusion, and new cardholders have benefited from new perks and welcome bonuses, thanks to Marriott's diverse credit card portfolio.
Not only are there a ton of properties to choose from, but Marriott Bonvoy also offers a total of six credit cards — one business, five personal — from two issuers, American Express and Chase.
Before applying for any of these cards, you'll want to check our guide to credit card application eligibility restrictions. The requirements vary depending on the card, and there's not a lot of logic at play here.
Related: The best Marriott credit cards
If you're interested in acquiring one of the six Bonvoy-branded cards currently available to new applicants, use this cheat sheet to see if you can apply based on which cards you've had or currently have — including cards that no longer exist.
Current Marriott Bonvoy welcome offers
Before we begin, let's review the current welcome offers on all six of Marriott's credit cards:
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card
Applicants can earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after using your card to spend $5,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership.
TPG values Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, making this bonus worth $714. Cardholders also receive automatic Gold Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy. The card's annual fee is $250 (see rates and fees). For more details, read our Marriott Bonvoy Bevy credit card review.
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card
Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card
Applicants can earn 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after using their card to spend $1,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months.
TPG values Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, making this bonus worth $252. Cardholders also receive automatic Silver Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy. The card has no annual fee. For more details, read our Marriott Bonvoy Bold credit card review.
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
Applicants can earn three Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first three months of card membership.
TPG values Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, making this bonus worth up to $1,260. Cardholders also receive automatic Silver Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy. The card has a $95 annual fee. For more details, read our Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card review.
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Card
Applicants can earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
TPG values Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, making this bonus worth $1,050. Cardholders also receive automatic Gold Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy. The card has an annual fee of $250. For more details, read our Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card review.
The information for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card
Applicants can earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the card in your first six months.
TPG values Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, making this bonus worth $798. Cardholders also receive automatic Platinum Elite status. The card has an annual fee of $650 (see rates and fees). For more details, read our Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant credit card review.
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
Applicants can earn three free night awards after you use your new card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership. Redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points for each bonus Free Night Award, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Certain hotels have resort fees..
TPG values Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, making this bonus worth up to $1,260. Cardholders also receive automatic Gold Elite status. The card has an annual fee of $125 (see rates and fees). For more details, read our Marriott Bonvoy Business credit card review.
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card
Marriott Bonvoy card eligibility chart
Across the top, you will find the name of the Marriott credit cards you can currently apply for. Down the left side, you'll find the names of current and previous Marriott credit cards you may have or may have had in the past.
Here's what the information in the chart indicates:
- OK: You should be able to get the welcome bonus from this card if you apply and are approved.
- N/A: You already have this card or have had this card before.
- 30 days: You cannot have or have had this card in the past 30 days.
- 90 days: You cannot have opened this credit card in the last 90 days (but you can have the card if it was opened more than 90 days ago).
- 24 months: You cannot have received a welcome bonus or upgrade bonus on this card in the last 24 months (but you can have the card).
- Close: You cannot currently have this card or have received a welcome bonus for it in the last 24 months.
| Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card | Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card | Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card | Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card | Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card | Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card | 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months | 30 days / 90 days / 24 months | OK | Close | Close |
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card | 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months | 30 days / 90 days / 24 months | OK | Close | Close |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card | 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months | 30 days / 90 days / 24 months | Close | OK | OK |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business from Chase | 30 days | OK | OK | OK | OK | OK |
| Marriott Bonvoy from Chase | OK | OK | OK | OK | OK | OK |
| Marriott Bonvoy Premier from Chase | OK | OK | 30 days | OK | Close | Close |
| Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business from Chase | 30 days | OK | 30 days | OK | OK | OK |
| The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card | OK | 30 days | 30 days | OK | OK | OK |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card | OK | OK | N/A | 30 days / 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months |
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card | OK | N/A | OK | 30 days / 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card | N/A | OK | OK | 30 days / 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months | 90 days / 24 months |
| Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card | OK | OK | OK | 30 days / 90 days / 24 months | 30 days | 30 days |
Reminder about previous SPG credit cards
If you're wondering where the SPG credit cards from American Express are on the above chart, remember that those were converted to Bonvoy-branded cards. The three Amex cards near the bottom of the far-left column are the SPG cards with their updated branding. As a refresher, here's how the SPG Amex cards converted to Bonvoy Amex names:
- The Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express became the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card (no longer open to new applicants).
- The Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card from American Express became the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card.
- The Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card from American Express became the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card.
Keep in mind that Amex and Chase offer card bonus qualification tools on their websites. These should let you know whether or not you can successfully apply for a card and earn the welcome bonus before the system runs your credit and you officially apply for the card.
But a sound travel rewards card strategy includes some planning, so if you're interested in one of these cards, you might as well consult the chart above.
Related: Does it makes sense to hold multiple Marriott Bonvoy cards?
Reminder about cards closed to new applicants
From the chart above, you probably noticed that six cards across the top are available for new applications, yet the column on the left lists many more cards. That's because there are multiple cards no longer available to new applicants.
A good example is the Ritz-Carlton credit card. This card is issued by Chase and is no longer available to new applicants, but you can change to this card from another Marriott credit card. And even though it's not open to new applicants, cards like the Ritz-Carlton credit card and other Marriott-branded or SPG-branded cards you had in the past can still play a role in determining which current Marriott credit cards you're eligible for today.
To understand which card bonuses you may be eligible for, it's important to look at accounts you had in the past and find the dates you closed these accounts and the dates on which you received sign-up bonuses. If you're unsure, you can find this information by contacting the card issuer via chat, secure message online or by calling customer service.
Chase 5/24 rule
Another restriction to be mindful of is Chase's infamous 5/24 rule. No matter how high your credit score is, you likely won't qualify for any Chase-issued card — in this case, the Boundless, Bountiful and Bold — if you've opened five or more credit cards in the past 24 months.
If you're currently over your 5/24 slots, you could still qualify for the Brilliant, Bevy or Business cards from Amex — so long as you meet the other eligibility restrictions noted above.
Related: The best ways to use your Chase 5/24 slots
Amex eligibility pop-up window and bonus restrictions
If you decide to apply for a card with American Express, there is a bonus eligibility pop-up window that will advise you — before submitting your application — if you aren't eligible for a welcome bonus on a card. That way, you can decide whether to continue with the application if you won't be able to receive the welcome bonus.
This can be helpful if you aren't sure whether you're eligible for a new cardmember bonus with American Express and want to start an application to find out but don't want to submit it until you've confirmed your bonus eligibility.
Additionally, remember that Amex has once-per-lifetime bonus restrictions. That means that you may not be able to get a bonus on a credit card application if you had that card in the past. This can even apply to previous versions of a credit card, such as potentially being ineligible for a bonus on the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card if you previously had the SPG Luxury card from American Express.
Related: A complete guide to Amex's one-bonus-per-lifetime restrictions
Bottom line
Marriott offers several great cards with strong welcome bonuses and incredibly valuable free night certificates. Unfortunately, the application rules are complicated as you must balance issuer-specific rules with additional restrictions around the Marriott card family. The chart above can clarify things and help you understand whether you're eligible for a welcome bonus on a Marriott credit card.
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Bold
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Official application link: Marriott Bonvoy Business
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Ethan Steinberg and Stella Shon.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex, click here.