Originally Posted by
gudugan
The Bold is just not a good card. Neither is the Bountiful. The Boundless is okay especially if you want to convert it to the Ritz card.
If we look specifically at points earnings, and Brilliant (Platinum) vs Bold (Silver)
Brilliant:
- 6x on Marriott spend,
- 10x base points on Marriott spend + 5x bonus
- Element, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and Homes & Villas by Marriott International: 5x points + 2.5x bonus
- Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay: 2.5x points + 1.25x bonus
Bold
- 3x on Marriott spend (worse than all the other cards)
- 10x base points on Marriott spend + 1x bonus
- Element, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and Homes & Villas by Marriott International: 5x points + 0.5x bonus
- Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay: 2.5x points + 0.25x bonus
So for normal Marriott stays, Brilliant is 21x and Bold is 14x. Not even to mention the actual elite benefits you get as Platinum, whereas Silver doesn't help you.
If you're going to stay at any significant number of Marriott hotels (especially the expensive ones), I would say get Brilliant or nothing.
I don't have a Plat but maybe you could try to prepay the Marriott hotels on AmexTravel.com for 5x points? Platinum status via Brilliant could be an addon...
Thank you for the analysis.
I am going to try the Boundless, but the current signup bonus is a 3-night award which sounds like trouble; I'd rather just have the points.
My primary goal is to have award stays or transfers to airline programs for upgrades/flights, and I use the points; I don't bank them.
I choose a hotel/location before points, and now I have a particular Marriott that I expect to frequent, so this will help.
I have a similar setup with the Amex Hilton Surpass, but my default spend is an Amex Green.