How to Get Secret Mariott Bonvoy Credit Cards (US)

It’s well-known that Marriott Bonvoy is one of the most accessible loyalty programs in the world. With locations across the globe and brands to fit wallets of every size, there’s a reason we at Frugal Flyer often recommend Marriott Bonvoy as the starting hotel loyalty program for people just getting into the Miles & Points game.

As part of your ongoing strategy, it’s always good to think about what credit cards you’re holding in your wallet and how they can amplify your travel experience. That’s why I want to talk about something unique to those of you looking to get into (or already partaking in) the US credit card market: unadvertised “secret” Marriott Bonvoy credit cards. 

These “secret” Marriott Bonvoy credit cards aren’t available to new applicants, but as you’ll learn, there are still ways to acquire them if they fit your needs.

What are “Secret” Credit Cards & Why Aren’t These Products Available for New Sign-Ups?

As the name would suggest, the “secret” Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit cards are called that because they’re only available to savvy cardholders who know about their existence. Once upon a time, these cards were available publicly for new applications, and any customer who wanted to add one to their wallet could easily apply and be approved.

Since then, for a variety of reasons (many unknown to us mere mortals), the card issuers have decided to hit the brakes on allowing new cardholders from the general public and made them unavailable for direct application.

Because you can’t apply for one of these cards, we don’t list them on our US credit card comparison tool. The good news is that while you can’t get a “secret” credit card by directly applying for one, they are a resource you can tap into by choosing to upgrade or downgrade select other Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit cards.

The American Express Marriott Bonvoy Card (US)

Card Overview

The American Express Marriott Bonvoy card (US) is probably one of the simplest cards in American Express US’s portfolio and only has an annual fee of $95 USD.

This credit card earns 6x Bonvoy per USD spent on purchases at Marriott properties, and 2x Bonvoy per USD spent on all other purchases. It also has no foreign transaction fees, thus making it a particularly enticing card to use abroad.

The cardholder is granted complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status (to which there isn’t any value to be had), but more substantial is its 15 additional Elite Qualifying Nights (EQN) per calendar year to get you closer to the next level of status in your Marriott Bonvoy journey. 

These EQNs do stack with the EQNs that are offered as a benefit on the American-issued Marriott Bonvoy co-branded business credit cards, such as the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business card (US), which provides an additional 15 EQNs. This combination can get you on the fast track to Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite or Titanium Elite status in short order.

Related: How to Earn Marriott Platinum Elite Status Fast

The best benefit this card offers is the annual reward of a Marriott Bonvoy free night certificate redeemable for nights that cost up to 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This can also be topped up with up to 15,000 Bonvoy points already in your account to redeem for nights that cost up to 50,000 Bonvoy points.

How to Obtain the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Card (US)

Overall, this card offers excellent value for the price. The free night certificate alone is worth the $95 USD cost of admission. Unfortunately, it’s not available to new clients. Don’t fret, though – getting one of these cards isn’t particularly difficult.

All you need to do is apply for and receive a higher tier American Express Bonvoy co-branded credit card, such as the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card (US) or American Express Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card (US). 

I personally recommend the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card (US), because it often has a higher welcome bonus and offers complimentary Platinum Elite status, even if it does have a higher premium annual fee of $650 USD. The card also has a monthly $25 USD restaurant credit, which can easily be used in Canada.

Once you’ve held one of these eligible credit cards for one calendar year and the renewal annual fee posts, you can simply call or live chat with American Express and ask them to downgrade you to the American Express Marriott Bonvoy card (US). They’ll mail you a new card and may even prorate your annual fee based on how long you held the previous version (YMMV).

After that, it’s happy hunting. Just do remember that the annual free night certificate will be tied to when you chose to downgrade the card, rather than the original date of applying for its higher rent cousin. So you may want to time your downgrade accordingly…

The Chase Ritz-Carlton Card

Card Overview

The Chase Ritz-Carlton Card is an exclusive Visa Infinite card that costs a cool $450 USD per year.

Its rewards earning structure consists of 6x Bonvoy points per USD spent on purchases at Marriott properties, 3x on flights, car rentals, and dining, and 2x per USD on all other purchases. It also has no foreign transaction fees, making it suitable for purchases outside the United States.

In terms of benefits, there are a few that sound familiar and some that are truly unique.

In the category of benefits we’d expect, there’s a free night certificate redeemable for any room valued at up to 85,000 Bonvoy points, and there are many excellent properties to use this 85k Marriott Bonvoy certificate. This can also be topped up with another 15,000 points in your account for any room redemptions that cost up to 100,000 Bonvoy points per night. 

The card also offers complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold status so you can enjoy being in the tier pretty much everyone else in your hotel is likely to be, as well.

The card’s Priority Pass access is similar to what is offered on other credit cards, but with a twist: the card comes with unlimited $0 authorized user memberships and authorized users are granted complimentary access to Priority Pass lounges. Thus, you can essentially gift Priority Pass access to friends and family.

In terms of unique benefits, the card offers three annual Ritz Carlton club lounge access passes which might sound valuable as these lounges are normally not open to the peasantry. However, these passes are basically worthless because to even qualify to use them you need to be paying an “eligible” cash rate at a Ritz-Carlton, which is not something those in the world of miles and points are typically interested in doing.

The card’s annual fee can be offset by up to $300 USD in travel credits, but this is only supposed to be used on incidental travel fees such as advanced seat selection. The ability to apply the credits is up to the discretion of Chase Bank after the purchase is made, so your mileage may vary.

How to Obtain the Chase Ritz-Carlton Card

When it comes to getting a Chase Ritz-Carlton Card, the process can be rather long, especially for those of us of Canadian persuasion.

First, you’ll need to have a US credit file old enough to be considered worthy of Chase’s requirements. This means at least 12-14 months of US credit history. Then, you’ll need to get a Chase Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit card. It doesn’t matter which tier of card you get, only that it’s a Marriott Bonvoy card.

Then, you need to hold your account in good standing for a year. At the end of this 12-month period, you can call or live chat with Chase and ask for an upgrade to the Ritz-Carlton card. They’ll mail you a new card and charge you the $450 USD annual fee for the honor of having done so.

Are Either Of These Cards Worth Obtaining?

When we compare these cards, we have to consider their primary benefits and their primary costs. To first determine whether you want one of these cards ask yourself: do you care about the Marriott Bonvoy program?

If the answer is “yes,” you want at least one of these products. If the answer is “no,” then thank you for reading this far and I hope you’re not bored.

The Ritz-Carlton card has a whopping $450 USD annual fee, minus its $300 USD in travel incidental credits that may be hard to liquidate in their entirety. On the other hand, the American Express Marriott Bonvoy card costs only $95 USD per year.

Both confer a relatively low level of Bonvoy status, which I don’t think holds much value at all. However, both offer an amazing 15 Elite Qualifying Nights, whose powers are amplified so long as you hold a US-issued Bonvoy business card to stack EQN’s to 30 per year, or more than halfway to Platinum status simply for holding a couple of credit cards.

The Ritz-Carlton Card’s Priority Pass benefit can be given to friends and family members, but short of having an enormous extended family of cheapskates, I don’t value this at much, either.

Next, one must consider the ease of access to either of these products. Both the American Express card and the Ritz Carlton Card require a full year of holding an eligible co-branded credit card before upgrading or downgrading.

However, the real question is that of the valuable Marriott Bonvoy free night certificate offered on both cards. Both can be “topped up” above their face values by up to 15,000 Bonvoy points, but the Ritz Carlton Card’s certificate is good for any room costing up to a whopping 85,000 points. Conversely, the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Card’s certificate is only worth 35,000 Bonvoy points.

For me, when weighing the annual fee, ease of using credits, and ease of application, I’d consider Amex to be the winner. However, if you need an 85,000 point certificate for an aspirational redemption at a place like the W Maldives, don’t think twice: go for the Ritz Carlton card because if it gets you a $2,000 hotel room, then even the full annual fee is fine.

Conclusion

Marriott Bonvoy is a prolific hotel loyalty program, and no matter what critiques one may have for it, it does offer its members unprecedented amounts of choice. These choices are best enjoyed in an environment where you have as many free nights and the highest status possible.

These secret Bonvoy co-branded credit cards from American Express and Chase can help make that a reality: they offer real, high-value free night certificates at highly competitive annual fees. They provide real benefits, as well as 15 Elite Qualifying Nights each to help you get one step closer to high Bonvoy elite status.

Which card is best for your wallet is up to you, but we hope you’ll consider these as at least the equals of their publicly available peers. Until next time, don’t let the issuers shut you out of holding the cards you want.