How to use Chase Marriott Bold "Pay Yourself Back" for your Marriott stay

How to pay for your stay with points using the Marriott Bold card

I recommend you familiarize yourself with the rather convoluted restrictions on getting Marriott cards if you are getting more than one card per user. Frequent Miler has an article on this that spells it out https://frequentmiler.com/marriott-card-eligible/.

OK, here is the technique for a two player strategy (you and a trusted individual). If it is just you, it can be done, but read https://frequentmiler.com/marriott-card-eligible/ ("yes", I'm repeating myself but you need to see the chart on getting these cards to work):

1. First, acquire Marriott points via credit card sign up bonuses. Do not go for the sign up bonuses that give you free nights. Instead look for ones that give you a cache of points. The Chase Marriott Boundless ($95 per year) sometimes runs a 125K sign up bonus but often it only offers free nights. Chase or AMEX usually have good point offerings on their Marriott cards.
2. Have player 2 get the $0 annual fee Chase Marriott Bold card (Chase blocks you from having both the Marriott Boundless and Bold at the same time).
3. If you are in two player mode, once you earn the points from spending on the credit card(s), transfer them to the user with the Bold card.
4. Pay for your stay with the Bold card.
5. When the charge comes due, use the "pay yourself back with points" feature that is available with the Chase Marriott Bold card (credits you at $.008 per point which is a fairly valued redemption).

Pro Tip #1: In two player mode, the first user to get a card from Chase can get a 40k point referral for player 2 getting a card.

OK, so you don't have a player 2. Now What?

I recommend getting a stash of points from AMEX via their Marriott Business Card and/or any of their Marriott consumer cards. You won't get the Chase card bonuses if you do this unless you wait a long time between getting the AMEX cards and Chase (see the aforementioned chart). After you get the AMEX Marriott card bonuses, you can then get the Chase Marriott Bold (no bonus, though) and pay yourself back with points.

Pro Tip #2: If you wind up getting the Marriott Boundless card, I recommend cancelling it at the end of the first year (benefits are kind of weak for $95 per year) or converting it to the Chase Ritz Carlton card (only available by upgrading an existing Chase Marriott card that you have held for a year). The Ritz Carlton is a premium card that cost $450 per year, but I recommend researching it for your own particular needs as it has some serious benefits. See my review here.