What Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (Chase) unlocks

Most cards that confer hotel status do it the moment you activate them; the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless makes you earn it. Hitting $35,000 in purchases in a calendar year converts into Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite, the status every other program on this list is reached through. From Gold Elite, a single free match gets you Choice Privileges Platinum — good whether you're matching from the US or Canada, though it's a once-per-lifetime move that tops out at Platinum.

Gold Elite also opens a longer road: matching through Wyndham Rewards Diamond and MSC Voyagers Club Gold, it eventually reaches Explora Club Gold, with every hop's exact terms in the reference below. Each leg along that chain is a once-per-lifetime move, so it only makes sense if you actually want status on that particular chain rather than the faster Choice match.

Either route starts the same way — clear the $35,000 spend threshold once, then use that Gold Elite status as many times as the individual matches allow. The Choice match is the quicker payoff; the Wyndham-to-MSC-to-Explora chain takes longer to land but costs nothing beyond the spend you already made.