Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Credit Card Review 2024

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card* are essentially the same card. One is issued by Amex, the other by Chase, but they both come with similar rewards rates and annual fees. Which one you choose largely comes down to what Marriott Bonvoy cards, if any, you already have.

Consumers who have a Bonvoy card issued by Chase, or have had one in the past 30 days, aren’t eligible for the Amex Bevy. And consumers who have a Bonvoy card issued by American Express, or have had one in the past 30 days, aren’t eligible for the Bountiful from Chase.

The Bevy offers solid value to anyone who frequents Marriott’s more than 8,000 hotels and resorts. It’s true the card has a $250 annual fee, but the rewards and benefits can outweigh that cost for travelers who seek out Marriott as a home away from home.

For one thing, cardholders can earn a Free Night Award, valid on a room worth up to 50,000 points, after spending $15,000 on the card in a year. If the Bevy is your daily card, hitting the $15,000 mark should be reasonable to attain. Plus, the stay can be at a hotel worth up to 50,000 points—meaning this award is more valuable than the free night offered on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card*, which only allows for properties worth up to 35,000 points. But the Boundless doesn’t require a certain amount of spending to get the annual award night.

Finally, Bevy cardholders automatically get Marriott Gold Elite status, with 15 Elite Night credits per year to help you along the way to Platinum Elite status. Benefits that come with Gold include a 25% points bonus, late checkout and room upgrades based on availability. Meanwhile, Platinum Elite status holders get a 50% points bonus and upgrades including select suites.

• Earn 6 Marriott Bonvoy® points per dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets per calendar year, then 2 points) and 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases
• Bonus of 1,000 points per eligible stay at a Marriott property
• Welcome bonus: 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $5,000 in purchases on the card within the first 6 months of account opening
• $250 annual fee
• Foreign transaction fee: None
• Automatic Marriott Gold Elite status
• 15 Elite Night credits per year toward Platinum Elite status

Earning Rewards

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card comes with a welcome bonus for new cardholders: 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $5,000 in purchases on the card within the first 6 months of account opening.

Note that if you received a welcome bonus for a Marriott Bonvoy card from Chase within the past 24 months, or were approved for a Marriott Bonvoy card from Chase within the past 90 days, you won’t be eligible for the welcome bonus on the Bonvoy Bevy.

The Bevy earns 6 Marriott Bonvoy® points per dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets per calendar year, then 2 points) and 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

Redeeming Rewards

You can redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for stays at any available standard room at Marriott properties. How many points will be required will depend on location, date and specific property but can be checked with Marriott’s search tool.

If you don’t have enough points to cover your full stay, Marriott offers a Cash + Points option. You can book with a combination of money and rewards, starting at $55 and 3,500 points.

There’s also the option to transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to a variety of airline loyalty programs. In most cases, it will take three Bonvoy points to get one airline mile. You’ll also get a 5,000 mile bonus when you transfer in increments of 60,000 Bonvoy points.

Additional ways to redeem include activities and experiences bundled under the Marriott Bonvoy Moments banner, merchandise or transferring points to someone else.

Rewards Potential

Using data from various government agencies, Forbes Advisor has developed estimates for how much a family in the 70th percentile of income spends annually in various categories. We  estimate an average household has $118,438 in income and $39,337 per year that can reasonably be charged to credit cards.

We estimate $2,858 per year is spent on hotel stays, and we can assume all these stays are at Marriott properties. At the rate of 6 points per dollar earned with the Bonvoy Bevy, that would net this household 17,148 Bonvoy points. If we factor in the bonus of 1,000 points per eligible stay, and assume this household is booking five eligible stays per year, that adds 5,000 bonus points on top of the card’s regular earnings.

The household also spends $4,622 per year on dining and $7,243 on groceries. At 4 points per dollar spent, these expenses would earn a total of 47,460 Marriott Bonvoy points.

That leaves $24,614 worth of expenses that can be charged to a credit card. At a rate of 2 points per dollar, you’d earn 49,228 points charging this spending to the Bevy.

This brings the card’s rewards potential (not considering the first-year welcome bonus) to 118,836 Marriott Bonvoy points. Since we value  Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.74 cents per point, this means the Bevy offers an annual rewards value of $879.38.

• Elite status. Just by having this card you get Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
• Purchase protection. Get protection against damage or theft when you put new purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card.
• Extended warranty. Adds time to the manufacturer warranty on eligible purchases.¹
• Car rental loss & damage insurance. To use this benefit, pay for a rental vehicle with your Bonvoy Bevy and decline the insurance offered by the rental company.²
• Global assist hotline. When traveling more than 100 miles from home, this hotline can connect you with resources such as legal and medical assistance. Note that while there’s no cost to use the hotline, you’re responsible for the cost of any services used.³
• Baggage insurance. Replace baggage lost or damaged while traveling.¹
• Trip delay insurance. Get reimbursed for reasonable expenses if your trip is delayed.⁴
• American Express experiences. Enjoy access to exclusive presales and tickets.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: 20.99%-29.99% Variable
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Fees

• Annual fee: $250
• Balance transfer fee: N/A
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: None

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card vs. Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card*

If you like Marriott hotels but don’t want a credit card with an annual fee, consider the Bonvoy Bold—the entry level Bonvoy card issued by Chase. The rewards structure is less generous than its big sibling: Earn 3 points per dollar at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy program, 2 points per dollar on other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains) and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

However, this card comes with 15 Elite Night credits annually, granting you Silver Elite status. Plus, as the only Bonvoy card with no annual fee, the Bold allows you to test the waters with hotel rewards in a very low-risk way. If you decide the scene isn’t for you, or your loyalty shifts from Marriott to a competing hotel chain, you can still keep the Bonvoy Bold open so your credit score benefits from having more available credit—and thus, lower utilization.

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Maybe you occasionally stay at Marriott properties but they’re not your only love. In that case, rather than a co-branded hotel card, you’d benefit from a credit card with flexible rewards you can transfer to a variety of partners—and the Chase Sapphire Preferred is just such a card.

This card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, which transfer to the Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards and World of Hyatt hotel loyalty programs at a 1:1 rate, and multiple airline partners too.

Points can also be redeemed for a value of 1.25 cents each to book travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal or to cover purchases in select Pay Yourself Back categories.

You will pay a $95 annual fee for the Sapphire Preferred, but it comes with a robust array of benefits, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, baggage delay insurance and primary car rental coverage. There’s also an annual statement credit of up to $50 for hotel stays booked via the Chase Travel portal.

The card earns 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

For the true Marriott loyalist, who values luxury and is willing to pay for it, consider the Bonvoy Brilliant. This is the flagship of the Bonvoy lineup, with a hefty $650 annual fee and top-of-the-line perks other Marriott Bonvoy cards don’t offer (terms apply, see rates & fees).

You get a Free Night Award with the Bonvoy Brilliant, worth up to 85,000 points—no spending needed. And you get a Marriott Bonvoy property credit of up to $100 when you book a qualifying stay (with a minimum of two nights) at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis. In addition, enjoy statement credits of up to $25 per month (up to $300 total per calendar year) toward eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide. Enrollment is required for select benefits.

And while the Bevy comes with Gold Elite status, the Brilliant confers Platinum Elite status.

The Brilliant also comes with a Priority Pass Select membership (enrollment required). This provides access to more than 1,200 airport lounges, offering space to relax between flights.

For rewards, you’ll earn 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program, 3 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

It’s clear this card is only for the hardcore traveler and Marriott stalwart. But if that’s you, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card outshines most of the competition pretty easily.

The Bevy is definitely a niche card. For travelers who frequent Marriott properties often enough to justify the card’s $250 annual fee, it has the potential to net significant value. However, infrequent travelers will be better off with a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee, while those who stay at Marriott most often might be willing to pay a little more for the Bevy’s big brother—the $650-annual-fee Bonvoy Brilliant.

The Bevy does beat the Brilliant when it comes to points earned on dining and supermarket spending. If those categories make up a substantial portion of your budget, that’s one reason to prefer this medium-sized offering in the Bonvoy lineup. Plus, the bonus of 1,000 points per eligible stay at a Marriott property is a nice way to top off your points balance if you book a lot of stays throughout the year. Make sure to analyze your spending and travel habits before you apply, of course, but the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card is at least worthy of consideration.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual points or miles
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors come together to provide a star rating for each individual card.

To view rates and fees for the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card please visit this page.
¹Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
²Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
³Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.
⁴Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards