Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express credit card review: Mid-tier perks without much else

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card overview

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card offers mid-tier perks, including automatic Gold Elite status, solid points-earning at Marriott properties and elite night credits. However, it lacks a number of benefits that you might expect from a card with a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees). Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐

*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

Marriott has six cobranded cards available to new cardholders, with annual fees ranging from $0 to $650 per year. The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card sits in the middle, with an annual fee of $250 (see rates and fees).

The card lacks one feature we’ve come to expect with hotel credit cards: a complimentary free night each year on your account anniversary, which may leave you wondering whether it offers enough ongoing benefits to make the annual fee worth paying year after year.

It is worth noting that the recommended credit score for this card is 670 or above and that it, like the rest of the Bonvoy lineup, has some application restrictions. But if you’re eligible, let’s dig deeper to decide whether the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card merits a place in your wallet.

Bonvoy Bevy Amex pros and cons

Pros	Cons
Mid-tier perks for those loyal to Marriott Bonvoy Automatic Gold Elite status Solid points-earning at Marriott properties 15 elite night credits each year	Lacks a number of benefits for a mid-tier annual fee card $15,000 spend requirement to earn a free night award No lounge membership No statement credits for perks like TSA PreCheck/Global Entry

Bonvoy Bevy Amex welcome offer

The Bonvoy Bevy Amex currently offers 155,000 bonus points after using your card to spend $5,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership. Offer ends May 1.

This offer is worth $1,302, according to TPG valuations, nearly the best offer in this card’s history.

a hand holds a credit card — THE POINTS GUY

Remember that Amex has restrictions limiting your ability to collect a new member bonus if you’ve had similar Marriott products from Chase or previous Starwood Preferred Guest cards from American Express. Check the card’s offer details page to ensure you’re eligible.

Bonvoy Bevy Amex benefits

Where the Bonvoy Bevy Amex shines the most is in the perks it offers:

Marriott Gold Elite status: Primary cardholders receive complimentary Marriott Gold status for as long as they have the card. TPG values Marriott’s Gold status at $805 per year. At Marriott Bonvoy’s mid-tier level, the most valuable benefits of Gold status are upgrades to enhanced rooms and a 25% points bonus on hotel spending (available for Qualifying Rates). Typically, we have seen the ability to spend your way to higher levels of elite status with many hotel credit cards, but that’s noticeably absent on the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card. Enrollment is required in advance for this elite status benefit.
Annual free night award via spending: Cardholders who make at least $15,000 in eligible purchases during the calendar year can earn a free night award worth up to 50,000 points at participating hotels (although certain hotels have mandatory resort charges). That’s more valuable than the free night certificates that come with the lower-tier Marriott cards, which are capped at 35,000 points. Some of the best uses of the 50,000-point free night certificate include five-star hotels such as The Ritz-Carlton, Macau and The St. Regis Langkawi, where rooms routinely top $500 per night — though Marriott’s dynamic pricing can affect the ability to book some of these properties during peak travel dates. Some other Bonvoy cards offer free night certificates without any spending, such as the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.

sunset behind a hotel pool — JT GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

Elite night credits: Cardholders will receive 15 elite qualifying night credits each calendar year. This benefit can be stacked with the nights you earn with a Marriott small-business card, allowing you to fast-track up to 30 elite nights per year. For reference, you need 50 nights per year to qualify for Platinum Elite status.
Travel protections: This card offers trip delay insurance* for trips delayed by more than 12 hours due to a covered reason as well as baggage insurance** coverage and secondary car rental loss and damage insurance.***
Shopping protections: Purchases made with the card can get 90 days of purchase protection** and up to one year of extended warranty coverage** on warranties of five years or less on covered purchases in the U.S. or its territories or possessions.

*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
**Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
***Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered, and geographic restrictions apply. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

While these perks offer some value, it’s disappointing not to see a free night award given automatically on the card’s account anniversary each year and other premium perks like reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Earning points on the Bonvoy Bevy Amex

The Bonvoy Bevy Amex has earning rates that feel familiar. However, they differ slightly from those we see with other Marriott credit cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card.

Cardholders will earn 6 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program, 4 points per dollar on the first $15,000 per year in combined purchases at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (then 2 points per dollar after reaching this limit) and 2 points per dollar on other eligible purchases.

TPG values Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.84 cents apiece. This means your rate of return on spending will be 5% (purchases earning 6 points per dollar), 3.4% (purchases earning 4 points per dollar) or 1.7% (other purchases earning 2 points per dollar).

Redeeming points on the Bonvoy Bevy Amex

There are many lucrative ways to redeem your Marriott Bonvoy points. The obvious and most valuable redemption is for free stays. With the ability to book more than 8,000 properties across 30 brands in nearly 140 countries, you’ve got a lot of choices.

Beyond hotel stays, you can transfer your Bonvoy points to airline partners, use them to cover flights, car rentals and cruises or redeem them for merchandise and gift cards. However, these options will likely yield well below TPG’s valuation of 0.84 cents per point, so we recommend using your points for Bonvoy stays whenever possible.

TPG senior writer Katie Genter gets great value from her Marriott points by redeeming for stays in increments of five nights to maximize Marriott’s stay for five, pay for four offer. She’ll occasionally consider transferring points to one of Marriott’s airline partners but usually prefers to save her points for stays.

Transferring points on the Bonvoy Bevy Amex

You can also transfer your Bonvoy points to over 35 airline partners, but this rarely offers good value unless you need to top off an account balance for a flight redemption.

You may also consider this option if you want access to the frequent flyer points or miles of an airline that doesn’t partner with any of the major U.S. banks.

Which cards compete with the Bonvoy Bevy Amex?

If you want more or different hotel benefits, one of these cards may be a better fit:

If you want more Marriott perks: The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card comes with automatic Platinum Elite status, an annual free night award worth up to 85,000 points and up to $300 per year in statement credits for dining purchases made on the Bonvoy Brilliant. For more information, read our full review of the Bonvoy Brilliant.
If you’re not partial to Marriott: Check out the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, which carries an annual fee of $550 (see rates and fees). This card offers valuable benefits like top-tier Diamond status with Hilton Honors and a free night award each year on your account anniversary. For more information, read our full review of the Hilton Amex Aspire.
If you want a more general travel card: Consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. This is a premium travel card with an annual fee of $550, offering benefits like Priority Pass membership, reimbursement for your application fee for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, an annual travel credit of up to $300 and strong earning categories. For more information, read our full review of the Sapphire Reserve.

For additional options, check out our full list of the best hotel cards.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

It’s easy to see how cardmembers can obtain value from the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex during the first year, thanks to its valuable welcome offer. But given the earning structure and the benefits available to cardmembers, it may be hard to justify keeping this card in your wallet in year two (and beyond) — especially when other Marriott cards offer similar perks at lower annual fees.

Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card

For rates and fees of the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Bevy, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire Card, click here.