Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express credit card review: Full details

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 several 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 has some application restrictions like the rest of the Bonvoy lineup. But if you’re eligible, let’s dig deeper to decide whether the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card merits a place in your wallet.

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 Oct. 2.

Based on TPG’s August 2024 valuations of Marriott points at 0.85 cents each, the 155,000 points are worth $1,318. This is close to the best-ever offer we have seen for the card and is highly worth considering if you’ve been eyeing it for some time.

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.

Related: The best time to apply for these Amex cards based on offer history

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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 luxury 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.

*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.

Related: Is the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy worth the annual fee?

The Bonvoy Bevy Amex’s earning rates feel familiar. However, they differ slightly from those of other Marriott credit cards, such as the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex 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’s valuations peg Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.85 cents apiece. This means your rate of return on spending will be 5.1% (purchases earning 6 points per dollar), 3.4% (purchases earning 4 points per dollar) or 1.7% (other purchases earning 2 points per dollar).

Related: 17 ways to earn lots of Marriott Bonvoy points

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 August 2024 valuation of Marriott points is 0.85 cents per point, so we recommend using your points for Bonvoy stays whenever possible.

TPG senior points and miles 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.

Related: Maximizing redemptions with the Marriott Bonvoy program

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

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. credit card issuers.

Related: When does it make sense to transfer Marriott points to airlines?

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

Related: Which Marriott Bonvoy credit card is right for you?

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.

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

Related: How to choose a hotel credit 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.