Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card Review: Big bonus or better benefits?

If you’re a loyalist to Amex or Marriott, both of these cards have something to offer. The few key places where these cards start to differ include affordability, benefits and long-term value. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card is Marriott’s premier consumer card and it has the price tag and benefits spread to match. Though you’ll have to pay a fairly steep $650 annual fee, your welcome offer value is higher than what you’d get with the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy (paired with a higher required spend) and you get access to ongoing benefits present on a few of the best travel cards such as annual statement credits, premium lounge access, and up to $100 statement credits for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fees. Essentially, you get what you pay for with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.

With the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy you’ll pay a lower annual fee and still get a welcome offer of sizable value that will offset your annual fee cost for the first year. However, there aren’t any extra statement credits or rewards to make up for the annual fee the following year. This is unlike the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, which still offers ongoing annual credits beyond the initial welcome offer. In this case, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant wins out on long-term value, even if it loses a bit of ground on the affordability front.

One of the biggest factors in choosing between these two cards is what hotel properties you stay with most often: Hilton or Marriott. Based on Bankrate’s most recent point valuations, Hilton Honors points are slightly less valuable than Marriott Bonvoy points. However, the difference is marginal, with Hilton Honors point values coming in at an average of 0.6 cents per point compared to Marriott Bonvoy’s 0.7 cents per point.

One area the Hilton Honors Amex card wins out is affordability. This card doesn’t charge an annual fee, which is significant when compared to the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy’s $250 annual fee. In exchange for no annual fee, you’ll get even less in terms of travel protections and benefits, but the Hilton Honors Amex card does have more everyday spending categories in which you can earn points toward your hotel stays.

If you’re an infrequent traveler and don’t want to shell out the extra cash for more benefits and protections, you may want to steer away from options like the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy. But if you want to rack up points for future travel on purchases like groceries and gas, the Hilton Honors Amex card may be one of the best choices for you. 

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers a decent rewards rate on hotel purchases when booked through Capital One’s travel portal, but also offers up to $100 credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck for a smaller $95 annual fee (See Rates & Fees) when compared to the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Card has boosted rewards in varying spending categories and charges no annual fee, which can make affording the Bonvoy Bevy easier. You’ll also get a modest intro APR for 12 months from account opening, after which a 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR applies.

But if cost isn’t much of a concern for you, you might consider the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card as another strong option, as it rewards generously for airline purchases and has a handful of perks that’ll help make your travel experience more affordable and worry-free.

Marriott customers who want to fast-track their elite status will appreciate this card’s complimentary Gold Elite Status and free night awards. It also rewards generously for Marriott stays and you can leverage your everyday spending into your Marriott Bonvoy rewards program.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $5,700
• Dining out: $3,600
• Entertainment: $2,400
• Gas: $3,100
• Apparel and services: $1,900

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

We recommend you have a good to excellent credit score, which is a FICO score between 670 and 850, to qualify for the Bonvoy Bevy card.

Joining Marriott Bonvoy is free and provides several perks when you stay at Marriott locations. The Bonvoy Bevy, which charges a $250 annual fee, adds to the perks you receive and boosts the amount of Marriott points you earn for all of your stays.

Your only option to upgrade your card is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card. You can only downgrade or upgrade credit cards from the same issuer, so the Chase Marriott cards are not available for upgrades or downgrades from the American Express cards.