Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex: Is There A Better Option?

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex: Is There A Better Option?

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Link: Apply for now the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card

Marriott Bonvoy has a large co-branded credit card portfolio, with cards issued by both American Express and Chase. The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card (review) is one of the newest cards in the portfolio, and it’s kind of in the middle of the pack when it comes to the annual fee.

While the card has an excellent welcome offer, in this post I’d like to look at the overall value proposition of the card, and talk about why there’s a better option than this card for most consumers.

The basics of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card has a $250 annual fee (Rates & Fees). Here are the main perks that you get with the card, as I see it:

In isolation, the card could potentially be worthwhile. For example, say you’re a frequent Marriott guest, and you easily spend $15,000 per year on a Marriott co-branded credit card. I’d say the card then has a fair enough value proposition, since you’re using the best card for your spending, plus you’re getting an annual free night award.

However, that ignores one important point…

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card has a good rewards structure

Why the Bonvoy Brilliant Card is a better option

The argument could be made that the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card is well worth it. However, I’d argue that the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review) is a more lucrative personal credit card for a vast majority of consumers.

To get the bad news out of the way first, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card has a $650 annual fee (Rates & Fees), which is obviously steep. Understandably, most people don’t want to spend that much on an annual fee if they can avoid it.

However, I’d argue that for virtually any savvy consumer, you’d come out ahead with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card (and I’m not even factoring in the superior welcome offer):

Now, there is one other consideration I should address. Marriott credit card eligibility restrictions are kind of complicated. Essentially, it’s worth understanding that you’re eligible for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card (including the welcome offer) if you have the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card, while the inverse isn’t true (you’re not eligible for the Bonvoy Bevy Card welcome offer if you have the Bonvoy Brilliant Card).

So if you do want to pick up both cards eventually, then there’s merit to first applying for the Bonvoy Bevy Card, and then later applying for the Bonvoy Brilliant Card.

Get club lounge access as a Marriott Platinum member

How I recommend deciding between the cards

I want to be balanced here — it doesn’t matter to me which card someone applies for — so let’s talk about under what circumstances each of the cards makes sense.

There’s a niche circumstance where I can see someone preferring the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card to the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card in the long run. The way I view it, this would be for a Marriott super user, who spends $15,000 on their card annually anyway. We’re talking about someone who maybe has Titanium status or above strictly through hotel stays. Why would the card maybe make sense for them?

  • The lack of a free night award without a spending requirement wouldn’t matter, since they’d spend $15,000 on the card anyway
  • The incremental elite nights and Platinum status wouldn’t be worth much to them, since they qualify for a higher tier anyway, and don’t need any more help with elite status
  • The 1,000 incremental bonus points per stay could add up, in addition to the 6x points they earn for Marriott spending

For a vast majority of people, I think the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is more compelling than the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card. Let’s work backwards, doing the math on the card’s $650 annual fee:

  • I consider the $300 restaurant credit to basically be worth face value, since I just load my Starbucks account with $25 each month, and that triggers the credit; with $300 in statement credits, I basically consider the card to “cost” me $350 per year
  • A free night award valid at a property costing up to 85,000 points will get you stays at some awesome hotels, and I value that at significantly more than $350; for example, I’ve used my certificate at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto (with an extra 15,000 points), when the stay would’ve cost roughly $2,000 per night
  • This doesn’t even account for the other perks of the card, like the elite status and lounge access

For me, the math very much checks out on this card, assuming you can easily maximize the restaurant statement credits (it just requires a little effort), and stay at Marriotts with any frequency.

Also, just keep in mind that you can always apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card with its superior offer and give it a try. If the card doesn’t work out for you, it should be possible to downgrade the card after a year.

I used a free night award at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto

Bottom line

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card could represent a good value for some consumers, though I think for a vast majority of people, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is a better option.

Yes, the card has a higher annual fee, but it also has substantial incremental perks. You get Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, 25 elite nights toward status, an anniversary free night award at a property costing up to 85,000 points, a Priority Pass™ Select membership, and much more. Add in the superior welcome offer, and I really think there’s a pretty obvious choice for most consumers.

What’s your take on the value proposition of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees), and Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees).

Conversations (4)
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  1. JW Guest

    Only worth it if the SUB is an elevated 155k. If you get the Brilliant first, you lock yourself out of the Bevy SUB. That is the only reason to get this card for a year.

  2. Sam Guest

    Sorry, it is lousy card. Virtually no bang for $250 bucks.

    The Brilliant card ain't so much (brilliant) since they jacked up the annual fee.

    I get P Pass lounge access and Global Entry and 2 miles (at least) per dollar spent with the Venture X card. Which costs, nothing! In fact, Cap1 pays me to use the card. $395 fee? -Minus $300 in travel credits, minus another $100 in travel credits from the 10k...

    Sorry, it is lousy card. Virtually no bang for $250 bucks.

    The Brilliant card ain't so much (brilliant) since they jacked up the annual fee.

    I get P Pass lounge access and Global Entry and 2 miles (at least) per dollar spent with the Venture X card. Which costs, nothing! In fact, Cap1 pays me to use the card. $395 fee? -Minus $300 in travel credits, minus another $100 in travel credits from the 10k yearly bonus miles (or, at least $500 in value when I use those 10k miles at 5 cents per to book business class seats.), minus $24(?) $25(?) per year in Global Entry credit.

    I have the AMEX Marriott Business card and the Chase Marriott card, thus 40 elite nights before I do a single booking. This year, so far, I'm at 146 elite nights. Don't need no stinking Gold or Platinum status at $250 or $650. Sure the 85k FNA is nice, but its a one time pop and I seldom stay one night while on the road. But, maybe it makes sense for others....

  3. grayanderson Gold

    I actually think the Bevy is easily the worst Marriott card option (due to the lack of an automatic annual FNA).

    A good sign of how lousy it is? Amex keeps bugging me to upgrade my ex-Starwood card ("You may qualify for an upgrade" has been a pestering note on Amex's website for several years now). I find that this sort of pestering isn't common unless the product stinks.

  4. Regis Guest

    Both the Boundless and Brilliant are superior cards. $250 annual fee but no free night award? No thank you.

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The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

JW Guest

Only worth it if the SUB is an elevated 155k. If you get the Brilliant first, you lock yourself out of the Bevy SUB. That is the only reason to get this card for a year.

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Sam Guest

Sorry, it is lousy card. Virtually no bang for $250 bucks. The Brilliant card ain't so much (brilliant) since they jacked up the annual fee. I get P Pass lounge access and Global Entry and 2 miles (at least) per dollar spent with the Venture X card. Which costs, nothing! In fact, Cap1 pays me to use the card. $395 fee? -Minus $300 in travel credits, minus another $100 in travel credits from the 10k yearly bonus miles (or, at least $500 in value when I use those 10k miles at 5 cents per to book business class seats.), minus $24(?) $25(?) per year in Global Entry credit. I have the AMEX Marriott Business card and the Chase Marriott card, thus 40 elite nights before I do a single booking. This year, so far, I'm at 146 elite nights. Don't need no stinking Gold or Platinum status at $250 or $650. Sure the 85k FNA is nice, but its a one time pop and I seldom stay one night while on the road. But, maybe it makes sense for others....

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grayanderson Gold

I actually think the Bevy is easily the worst Marriott card option (due to the lack of an automatic annual FNA). A good sign of how lousy it is? Amex keeps bugging me to upgrade my ex-Starwood card ("You may qualify for an upgrade" has been a pestering note on Amex's website for several years now). I find that this sort of pestering isn't common unless the product stinks.

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