Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex 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 offers several cobranded cards for potential cardholders to choose from, ranging from no annual fee to one at $650. The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card sits in the middle, with an annual fee of $250.

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

To increase your chances of getting approved for this card, TPG recommends applicants have a credit score of 670 or above. Additionally, there are some complicated application restrictions that apply to the Bevy, 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.

For a limited time, Bonvoy Bevy Amex cardmembers can earn 155,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.

Based on TPG’s March 2025 valuation of Marriott points at 0.7 cents each, the 155,000 points are worth $1,085.

This is the highest-ever welcome offer on the card when you consider only the spending requirement to earn the 155,000 bonus points.

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Previously, the card once offered 125,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first three months of card membership, plus 50,000 points after staying six eligible paid nights with Marriott (offer no longer available). So, the current bonus requires significantly less spending for the points.

The current bonus definitely meets our threshold for when to apply (any time the offer is over 85,000 points).

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 credit card welcome bonuses currently available

Where the Bonvoy Bevy Amex shines the most is in the perks it offers (terms apply):

• Marriott Gold Elite status: Primary cardmembers receive complimentary Marriott Gold Elite status for as long as they have the card. 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). Enrollment is required in advance for this elite status benefit. While you can spend your way to higher levels of elite status with many other hotel credit cards, that’s noticeably absent on this card.
• Elite night credits: Cardmembers 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, fast-tracking you up to 30 elite nights. For reference, you need 50 nights per year to qualify for Platinum Elite status.
• Bonus points per stay: Earn 1,000 bonus Marriott points every time you book an eligible paid stay directly with a property participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Terms apply.

• Shopping protections: Purchases made with the card 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.
• 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.***
• Free night award via annual spending: Cardmembers who make at least $15,000 in eligible purchases during the calendar year will earn a free night award. This free night award is worth up to 50,000 points at participating hotels (certain hotels have resort fees). That’s more valuable than the free night certificates that come with the lower-tier Marriott cards, which are capped at 35,000 points. However, 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 (worth up to 35,000 points) and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (up to 85,000 points; certain hotels have resort fees; terms apply).

Marriott Bonvoy has recently raised the number of points needed to book nights at multiple properties, so the higher-value certificate could be more worthwhile.

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

*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.

Earning points on the Bonvoy Bevy Amex

Here’s what cardmembers can expect to earn with the Bevy:

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

Per TPG’s March 2025 valuations, you’ll get a 4.2% return on Marriott Bonvoy purchases, 2.8% on the first $15,000 per year in combined purchases at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets and 1.4% on all other purchases.

Related: The best ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy points

There are many lucrative ways to redeem your Marriott Bonvoy points. The obvious and most valuable redemption is for free stays.

Marriott Bonvoy utilizes dynamic award pricing, which means that the number of points needed for a night at any property can vary depending on demand. If you’re looking for the best deal for your Marriott points, it’s best practice to search ahead to find lower prices and remain flexible with your dates.

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 below TPG’s March 2025 valuation of Marriott points at 0.7 cents per point, so we recommend using your points for Bonvoy stays whenever possible.

TPG senior points and miles writer Katie Genter gets outsize 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. However, 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 an airline’s frequent flyer points or miles that don’t partner with any of the major U.S. credit card issuers, like Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank.

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.

The information for the Hilton Honors 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.

Related: Who should (and shouldn’t) get the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express card?

New Bevy cardmembers can get positive value from the welcome bonus in the first year. However, 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). It’s important to note that 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.