Bottom Line

Out of the host of Marriott co-branded cards offered, we don’t recommend the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy or its sister card, the Bountiful (pretty much the same card as this one but backed by Chase instead of American Express). The welcome offer is good enough (85k points) but with a $250 annual fee, we would expect more benefits. You can only earn a free night after spending $15k on the card, and the only other notable benefits are complimentary Gold Elite status and 15 Elite night credits to put towards stepping up to Platinum Elite (which still requires 50 nights).

Why You Might Want This Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy offers a decent 85k point sign-up bonus (which isn’t as valuable as other hotel cards because reward redemptions are so high with Marriott) after $5,000 in purchases, but you have 6 months to meet it. The one free night each year (up to 50k points) is only offered after spending $15k on the card, which simply isn’t worth it Complimentary Gold Elite Status is a nice perk that's offered with the card, as are 15 Elite night credits you can use towards earning better status. But even with those, we’d choose other Marriott cards if you’re looking for one, as this one comes with a hefty $250 fee that we don’t see being worth it, even for the sign-up bonus.

Exceptions To The Rule

It's hard to imagine why you'd get the Marriott card:

• The spend to get a free night isn’t worth it, especially when other Marriott co-branded offer free nights without any spending requirements
• If you've gotten one of the Marriott/Starwood cards in the last 24 months, that precludes you from earning the sign-up bonus on this card
• The ROI isn’t very good compared to other hotel chain rewards systems

About Marriott Bonvoy

Bonvoy holds a unique place in this hobby. That’s because the points are a solid value for hotel reservations at the world's largest hotel chain AND Bonvoy points transfer to other point systems. In fact, Bonvoy has more transfer partners than Amex, Citi and Chase combined!!

This creates a unique situation, similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards points. There are nearly no flight or hotel situations that Bonvoy can’t solve. For this reason, we tend to use other hotel points (Hilton in particular) and save our Bonvoy points for unique situations, especially if you want to travel to any exotic locations.

The challenge is the value isn't great on transfers. We'll generally only use transfers for a points top off to buy a flight. Otherwise, we'll use our Bonvoy points for hotel rooms, especially in those hard to book places since Marriott has the most hotels globally.

Where Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Fits In This Point Ecosystem

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card (AMEX) is almost identical to the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful (Chase) card. Both offer 85k point sign-up bonuses (but with different spending requirements), $250 annual fees, complimentary Gold Elite Status, 15 Elite night credits per year, and a free night (up to 50k points) after putting $15k in spend on the card in a year. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is the next step down when it comes to an annual fee, as it charges you $95, but it also offers a better welcome bonus of 100k points and $150 statement credit after your first purchase. You also get a free night after your anniversary, without a spending requirement, though the cap is 35k points. The Boundless gets you complimentary Silver Elite Status and 15 Elite night credits each calendar year, as well. The Marriott Bonvoy Bold card is the no-annual fee card offered by Marriott/Chase. You receive a 60k point sign-up bonus after $2k in purchases in 3 months plus a free night’s stay up to 50k points. Despite not having a fee, you also receive Silver Elite Status and 5 Elite night credits. The most prestigious of the Marriott co-branded cards is American Express’ Brilliant card, which has a $650 annual fee but comes with a host of benefits, perks, and statement credits for those loyal to Marriott and chasing status. The 95k point sign-up bonus is pretty good, comparatively, and it also offers one free night per year (up to 85k points) and complimentary Platinum Elite status, which comes with a lot of extra perks that Gold and Silver don’t offer.

Personal Experience

We've consistently passed on this card because we're not fans of the Marriot point system. What makes this card even worse is paying a beefy annual fee to get a mediocre sign-up bonus. If you just have to get a Marriott card, go with a less expensive version.