by Daniel | Last Updated October 18th, 2022
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links, at no cost to you.
Just last month American Express and Chase introduced two new credit cards, the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card.
And interestingly enough they are almost identical in terms of annual fees, sign-up bonuses, and benefits.
Now in this article, I just wanted to take a closer look at both cards and see if there are actually any differences between them, and if so, which card comes out on top.
Who are these cards good for?
Both of these cards are directly targeted at consumers that are looking for a way to get more benefits from their stays at Marriott properties.
Depending on your preference of card, whether it be the Amex or Visa variation, they both offer very similar perks that can definitely provide a fair amount of value.
As you will see later in this review, if you take advantage of everything these cards have to offer, it will easily cover the cost of the annual fee and leave you quite a bit of extra value.
Annual fee
Now when it comes to the annual fee of these cards they both cost $250 a year, which is just over $20 a month.
And considering all of the benefits that come with these cards, I think this a reasonable annual fee to pay.
Sign up bonus
So not surprisingly, both of these cards offer the same 125,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening the account.
And seeing that Marriott Bonvoy points are worth 0.8 cents per point, these sign-up bonuses are worth $1,000 each.
This is 4 times the cost of the annual fee, so it’s a pretty generous sign-up bonus.
Points earning potential
Now when it comes to earning points, both cards offer the same options.
For purchases made at hotels that are participating in Marriott Bonvoy, it is possible to earn 6x points per dollar spent.
Then it is possible to earn 4x points at restaurants worldwide, which includes takeout and delivery.
And then 4x points at US supermarkets.
Now the 4x points earnings are limited to a combined maximum spend of $15,000 each year.
After this amount has been met, the points earnings for these categories will be downgraded to 2x points for the remainder of the year.
All other purchases that are made on the cards will earn 2x points per dollar spent.
Benefits and user perks
So now let’s take a look at all of the benefits that are offered with both of these cards, and you will see that they are once again both offer very similar.
Starting first with the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card there is a free night award that is offered each year as long as you spend at least $15,000 on the card within a 12-month period.
This free night award can then be used for one night at a Marriott property with a redemption level at or below 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points.
And based on points being worth 0.8 cents per point, this is worth around $400.
Hotel Example
Now as an example, if I choose a hotel room in Miami from Nov 7th-8th it is possible to book one night stay at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami in a large guest room for 45,000 points, and as you can see in the picture below the equivalent price when paying cash is $466 per night.
So based on this example, just this one benefit easily covers the cost of the annual fee and makes the card a decent addition to your wallet.
There is then automatic Gold Elite Status and 15 Elite night credits each calendar year.
And with Gold Elite Status it is possible to earn 25% more points on eligible hotel purchases, priority 2 pm late checkout, and the ability to get a room upgrade upon arrival if it is available.
There is also a welcome gift of up to 1,000 bonus points when you arrive at the hotel, and the number of points that get with this bonus will depend on which hotel you stay at, but nonetheless, a nice little extra to have.
Then finally, as with quite a few Chase credit cards, there is a complimentary one-year DashPass.
And this provides you with unlimited deliveries with no delivery fee on orders that are over $12.
The normal cost for a DashPass membership is $9.99 per month.
Now with the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card there is exactly the same Free Night Award as the Chase card.
So if you spend $15,000 within a calendar year, it is possible to receive a free night award that can be redeemed at a hotel with a redemption rate of 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points.
Hotel Example
And as an example, if I choose a hotel in Los Angeles from Nov 7th-8th, it is possible to stay a the W hotel in Hollywood for 48,000 points, and the equivalent cash price is $308.
So again, this is a nice benefit to have with either of these 2 credit cards as it really adds a lot of value.
There is the same Gold elite status and 15 elite night credits offered to you each calendar year.
And there is the same 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points for stays that are booked directly with Marriott Bonvoy.
The only difference between the two cards when it comes to benefits is that the Amex card offers a Shop Runner Membership, and the Chase card offers a DashPass membership.
And with a Shop Runner Membership, it is possible to get free 2-day shipping and free returns from a large range of different stores located across the noted States.
And this usually costs $79 a year.
Insurance coverage
So now let’s take look at all of the insurance-related coverage that each card offers and what differences there are.
Starting with the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card there is an Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver that comes into effect when you decline the car rental agency’s collision insurance and then pay for the entire rental with the card.
Then there is Baggage Delay Insurance that provides up to $100 per day for up to 5 days if your luggage is delayed by a passenger carrier for more than 6 hours.
There is then Lost Luggage Reimbursement for you and an immediate family member for up to $3,000 per passenger if your luggage is damaged or lost by the carrier.
If your travel is delayed for more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay there is Trip Delay Reimbursement.
And with this, it is possible to get up to $500 per ticket for you and any family members that are traveling on the same trip as you.
With the Extended Warranty Protection, it is possible to receive 1 additional year of coverage on US warranties that are 3 years or less.
Finally, there is purchase protection that provides 120 days of coverage on new purchases if they are accidentally damaged or stolen.
And this covers up to $500 per claim and a total of $50,000 per account.
Now with the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card there is similar Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance which covers up to $50,000.
Then there is a Baggage Insurance Plan that covers up to a total of $3,000 if your luggage is lost damaged or stolen, and this is pretty much the same as the Chase cards Lost Luggage Reimbursement.
Now interestingly enough the Amex card doesn’t offer Baggage Delay Insurance like the Chase card.
There is Trip Delay Insurance which provides up to $300 per trip if it happens to be delayed for more than 12 hours, and this can only be claimed a maximum of 2 times per 12-month period.
And this is substantially less than what the Chase Card offers, which is up to $500 per claim and a total of $50,000 per account.
There is similar Extended Warranty protection that provides one additional year of coverage on US warranties that are 5 years or less.
And then finally there is Purchases protection that provides 90 days of coverage (compared to the Chase card’s 120 days of coverage).
Although the Amex card covers up to $10,000 per occurrence compared to the Chase cards $500 per claim, but both cards offer the same maximum of $50,000 per calendar year.
APR
Now for that last section of this review, I’ll just go over how the cards compare when it comes to the APR and transaction fees associated with getting a cash advance or making a late payment.
Starting first with the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card the APR for purchases and balance transfers is currently between 18.99% to 25.99%.
Doing a balance transfer with also incur a fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever amount is more.
A cash advance has an APR of 27.99% and will also incur a fee of either $10 or %5 of the amount of each cash advance.
The penalty APR is the usual 29.99% and also incurs a fee of up to $40 for either a late payment or returned payment.
And there are no foreign transaction fees which means it’s perfectly fine to use the card overseas.
Next up with the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card the APR for purchases is currently 18.74% to 27.74%.
A cash advance has an APR of 28.24% and will also incur the same fee as the Chase card of $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance.
The Penalty APR is the same at 29.99% and the fees are the same for both a late payment or returned payment at up to $40 each.
And there are no foreign transaction fees.
So the main difference for this section is that the Chase card has the option to do a balance transfer, whereas the Amex card doesn’t.
Final thoughts
So that pretty much covers everything there is to know about both of these cards and to be honest they are almost identical.
The only main differences are the insurance-related coverage, and that is where the Chase cards offers ever so slightly more value.
Basically, the Chase card has Baggage Delay Insurance that provides up to $100 a day for 5 days if your luggage is delayed for more than 6 hours, whereas the Amex card doesn’t have this coverage.
Also, the Trip Delay Reimbursement with the Chase card provides an additional $200 per trip.
And finally, the Purchase protection with the Chase card is 30 longer than what the Amex card offers, although the Amex card has a much higher coverage of $10,000 per occurrence compared to the Chase cards $500 per claim.
So if you want to most possible value, the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card from Chase is the better card by a narrow margin.
Now if you like both of these cards but are looking for an even more exclusive Hotel rewards card, check out this article where I review and compare the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card with the recently upgraded Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card.