A few months ago, Marriott registered several new trademarks pertaining to their credit card portfolio and this week, there was a leak with an actual image of the American Express Bonvoy BEVY card.
Gary published this image on his blog View From The Wing and Doctor of Credit also wrote a few lines about it, suggesting the BEVY will be a new Premium card issued by American Express.
The first time the name was floated was roughly four months ago, when Marriott trademarked two new credit card names to complement their existing portfolio.
The new names were:
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy
- Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful
Marriott currently has a range of credit card products in different countries. These two names were trademarked in the U.S. suggesting that these would be ties to financial products issued by U.S. banks.
Right now, Marriott has a relationship with American Express and Chase.
American Express presently handles three card types for Marriott Bonvoy:
- Bonvoy American Express Standard Card (no longer accepting new applications)
- Bonvoy American Express Brilliant Card
- Bonvoy American Express Business Card
Chase likewise has a variety of card products:
- Bonvoy Boundless by Chase
- Bonvoy Bold by Chase
These newly registered card names could mean that one will be issued by American Express (BEVY) and another to be issued by Chase (Bountiful). When you search on Google, there isn’t anything available in terms of the Bountiful product. Of course, the name could end up not being used at all, and they just trademarked it as one of the two names that made it into the final round of consideration.
Let’s focus on the BEVY card by American Express (should it come up sometime soon). What could Amex plan with this card as they already have the Brilliant as a premium consumer card?
All the way back in 2020, American Express sent out a survey to existing cardholders asking for their opinion about a card product that would offer enhanced points-earning, waived resort fees, and guaranteed suite upgrades.
This sounds a lot like their Amex Hilton Aspire card product that gives out Diamond status just for carrying the card. Amex also asked in these surveys if members were willing to pay between $650-$750 for premium cards. Keep in mind that they also increased the annual fee for the Platinum card to $695 since.
Based on this American Express could do two things, make the Bonvoy Brilliant more expensive and enhance the benefits of the card or establish the BEVY as their premium product. I tend to believe that the first option is more likely as the Brilliant sounds and looks more premium.
In June this year, Amex announced that they would do away with the $300 annual Marriott credit on the Brilliant cards:
Effective September 22nd, the $300 Marriott Bonvoy statement credit benefit will no longer be available. It will be replaced with $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide.
I currently carry the Brilliant card and I’m already lifetime Platinum as well as Titanium based on annual qualification. Should Amex turn the Brilliant into a card that targets no-status customers to give them Platinum flat out to justify the high annual fee, I’ll definitely downgrade that card as it doesn’t make any sense for me anymore. I’m already annoyed about the new restaurant credit that has to be stretched out monthly over the whole year rather than getting one large credit.
Conclusion
American Express and Marriott Bonvoy seem to have a new card product called Bonvoy BEVY in the works. The name has previously been trademarked, and someone leaked a new design this week to Gary from VFTW. The card isn’t available on Amex’s website yet so if and when it will be available for applications (and at what price point) is anyone’s guess right now.
The Brilliant has been a good card at $450/year and the $300 Marriott credit. Since American Express has already toyed with that the card will get considerably less attractive next month. Should they increase the annual fee on top of it all, that would be the killer for that product.
Of course, people who just want Bonvoy Platinum would be very happy if Amex added this benefit. No stays required, just pay and boom – there you go, cheaper than a mattress run. These loyalty programs have less and less to do with brand loyalty these days.
