Originally Posted by
david252
For my case, it has been worth it all the time. Usually hotel branded credit cards gives out free night awards certificate yearly that can be worth beyond the annual fee. So, I just think of the card as no annual fee card.
Also, the points you earn during sign up and using the card can give you nice vacation without worrying the high hotel room cost. For example, Marriott Bonvoy, if you use points for 4night you get 5th night free which I love the most about the program.
Yesterday, I made the hard call to drop from the Amex Bonvoy Brilliance card to the Bevy card. (The $650 card to the $250 level.) I had been at the $450 level since the card was introduced.
When the card was $450 and included a $300 property credit plus a free night, it was a clear cut "better-than-free" card. At $650 with the credit flipped to a trickle of dining credits, even with the free night rising to a higher category, it's at best an approximately "free" card, but one where I have to front the $650 to get benefits.
The Bevy card, a straightforward $250 for a 50k cert, makes more sense for me.
Some other factors:
- I'm already LT Titanium so any comped statuses or elite-qualifying nights are meaningless to me.
- My redemption sweet spot tends to be the 40-50k hotels. I don't have a lot of one-night super-high-end stays where the 85k cert would be worth a lot to me. I'd be looking for Ritzes and such to use it at, which could be fun, but I have enough regular points to do that if I choose.
- I have the Hilton Aspire card, so the other premium Amex perks come with that, including whatever is left of Priority Pass lounge membership (which I no longer place much value on).
- The Bevy card has a couple of interesting smaller throw-ins, such as a 1k point bonus on every Marriott stay and bonus points on supermarket spend. If those add up to 20-30k a year, then it's almost like having the higher-category free night cert.
- I probably wouldn't chase the Brilliance threshold for the 2nd free night. I don't stay at $60k worth of Marriotts and even if I threw all of my restaurant and travel spend at the card I don't think I'd get there.