Three U.S. hotel credit cards publish a mid-tier annual fee and a free-night award that requires $15,000 in purchases. As of October 2026, the Hilton Honors Surpass from American Express lists $0 for the first year and $150 after that. The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful from Chase and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy from American Express each list $250.
Each card also publishes elite status. Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite are different benefit lists, even though both use the word Gold.
The wider Hilton set is in the Hilton Honors cards comparison. The wider Marriott set is in the Marriott Bonvoy cards comparison.
Fee and Benefit Overview
As of October 2026, the Hilton Honors Surpass ongoing fee is $150, and the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful and Marriott Bonvoy Bevy fees are $250. Each issuer page describes one free-night award, and it requires $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year.
| Card | Annual fee | Published status | Free-night trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors Surpass | $0 in year one, then $150 | Hilton Honors Gold | $15,000 in a calendar year |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful | $250 | Gold Elite | $15,000 in a calendar year |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bevy | $250 | Gold Elite | $15,000 in a calendar year |
American Express states there is no annual fee for additional Bevy cards. The Surpass $0 fee is introductory and applies only to the first year of card membership.
The table is the published price and the spend line for a certificate. Property credits and elite night credits sit outside it.
Elite Status Comparison
The Hilton Honors Surpass publishes Hilton Honors Gold. The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy publish Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite. The listed benefits are not the same set.
Hilton Honors Gold
American Express describes Surpass Gold as an 80% bonus on base points earned on stays. The same description includes a daily food and beverage credit or complimentary continental breakfast. That benefit varies by brand and region.
Room upgrades are space-available and apply at select properties.
Gold also includes a fifth night free on a standard-room award stay of five or more nights when the stay is booked entirely with points. The benefit is for the basic cardholder. If the card is canceled, this card-provided Gold status is canceled.
The meal benefit follows the hotel’s brand and region rules, so one Gold status does not produce the same food credit at every property.
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite
Chase lists three Bountiful Gold Elite benefits. Stays earn a 25% points bonus. Late checkout is 2 p.m., based on availability. An enhanced room upgrade is also based on availability.
American Express describes Bevy Gold Elite with a 25% bonus on stays. It also describes room upgrades when a room is available. Neither issuer summary lists breakfast under Gold Elite.
Chase says only one Marriott Bonvoy credit card account per member is eligible for the Gold Elite status award. The account must stay open and not in default.
The shared word Gold covers an 80% Hilton base-point bonus and a food benefit on one side, and a 25% Marriott stay bonus on the other.
Earning Rate Comparison
Hotel points on the Hilton Honors Surpass, the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful, and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy come from the card and from the loyalty program as separate postings. Everyday categories use different caps.
At hotels
| Card | Card rate at the hotel | Combined figure the issuer publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors Surpass | 12 points per $1 at Hilton portfolio hotels and resorts | 12 card points, plus an 80% bonus on program base points |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful | 6 points per $1 at participating Marriott hotels | Up to 18.5 total points per $1 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bevy | 6 points per $1 at participating Marriott hotels | Up to 18.5 total points per $1 |
American Express and Chase describe the 18.5 figure as three parts. The card posts 6 points. Membership can post up to 10 base points. Gold Elite can post up to 2.5 points from the 25% stay bonus.
Chase lists a lower base at some brands. Element, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, and Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy earn 5 base points per dollar. Gold Elite adds 1.25 points on those stays.
Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay earn 2.5 base points per dollar. Gold Elite adds 0.625 points on those stays.
The Surpass 12-point rate is the card rate on Hilton portfolio purchases. The 80% Gold bonus applies to Hilton Honors base points on the stay. It is not a second 12-point card multiplier.
A hotel total is a stack, and the Marriott ceiling of 18.5 does not apply at every brand.
Everyday spending
| Card | Bonus categories | After the cap | Other purchases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors Surpass | 6 points per $1 at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations. 4 points per $1 on U.S. online retail. | No combined cap is published on these rates. | 3 points per $1 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful | 4 points total per $1 on grocery stores and on restaurant dining, including takeout and eligible delivery, for the first $15,000. | 2 points per $1 | 2 points per $1 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bevy | 4 points per $1 at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets, on the first $15,000 combined in a calendar year. | 2 points per $1 | 2 points per $1 |
Chase ties the Bountiful $15,000 cap to statement cycles. The first period runs from account opening through the first December statement. Later periods run from one December statement to the next. The Bevy cap is a calendar year.
Surpass publishes no cap on the 6-point U.S. restaurant, supermarket, and gas rates. Both Marriott cards return to 2 points per dollar after $15,000 in the named categories.
Annual Credits and Benefits
The Hilton Honors Surpass publishes a Hilton statement credit. The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy publish elite night credits and a per-stay points bonus. They do not publish an equivalent property statement credit.
Hilton credit
Surpass cardholders can receive up to $50 in statement credits each calendar quarter, for up to $200 in a year. The purchase must be charged directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio. A room booking counts when it is made through a Hilton reservation channel.
A booking through a third-party travel site does not qualify. Dining or a spa on the property counts only when the charge is posted to the room and paid with the Surpass card at checkout. Some charges under an event contract are excluded.
The cap is per quarter. A quarter with no eligible charge does not increase the cap in a later quarter.
Points on each Marriott stay
Bountiful and Bevy each publish 1,000 bonus points on a paid eligible stay booked directly with Marriott. Chase caps the Bountiful bonus at 1,000 points per stay. The stay must be on a qualifying rate, paid with that card, by the primary cardholder.
Rooms booked through a third-party site or a tour operator do not qualify. Chase says the points post within six weeks after the stay.
The bonus is a flat 1,000 points per qualifying stay. It is not a percentage of the room rate.
Elite night credits
Bountiful and Bevy each publish 15 elite night credits per calendar year toward the next Marriott Bonvoy elite level. Chase deposits the Bountiful credits within 60 days of account opening, then on or before March 1 in later years.
Chase deposits only one consumer-card elite night credit per member each year. The deposit matches the open card with the largest published credit. The rule applies regardless of which bank issued the card.
A consumer card and a business card can each deposit a credit in the same year. American Express says Bevy night credits have limits per member account. Those credits are not exclusive to American Express cards.
Fifteen credits are a counter toward a higher elite level. They are not a cash credit on the card statement.
Spend path to Hilton Diamond
The basic Surpass cardholder can receive Hilton Honors Diamond after $40,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar year. American Express says the upgrade takes about 10 to 12 weeks after that spend is reached. Diamond then lasts through the calendar year in which it was earned and the following calendar year, unless the cardholder qualifies again.
That Diamond path is a spend threshold. It is separate from the automatic Gold status on the same card.
Free Night Certificate Comparison
The Hilton Honors Surpass, the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful, and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy can each issue one free-night award after $15,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar year. The room ceiling and the charges still due at the hotel differ.
| Card | What the award covers | Resort fees on that night | Points added to the award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors Surpass | One standard room, double occupancy, at participating Hilton properties, excluding hotels on Hilton’s free-night list | Included, except a tourism tax at properties in Malaysia | No points add-on is published |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful | One night at a redemption level up to 50,000 points | Cardholder pays mandatory resort fees | Up to 25,000 points |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bevy | One night at or under 50,000 points | Cardholder pays mandatory resort fees | Up to 25,000 points |
The Surpass award expires one year after issuance. It is not transferable. It cannot be redeemed for cash or for points.
Hilton sends the Surpass award as a code by email about 8 to 12 weeks after the spend requirement is met. The cardholder still pays incidental charges.
The Marriott awards expire 12 months after issuance. They cannot be combined with cash. They cannot be transferred or extended.
The cardholder still pays incidental charges on the Marriott award night. Marriott free-night redemption terms say the Bevy award is deposited about 8 to 12 weeks after the spend requirement is met.
A standard-room Hilton award and a 50,000-point Marriott award draw on different inventories. The Marriott award can still leave a resort fee on the folio.
How the issuing banks differ
The Hilton Honors Surpass and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy are issued by American Express. The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful is issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
American Express lists no annual fee on additional Bevy cards. The Hilton listing for Surpass includes no foreign transaction fee from American Express.
The issuing bank writes the account agreement for that card. Marriott still limits a member to one consumer-card elite night credit per year when the cards come from different banks.
How the published credits sit against the fee
The Hilton Honors Surpass ongoing fee is $150, and the card publishes up to $200 in Hilton statement credits. The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy publish a $250 fee and 15 elite night credits, and they do not publish that property credit.
The Surpass credit requires an eligible Hilton charge inside the quarter. It is not paid as unrestricted cash.
The Marriott night credits are a status counter. Chase does not describe them as a separate cash amount on the statement.
A free-night award on any of the three cards still requires $15,000 in eligible purchases in that calendar year. On the Surpass and Bevy terms, fees, interest, cash advances, and several cash-like purchases do not count. Chase lists a similar exclusion set for the Bountiful award, including annual fees and cash-like transactions.
The fee contrast is a $200 capped Hilton credit against a status-night deposit, not two cash rebates of the same type.
Where status, credits, and nights diverge
The Hilton Honors Surpass list includes a food and beverage credit or breakfast that varies by brand and region, plus the quarterly Hilton credit. The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful and Marriott Bonvoy Bevy lists include 15 elite night credits, a 25% Gold Elite points bonus, and 1,000 points on each qualifying paid stay.
Bountiful and Bevy share several published terms. Both list a $250 fee, a 6-point hotel rate, Gold Elite, 15 night credits, a per-stay bonus, and a 50,000-point free-night ceiling. The issuer differs. The everyday-category wording differs too.
Bevy names restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets. That cap is a calendar year. The Bountiful rewards agreement names grocery stores and restaurant dining, including takeout and eligible delivery. That cap follows the December statement cycle.
American Express states that Marriott Bonvoy points can be redeemed at more than 10,000 participating hotels. That figure is a program count. It is not a count of hotels inside the 50,000-point award ceiling.
The published lists diverge on the food benefit, the property credit, and the elite night deposit. The annual fee alone does not describe that split.
Common Misconceptions
A higher annual fee is not a larger property credit. Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful and Marriott Bonvoy Bevy list a $250 fee. The ongoing Hilton Honors Surpass fee is $150 after a $0 first year. The Marriott cards do not publish the $200 Hilton credit.
Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite are not the same package. The Surpass Gold description includes a food and beverage credit or breakfast that varies by brand and region. The Bountiful and Bevy Gold Elite descriptions list a 25% points bonus and room upgrades, and they do not list breakfast.
Holding Bountiful and Bevy at the same time does not double the 15 elite night credits. Chase states that one member account receives the annual elite night credit of the consumer card with the highest number, regardless of issuer.
A free-night award is not an unrestricted stay at every hotel in the program. The Marriott awards stop at 50,000 points unless the member adds up to 25,000 points. The Surpass award is one standard room at participating properties, and it excludes hotels on Hilton’s free-night list.
Those limits are written into the certificate rules. The status name does not remove them.
