The keeper card series makes the case for why specific cards deserve an ongoing spot in your wallet despite any annual fees or alternative options. As always I'm writing for a Canadian market, and at times targetting professionals who may have business expenses and need additional cards in that context.
What Makes a Keeper - Recurring/Ongoing Benefits
The third consideration I give for determining keeper cards is any card that can reliable generate a recurring benefit greater than its annual fee. Many cards offer a large SUB to get you in the door, but little beyond that going forward. Those are the cards that you should churn, earn, and burn - aka SUB hunting. But there are some cards with recurring benefits that justify their cost.
Anniversary Benefits
Several cards have anniversary benefits, but not all of them are clearly worth their annual fee or may require hefty spending to unlock making them less clear cut keepers. The premium Aeroplan Cards for example can unlock an annual companion pass with $25k annual spend (egs. TD AP VIP, Amex AP R, and Amex Business AP R). This pass can unlock significant value if used to it's maximum, but given the high annual fee on this card and the spend requirement to unlock the benefit, I wouldn't consider them Keeper's on that basis alone. The RBC Westjet WE Mastercard also comes with an anniversary companion pass, but unlike the AP cards does not have a spend requirement for this, but its value depends a lot on the typical fare class you book due to it's pricing structure.
On the other hand, the Amex Bonvoy and Amex Bonvoy business cards are, in my opinion, clear cut keepers. In exchange for an annual fee of $120 and $150 respectively, both of these cards provide annual "free night" vouchers valued at up to 35k Bonvoy points which can be topped up with up to 15k additional points of your own for a single night stay at one of their properties. While redemptions can vary widely, commonly cited value of 0.8cpp would put the value of the certificate at $280. It would take a pretty poor redemption to end up losing out. Make sure to remember that you don't get the voucher your first year, instead the first year value comes from the sign up bonus. The personal Bonvoy has a public offer of 50k (valued at $400) for $1500 spend in 3 months, this represents almost 27% back on your first $1500 spend! The business card offers a 60k SUB for $5k spend in 3 months, valued at $480 for a lower but almost 10% return. These SUBs should easily be able to cover a nights stay in your first year before the free night award comes into play.
With that in mind, provided you could reasonably see yourself spending a single night at a Marriott property in a year you should come out ahead, already potential reason to make this a keeper card.
Ongoing benefits
Some cards also have ongoing benefits separate from an anniversary or spend related benefit. The TD AP VI, currently available with no annual fee for the first year, comes with a free checked bag for you and up to 8 companions on Air Canada flights for example, for some this is reason alone to hold the card.
The Bonvoy cards similarly aren't just useful for their annual benefit, they also provide instant Bonvoy Silver status and count as 15 nights towards further status levels. Note that the Canadian versions of this card do not stack nights, so holding both will not give you 30 nights. Bonvoy silver admittedly doesn't provide much benefit: priority late checkout being "as available" but it will earn you an extra 1 point per USD spent at Bonvoy properties, or about 0.75 points per CAD depending on the exchange rate, equivalent to another 0.6% back on purchases. The 15 nights mean that you'll only need 10 nights stay to hit the next tier, full details at Marriott's site. I do think its important to say if you hold an Amex Platinum card you will already qualify for Gold status, so unless you are likely to stay 35 nights to unlock Platinum status these benefits wont be helpful to you.
General Use
Given an 0.8cpp value estimate, the personal card earn rate of 5x Marriott and 2x other purchases becomes 4% and 1.6% back. The business card adds a 3x or 2.4% back category for gas, dining, and travel. These earn rates makes its use outside Marriott properties limited unless youre struggling to meet your SUB. You're better off putting other spend on higher earning cards. The Amex Cobalt for example earns 5x MR on food, which can be converted 1:1.2 to Bonvoy, for an effective rate of 6x Bonvoy on food!
It's worth noting that Marriott has a "5th night free" policy for point redemptions which can significantly increase the value of your points if you have longer stays in mind. And heres a big tip even if you only need 4 days with your point redemption, book 5. It will give you the equivalent of super late check out and an extra night towards your Status, just check out from the mobile app the next day.
Conclusion
The Amex Bonvoy cards can consistently provide value greater than their annual fees provided you stay at least one night a year at a Bonvoy property. Add to that status elevation and enhanced earning, and it's a no brainer to pick one up, the sign up bonus just sweetens the deal. If you're new to Bonvoy I can also get you a code for a bonus up to 10k bonvoy points on top of your credit card sign up bonuses, just reach out to let me know you're interested before you sign up for anything (just note this process can take some time so isn't well suited to short notice prior to applying). Plus check out my article on hotel bookings to see how this can stack with the eStore for Aeroplan earning.
Also, while the personal card has a lower annual and easier to hit SUB, you can consider the business card if most of your hotel stays are under your business and you'd like a second free night a year. If you're interested in your first business card reach out to me to discuss all the options to get you started on the right foot.
Looking for help? Reach out for a consult
Advanced Reading
Consider the following combination for maximum rewards: Aeroplan Estore to Marriott Bonvoy and purchase with your Bonvoy card. With current Estore bonus of 2x APP you add another 4% to your return (4x or 8% if 25K status). You'll also earn 11x per USD from most properties as Bonvoy Silver (10x base +10% on most properties, some will be 5x base) or ~8x bonvoy or ~6.4% back in CAD. This in addition to the ~4% back from the card itself. The total return can be almost 20%!
Even better if you can combine it with work travel, such as an Intellectures conference.
Referral links
Want free hotel stays? Get the Amex Bonvoy, or maybe you'd rather the business version of the card (or both).
With its best in market 5x multiplier Amex Cobalt is a powerful point earner that can get you on flying for free 5 times faster than much of the competition, or to convert to even more bonvoy points - sign up here.
To see the access the best offers for different Amex card such as the Business Gold, or Platinum click here. Or to compare all the cards I can refer to, check out my card comparison tool.
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If you're on the fence, or wondering about other cards reach out to me for a free consult, and if you sign up for a card through my link, let me know and I will walk you through advanced tricks and personalized advice to help you get the maximum benefit both from earning and redeeming points - getting your travel journey going faster than you ever thought possible.
Check out my Keeper Cards series to see other cards worth exploring
Disclaimer
These posts are all made in good intentions and are to the best of my ability accurate at the time of writing. That said, the official terms and conditions and current sign up bonuses should be verified and interpreted in the context of your personal financial situation.
