Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card Review

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card could be worth it for those who frequently stay at Marriott throughout the year and can take advantage of the card’s many perks and credits.

While Marriott offers several cards to a diverse range of travelers, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card is the most rewarding pick for luxury and international travelers. With statement credits and annual free night awards that well exceed the $650 annual fee, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card ranks well among the top luxury travel cards on the market.

If you’re a frequent traveler and a Marriott loyalist, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card offers plenty of ways to earn points.

For starters, you’ll earn up to 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points. Earn 100,000 points after you spend $6,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership.

Marriott Bonvoy points are valued at 0.09 cents each. Coupled with automatic Platinum Elite status, this offer could be a top choice for a very frequent traveler.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card has a solid rewards rate, especially on Marriott and restaurant purchases:

Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Earn 3X Marriott Bonvoy® points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.

Even though Marriott Bonvoy points are a bit inflated, you’ll still get a higher-than-average return on your purchases: 5.4% on dollars spent with the hotel chain, 2.7% on restaurants and flights and a 1.8% rewards rate on everyday spending.

However, the real value lies in the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card‘s benefits — and they’re not just limited to Marriott. Overall, these ongoing features make this card a solid pick for luxury travelers.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card comes with a $650 annual fee, but it also has a long list of excellent benefits. From a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application credit to multiple Marriott Bonvoy statement credits and an annual free night award, you may be able to find value with little effort if you maximize the offers on the card.

Marriott Bonvoy statement credits

With the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card, you can earn a couple of Bonvoy-specific statement credits that could provide long-term value:

• Annual dining statement credit. Each card renewal year, get up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide. This benefit alone covers almost half of the card’s annual fee. Since the credit comes in $25 monthly increments, you’ll need to remember to use the card every month.
• $100 Marriott Bonvoy property credit. You can receive a $100 statement credit for qualifying charges when booking a special rate for a minimum two-night stay at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis. Unfortunately, you can’t use this credit with any other Marriott properties. When you book online or by phone, you must select or ask for the “$100 Property Credit, Luxury Credit Card Rate” and pay with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.

If you stay at Marriott’s luxury properties often, you can leverage the latter statement credit to your advantage. You can use this credit for charges such as dining, spa services, room service and hotel recreational activities that aren’t managed by a third party. This credit cannot be applied to the actual cost of your room. Again, this card is best suited for luxury travelers, as there’s no limit to how many times you use this credit.

Automatic Platinum status

With the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card, you’ll receive automatic Platinum status, plus 25 elite night credits each calendar year to expedite your way to the next level of elite status. Some of the valuable features of Platinum Elite status include a 50% bonus on stays, an annual choice benefit when you reach 50 Elite Night credits, 4 p.m. late checkout and more. If you frequent Marriotts and take advantage of the status benefits, then you can justify the annual fee.

As a refresher, here are the Marriott Bonvoy elite status requirements:

Here’s what you can expect from being a Platinum Elite member or a Titanium Elite member, which is the next tier up:

Free hotel night at qualifying Marriott properties

Cardholders of Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card will receive one free night award every year on their renewal month. This credit is redeemable for award stays at properties worth up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points at participating hotels.

Since Marriott Bonvoy points cost $0.009 each and you can use up to 85,000 points, then this benefit can be worth up to around $765 — which more than justifies the annual fee.

Be aware that some hotels have resort fees, which may not be covered with your free night award.

Earned Choice Award benefit

If you spend $60,000 on eligible purchases with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card, you can choose from one of several valuable awards. The award options include:

• 5 Suite Night Awards: These awards allow you to request a room upgrade in advance for free.
• 1 free night award: You can redeem a free night up to 85,000 points. Keep in mind some hotels have resort fees. If you earn this and use the free night award that originally comes with the card, you can receive a value of up to $1,530.
• $1,000 off a bed from Marriott Bonvoy boutiques: Receive a promotional code valued at $1,000 off Marriott retail brand mattresses and box springs.

You can only redeem one award per calendar year.

Premium travel benefits

From the tangible benefits like the Priority Pass Select™ membership (enrollment required), to the extensive list of available travel coverage options, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card comes with other great premium travel perks. It rivals other luxury cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® card or The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

• $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit. When applying for Global Entry every four years (or TSA PreCheck every 4.5 years), you’ll receive up to a $100 statement credit for Global Entry or up to an $85 statement credit for TSA PreCheck.
• Complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership. With Priority Pass Select™, you’ll have access to over 1,200 airport lounges across the world (enrollment required). The Priority Pass membership level that gets you 10 free visits, then goes to $35 per visit after, costs $329.
• Car rental loss and damage insurance. This protection offers secondary coverage in a covered territory when you use your card to reserve and pay for the entire rental.
• Premium Global Assist hotline. In the event of an emergency, you can receive 24/7 medical, legal, financial and other assistance when traveling more than 100 miles from home.
• Baggage insurance plan. When paying for your entire fare on this card, you can receive reimbursement for your carry-on or checked baggage in the event of loss, damage or theft.
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance. By paying for the entire round-trip with this card, you can receive reimbursement for your non-refundable travel expenses under a covered reason resulting in trip cancellation or interruption.
• Trip delay insurance. By paying for the entire round-trip with this card, you’ll receive reimbursement for a covered reason that delays your trip for more than six hours.
• No foreign transaction fees. When traveling internationally, you won’t pay any foreign transaction fees.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card

Marriott perks at a lower price-tag

For Marriott Bonvoy members who aren’t convinced to shell out a $650 annual fee each year, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card from Chase is one worth considering. With a $95 annual fee, you’ll earn the following: Earn 5 Free Night Awards after spending $5,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of account opening. Each Free Night Award valued up to 50,000 points - that's a total value of up to 250,000 points! Certain hotels have resort fees. You can also get 50,000 points after you stay six eligible paid nights at participating hotels through Jan. 1, 2024. You’ll receive automatic Silver Elite status, with the ability to upgrade with 15 elite night credits each calendar year. And by spending $35,000 on purchases each account year, you’ll receive Gold Elite status.

While you’ll also receive one free night award on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, it only has a redemption value of up to 35,000 points. Therefore, this card may be best for middle-of-the-road travelers who don’t need ultra-luxurious travel benefits.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve^® card vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card

All-encompassing travel rewards

The Chase Sapphire Reserve^® card is often heralded as the best premium travel card — with good reason. For a $795 annual fee, you’ll earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, including The Edit℠ and 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct. Plus, earn 3x points on dining worldwide & 1x points on all other purchases. The Chase Sapphire earns Ultimate Rewards points, worth much more than Marriott Bonvoy points and with more flexibility. You’ll get 50% more value when redeeming your Ultimate Rewards points on the Chase Travel portal, earning an excellent 4.5% rewards rate on travel and dining purchases.

You’ll get similar perks with the Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, like Priority Pass lounge access and a Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck fee credit. You can’t go wrong with either option, so you’ll have to decide between Marriott Bonvoy perks or travel flexibility and figure out what’s more important to you.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card

 
Luxury with flexibility

The Platinum Card^® from American Express, like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card, is geared toward people who like to travel often — and luxuriously. The Platinum Card^® from American Express might be better for you if you want more flexible rewards and transfer options instead of just being tied to Marriott rewards.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express lets you earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®. Terms apply. On all other purchases, you’ll earn just 1X Membership Rewards points. It also offers a similar, but larger annual fee of $695.

However, you can get many of the same perks — and more, including:

• $200 hotel credit
• Up to $200 airline fee credit (enrollment required)
• Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (enrollment required)
• Priority Pass™ Select complimentary access (enrollment required)

Marriott Bonvoy is an American Express transfer partner, so you can always use your points for Marriott stays. If you don’t see yourself staying at other hotels or utilizing transfer partners, then the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card might be best for you.

Despite the high annual fee, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card is worth it for Marriott Bonvoy members who spend a lot of money at the chain. The card comes loaded with perks and credits designed to improve the travel experience for Marriott loyalists. However, if you stay at multiple hotel chains or don’t spend that much on hotel stays, you’ll be better off with a general rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® card or The Platinum Card^® from American Express.