American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card
Updated March 1, 2024.
The Facts
The Math
Because of the monthly nature, the $300 dining credits are not as easy as the $300 Marriott credits they replaced, and thus $200 might be a reasonable value as an annual fee reducer. In this way, the effective annual fee would still be rather high at $450. With that, you receive several valuable perks including one 85K-point free night, Marriott Platinum status, 25 elite qualifying night credits, and Priority Pass Select membership. As Priority Pass is rather easy to get with many other premium products, paying such a high annual fee might not make sense if you don't frequent Marriott.
Even though Marriott points are probably our favorite frequent traveler currency (thanks to Marriott's decision of keeping SPG's best feature), the earning rate of 2x points in the general spending category offered by this card (as well as any other Marriott credit cards) is not that impressive, especially compared to the old Amex SPG which technically returned 3x Marriott points for general spending. Our current valuation of Marriott points is 0.75 cent a piece, which means that this card returns 1.5%, 2.3%, 4.5% travel rewards for the 2x, 3x, and 6x categories, respectively. For general spending, you might want to consider a 2% cashback card without annual fees (such as Citi Double Cash) or a miles credit card with potential higher return such as Amex EveryDay Preferred (which returns 2.25% travel rewards when you have at least 30 transactions per month), Chase Freedom Unlimited (which returns 2.25% travel rewards when you pair it with Chase Sapphire Reserve or similar premium UR cards), and Capital One Venture (which returns 3% travel rewards). The bottom line is that we won't recommend this card for spending, probably except for purchases at Marriott hotels. In this way, this card might be a great "drawer card". How about spending $60K to get the lucrative Earned Choice Award (ECA)? Let's use 2% cashback as the benchmark - your ECA essentially costs you $60,000 x (2% -1.5%), i.e., $300 per year. For travelers that do not frequent Marriott, a second 85K-point free night is still probably the best option for ECA; however, if you are a frequent guest of Marriott, five suite awards might make more sense if you can get the best value out of them. Well, if you are already willing to pay $450 mostly for one free night + Marriott Platinum, it sounds reasonable to put $60K on the card.
Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ($650) vs. Amex Hilton Aspire ($550): As the flagship credit card for each of their programs, each card carries a high annual fee. How do they compare? Let's first look at the effective annual fees: Marriott Brilliant offers $300 per year for dining in form of monthly credits, which we think is reasonable to value at $200, while Hilton Aspire offers $200 for flights in form of quarterly credits and $400 for Hilton portfolio resorts in form of semi-annual credits, which we think is reasonable to value at $400 combined; in this way, the effective annual fees are $450 for Marriott Brilliant and $150 for Hilton Aspire. Secondly, let's compare the annual free nights - Hilton Aspire wins slightly on this one as the annual free night can be redeemed at any Hilton portfolio hotels, while Marriott Brilliant's free night is capped at 85K-point properties (but can be redeemed at up to 100K-point properties when you top off with your own points). In addition, Hilton Aspire allows two additional free nights at $60K spending, while Marriott Brilliant only offers one additional free night (assuming what most people choose for the "Earned Choice Award"). Thirdly, Hilton Aspire's complimentary Diamond status is similar to Marriott Platinum. Fourthly, Marriott Brilliant offers a free Priority Pass Select for you plus two, while Hilton Aspire lost this benefit since October 2023. Lastly, while we don't recommend either card for general spending, charging the hotel purchases to either card does make sense and the value actually compares well - Hilton Aspire's 14x points (5.6% cash equivalent return in our book) vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant 6x points (4.5% in our book and offering more flexibility due to the valuable airline miles transfer). To summarize, Amex Hilton Aspire packs slightly more value, with about $300 less in effective annual fees, and is thus a clear winner.
To see how Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum Card, Amex Delta Reserve, Amex Hilton Aspire, Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.
The Conclusion
For $650 per year, Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, with annual $300 dining credits, complimentary Marriott Platinum status, a 85K-point free night, and an ECA with $60K spending, is a great card for those who somehow frequent Marriott hotels to keep even without ever spending a dime on. However, if you do not stay at Marriott enough, the increased annual fee might be a deal breaker for you. It is currently rated as one of Best Credit Cards for Perks.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $650
- Signup Bonus: 185,000 points after you spend $6,000 within 6 months of new account opening. The welcome offer is not available to applicants who (i) have or have had Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Luxury Card or this card, (ii) have or have had the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card from JP Morgan or JP Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card in the last 30 days, (iii) have acquired Marriott Bonvoy Boundless from Chase, Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, Marriott Bonvoy Premier from Chase, Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase, Marriott Bonvoy Premier Business from Chase, or Marriott Rewards Premier Business Card from Chase in the last 90 days, or (iv) received a welcome or upgrade offer for Marriott Bonvoy Boundless from Chase, Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, Marriott Bonvoy Premier from Chase, Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase, Marriott Bonvoy Premier Business from Chase, or Marriott Rewards Premier Business Card from Chase in the last 24 months. Historical best bonus: (1) 150,000 points + one 85K-point free night in 2021; (2) 185,000 points in 2024; (3) 150,000 points + 50,000 points with 6 paid stays in 2023; (4) Marriott Platinum for a year + 100,000 points @singup & 25,000 points @ anniversary in late 2020; (5) 100,000 points since in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
- Application Landing Page
- Rewards: 6x Marriott portfolio hotels, 3x dining and airfare, and 2x everywhere else.
- Best Use of Marriott Bonvoy points: (1) You may redeem points for hotel stays or upgrades at over 6,500 Marriott portfolio hotels worldwide, including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, JW Marriott, EDITION, W Hotels, Marriott, Renaissance, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Delta, Gaylord, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels, Courtyard, Four Points, Fairfield, SpringHill Suites, AC Hotels, Protea, moxy, aloft, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, element, Marriott Executive Apartments, and Marriott Vacation Club. (2) You may transfer points into airline miles of 40+ frequent flyer programs, mostly at 3:1 ratio. If you transfer 60,000 points in a bulk you will get 5,000 miles as a bonus (60K points = 25 miles). Please see our review on Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. CR for details of the programs that allow frequent flyer miles transfer. (3) You may also redeem points for Marriott Hotel+Air Travel Packages - you exchange a certain number of Marriott points for a certain number of frequent flyer miles plus a 7-night certificate for a Marriott portfolio hotel at a certain redemption level. Generally, the new Travel Packages represent devaluation from the old Travel Packages before August 2018 - you save some points when use this option, but in our opinion most of the time the saving is not big enough for the hassle of finding a single hotel to stay seven nights in a row.
- Marriott Benefits: (1) Annual dining statement credits up to $300 per calendar year, in form of monthly credits up to $25 which expire by the beginning of next month. (2) An annual free night at any Marriott portfolio hotels with a redemption level of 85,000 points or less upon each cardmember anniversary after you renew the card; the e-certificate expires 12 months after issuance; you might also top off the free night certificate with your own Marriott points, up to 15,000 additional points for a higher redemption level. (3) Complimentary Marriott Platinum Elite status, the second tier status, which is normally achieved by staying at least 50 nights per year and offers lounge access/free breakfasts and upgrades to a suite. (4) Effectively 1/1/2023, each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases, you will be eligible to select an Earned Choice Award (ECA) benefit: (a) a free night with a redemption level of 85,000 points, (b) five suite night awards, or (c) $750 mattress and box spring discount from Marriott retail brands. You can only earn one ECA per calendar year. See www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for details. (5) Annual 25 night credits toward elite status each calendar year. (6) Free premium internet access at Marriott portfolio hotels. (7) $100 property credit for each 2-night stay at St. Regis or Ritz-Carlton booked with the special "$100 Property Credit, Luxury Credit Card Rate" in your Marriott Bonvoy account or via the call center.
- Other Benefits: (1) Priority Pass Select membership with unlimited access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide for you plus two guests. (2) Reimbursement for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85) application fees every four years. (3) Waived foreign transaction fees, with an embedded EMV chip. (4) Amex 24/7 Concierge Service. (5) Amex Offers - you receive savings in form of statement credit or earn bonus points on select merchants when using your Amex card; you need to manually add an offer to your Amex card to be eligible for savings or bonus, and unlike other savings/bonus programs, you don't need to shop through a certain portal. (6) ShopRunner membership for free 2-day shipping with select merchants. (7) Entertainment Access including American Express Presale, American Express Preferred Seating, and Premium Access (dining access). (8) Unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi plan.
- Other Facts: this card has a metal design and weighs about 15 grams, three times as heavy as regular plastics.
- History: with the merger of Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) programs in August 2018, Amex introduced the SPG Luxury Card as the flagship credit card in the combined loyalty program. In February 2019, with the new name of the combined program finally unveiled, Amex SPG Luxury Card was rebranded as Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card. In September 2022, Amex revamped this card by increasing the annual fee from $450 to $650 and enhancing certain benefits: (1) annual free night's cap is increased from 50,000 points to 85,000 points, (2) complimentary Marriott Gold Elite status is replaced by Platinum Elite status (which previously required $75,000 annual spending), (3) annual "earned choice award" is added for free, (4) annual night credits towards elite status are increased from 15 nights to 25 nights, and (5) annual $300 Marriott statement credits are replaced by $300 dining statement credits (up to $25 monthly credits).
The Math
Because of the monthly nature, the $300 dining credits are not as easy as the $300 Marriott credits they replaced, and thus $200 might be a reasonable value as an annual fee reducer. In this way, the effective annual fee would still be rather high at $450. With that, you receive several valuable perks including one 85K-point free night, Marriott Platinum status, 25 elite qualifying night credits, and Priority Pass Select membership. As Priority Pass is rather easy to get with many other premium products, paying such a high annual fee might not make sense if you don't frequent Marriott.
Even though Marriott points are probably our favorite frequent traveler currency (thanks to Marriott's decision of keeping SPG's best feature), the earning rate of 2x points in the general spending category offered by this card (as well as any other Marriott credit cards) is not that impressive, especially compared to the old Amex SPG which technically returned 3x Marriott points for general spending. Our current valuation of Marriott points is 0.75 cent a piece, which means that this card returns 1.5%, 2.3%, 4.5% travel rewards for the 2x, 3x, and 6x categories, respectively. For general spending, you might want to consider a 2% cashback card without annual fees (such as Citi Double Cash) or a miles credit card with potential higher return such as Amex EveryDay Preferred (which returns 2.25% travel rewards when you have at least 30 transactions per month), Chase Freedom Unlimited (which returns 2.25% travel rewards when you pair it with Chase Sapphire Reserve or similar premium UR cards), and Capital One Venture (which returns 3% travel rewards). The bottom line is that we won't recommend this card for spending, probably except for purchases at Marriott hotels. In this way, this card might be a great "drawer card". How about spending $60K to get the lucrative Earned Choice Award (ECA)? Let's use 2% cashback as the benchmark - your ECA essentially costs you $60,000 x (2% -1.5%), i.e., $300 per year. For travelers that do not frequent Marriott, a second 85K-point free night is still probably the best option for ECA; however, if you are a frequent guest of Marriott, five suite awards might make more sense if you can get the best value out of them. Well, if you are already willing to pay $450 mostly for one free night + Marriott Platinum, it sounds reasonable to put $60K on the card.
Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ($650) vs. Amex Hilton Aspire ($550): As the flagship credit card for each of their programs, each card carries a high annual fee. How do they compare? Let's first look at the effective annual fees: Marriott Brilliant offers $300 per year for dining in form of monthly credits, which we think is reasonable to value at $200, while Hilton Aspire offers $200 for flights in form of quarterly credits and $400 for Hilton portfolio resorts in form of semi-annual credits, which we think is reasonable to value at $400 combined; in this way, the effective annual fees are $450 for Marriott Brilliant and $150 for Hilton Aspire. Secondly, let's compare the annual free nights - Hilton Aspire wins slightly on this one as the annual free night can be redeemed at any Hilton portfolio hotels, while Marriott Brilliant's free night is capped at 85K-point properties (but can be redeemed at up to 100K-point properties when you top off with your own points). In addition, Hilton Aspire allows two additional free nights at $60K spending, while Marriott Brilliant only offers one additional free night (assuming what most people choose for the "Earned Choice Award"). Thirdly, Hilton Aspire's complimentary Diamond status is similar to Marriott Platinum. Fourthly, Marriott Brilliant offers a free Priority Pass Select for you plus two, while Hilton Aspire lost this benefit since October 2023. Lastly, while we don't recommend either card for general spending, charging the hotel purchases to either card does make sense and the value actually compares well - Hilton Aspire's 14x points (5.6% cash equivalent return in our book) vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant 6x points (4.5% in our book and offering more flexibility due to the valuable airline miles transfer). To summarize, Amex Hilton Aspire packs slightly more value, with about $300 less in effective annual fees, and is thus a clear winner.
To see how Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum Card, Amex Delta Reserve, Amex Hilton Aspire, Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.
The Conclusion
For $650 per year, Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, with annual $300 dining credits, complimentary Marriott Platinum status, a 85K-point free night, and an ECA with $60K spending, is a great card for those who somehow frequent Marriott hotels to keep even without ever spending a dime on. However, if you do not stay at Marriott enough, the increased annual fee might be a deal breaker for you. It is currently rated as one of Best Credit Cards for Perks.