Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express Card® Overview
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is Marriott’s most premium card offering. Notable benefits include automatic Platinum Elite status, an annual free night at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program worth up to 85,000 points and up to $25 in credits per month when you use your card at eligible restaurants all over the world. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½
*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG editorial staff and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Marriott has six cobranded cards available to new cardholders, with fees ranging from none to $650 per year.
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is the most expensive, at $650 per year (see rates and fees). But does that necessarily mean it’s the best?
The recommended credit score for this card is 670 or higher.
The Bonvoy Brilliant card is attractive to loyal Marriott guests, but let’s dig a little deeper to see if it’s right for you.
Related: Which Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card is Right for You?
Amex Bonvoy Brilliant welcome offer
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is currently offering new cardholders two free nights worth up to 85,000 points each after they spend $6,000 on purchases on the card in the first six months. Certain hotels charge resort fees. The offer ends on November 1st.
Based on TPG’s valuation of Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, those 170,000 points are worth $1,428.
Daily newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for the latest news, in-depth guides and exclusive offers from the experts at TPG
While this isn’t the best offer we’ve seen on this card, it’s significantly more than the regular 95,000 point offer we often see, so if you’ve been keeping an eye on the card, now’s a good time to sign up to report it.
Please note that the bonus is structured as two free nights of up to 85,000 points each. That means if you book a 60,000-point stay with one of the awards, you’ll lose the remaining 25,000 points, so you’ll want to maximize the free nights at these luxury hotels.
Also keep in mind that Amex has restrictions that limit your ability to collect a new member bonus if you have had similar Marriott products from Chase or previous Starwood Preferred Guest cards from American Express. Be sure to check the card’s offer details page to ensure you qualify.
Related: Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex Worth the $650 Annual Fee?
Amex Bonvoy Brilliant benefits
Where the card stands out the most in the benefits it offers:
- Marriott Elite Status: Primary cardholders (authorized users not included) receive complimentary, automatic Marriott Platinum Elite status, including benefits such as suite upgrades, free breakfast and lounge access. According to spokespeople for American Express and Marriott Bonvoy, you will receive your upgraded status within two weeks on average.
- Annual price for a free night: Each year after your card renewal month, you’ll receive a free night worth up to 85,000 points. That’s much more valuable than the free night certificates that come with lower-tier Marriott cards, which cap at 35,000 points. Some of the best applications of the certificate are luxury hotels such as The Ritz-Carlton Macau and The St. Regis Langkawi, where rooms routinely top $500 per night – although Marriott’s dynamic pricing may impact the ability to get some to book these accommodations.
- $300 in restaurant credits: Cardholders receive up to $25 in credits each calendar month when they use their card at eligible restaurants around the world. This equates to a total value of $300 per year. (An American Express spokesperson confirmed that this credit applies to restaurants worldwide, is applied automatically and does not require registration before you can take advantage of this benefit.)
- Property credit up to $100: When you book a minimum two-night paid stay at participating Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis properties with the special “$100 Property Credit, Luxury Credit Card Rate,” you will receive a credit of up to $100 toward incidentals.
- Prior Pass Lounge Access: As is fairly standard with premium travel rewards cards, the card comes with a Priority Pass Select membership, which gives you and two guests unlimited access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide. Additional guests will be charged $32 (increasing to $35 beginning October 1, 2023) per lounge visit (registration required).
- Travel protections: This card provides trip cancellation and interruption insurance* and trip delay insurance* for trips delayed more than six hours due to a covered reason. To be insured, you must book a return ticket and pay in full with your card. (Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG company.)
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit: Like many premium cards, the Bonvoy Brilliant will reimburse you when you charge the card for the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee, up to $100 ($85 for TSA PreCheck or $100 credit for Global Entry, 4 years toward the application fee for both Global Entry or every 4½ years for the TSA PreCheck application fee). Unlike Priority Pass membership, which becomes essentially useless if you already receive the benefit through other cards, if you already have Global Entry or PreCheck, you can use this credit to cover a friend or family member’s sign-up fee ( registration required for certain benefits). . This benefit is available to cardholders once every four years. Keep in mind that Global Entry includes PreCheck, so this is generally the smarter choice.
- Store protections: Purchases made with the card may receive up to one year of extended warranty coverage* and 90 days of purchase protection.* This applies to warranties of five years or less on covered purchases in the U.S. or its territories or possessions. (Endorsed by Amex Assurance Company.)
- Elite Night Credits: Cardholders receive 25 elite qualifying night credits per year. This benefit can be combined with the nights you earn with a Marriott small business card to give you accelerated bookings for up to 40 elite nights per year.
- Annual Earned Choice Award: Earns every calendar year after you make $60,000 in purchases. This is separate from the Choice Perks you can unlock by reaching 50 and 75 elite qualifying nights. You can choose from the following:
- 5 Suite nights
- A free night reward of 85,000 points
- $1,000 off a mattress or box spring from Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques
Certain hotels charge resort fees.
*Eligibility and benefit level vary by card. Terms and conditions and restrictions apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
Related: The Best Travel Rewards Cards That Can Pay For Themselves
Earn points on the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant
The Bonvoy BrilliantThe company’s revenue structure is similar to that of the regular Marriott Bonvoy Amex and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card, but with two additional bonus categories: dining at restaurants around the world and purchasing select airline tickets.
Cardholders earn 6 Bonvoy points per dollar spent on qualifying purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program, 3 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines, and 2 points per dollar for other purchases.
The non-Marriott earning rates are a bit low, so you’ll probably want to pair the card with one or more other cards that offer superior bonus categories, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express for airline tickets and the Chase Sapphire Reserve for dinners and other travel purchases. There are also some other great options for your everyday expenses.
Redeem points on the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant
There are many lucrative ways to use Marriott Rewards points. The most visible redemption is for free stays. With the ability to book at more than 7,500 properties from 30 brands in more than 130 countries, you have a lot of choice. The Marriott portfolio includes many fantastic hotels, including some of the most luxurious properties in the world.
These include a number of Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis properties, some of which are all-suite, like the St. Regis Maldives, and others in dreamy destinations like the Al Maha Resort in the desert outside Dubai. Rooms at premium properties like this typically cost 100,000 points (or even more) per night. That may seem like a hefty price in points, but it’s not so bad considering room rates can be $1,500-plus per night most of the year.
Related: Maximize Redemptions with the Marriott Bonvoy Program
Transfer points to the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant
You can also transfer your Bonvoy points to more than 35 airline partners, but this is rarely value for money unless you need to top up an account balance for a flight redemption or need access to the loyalty currency of an airline that doesn’t partner with an airline of the major US banking programs.
Related: How long does it take for Marriott Bonvoy points to transfer?
Which cards compete with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex?
If you’re not loyal to Marriott, there are a number of cards you could consider instead of the Bonvoy Brilliant:
For more options, check out our full list of the best hotel and Marriott credit cards.
Read more: Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex worth the $650 annual fee?
*The information for the Hilton Honors Aspire Card was independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been verified or provided by the card issuer.
In short
If you are a Marriott loyalist and need a cobranded credit card or want to switch from another Marriott card, you can use the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is an ideal choice. The earning rates aren’t as lucrative as some of its competitors, but the big welcome offer combined with impressive built-in benefits – like $300 in restaurant credits and an annual free night certificate of up to 85,000 points – make it easy for even an infrequent traveler to earn huge get value from the card. While you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a hotel where you can redeem points, the program’s many airline transfer partners also make it a great choice for accumulating points that you can redeem for free flights.
Application link: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant with two free nights worth up to 85,000 points each after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the card in the first six months. Certain hotels charge resort fees. Offer ends November 1st.
For Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex rates and fees, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.
For Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex rates and fees, click here.