Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Credit Card Review

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with new information and offers.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is Marriott’s most premium card product. Standout benefits include automatic Elite Platinum status, one free annual night at Marriott Bonvoy participating hotels worth up to 85,000 points, and a statement credit of up to $25 per month when You use your card at eligible restaurants worldwide, besides its best benefits -every welcome offer. Card Rating*:

*Tag ratings are based on the opinions of TPG editors and are not influenced by the card issuer.

Marriott has six co-branded cards available to new cardholders, with fees ranging from 0 to $650 per year.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is the most expensive, at $650 a year (see rates and fees). But does that necessarily mean it’s the best?

The Bonvoy Brilliant card is appealing to loyal Marriott guests — but dig a little deeper to see if it’s right for you.

Related: Which Marriott Bonvoy credit card is right for you?

Based TPG’s valuation of Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, those 200,000 points are worth up to $1,680.

The previous highest offer on this card was 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points, which means Current bonus is the best welcome offer ever on the card.

How does 50,000 additional points work? Basically, the promotion period starts from the day your new card is opened until the end of January. During that time, you’ll have to stay six qualifying paid nights at Marriott properties to be eligible for additional points.

Those nights include, under terms and conditions, “all paid stays, including prepaid stays and reservations paid for with a Marriott e-Gift Card booked with an eligible cardholder’s Marriott Bonvoy account.”

Notably, this offer does not take into account redemption stays, free night rewards, points redemption, or stays booked through a third party. Be sure to check the full terms and conditions before booking to make sure you get your money back on this offer.

Also keep in mind that Amex has Limited limits your ability to collect new member bonuses if you already have similar Marriott products from Chase or a previous Starwood Preferred Guest card from American Express. Be sure to review your card’s offer details page to make sure you’re eligible.

Related: Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex worth the $650 annual fee?

Bonvoy Brilliant’s income structure is similar to that of a regular Marriott Bonvoy Amex and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Cardbut with two additional bonus categories: dining at restaurants worldwide and buying select airline tickets.

Cardholders earn 6 Bonvoy points for every dollar spent on qualifying purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and on flights Book directly with airlines and 2 points per dollar on other purchases.

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 Platinum Card® from American Express for airline tickets and Chase Sapphire Reserve for dining and other travel purchases. There are also some other great options for your daily spending.

These include several Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis, some of which are whole, such as Saint Regis Maldivesand other places in dreamy destinations like Al Mahas Resort in the desert outside Dubai. Rooms at high-end hotels like this usually cost 100,000 points (or even more) per night. That may seem like a hefty price point in terms of points, but it’s not that bad, as room rates can be more than $1,500 per night for most of the year.

Related: Maximize redemption with Marriott Bonvoy

• Marriott Elite Status: Primary cardholders (excluding authorized users) receive free, automatic Marriott Platinum Elite status, includes perks like upgrading to suites, free breakfast and lounge access. On average, you should receive your upgraded status in less than two weeks, according to a spokesperson for American Express and Marriott Bonvoy.
• Annual Free Night Awards: Each year after the card renewal month, you will receive a free night bonus worth up to 85,000 points. That’s far more valuable than the free night certificates that come with the lower tier Marriott card, which is capped at max. 35,000 points. Some of the best uses of the certificate include five-star hotels such as Ritz-Carlton Macau Hotel And Saint Regis Langkawiwhere rooms often go up to $500 a night — though Marriott’s Dynamic Pricing may affect the ability to place some of these assets.
• $300 restaurant credit: Cardholders receive up to $25 in statement credits each calendar month when they use their card at eligible restaurants worldwide. This equates to a total value of $300 per year. (A spokesperson for American Express confirmed that the credit, which applies to restaurants worldwide, is automatically applied and does not require pre-registration of this benefit.)
• Real estate credit up to $100: When you book a paid stay for at least two nights at the Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis participates in the program with a special offer”$100 Property Credit, Premium Credit Card Rate,” you will receive a credit of up to $100 for incidentals.
• Priority Pass Lounge access: As is pretty standard among premium travel rewards cardcard comes with a Priority card Choose a member, which gives you and two guests unlimited access to more than 1,230 airport lounges worldwide. Additional guests are charged $32 per lounge entry (registration required).
• Travel protection: This card provides Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance* as well flight delay insurance* for trips delayed by more than six hours for a covered reason. You must book a round trip ticket and pay it in full with your card for coverage. (Underwritten by the New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.)
• Application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Like many premium cards, Bonvoy Brilliant will refund you when you charge a subscription fee for Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check up to $100 ($85 for TSA Pre-Check or $100 credit for Global Entry, 4 years for Global Entry application fee, or every 4 and a half years for application fee for Global Entry) TSA pre-check). Unlike a Priority Pass membership, which is essentially useless if you’ve already received benefits through other cards, if you already have Global Entry or PreCheck you can use this credit to cover a friend or family member’s subscription fee (registration required for certain benefits). This benefit is available to cardholders every four years. Miss, Global Entry includes PreCheck, so it’s usually the smarter choice.
• Shopping protection: Purchases made with the card can be received for up to a year extended warranty coverage* and 90 days purchase protection.* This applies to warranties of 5 years or less on covered purchases in the United States or its territories or colonies. (Guaranteed by Amex Insurance Company.)
• Elite Night Credits: Cardholders will receive 25 elite qualifying night credits per year. this benefit can be stacked with the nights you earn with the Marriott small business card, which allows you to fast track up to 40 elite nights per year.
• Choice Awards earned annually: Earned each calendar year after making $60,000 purchases. This is different from the Choice Benefit, which you will unlock by achieving 50 and 75 elite qualifying nights. You can choose from the following:
• 5 Prize Night Suite.
• 85,000 points free night bonus.
• $1,000 off a mattress pad or box spring from Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques stores.

Some hotels have resort fees.

*Eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

Related: Top travel rewards cards that pay themselves

For additional options, check out our full list of best hotel And Marriott credit card.

Read more: Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex worth the $650 annual fee?

If you are a loyal Marriott customer and need a co-branded credit card or are looking to switch to another Marriott card, Brilliant Marriott Bonvoy is an ideal choice.

Its monetization rate isn’t as lucrative as some of its competitors, but a great welcome offer and impressive built-in perks — like $300 in restaurant credits and a free night certificate up to 85,000 points annually — making it easy for even an occasional traveler get great value from card.

While you shouldn’t have trouble finding hotels to redeem your points, many of the program’s airline transfer partners also make it a great option to accumulate points in exchange for free flights.

Application link: Brilliant Marriott Bonvoy with bonus points up to 200,000. Offer ends on August 9th.

For Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex prices and fees, click This.
For Hilton Aspire Card rates and fees, click This.
For Amex Platinum Card rates and fees, click This.
For Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex prices and fees, click This.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.