Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card Worth the $650 Annual Fee?

Annual fee: $650

Sign-up bonus: Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.

Rewards: 2X - 6X points

• 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
• Earn 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Regular purchase APR: 20.24%-29.24% Variable

Foreign transaction fee: None

Recommended credit: Good / Excellent

Due to its high annual fee of $650, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card isn’t for the casual traveler who occasionally stays with the Marriott brand. Instead, this card is well worth it for frequent Marriott guests who want to enhance their overall travel experience at Marriott hotels — and at the airport when they fly.

How much are the benefits worth?

We estimate that the card’s benefits are worth almost $4,000 in the first year:

You’ll get a mountain of perks in return for the $650 annual fee. That includes up to $300 in dining credits per year  (up to $25 quarterly), Marriott Bonvoy^® Platinum Elite Status, a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership* and Priority Pass^TM Select membership* (retail value of $469), to name a few. Cardholders also get a free night award worth up to 85,000 points after they renew their card each year (certain hotels have resort fees).

However, if you’re an economy traveler on a tighter budget, you may have a hard time accessing all these perks, some of which come with substantial spending requirements.

• Welcome offer | 4.7 out of 5 stars

  Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.

  How does it compare to other cards?

  While the welcome offer on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card can be worth several nights at Marriott hotels, it’s possible to get a bigger bonus with other Marriott cards. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card offers a similarly valuable welcome offer for a lower $95 annual fee (although it comes with minimal benefits in comparison).

  There are also some flexible travel credit cards that have competitive bonuses and let users transfer their rewards to the Marriott Bonvoy^® program.

  → Compare the best credit card sign-up bonuses.

  Is it a good time to apply?

  The current welcome offer on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card is very generous and the highest it has been in a while. Since American Express has a once-in-a-lifetime policy on its welcome offers, this may be a good time to apply.

  Recent offers for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card

  Date	Number of points
  July-25	185,000
  May-25	150,000
  March-25	185,000
  Oct-24	95,000
  Aug-24	185,000

  Tip: When you apply for an American Express rewards credit card, Amex will notify you via pop-up if you are ineligible for a welcome offer before you submit your application.

• Earning points | 4.1 out of 5 stars

  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.

  How does it compare to other cards?

  The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card is hard to beat for earning points on Marriott purchases. It advertises an earning rate of 6X points on Marriott stays. But it also boosts your base point earnings from 10X to 15X points at most brands thanks to Marriott Bonvoy^® Platinum Elite Status — so cardholders actually earn 21X points overall with Marriott.

  However, Marriott Bonvoy^® points are worth a bit less than the average rewards program point (around 0.9 cents per point by our estimates) and considerably less flexible. If you’re strictly interested in earning rewards for free hotel nights, you may be better off with a flexible travel card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve^®. You can redeem Chase points for travel through Chase or point transfers to a range of airline or hotel programs (including Marriott) for a much higher point value and higher overall earning rate.

  Estimated rewards earned per $1 spent*

  • Citi Strata Premier^® Card: $0.04
  • Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: $0.043
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve^®: $0.041
  • The Platinum Card^® from American Express: $0.023
  • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card: $0.02
  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card: $0.019
  • IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card: $0.019
  *Based on LendingTree’s value methodology

  → Learn more: Cash back vs. points vs. miles

• Redeeming points | 1 out of 5 stars

  • Tons of redemption options with the world’s largest hotel network
  • You’re restricted to using points for Marriott hotel stays to get the best value.
  • Marriott points are worth slightly less than the average rewards program point.
  • Award nights start at around 15,000 points and can run over 100,000 points for luxury properties.
  • Blackout dates can apply.
  • Points expire after 24 months of inactivity.
  • You can’t redeem points for cash back.

  How does it compare to other cards?

  Like other hotel credit cards, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card offers limited redemption options outside of stays with the Marriott hotel brand. And since the program uses dynamic pricing for its award nights, you may have to fork over more points for an award night than you want to — especially for peak travel dates.

  If you want more flexibility with your rewards, consider a premium travel credit card that lets you redeem your points for travel through a portal or point transfers to a selection of airline and hotel partners. The Platinum Card^® from American Express, Chase Sapphire Reserve^® and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card are all good options in this realm.

  Tip: To get more value out of your Marriott Bonvoy^® points, consider taking advantage of the brand’s “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” promotion. This deal lets members get a fifth night free when they book at least five consecutive nights with rewards points.

  → Learn more about redeeming Marriott Bonvoy^® points

• Other benefits | 4 out of 5 stars

  • Free night award: Get a free night award (up to 85,000 points) each year you renew your card. Certain hotels have resort fees.
  • Marriott Bonvoy^® Platinum Elite Status: Qualify for the third highest tier of Marriott status, which comes with benefits like room upgrades (based on availability and is at a Qualifying Rate at hotels that participate in Marriott Bonvoy) and a welcome gift.
  • Restaurant credit: Up to $300 in dining credits each year of card membership. These credits are given out in monthly increments of $25 and apply to any restaurant purchase worldwide.
  • Marriott Bonvoy^® property credit: Qualify for a $100 statement credit at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis properties when you book an eligible two-night minimum stay directly with the brand.
  • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck statement credit*: Up to a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or up to a $85 credit toward TSA PreCheck membership every four/four-and-a-half years.
  • Airport lounge access*: Qualify for Priority Pass^TM Select membership (valued at $469), which includes entry into eligible airport lounges worldwide for the cardholder and up to two guests (when guests are allowed).
  • Travel insurance: Get trip cancellation and interruption insurance¹, baggage insurance² and trip delay insurance¹ when you pay for eligible travel with your card.
  • Elite night credits: 25 Elite Night credits each calendar toward the next tier of elite status.
  • No foreign transaction fees: No foreign transaction fees when you use the card for purchases outside of your home country (see rates & fees).

  How does it compare to other cards?

  While the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card has a high annual fee of $650, it comes with more valuable benefits than any other hotel card from the brand. Even the $300 annual dining credit on the card is easier to use than many other statement credit offers from Amex, since it applies to an restaurant purchase worldwide. Cardholders who travel often and dine out should easily be able to justify the annual fee.

  *Enrollment required.
  Tip: While the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card comes with Marriott Bonvoy^® Platinum Elite Status, it doesn’t include the Earned Choice Award that you normally get with Platinum Elite Status. You have to spend at least $60,000 on purchases within a calendar year to get this benefit.

  → See the best American Express credit cards

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card

If you don’t stay with Marriott enough to justify paying $650 per year for a hotel credit card, or if you have premium travel benefits like airport lounge access through other cards in your wallet already, consider the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card. This card has a much lower annual fee of $95, yet it comes with a very large welcome offer and a free night award (up to 35,000 points) each year that can easily cover the annual fee.

You’ll miss out on all the fancy hotel perks that you get with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card, but you’ll still earn a pretty generous rewards rate on hotel stays with the brand.

→ Learn more by checking out our Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card review

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Platinum Card^® from American Express is a better option if you want a more flexible rewards program. You can use points for gift cards, merchandise, travel through AmexTravel.com or point transfers to Amex airline and hotel partners.

It offers similar perks to the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card for a similarly steep $695 fee (see rates & fees). This includes global airport lounge access for eligible cardmembers and a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership* as well as a CLEAR credit* (subject to auto-renewal). It even comes with automatic Gold Elite status* with both Marriott Bonvoy^® and Hilton Honors, plus more than $1,500 in value through statement credits and related perks.

→ Learn more by checking out our The Platinum Card^® from American Express review

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Chase Sapphire Reserve^®

Chase Sapphire Reserve^® is a better option for those who want to earn rewards for free travel along with a smattering of travel perks, for a higher $795 annual fee. It’s another flexible travel credit card that lets you redeem points in more than one way, including for gift cards, statement credits, travel through the Chase portal or point transfers to airline and hotel partners (including Marriott Bonvoy).

While this card doesn’t offer any hotel-related benefits, it does come with Priority Pass™ Select airport lounge membership and a fee credit for Global Entry, NEXUS or TSA PreCheck. It also offers a $300 flexible travel credit toward practically any travel purchase each year, which can help cover the annual fee.

→ Learn more by checking out our Chase Sapphire Reserve^® review

We use calculations to estimate the value of each card for the average cardholder, based on LendingTree and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data:

• Average value over two years (80% of rating): We calculate the value of rewards and perks for the average cardholder using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and an annual spend of $20,000, minus the annual fee. This value includes the card’s sign-up bonus, annual bonus (including free night certificates) and travel perks like lounge access and travel credits. We look at the average rewards earned over two years to balance out a card’s ongoing value with its first-year value.
• Flexibility of rewards (15% of rating): We consider how easy the rewards are to use, looking at factors like expiration dates, minimum thresholds to redeem, blackout dates and the availability of flexible redemption options like travel statement credits and cash back.
• Other features (5% of rating): We also compare a card’s benefits, such as purchase protections, travel protections and elite status benefits against benefits from other cards.