Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex
Affiliate link, we may earn a commission. Terms, rates, and sign-up bonuses are set by the issuer and can change. See the issuer site and our advertiser disclosure.
Affiliate link, we may earn a commission. Terms, rates, and sign-up bonuses are set by the issuer and can change. See the issuer site and our advertiser disclosure.
Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $6,000 in the first 6 months.
The Platinum status is legitimately valuable (lounge access, suite upgrades), but the $650 fee is steep. Justify it only if you stay at Marriotts 8+ times a year.
At a glance
- Auto Platinum status
- 85k free night cert
- $300 dining credit
- Priority Pass
Earning rates
4- 6xlodging
Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar on eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy (the cobrand earns Bonvoy points directly, not transferable Membership Rewards)
- 3xdining
Earn 3X Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines (not on third-party OTA bookings)
- 2xeverything else
Earn 2X Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card
- 21x
Effective earn rate at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties can reach up to 21X total Bonvoy points per dollar when you stack the 6X card earn with the 10X base Bonvoy member earn plus the 50% Platinum Elite bonus (5X) on stays charged to the card
Transfer partners
2Statement credits
7- $300Marriott Dining CreditMonthly
Up to $25 in statement credits per month, up to $300 annually, on eligible dining purchases (Brilliant Dining Credit).
- $100Ritz-Carlton / St. Regis Property CreditYearly
Up to $100 USD property credit per booking on a two-night-minimum stay at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis, booked with the 'Luxury Credit Card Rate' member rate.
- $120Global Entry / TSA PreCheck CreditYearly
One statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee ($120) or TSA PreCheck application fee (up to $85), whichever is charged first.
- $300$300 Brilliant Dining Credit each calendar year (broken into up to $25 per month in statement credits) for eligible purchases on the card at restaurants worldwide, posting automatically and not requiring an Amex Offers enrollment
- $100$100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit per stay at participating The Ritz-Carlton or St
$100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit per stay at participating The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis properties, applied as a statement credit for qualifying on-property charges when you book direct using a special card-linked rate with a two-night minimum stay
- $23,00025 Elite Night Credits posted to your Marriott Bonvoy account each calendar year automatically, accelerating progress toward Titanium (75 nights) and Ambassador Elite (100 nights plus $23,000 USD qualified spend) tiers
- $100$100 statement credit toward Global Entry (every 4 years, covers the $120 application fee in part) OR up to $85 statement credit toward TSA PreCheck (every 4.5 years, when applying through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) when you pay the application fee with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card; Global Entry approval includes complimentary TSA PreCheck
Perks & memberships
11- Free nightAnnual Free Night Award issued each year after your Card renewal month, redeemable for one night at a Marriott Bonvoy property with a standard redemption level at or under 85,000 points (resort fees still apply at certain hotels)
- Free nightTop off the 85,000-point Free Night Award with up to 25,000 additional Marriott Bonvoy points so you can apply it at a property whose standard redemption exceeds 85,000 (effectively up to 110,000-point properties), introduced when Marriott consolidated the cobrand free-night certificate program
- Elite statusComplimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status while you remain a Card Member (normally requires 50 elite nights), unlocking 50% bonus Bonvoy points on stays, complimentary room upgrades including select suites when available, guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout, complimentary enhanced in-room internet, and a welcome gift of points or amenities at check-in
- Lounge accessPriority Pass Select enrollment included at no additional charge for the primary cardholder, with unlimited visits to over 1,200 Priority Pass airport lounges in over 130 countries regardless of carrier or class of service
- No foreign feesNo foreign transaction fees on international purchases made with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card (the issuer does not add a foreign currency conversion surcharge)
- ExperiencesAmex Offers: targeted enrollable statement-credit and bonus-points offers from merchants (dining, travel, retail, streaming) loaded to the card account, refreshed regularly and stackable with category bonuses
- ExperiencesAmex Experiences: access to Card Member-only ticket presales for theater, concerts, sporting events, and the By Invitation Only experiences program through American Express Experiences
- Payment flexibilityPay Over Time / Plan It feature available to extend eligible purchases of $100 or more into fixed monthly installments with a flat fee in lieu of interest, giving cardholders cash-flow flexibility on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card
- Free nightAnnual Free Night Award typically posts 8 to 12 weeks after the Card renewal month and expires 12 months after issuance, giving cardholders roughly a year to use each year's certificate before it lapses (cited consistently by Upgraded Points and OMAAT reviews)
- Free nightCard Member is responsible for resort fees, destination fees, taxes, gratuities, and incidentals at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties when redeeming the annual Free Night Award (Marriott Bonvoy property-fee policy as documented on marriott.com and confirmed by Upgraded Points)
- Free nightFree Night Award is widely cited as the keep-or-cancel test for the card: independent reviewers (Upgraded Points, One Mile at a Time, The Points Guy) conclude the 85,000-point certificate alone (with up to 25,000 top-up) typically retails between $500 and $1,000+ in cash value at peak Category 8 properties, comfortably exceeding the $650 annual fee for cardholders who use it
Travel & purchase protections
3- Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance: when you charge an entire round-trip to your Eligible Card and a covered reason cancels or interrupts the trip, coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company (an AIG Company), subject to terms, conditions, and limitations published in the Card Member Agreement
- Cell Phone Protection benefit available to American Express Card Members when the primary monthly wireless bill is paid with the card; reimburses repair or replacement up to the published per-claim cap (commonly cited as $800 per claim with a $50 deductible by independent reviewers) per the Amex cell phone benefit documentation
- Premium Global Assist Hotline: 24/7 medical, legal, financial, or other select emergency coordination and assistance services for Amex Card Members traveling more than 100 miles from home (third-party service costs are the cardholder's responsibility)
More benefits & fine print (4)ShowHide
- American Express acceptance at 99% of places in the United States that accept credit cards (per the February 2024 Nilson Report cited on Amex product pages), making the 2X base earn on non-bonus categories broadly usable
- Marriott Bonvoy points earned on the card do not expire as long as the Bonvoy account has any qualifying activity (earning or redeeming) at least once every 24 months, per Marriott Bonvoy program rules
- Card construction is metal (the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant has been issued as a metal card since its 2019 launch and refresh), confirmed by independent reviewers including Upgraded Points and One Mile at a Time
- Marriott Bonvoy program covers over 30 brands including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, JW Marriott, W Hotels, Edition, Le Meridien, Westin, Sheraton, Marriott, Renaissance, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Courtyard, Residence Inn, AC Hotels, Aloft, Element, Moxy, Four Points, SpringHill Suites, Fairfield, TownePlace Suites, Protea, and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, so all card spending earn and elite benefits apply across this footprint
How we verified this card (5 sources)ShowHide
Spotted something off? Report an issue. Read our verification methodology.
See the Current Offer
Earn up to 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
View OfferAffiliate link, we may earn a commission. Terms, rates, and sign-up bonuses are set by the issuer and can change. See the issuer site and our advertiser disclosure.
