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Whether you travel frequently for work or for pleasure, a co-branded hotel credit card that rewards you for your loyalty can be a good addition to your wallet.
Consumers looking for premium travel perks at Marriott properties as well as a competitive rewards program should consider the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
Marriott offers several loyalty rewards credit cards, but this one makes the list of our top picks for best hotel credit cards because of the generous hotel benefits.
To make sure you're choosing the best hotel card for your needs, CNBC Select analyzed 11 popular hotel credit cards that offer high rewards rates on purchases made with the brand. We compared each card on a range of features, including travel rewards, annual fee, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, one-time perks, annual perks, redemption rates, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best cards.)
Below, we break down Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card's rewards, benefits and fees to help you decide if it's the right card for you.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card review
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is a premium hotel card that gives you high-level elite status, dining credits and a Free Night Award every year.
- Up to $300 in dining credit every year
- Free Night Award every year worth up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points
- Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy® Platinum Elite Status
- High annual fee
- Marriott doesn't publish an award chart and the rewards are typically less valuable compared to the top travel cards
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.
- Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
- Earn 3X points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.
- Earn 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
- Earn up to 21X Marriott Bonvoy® points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Earn 6X points with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. Earn up to 10X points from Marriott Bonvoy for being a Marriott Bonvoy member. Earn up to 5X points from Marriott Bonvoy with the 50% Bonus Points on Stays, a benefit available with your complimentary Platinum Elite status.
- $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide.
- With complimentary Marriott Bonvoy® Platinum Elite status, earn up to 5X points from Marriott Bonvoy® on eligible hotel purchases with the 50% Bonus Points on stays benefit.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®, such as Le Metropolitan, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel in Paris. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, you will be eligible to select a Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Brilliant Earned Choice Award per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
- $100 Marriott Bonvoy® Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®: Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card you can receive 25 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express.
- With your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, you can enroll in Priority Pass™ Select, with an unlimited number of visits to over 1,200 airport lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. This allows you to relax before or between flights. You can enjoy snacks, drinks and internet access in a quiet, comfortable location.
- Trip Cancelled or Interrupted? If you purchase a round-trip entirely with your Eligible Card and a covered reason cancels or interrupts your trip, we may be able to help. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
- $650 Annual Fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card rewards
A card like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card stands out because of its numerous benefits for hotel guests.
The rewards rate is higher when compared to the other two Marriott Bonvoy® cards: Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for every dollar spent on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy® hotels, 3X points per $1 spent at worldwide restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2X points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases.
The card's welcome bonus allows new cardholders to earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.
In addition to redeeming points for hotel rooms, airfare and car rentals, cardholders can use points for VIP access to entertainment, lifestyle, sports and culinary events through Marriott Bonvoy Moments.
Additional benefits
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card has a wide variety of premium perks that allow you to travel in luxury and benefit from insurance and purchase protections. Here are some of our favorites:
- Up to $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card at restaurants worldwide.
- Up to $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit: Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
- Free Night Award: No spending required, the free night award is given every year after your card renewal month (worth up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels may charge additional resort fees.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® fee: Receive a $120 statement credit for Global Entry every 4 years or TSA PreCheck every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider). If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck. (Read how to apply for Global Entry.)
- Priority Pass™ Select membership: Access for you and up two guests to over 1,200 airport lounges in more than 130 countries ($429 value). Enrollment required.
- Travel protection: *Car rental insurance for theft and damage, as well as insurance for lost, damaged or stolen baggage.
- Return Protection: *Return eligible items to American Express up to 90 days from the date of purchase, if you made the purchase with your Amex card.
- Entertainment access: Receive access to presales and preferred seating for exclusive entertainment events in select cities. (Check out the best credit cards for entertainment spending.)
- Cardmember-only events: Check out Broadway shows and concert tours, family and sporting events, and more.
Terms apply for all benefits.
Fees
The card comes with a steep *$650 annual fee, but the benefits help to offset that cost.
There is no introductory 0% APR period, and the regular variable *APR is 19.49%-28.49% on new purchases. Travelers staying overseas can take advantage of *no foreign transaction fees, which is a huge plus when venturing abroad.
Bottom line
If you're a frequent traveler and enjoy staying at one of the many properties underneath the Marriott Bonvoy umbrella, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card is a great choice. The high rewards rate, many luxury perks and statement credits offered help offset the cost of the card. Frequent fliers can take advantage of the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit.
But if you are looking for a Marriott credit with no annual fee, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase lets you earn up to 14X Marriott Bonvoy points at participating hotels, 2X grocery stores, rideshare, select food delivery, select streaming, and internet, cable, and phone services and 1X point on all other eligible purchases.
Our methodology
To determine which cards will put the most money back in your pocket, CNBC Select evaluated popular rewards credit cards offered by major banks, financial companies and credit unions that allow anyone to join and offer bonus rewards on hotel-related purchases. We compared each card on a range of features, including travel rewards (points and miles), annual fee, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, one-time perks, annual perks, redemption rates, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available.
Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.
Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses. Select used this budget to compare cards that reward specific purchases and estimate how many rewards the average consumer might earn.
We then estimated how many points the average consumer could earn over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases.
For co-branded hotel cards, we only calculated the estimated number of points you can earn after one and five years. The dollar value of points depends on whether you redeem them for hotel stays, merchandise, gift cards and more.
It's important to note the value of a point or mile varies from card to card and based on how you redeem them, and this is especially true for co-branded hotel rewards cards.
Our final picks are weighted heavily toward the highest five-year returns, since it's generally wise to hold onto a credit card for years. This method also avoids giving an unfair advantage to cards with large welcome bonuses.
While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your travel habits.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, click here.
*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
Information about the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
