Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card review: Full d...

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is Marriott’s most premium card providing. Standout advantages embrace automated Platinum Elite standing, an annual free evening certificates and as much as $300 in assertion credit annually if you use your card at eligible eating places worldwide. Phrases apply. Card score*: ⭐⭐⭐½

*Card rating relies on the opinion of TPG’s editors and isn’t influenced by the cardboard issuer.

Marriott gives six cobranded cards to with a variety of added advantages and annual payment ranges.

The Bonvoy Brilliant is the most costly to carry, with its $650 annual payment (see rates and fees). However does that essentially imply it is the very best?

A great to wonderful credit score is beneficial to extend your probabilities of being authorized.

Let’s dig deeper into the cardboard’s particulars that can assist you decide if it is best for you.

New Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex candidates can earn 185,000 bonus factors after spending $6,000 on purchases inside the first six months of card membership. Supply ends Sept. 24.

Primarily based on TPG’s July 2025 valuations of Marriott factors at 0.7 cents every, these 185,000 bonus factors are value $1,295.

Since this supply is available in at effectively over 100,000 bonus factors, it meets our recommended threshold to apply. It is also one of many highest within the card’s historical past because it grants essentially the most factors for its spending requirement.

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The choice best-ever supply was for 150,000 bonus factors after spending $6,000 within the first three months of card membership, plus 50,000 bonus factors after staying six eligible paid nights with Marriott (supply now not obtainable).

This present supply offers you double the time to fulfill the spending requirement and gives extra factors for assembly that threshold, and you will not have to finish any Marriott stays to earn the bonus.

Do not forget that Amex has restrictions limiting your ability to collect a new welcome bonus if you happen to’ve had comparable Marriott merchandise from Chase or earlier Starwood Most well-liked Visitor playing cards from American Categorical. You additionally could not be capable to earn this welcome supply if you happen to’ve earned one on the Bonvoy Good earlier than.

You should definitely evaluate the cardboard’s supply particulars web page to make sure you’re eligible.

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

The place the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex shines essentially the most is within the perks it gives (enrollment is required for choose advantages; phrases apply). These embrace:

• Annual free evening award: Annually after your card renewal month, you may obtain a free evening award at collaborating lodges value as much as 85,000 factors. That is far more invaluable than the free evening certificates that include some lower-tier Marriott playing cards, that are capped at 35,000 points. A number of the best uses of the certificate embrace luxurious lodges corresponding to The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin and The St. Regis Langkawi, the place rooms routinely high $500 per evening. Marriott’s dynamic pricing could influence your capacity to ebook a few of these properties. (Sure lodges have resort charges.)
• Marriott Platinum Elite standing: Major cardmembers obtain complimentary automatic Marriott Platinum Elite status, which incorporates perks like upgrades to suites, 4 p.m. late checkout (topic to availability) and lounge entry. It is best to obtain your upgraded standing in lower than two weeks.
• As much as $300 in restaurant credit: As a cardmember, you may obtain as much as $25 in assertion credit every month if you use your card at eligible eating places worldwide, equating to a complete worth of as much as $300 every calendar 12 months. (A spokesperson for American Categorical has confirmed that this credit score applies to worldwide eating places, is mechanically utilized and doesn’t require registration previous to utilizing this profit.)
• Property credit score of as much as $100: Once you ebook immediately utilizing a particular price for a keep of not less than two nights at Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis properties along with your card, you may obtain a credit score of as much as $100 for incidentals.
• Precedence Go lounge entry: As is fairly commonplace amongst premium travel rewards cards, the cardboard comes with a Priority Pass Select membership, which provides you and as much as two friends limitless entry to greater than 1,700 airport lounges worldwide. Further friends are charged the go to payment. This membership doesn’t embrace entry to Precedence Go eating places.

• Utility payment credit score for World Entry or TSA PreCheck: Like many different premium playing cards, the Bonvoy Good will reimburse you through assertion credit score if you cost the applying payment for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck to the cardboard as much as $120 (as much as $85 as soon as each 4½ years for TSA PreCheck or $120 as soon as each 4 years for World Entry). If you have already got World Entry or PreCheck, you need to use this credit score to cowl a cherished one’s software payment. Keep in mind, Global Entry contains TSA PreCheck, so it is sometimes the higher selection.
• Elite evening credit: Cardmembers will obtain 25 elite evening credit yearly. This profit can be stacked with the nights you earn with a Marriott small-business card. Once you mix the elite evening credit you earn on the Good with these earned on a Marriott enterprise card, you may attain 40 elite nights annually with none stays.
• Annual Earned Alternative Award: You may obtain an earned selection award after making $60,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar 12 months. That is separate from the Alternative Advantages you’d unlock by reaching 50 and 75 elite-qualifying nights. You possibly can solely earn one Earned Alternative Award per calendar 12 months, and you may select from the next: 5 Nightly Improve Awards, an 85,000-point free evening reward or $1,000 off a mattress or field spring from any Marriott Bonvoy retail model.
• Buying protections: Purchases made with the cardboard can stand up to 1 12 months of extended warranty coverage* and 90 days of purchase protection.*
• Journey protections: The Marriott Bonvoy Good Amex gives trip cancellation and interruption insurance** and trip delay insurance** for journeys delayed by greater than six hours as a consequence of a lined purpose. To be lined, you need to ebook a round-trip ticket and pay solely along with your card.

Those that can maximize the complete worth of the Bonvoy Good Amex’s advantages will simply justify the cardboard’s hefty annual payment.

*Eligibility and profit ranges fluctuate by card. Phrases, situations and limitations apply. Go to americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for particulars. Insurance policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Firm.

**Eligibility and profit degree varies by card. Phrases, situations and limitations apply. Go to americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for particulars. Insurance policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance coverage Firm, an AIG Firm.

Associated: How to use the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant’s $25 monthly dining credit

Bonvoy Brilliant Amex cardmembers earn Marriott Bonvoy factors on the following charges:

• 6 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at lodges collaborating within the Marriott Bonvoy program
• 3 factors per greenback at eating places worldwide
• 3 factors per greenback on flights booked immediately with airways
• 2 factors per greenback on different eligible purchases

The non-Marriott incomes charges are a bit low, so you may in all probability wish to pair the cardboard with a number of different playing cards that supply superior bonus classes, corresponding to The Platinum Card® from American Express for flights and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) for eating purchases.

There are additionally another nice choices to your everyday spending that will make a stable pairing with the Bonvoy Good.

Associated: The best credit card pairings

The obvious and invaluable strategy to redeem the Marriott Rewards factors you may earn on the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex is for stays at Marriott properties.

Nevertheless, what’s vital to notice with the Marriott Bonvoy program is its dynamic award pricing. Because of this the variety of factors you may must ebook rooms at any property might fluctuate month-to-month (even day-to-day) relying on demand.

For example, if you happen to’re looking for award costs on the Wailea Beach Resort by Marriott in October 2025, you might pay as little as 71,500 factors one evening and as much as 118,000 on one other.

The speed you lock in will rely in your flexibility. It is notable that Marriott Bonvoy has additionally devalued its points in latest months. On common, you may want extra factors to ebook rooms now than you’d’ve earlier than these adjustments took impact.

Nevertheless, with the power to ebook 10,000 international locations throughout greater than 30 lodge manufacturers, you have acquired loads of decisions. Marriott Bonvoy boasts many implausible lodges, together with a number of the world’s most luxurious properties.

A number of the extra luxurious lodges and resorts you might ebook with Marriott Bonvoy factors embrace numerous Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis properties. Some are all-suite, such because the St. Regis Maldives, whereas others are in dreamy locations just like the Al Maha Resort within the desert exterior Dubai.

Rooms at top-tier properties like these sometimes price 100,000 factors (or much more) per evening. That will appear to be a hefty worth in factors, nevertheless it is not a nasty worth contemplating that these room charges can attain $1,500 per evening a lot of the 12 months.

TPG bank cards author Chris Nelson obtained excellent worth by reserving 4 nights on the JW Marriott Sao Paulo throughout peak season for 120,000 factors.

Associated: Maximizing redemptions with the Marriott Bonvoy program

Associated: When does it make sense to transfer Marriott points to airlines?

If you happen to’re not loyal to Marriott, there are a variety of playing cards you would possibly take into account as a substitute of the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex:

For added choices, try our full listing of the best hotel credit cards.

Associated: The best premium credit cards: A side-by-side comparison

The data for the Hilton Honors Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

Apply right here: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

For charges and charges of the Marriott Bonvoy Good Amex, click on here.