I would think since I gained status through AMEX to begin with, that Marriott properties would honor my benefits no matter what system I booked through. Not sure why you would think that. Benefits that require direct booking Elite status benefits: You can only receive elite status benefits if you book directly with Marriott. A “Non-Qualifying Rate” is a rate a Member pays for a Stay in a guest room at a Participating Property which does not qualify to earn Points or Miles, as well as membership tier benefits. Non-Qualifying Rates are those booked using the following methods: i. The guest room was booked through a tour operator, online travel channel or other third-party channel including, without limitation, expedia.com, hotwire.com, priceline.com, orbitz.com, booking.com, travelocity.com; or More on reddit.com

There is an option to input your bonvoy number in the booking. Do that and it shows up right away with Marriott. Never had a problem getting night credits + benefits on stays compounded with FHR.

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Does AMEX ever offer a better referral bonus for referring someone to the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant? Seems a little silly that you would have to refer 55 people to max out the yearly referral bonus, and one referral is equivalent to maybe $6-7?

I would have expected a slightly better bonus on a premium card. On the Hilton Surpass card the bonus is 20K Hilton Honors points, for comparison. I would expect the Aspire has a comparable, or better, referral bonus.

Edit: I also saw the other day that Chase is currently offering a 40K point referral bonus, up to 200K points per year, for the Bonvoy Bold or Boundless cards, which makes this bonus even more laughable!

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I've had a great experience with them. It's my first Amex and customer service has been great too. They overnighted the card when I applied and it came quickly. Status was updated the next day. After I met my spend requirement, points were loaded in the next day. The $25/mo food credit makes up for $300 a year that you're paying on the fee. And the FNA worth up to 85k points more than covers the rest of the fee for me. Plus travel insurance (which is really only useful if you are traveling via a "common carrier" aka doesn't cover road trips in personal vehicle. But it does have rental car coverage too which saves me money). The statement credits always add quickly for the dining. I did my TSA Precheck payment with the card and it credited the amount back within a few days. I've been really satisfied with it and have earned a lot of points. It is my main card now. The sign up bonus is great right now at 185k points after spend requirement is met. I got 95k points when I did mine. It's a great time to sign up if you are interested in it. I'm happy to share my experience without pushing my referral code, but if you would like a referral link please DM and I'll be glad to send one. Or if you have any more questions about specific benefits I'll be happy to share. More on reddit.com