is marriott bonvoy brilliant worth it

Is the Bonvoy Brilliant worth it for the less frequent traveler?

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gold is much more versatile. most cards are worth it for 1 yr at least because of the SUB. but i wouldnt be putting all my spending on it. get the credits, use the 85k FNC to make it worthwhile and sock drawer it, is probably what at most people do. Answer from sunnyhillz on reddit.com

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r/amex on Reddit: Is the Bonvoy Brilliant worth it for the less frequent traveler?

May 1, 2024 -

Hello, wanted to get your opinion. I'm not a super traveller but I do go places from time to time. I currently have the Amex Gold and I typically use my points on flights but I don't like the thought of getting an airline card as I like the flexibility of picking my flight.

As for hotel stays though, I do not care about the flexibility. I see the 185k deal ends today and curious on your thoughts if this card is worth it for the "less frequent traveler". I am a one-card guy so I would be demoting my gold to green and never using it. The $300 credit will get used easily so to me this is a $350 a year card. I don't have TSA Precheck/Global Entry so I will take advantage of that. My wife and I can spend 60k a year to get the free night aware and would treat that as a date night to the beach or a bigger city near us. The 25 night credits probably won't mean anything as I won't hit titanium or higher. The $100 property credit at the ritz or regis is a question mark for me as I am unsure whats eligible (I'm assuming it would be part of the date night package as its a 2 night stay minimum at one of those hotels).

To me, I lose out, on the freedom to use my points on anything but I gain the relief of not struggling to figure out where we are staying when travelling (airbnb vs hotel vs motel, etc...). The point structure doesn't seem horrible, its just that they can only be used at Marriott.

Would you consider this card only for the frequent traveller?

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I got the Brilliant last year literally hours before a new SUB launched. I applied and was approved Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning a new SUB launched (something like this). I got the card for the Bonvoy Platinum status, which I was going to immediately use while on a trip to Aruba. It did end up saving us some significant cash on that trip. I travel 2-3 times per year, and I do prefer Marriotts. I flight I will ever hit Titanium, or even Platinum organically, so having the card does help get some elevated benefits and experiences I would not otherwise have for only a small annual fee (to me).

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American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card - Is it worth it? - Bogleheads.org

It's a value but in my eyes not exactly worth rack rate most of the time. For me the value in higher level Marriott status is the late checkout (2pm gold and 4pm platinum) which isn't always easy to get the property to let you use. You can combine with the $125 AMEX Mariott Bonvoy card and ...

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My thoughts on Amex Marriot Brilliant - myFICO® Forums - 6823410

Hey peeps thought I would give my two cents on the value of Amex's Marriot Brilliant card. So last year and some of this I had to go to the Phillipines for work for roughtly 100 days. Once I found out I looked into the hotel I was staying and it was the Clark Marriot in the Phillipines so some ... More on ficoforums.myfico.com

ficoforums.myfico.com

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Is it worth getting the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card; currently Platinum Elite

$300 dining credit + free night awards up to 85k points. you know what kind of hotel you can book with 85k points? somethign that you easily cost you $400 a night if you pay out of pocket. come on...170k to open this card, this alone is worth it to me to get. More on reddit.com

r/marriott

September 23, 2023

Getting frustrated by the Brilliant Amex card

Well, the Platinum status does give you free breakfast at other properties that do not offer it. It is not just for the lounge access. If you want late check-out, for the most part I have gotten. If you want the chance of room upgrades. That all plays a part. Also, you get the $25 dining credit each month, which totals $300. So in essence, you are paying $350 for the Amex card and the Platinum status. You can decide if it is worth it with that. More on reddit.com

r/marriott

134

September 9, 2025

On the fence about the Brilliant Amex card

You should really be ready to go ALL IN on Marriott, and not just for work. It's the only way to make the $650 annual fee worth it to you. One night of work travel per week is going to result in ~52 nights a year. Add that to the 25 night credits you get from having the Brilliant card, and you're at 77, which just gets you Titanium status (75 nights/year required). Let's just assume that you get Titanium even if you don't do a full 52 nights of work travel, through some small vacations or whatever. Titanium status is often considered the first real worthwhile tier of status, because it's the first tier that you actually have to earn. Anyone who can open a Brilliant card can get Platinum, so there's a HUGE number of Platinum users competing for the same tier of benefits. As a Titanium, you'll trump them all, and there are significantly fewer Titaniums than Platinums because you can't instantly earn it. However, the experience with the average Marriott hotel in the US is extremely lackluster and the benefits don't confer you much. The breakfast often sucks (if it exists at all), lounges are just empty quiet spaces with some sodas, there are very few upgrades that exist and they're relatively meaningless, etc. At your average Fairfield, Springhill, Courtyard, etc. (the real road warrior hotels), the most you're going to get is some extra points and a late checkout. Where the Marriott points game really starts to shine is vacations, and especially vacations abroad (assuming you're in the US). This is why people play the points game, from both a points redemption perspective and benefits value perspective. At 52 paid nights a year at an average nightly cost of $150, with Platinum status (your first year) and the Brilliant card, you're looking at around ~170,000 points. Let's round it up to 200,000 to factor in your new card bonus and promotions. To put that amount of points into perspective, 200,000 points would get you 5 nights at an Aloft in Tokyo, or the JW Marriott in Cancun, or The Laguna Luxury Collection Resort in Bali, etc. At those properties you're going to enjoy free baller breakfasts, free lounge access throughout the day (often with enough food/drink to be considered a full meal experience, including alcohol), and because of your increased Titanium status, the likelihood of you getting upgraded will be very high. I just came back from a two-week trip to Japan and Bali, and I did a 5-night redemption at the Westin Tokyo for 320,000 points. I also used 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards to get upgraded into a 1 bedroom suite. This was a $5,000 redemption at the sticker price room rate, and the property was NICE. On par with a Ritz-Carlton or a St. Regis. Free buffet breakfast every day and 2-3 cocktails every night in the lounge. I also got upgraded at the St. Regis Bali and the Westin Tokyo without using NUAs, just as a result of my status. It would be hard to really make these points work as hard for you in the US, because the properties, benefits, and service just tend to be a lot more lackluster, while at the same time the costs of the stays (both in points and dollars) are a lot higher. More on reddit.com

r/marriott

April 30, 2025

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