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American Express
americanexpress.com › us › credit-cards › card › marriott-bonvoy-brilliant
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at Hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® and 3X points at Restaurants Worldwide. Enjoy luxury stays and travel perks. Terms Apply.
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Marriott
marriott.com › credit-cards › marriott-bonvoy-brilliant-american-express-card.mi
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Brilliant Card
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Brilliant Card
Earn points, free nights, and elite status at over 8,000 hotels with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Brilliant Card. Get 6x Points at Marriott Properties, 3x Points at U.S. Restaurants, 2x on Purchases & More.
Price   US$450.00
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/marriott › on the fence about the brilliant amex card
r/marriott on Reddit: On the fence about the Brilliant Amex card
April 30, 2025 -

I'm trying to figure out if this card will be worth it for me. I have an amex platinum so far, which has been great. I recently started a new job where I travel once a week, and I stay at a marriott hotel, and it got me wondering if getting a dedicated card would be worthwhile. I do also eat out often so the $25 per month would likely be used easily, and I do travel for conferences a few times a year so I could use the free night pretty easily as well.

Anything else I should consider? Does it sound like this is worthwhile for me?

Top answer
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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.
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I have the Brilliant and only stay in hotels once a quarter, but the dining credit and 85k certificate alone pay for the annual fee for me. I see the certificate as treating myself to a luxury brand stay and just stay at Fairfields the other times.
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NerdWallet
nerdwallet.com › back to nerdwallet homepage › travel › 9 ways to maximize the marriott bonvoy brilliant amex
9 Ways to Maximize the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant AmEx
November 12, 2020 - The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card comes with an attractive welcome bonus: Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
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The Points Guy
thepointsguy.com › credit-cards › is-marriott-bonvoy-brilliant-amex-worth-annual-fee
Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex worth the annual fee? - The Points Guy
September 25, 2025 - With the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, you can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.
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Daily Drop
dailydrop.com › home | daily drop › best credit cards › marriott bonvoy brilliant® american express® card review
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card Review 2025
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex card will gift you automatic Gold Elite status at Marriott properties which can be invaluable for Marriott loyalists. Plus, you'll be given 15 elite night credits to help boost you towards reaching Platinum status with all of its additional, snazzy benefits! ✅ Check if you're pre-approved or eligible for elevated offers using the CardMatch Tool ... Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant... Our in-depth review of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card discusses its benefits, rewards, potential drawbacks and more.
Rating: 4.7 ​
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/marriott › is it worth getting the amex marriott bonvoy brilliant card; currently platinum elite
r/marriott on Reddit: Is it worth getting the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card; currently Platinum Elite
September 23, 2023 -

9/23/23 update:

Thanks everyone for the comments! I did went ahead and applied for the card. Was suprised it was denied immediately but when I looked at the reason, it said it was due to a security lock or freeze that I had on my Experian CR (forgot all about that). Duh!

Once I had temporarily unlocked my Experian CR, I called AMEX and they were able to check my CR and the account was approved immediately.

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I just checked into the Newport News Marriott and to my surprise, I actually got upgraded to a suite :), which doesn't happen very often for me. But thank you, Marriott.

Currently, I'm at Platinum Elite with just 32 nights this year (lifetime Silver Elite) and have 3 more upcoming stays (about 7 nights total) by the year end. I saw that AMEX currently has Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card with 170,000 bonus points (after $6K spend) and was debating whether if it's worth to go for it. While I doubt I'll have $6K spend between now and year end to reap the 170K bonus points, to me, the benefits of this card that would appeal to me would be:

- Platinum Elite status (breakfast/lounge, 4 pm checkout, enhanced internet); the 4 pm checkout is the most beneficial perk to me in all my years of being in the program, especially when traveling with family/kids.

- The 25 elite night credits

- Priority Pass (currently have United Explorer card which comes with two UC passes)

The $650 fee is steep and I don't now if I'll have 50 nights of Marriott stays year after year, as it varies (for work and personal travel) but if the $650 buys me 25 nights to start, I think that helps me get to 50 nights quicker.

Looking at my history, I have:

Lifetime Nights

Total Nights:327

Lifetime Statistics

Years as Silver Elite:6

Years as Gold Elite:6

Years as Platinum Elite:5

So, if I were to apply to for this card this week and get approved, I assume the 25 nights will automatically add to my existing 32 nights, which will get me to 57 and that's before the 3 more upcoming stays. This will push me into maintaining my Platinum Elite and come 2024, I assume the 25 free nights will be deposited around the anniversary of when I applied/receive (assuming October)?

RE: $300/year dining statement credit, does that basically mean you get a $25 credit if you have $25 or more in dining charged to the card? If so, that is easily achievable.

RE: Priority Pass Select lounge access; I travel (mostly on United) maybe 2-3 flights per year so I think the Priority Pass would be nice to have, especially if I already use up the two free United Club passes that I get from my United Explorer card.

Thanks!

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Frugal Flyer
frugalflyer.ca › credit-card › american-express-marriott-bonvoy-brilliant
American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card (US) | Frugal Flyer
November 17, 2021 - The American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, an annual free night, and more
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Straighttothepoints
straighttothepoints.co › marriott-bonvoy-brilliant
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card | Straight to the Points
Both Amex and Chase offer co-branded Marriott credit cards. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is issued by Amex and is a high-end card. For those who want the perks of status without having to stay 50+ nights, this is the card to get.
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Bankrate
bankrate.com › credit cards › reviews › marriott bonvoy brilliant american express card review
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card Review | Bankrate
December 1, 2022 - Up to 21XEarn 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.
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Yahoo! Finance
finance.yahoo.com › personal finance › credit cards
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express card: A premium card with tons of added benefits
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
No promotional APR: The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card doesn't have a promotional APR offer for purchases or balance transfers, so the regular APR will apply to all transactions. Limited point redemptions: Although you can redeem your points in various ways, Marriott hotel stays offer the highest value. Other redemption methods offer significantly less value for your points. You can make a payment online or through the Amex ...
Rating: 3 ​
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One Mile at a Time
onemileatatime.com › home › is the marriott bonvoy brilliant card worth it? how i make the math work
Is The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card Worth It? How I Make The Math Work - One Mile at a Time
September 26, 2025 - At the moment, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card has a welcome offer where you can earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.