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?

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!

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant has an elevated sub right now and I'm thinking about grabbing it for the points.

The issue is, besides the Platinum Elite status I have no real use for any of the other benefits. The restaurant credit I would have to go out of my way to use. I already have TSA Precheck. Already have Priority Pass via C1 Venture X.

A few other alternatives that I am considering:

1. Get the Bevy instead purely for points.

2. Grab a Chase branded card, and upgrade to the Ritz Carlton card in a year.

I currently hold the Bonvoy Business.