Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is offering 185,000 points after spending $6000 in 6 months with a $650 annual fee.. That's up 90,000 points over their standard offer of 95,000 points after spending $6000 in 6 months. Offer expires 05/14/2025
Bonus Points | Minimum Spend | Point Value | Annual Value | Annual Fee | 1st Year Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
185,000 | $6,000 | 0.7 ¢ | $175 | $650 | $862 |
Best Value | Differentiating Perks | Rules |
---|---|---|
Marriott stays & transfer top-offs | $300 Statement Credit on Marriott purchases, free night annually | Amex 4 Credit , Bonvoy 1/24 , Amex 3/90 , No 5/24 , Amex 1/10 |
Spend Categories
3X points
2.1¢ Per Dollar Spent
2X points
1.4¢ Per Dollar Spent
6X points
4.2¢ Per Dollar Spent
3X points
2.1¢ Per Dollar Spent
Card Benefits
Get access to over 1,200 lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying.
Your cell phone will be covered against damage or theft up to $800 — with a $50 deductible — up to $1,000 per 12-month
Get on free Award Night that can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel.
Get up to $100 statement credit for Global Entry, or an $85 fee credit for TSA PreCheck.
Using this card gives you $75,000 secondary car rental insurance for damage or theft of a rental vehicle. If you rent outside the US, coverage is upgraded to primary insurance.
Lost luggage insurance up to $2,000 for checked baggage and up to a combined maximum of $3,000 for checked and carry-on baggage
You will pay no foreign transaction fees when you use your card for purchases made outside the United States.
Get up to $300 back in statement credits for eligible purchases at Restaurants worldwide that is $25 per month .
Included Platinum status includes: late checkout and free enhanced WiFi, room upgrades based on availability.
Your coverage is limited to 90 days from the date of purchase, up to $300 per item and up to $1,000 per cardmember account per calendar year.
Get up to 1 additional year on original manufacturer’s warranties of 5 years or less.
Bottom Line
One of the main reasons this is a luxury card is because of the annual free night of up to 50,000 points (around $350). So if you're confident you can take advantage of that $300 statement credit, plus the free night — and you lean more toward luxury hotels, this is the card for you.
Why You Might Want This Card
Surprisingly Worth $450
This new Marriott Bonvoy Card takes it up a notch with its annual reward night being valued at 50,000 points, complimentary Gold Elite Status, and Priority Pass membership with guesting privileges. But let's address that $450 elephant in the room that takes the form of an annual fee. Yeah, that’s a lot of money. But utilize your Global Entry / TSA credit of $100, your $300 statement credit for purchases at Marriott, your annual 50,000-point reward night — and your unlimited Priority Pass lounge visits ... and that annual fee more than pays for itself.
Check out our Marriott Bonvoy page for more details on how to best use Bonvoy Points.
Exceptions To The Rule
About Marriott Bonvoy
Bonvoy holds a unique place in this hobby. That’s because the points are a solid value for hotel reservations at the world's largest hotel chain AND Bonvoy points transfer to other point systems. In fact, Bonvoy has more transfer partners than Amex, Citi and Chase combined!!
This creates a unique situation, similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards points. There are nearly no flight or hotel situations that Bonvoy can’t solve. For this reason, we tend to use other hotel points (Hilton in particular) and save our Bonvoy points for unique situations, especially if you want to travel to any exotic locations.
The challenge is the value isn't great on transfers. We'll generally only use transfers for a points top off to buy a flight. Otherwise, we'll use our Bonvoy points for hotel rooms, especially in those hard to book places since Marriott has the most hotels globally.
Where Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Fits In This Point Ecosystem
Personal Experience
Application Rules
Amex will decline your application if you already have 4 credit cards (not charge) and apply for a fifth
You're allowed only 1 personal and 1 business Bonvoy Card at the same time, and only 1 bonus in the last 24 months
You'll be declined if you apply for a fourth Amex card in 90 days
Card approval not subject to 5-personal-cards-in-24-months rule
Amex allows only 1 bonus per specific card per lifetime (yours or that version of the card)
Best for Series
Below is a snapshot of where this card performs best compared to the other cards in our database:
Breaking Points

Mini Points - August 2024
- American Express Gold Card - Limited Time Offer 90,000 Points after spending $6000 in 6 months, $325/annual fee (with lots of perks to off-set the annual fee).
- American Express Marriott BonVoy Brilliant - Limited Time offer 185,000 Points after spending $6000 in 6 months, $650 annual fee ($300 Dining credit - $25/month towards restaurants).

Mini Points - March 2024
- Amex Bonvoy Brilliant - Earn 185,000 points after spending $6000 in 6 months, $650 annual fee.
- Amex Bonvoy Bevy - Earn 155,000 points after spending $5000 in 6 months, $250 annual fee.
- Amex Hilton Honors Surpass - Earn 155,000 points after spending $3000 in 6 months, $150 annual fee.
- Amex Hilton Honors Aspire - Earn 175,000 points after spending $6000 in 6 months, $550 annual fee.
- Amex Hilton Honors - Earn 100,000 points after spending $2000 in 6 months, $0 annual fee.
- Wyndham Rewards Earner - 75,000 points after spending $2000 in 6 months, $0 annual fee.
- Wyndham Rewards Earner + - 100,000 points after spending $2000 in 6 months, $75 annual fee.
- Wyndham Rewards Business - 50,000 points after spending $4000 in 3 months + 50,000 points after spending $15,000 in 12 months, $95 annual fee.

Marriott American Express Cards Limited Time Offer
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card - 2 Free Night Awards at 85,000 Points hotels after spending $6000 in 6 months, $650 annual fee.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card - 125,000 Bonus Points after spending $5000 in 6 months, $250 annual fee.