Earn 150,000 Points And A $250 Statement Credit On The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX

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Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Limited time welcome bonus:

Through 9/30, you can earn 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and a $250 statement credit for opening the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX and spending $6,000 in 6 months.

Also available is a 125,000 point bonus offer plus a $150 statement credit for spending $5,000 in 6 months on the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, though with a $250 annual fee and no automatic anniversary nights, I don’t understand the target market for that card.

Annual fee:

$650.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX, please visit here.

Welcome bonus terms:

You won’t get the welcome bonus on this card if:

1. You have or had an active JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton in the past 30 days.
2. You were approved for a Chase Marriott Boundless, Bountiful, or Bold card in the past 90 days.
3. You received a signup or points upgrade offer from a Chase Marriott Boundless, Bountiful, or Bold card in the past 24 months.
4. You officially won’t get the welcome bonus on this card if you have or have had this card, though readers have reported success after several years.

After applying for a card, AMEX will have a pop-up letting you know if you are ineligible for the bonus, which will allow you to cancel the application.

You must keep the card active without closing or downgrading it for at least 12 months.

Card earnings:

• 2 points per dollar everywhere
• 3 points per dollar on airfare
• 3 points per dollar on restaurants worldwide.
• 6 Marriott points per dollar at Marriott hotels.
• There are no foreign transaction fees.

Anniversary night:

Cardholders will receive a free night upon every card anniversary valid at hotels that cost up to 85K points. Anniversary nights expire 12 months after they post to your account. These nights can no longer be extended.

You can also add up to 25K points to the certificate to use it at hotels going for up to 110,000 points per night including Marriott hotels from Bora Bora to the Maldives and from Herzliya to Sydney.

Monthly Restaurant Statement Credit:

You can earn up to $25/month in statement credits for spending at restaurants worldwide. That includes one or more purchases for dining in, taking out, delivery, or when using apps like Doordash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, or reloading your Starbucks balance from the Starbucks app etc.

Platinum Elite Status:

This card offers Platinum Elite status, which gives 50% bonus points, 4pm late checkout, a points or breakfast amenity, suite upgrades, lounge access, and more.

Elite Night Credits: 

You’ll also get 25 elite night credits for having the card, the most of any Marriott card.

You can stack that with 15 elite night credits for having a Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card to get 40 elite night credits. You’ll then need just 10 more elite night credits from stays, promotions, or spending on select cards to earn a Platinum choice award such as 5 suite award nights. At 75 credits you’ll earn Titanium status and a Titanium choice award such as a 40K free night or 5 more suite award nights. The credits also count towards earning lifetime status.

Annual Earned Choice Award:

Spend $60K in a calendar year and get an earned choice award.

Choose from a bonus 85K night, 5 suite night upgrades, or $750 off a Marriott mattress.

Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check:

Cardholders will get reimbursed for Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check charges every 4 years. Those programs make flying so much easier!

Priority Pass membership:

You can enroll here for a Priority Pass membership.

You can then use lounges and bring in 2 free guests.

See the Priority Pass site for their complete list of lounges.

AMEX Offers:

Earn statement credits at stores that you register for in your AMEX account.

Premium AMEX Protections And Lost Item Protection: 

My favorite AMEX benefit is return protection. If you need to return an item up to $300 and a store won’t take it back due to a time limit or final sale return policy, AMEX will gladly refund you in full thanks to return protection. 

Nearly all of the time you’ll even be able to keep the item you want to return! This benefit is valid for $1,000 of returns per card per calendar year.

Additional user cards are available at no cost and also get their own $1,000 per year return protection allowance!

Additionally, if a store charges a restocking fee to return an item then AMEX will cover that cost, up to $300/item, as part of their return protection coverage.

Unfortunately, most AMEX cards got rid of return protection. Cards that no longer have return protection include higher-end cards like AMEX Business Gold, AMEX Gold, Delta Platinum and Delta Business Platinum, AMEX Green, Marriott Business, Delta Gold and Delta Business Gold, but this card continues to offer it.

• With Return Protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories.
• Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.
• Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

Other AMEX benefits include:

• Cell phone protection covers $800 per claim with a $50 deductible if you paid your prior month’s bill on your card.
• Trip delay insurance will reimburse expenses due to a flight delay, up to $500 of coverage for 6+ hour delays.
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance covers trips cancelled or delayed due to weather, terrorism, jury duty, or sudden illness or injury with up to $10,000 of coverage per trip and $20,000 per rolling 12 month period.
• Baggage Insurance covers lost, stolen, or damaged luggage on plain, train, ship, or bus tickets paid for on the card.
• If your item, up to $10,000, is lost, stolen, or broken within 90 days you’ll be covered! Many cards offer stolen item protection, but that claim requires a police report to be filed and often has a cap of just $1,000 on other cards.
• If a store charged a restocking fee to return an item then AMEX will cover it, up to $300/item, as part of their return protection coverage.
• You get an additional year of warranty coverage, double the original manufacturers warranty, and if you have any issue in the extended warranty year they’ll pay to have it fixed or refund your entire purchase price without a hassle. This benefit is far more valuable than warranty benefits offered by other banks.
• If you need to dispute a charge there’s nobody who makes it easier or as pain-free as American Express does. It’s the easiest dispute resolution process in the industry by leaps and bounds and you can do it all online.
• Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.
• Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

Spend threshold:

You’ll need to spend $6,000 within 6 months.

You can pay your federal taxes for a 1.85% fee. If you overpay your taxes you can request a refund or apply it to your next year’s taxes.

My local natural gas company allows me to prepay up to $1,000 on a credit card for a $1.65 flat fee. That’s a great way to earn miles and help meet a spend threshold. My electricity supplier allows me to pay with a credit card for free as long as I am enrolled in autopay.

Airline transfer bonus:

You can transfer miles into dozens of airlines at valuable ratios.

Increments of 60K Marriott points can transfer into 30K United miles.

Increments of 60K Marriott points can transfer into 25K miles with ANA, Aegean, Aer Lingus, Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air China, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Alaska Atmos, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Copa, Emirates, Ethiopian, Etihad, Frontier, Hainan, Iberia, JAL, LATAM, LATAM Brazil, Qantas, Qatar, Saudia, Singapore, Southwest, TAP, Thai, Turkish, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, and Vueling.

Increments of 60K Marriott points can transfer into 375 Air New Zealand points.

Marriott points transfer at a 3:1 ratio to American, Avianca Lifemiles, or Delta. There is no bonus for transferring into 60K increments with these airlines, so 60K Marriott points would transfer into 20K miles.

Miles from these airlines can be very valuable and hard to get from other sources.

Premium internet access:

Cardholders get free premium in-room internet at Marriott hotels.

Card Convertibility:

You can convert this card to the Marriott Bonvoy AMEX with a $95 annual fee or Marriott Bevy AMEX with a $250 annual fee. Converting or canceling within 12 months of a welcome bonus may cause a clawback of your bonus points and status.

Marriott Card Comparison Chart:

Chase Marriott Bold Consumer CardChase Marriott Boundless Consumer CardMarriott Bonvoy Consumer AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business AMEXAMEX Marriott Bevy Consumer Card and Chase Marriott Bountiful Consumer CardJPMorgan Ritz Carlton CardMarriott Bonvoy Brilliant Consumer AMEX

Annual Fee	$0	$95	$95	$125	$250	$450	$650
Points earned on everyday purchases	1 (2 on travel purchases)	2	2	2	2	2	2
Points earned on airfare	2	2	2	2	2	3	3
Points earned on Marriott hotels	3	6	6	6	6	6	6
Points earned on restaurants	1	3 ($6K annual cap across 3x categories)	2	4	4 ($15K annual cap across 4x categories)	3	3
Points earned on supermarkets	1	3 ($6K annual cap across 3x categories)	2	2	4, US only on AMEX, worldwide on Chase ($15K annual cap across 4x categories)	2	2
Points earned on gas stations	1	3 ($6K annual cap across 3x categories)	2	4, US only	2	2	2
Points earned on wireless service and shipping	1	2	2	4, US only	2	2	2
Free elite status level	Silver	Silver	Silver	Gold	Gold	Gold	Platinum
Elite night credits	5 consumer nights	15 consumer nights	15 consumer nights	15 business nights	15 consumer nights	15 consumer nights	25 consumer nights
Elite status with annual spending	None	Gold for $35K, plus earn 1 elite night credit with every $5,000 spent	Gold for $35K	-	-	Platinum for $75K	-
Anniversary night with no spending required	None	Automatic free night up to 35K Marriott points	Automatic free night up to 35K Marriott points	Automatic free night up to 35K Marriott points	None	Automatic free night up to 85K Marriott points	Automatic free night up to 85K Marriott points
Free night awards for spending	None	None	None	35K night if you spend $60K in a calendar year	50K night if you spend $15K in a calendar year	None	85K night if you spend $60K in a calendar year, or select 5 suite upgrade nights or $750 off Marriott mattress
Monthly restaurant credit.	None	None	None	None	None	None	$25
Bonus points on each paid stay charged to card	None	None	None	None	1,000	None	None
Savings on Marriott stays	None	None	None	7% off standard rates	None	$100 property credit at Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve or S. Regis when you book using special rate for a 2+ nights	$100 property credit at Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve or S. Regis when you book using special rate for a 2+ nights
Annual Ritz-Carlton Club Level Upgrade Certs On Paid Stays	None	None	None	None	None	3	None
Annual airline fee credit	None	None	None	None	None	$300	None
Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit	None	None	None	None	None	Full credit every 4 years.	Full credit every 4 years.
Foreign transaction fees	None	None	None	None	None	None	None
Complimentary premium in-room internet	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Priority Pass lounge membership	No	No	No	No	No	Yes, with 2 free guests	Yes, with 2 free guests
Priority Pass lounge membership for free additional users	No	No	No	No	No	Yes, with 2 free guests	No
Chase Sapphire Lounge Access	No	No	No	No	No	Yes, with 2 free guests	One free annual visit to Chase Sapphire lounge with no guests. Guests or additional visits cost $75.
Chase Sapphire Lounge Access for free additional users	No	No	No	No	No	Yes, with 2 free guests	No
Return Protection	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Roadside Assistance	No	No	No	No	No	4 free uses per year	No
US Car Rental CDW Coverage	Secondary	Secondary	Secondary	Secondary	Secondary	Primary	Secondary
Emergency Medical and Dental when traveling	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Trip Delay Reimbursement	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Baggage Insurance, extended warranty, and purchase protection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Dan’s quick thoughts:

This is a very expensive credit card, but between the $25 monthly restaurant credit and the 85K free night, it shouldn’t be hard to cover the cost of the annual fee and then some.

Marriott points are certainly not what they used to be, but the Platinum elite status and 25 elite night credits make this card a compelling value for Marriott enthusiasts and the welcome bonus is excellent.

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Will you apply for this limited time offer? Where will you use the free nights?

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX, please visit here.