KEY LINK: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card – Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 in 6 months. $650 annual fee (see rates and fees)
I’ve often said that one of the best ways to get lots of miles and points is through applying for new credit cards. It’s just too hard to get any appreciable amount of miles by just your regular everyday spending (unless you are spending a LOT). So for most people, regularly applying for new credit cards every couple of months is the best way to get enough miles and points to go somewhere fun. Of course, that also goes right into the other thing that I regularly say, and that is to not apply for a credit card just because some guy on the Internet said that you should.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Welcome Offer
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card just came out with a brand new offer and it’s pretty compelling. You can earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 in 6 months.
Keep in mind that with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, you’ll also get:
- 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
- 3X Marriott Bonvoy® points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines
- 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Benefits At Marriott
As Marriott’s top-tier credit card, it comes with a whole host of benefits at Marriott.
- Free Night Award: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees
- Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, you will be eligible to select a Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Brilliant Earned Choice Award per calendar year. Currently your choice benefit options include:
- 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards
- An additional Free Night Award valued at up to 85K points
- $1,000 Off a Bed from any Marriott Bonvoy® retail brand
- Earn 1,000 points per paid eligible stay booked directly with Marriott Bonvoy at participating properties.
- Complimentary Marriott Platinum Elite status
- 25 elite nights towards status each year
Keep in mind that the free night with the Brilliant is good for up to 85,000 points, which is a higher cap than the free night award that comes with some of the other cards.
Luxury Travel Perks and Credits With the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
As you might expect with a card with a $650 annual fee, it also comes with some high-end luxury travel benefits and credits
- $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide.
- $100 Marriott Bonvoy® Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
- Up to $120 Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Priority Pass Select Membership
If you regularly (at least monthly) eat at restaurants, that’s $300 in credits right there that can help take the sting out of the annual fee. The Marriott property credit, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit and Priority Pass membership can also be useful in the right circumstances.
Who’s Eligible for this Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant offer
The terms of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card state that you are not eligible for the welcome offer if you:
- have or have had this Card or the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card or previous versions of these Cards.
- have had The Ritz-Carlton® Credit Card from JPMorgan or the J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card in the last 30 days
- have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase in the last 90 days
- received a new Card Member bonus or upgrade offer for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase in the last 24 months.
American Express also will consider your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors.
The good news is that if you are not eligible for a welcome offer, we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.
Other Marriott Credit Cards
If you’re not sure about paying the $650 annual fee on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, Marriott does also have several other cards available. Here are a few other Marriott cards that you could consider:
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card – Earn 3 Free Night Awards after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points. Certain hotels have resort fees. Terms apply. $125 annual fee (see rates and fees).
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card – Earn 155,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $5,000 in 6 months. $250 annual fee (see rates and fees)
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card – Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $0 annual fee. Read our full review here.
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card – Earn 3 Free Nights after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of account opening. $95 annual fee. Read our full review here.
There’s a lot to be said for applying for the Bonvoy Brilliant card, at least during the first year. It has the highest welcome bonus and the most perks. You can then cancel or downgrade the card after the first year if you don’t want to pay the annual fee again.
The Bottom Line
KEY LINK: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card – Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 in 6 months. $650 annual fee (see rates and fees)
This is a solid offer. With the value of Marriott points at around 0.7 cents per point, the welcome offer should be worth around $1000 in the first year. In addition to that, the free night award and various credits and perks should be worth quite a bit each year as well. Yes, it comes with a $650 annual fee but you should be able to get significantly more value than that the first year, and each year you also get a free night certificate which should help you manage the annual fee. You can always decide to downgrade your card after the first year, if you find that you are not getting enough value to justify paying the annual fee again.
As always, feel free to email me at dan at pointswithacrew dot com if you have any questions about your specific situation, or this or any other credit card offer.
What do you think of this Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant credit card offer? Are you planning on signing up for it?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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