Why the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is No-Brainer for Many Travelers

As a travel rewards and credit card expert, people often seek my opinion about how to make their hotel stays more affordable and enjoyable.

Holding a hotel credit card can be a great way to earn piles of points and enjoy valuable perks. And right now an incredible new offer just dropped on one of my favorite hotel cards.

It’s a card I’ve personally held in my wallet for years. It’s helped my family unlock priceless family trips with the valuable points it earns. It gives a “status shortcut” that lets me access valuable benefits like upgrades, free breakfast, lounge access and more.

And right now, it’s offering one of the highest bonuses we’ve seen for new cardholders:

Earn 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 5/13/2026. Terms Apply.

That’s 100,000 points more than the last offer we saw on this card.

Better yet? It belongs to the largest, and arguably best, hotel chain in the world.

Marriott topped NerdWallet's 2026 best hotel ranking due to their massive footprint (the largest of any hotel chain), a solid rewards rate for paid stays and strong ratings from NerdWallet's travel team.

My favorite benefits that make the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card so valuable

Complimentary Platinum Elite status

I love the “status shortcut” the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card offers with complimentary Marriott Platinum Elite status. Marriott Platinum Elite status offers tangible, valuable benefits for me every single time I stay.

I’m probably never going to stay the required 50 nights per year to earn the status the “hard” way, but I sure enjoy the red carpet treatment and super valuable perks!

Thanks to my Platinum Elite status, I’m able to choose a welcome amenity at check-in. Usually the choices include extra points, a welcome amenity, or breakfast for two. I choose free breakfast for 2 most times, and that adds up to substantial savings for my family when we stay at Marriotts, even a few times a year.

Plus, when I’m booked on a qualifying rate to a Marriott hotel that has a lounge, my complimentary status gets me in. This is another favorite perk, especially when we’re traveling as a family. Grabbing a snack in the lounge instead of paying for overpriced treats out in the city is a big cost savings.

The 4 p.m. late check-out option is clutch for later flights, or gives us more time to explore a city with less stress about needing to clear out of the room earlier in the day.

Thanks to my Platinum Elite status, I often get room upgrades, including select suites – an awesome surprise that makes the trip that much better, especially to have extra space for my family. (Perks like late check-out and room upgrades are subject to availability and only when you book a qualifying rate at a participating hotel.)

Easy-to-use $300 dining credit

For me, this credit is as good as cash and goes a long way toward effectively covering a large chunk of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card’s annual fee.

You get up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide (terms apply). Just go to a restaurant, grab some carry-out (in the U.S. only), pick up your morning cup of Joe or treat yourself to dessert. Pay with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, and you automatically get up to $25 in credits back on your card each month. There’s nothing to activate, no hoops to jump through. I love how easy this is.

Annual free night award worth up to 85,000 points

On top of the massive amount of Marriott Bonvoy points you’ll rack up when you open a new card and meet spending requirements – 200,000 points right now – you’ll earn another valuable benefit each year you hold the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.

An 85,000-point Marriott certificate can essentially cover nearly the entire annual fee of the card if used for good value! This is a huge perk, and one that I love to save every year for an extra special occasion stay.

Plus, you can add up to 25,000 of your Marriott points to it to make it worth even more. That means you can add your points to top it up to a value of 100,000 for really special stays – a feature often not available on other hotel chain’s annual night certificates.

More Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card highlights at a glance

• Stellar earnings: Earn 6X points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3X points per $1 spent at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines, and 2X points per $1 on all other purchases.

• Fee credit: Receive either a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or a statement credit for up to $85 for TSA PreCheck (through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) for a 5-year plan. If you are approved for Global Entry you will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional charge. Only one credit will be given in a 4 year period for whichever application fee is charged to your Card first.

• No foreign transaction fees.

• Welcome bonus: Earn 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 5/13/2026. Terms Apply.

• Annual fee: $650.

• Terms apply.

To view rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, see this page.

“Core Memories” made from Marriott Bonvoy points

Without a doubt, using points and miles to help cover the cost of travel has changed what’s possible for me and for my family.

We’re able to take more trips. We’re able to stay at properties we would never dream of paying all cash for. We’re able to dream about – and then actually visit– some of those bucket list destinations that help create those “core memories” that are truly priceless.

Since Marriott is the largest hotel chain in the world, Marriott Bonvoy points can truly take you almost anywhere you want to go.

Anniversary luxury beyond our wildest dreams

Like when my husband and I were lucky enough to travel to Bora Bora for our 10-year anniversary. It’s a place so exquisitely beautiful that we kept looking around and whispering to each other: “Is this real life?!”

Since this was a big trip, we knew we wanted to make it super special and luxurious. We saved up our Marriott Bonvoy points for this aspirational celebration vacation, and were able to book an overwater villa at the 5-star St. Regis – almost completely with points!

(Yes, we did pay a daily resort fee, and mandatory taxes and destination fees. But our points covered the vast majority of the stay).

We were blown away that we could book this spectacular overwater bungalow – complete with a separate bedroom, huge sundeck, luxurious spa tub and large sitting area – using our Marriott Bonvoy points.

A St. Regis stay famously includes private butler service, even when you book with points. Our Butler delivered our morning coffee to our day each day, helped unpack and pack our bags, and even pressed garments for us.

Even better: Because we booked using Marriott Bonvoy points, we were able to score one night free!

That’s because Marriott has an ongoing offer called Stay for 5, Pay for 4. When you use your points to book five consecutive nights, you only need to redeem points for 4 nights.

You don’t need to remember to activate this perk or jump through any hoops to use it. When you use your points to book five consecutive nights, the lowest points night will be taken off automatically.

Using the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card not only helped us save up enough points for this ultimate bucket list stay, but it also saved us a bundle on breakfast, too.

That’s thanks to the complimentary Marriott Platinum Elite status the card gives. Usually you’d have to earn 50 elite night credits at a Marriott property in a calendar year to get Platinum status.

When we checked into the St. Regis Bora Bora, we chose complimentary breakfast for two as our Platinum Elite welcome amenity. The gourmet breakfast spread was huge and even included fresh sushi.

This perk saved us about $50 per person each day!

Plus, Platinum Elite Status Members earn 50% more points on every eligible Marriott hotel purchase, including spa and dining charges, plus 4 p.m. late checkout and room upgrades, based on availability when you book a qualifying rate at participating hotels.

Marriott points helped take the wallet sting out of Disney

Here’s another time that Marriott Bonvoy points, largely earned from my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, helped my family create magical “core memories. Taking our young kids to Disney World was a bucket list trip from the moment they were born. Ever the deal-seeker, I made an exciting discovery as I searched for ways to lower the cost of a five-day Disney vacation for a family of four.

There are three Marriott Bonvoy hotels located directly on Disney property in Orlando!

These hotels give exclusive Disney perks like 30-minute early theme park entry, extended evening hours and the ability to book Lighting Lane passes up to seven days in advance.

You can walk to Epcot® and Disney’s Hollywood Studios™, take complimentary shuttles or even get free parking. And, you can pay with your Marriott Bonvoy points!

Using our Marriott points to book a room at the Dolphin hotel made our Disney trip significantly more affordable, and we didn’t have to sacrifice any of the perks you get from staying at an official Disney property.

Alternate pick: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is my top pick for Marriott because the math adds up for me. Between the annual $300 dining credit, the 85,000-point annual free night award, the complimentary Platinum Elite status and other perks, I’m able to get much more value than the cost of the annual fee each year.

If it doesn’t sound right for you, there’s another great Marriott card option called the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card. It has an annual fee of $250, and it also has an excellent elevated bonus for new cardholders right now:

Earn 175,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 5/13/2026. Terms Apply.

This card earns:

• 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.

• 4X Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 spent at U.S. supermarkets, at restaurants worldwide and on delivery and takeout in the U.S., on up to $15,000 in combined spending (then 2 points per $1).

• 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases.

It also gives complimentary Gold Elite status, plus 15 Elite Night credits each calendar year toward Platinum Elite status and a Free Night Award (valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $15,000 in a calendar year, valid at participating properties, some of which may charge resort fees. Terms apply.

To view rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card, see this page.

Is a Marriott American Express® Card worth it?

Yes, even if you stay at a Marriott a few nights a year, you’ll likely get enough value from the card to make it worth it.

My top pick is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. Between the annual $300 dining credit, the 85,000-point annual free night award, the complimentary Platinum Elite status and other perks, I’m able to get much more value than the cost of the annual fee each year.

Plus, add in the massive bonus its offering right now for a limited time: Earn 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 5/13/2026. Terms Apply.

No matter which card you choose, using your Marriott Bonvoy points to book your trip can unlock even more extra “secret” savings. That’s because when you use your points to pay for a stay of five consecutive nights, you’ll only pay for four nights.

Marriott is the largest hotel chain the world, and NerdWallet ranked Marriott as Best Hotel Chain in 2026.

No matter what’s on your bucket list, Marriott can take you there.

My advice? Act now and get a new Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card during this massive special offer period.

Pile up your points, and get out there to make your own “core memories”. 😉