The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express is an expensive credit card, is the $650 USD annual fee worth it?
Yes you can lift your jaw back up now. $650 USD for a credit card is steep isn’t it?
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex Review
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express is great because it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
Marriott Bonvoy points earn:
- 6x the points on purchases made at Marriott Bonvoy properties
- 3x the points on restaurants worldwide
- 3x the points on flights booked directly with the airline
- 2x the points on all other purchases
It is a US based credit card. For further details the Prince of Travel website has a good rundown.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Benefits
The Brilliant card comes with a dizzying amount of benefits.
- An annual $300 dining credit ($25 per month is credited to your account if you make a dining out or take out purchase)
- A 85,000 free night award each year you renew. 85,000 points puts you in the luxury category hotels, like Ritz Carlton or St Regis. This is worth about $510 USD on a hotel room, or around $680 CAD. You can supplement up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for a hotel room that would cost up to 100,000. It comes about 1-2 months after your annual fee payment.
- Each year, if you spend $60,000 USD you can get an Earned Choice Award. One of which is another 85,000 free night award.
- $100 property credit if you book direct using a special rate at St Regis or Ritz Carlton hotels
- A $120 statement credit for Global Entry or a statement credit for up to $85 for TSA PreCheck
- 25 Elite Night Credits (this allows you to work your way to permanent Silver, Gold, or Platinum status)
- Priority Pass Select membership (similar to the Priority Pass Prestige membership that is worth $469 USD) which you can get unlimited visits to Priority Pass lounges for you and two other guests, however Airport restaurant visits are not included in this. Additional guests are $35USD per person.
- And probably the most important benefit is the Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status. With Platinum status, you can get:
- A welcome gift of complimentary breakfast at participating hotels, or Marriott Bonvoy points, or a Food and Beverage Credit.
- Full lounge access and complimentary breakfast if available
- Enhanced room upgrade
- 50% in bonus points on eligible hotel purchases
- 4pm late check out if available
- Complimentary wi-fi
Marriott Bonvoy BRilliant Insurance Benefits
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant has your standard insurance benefits along with a few additional insurance benefits:
- Return eligible purchases if the seller won’t take them back (up to 90 days from the date of purchase)
- Purchase protection up to $10,000 if your purchase was stolen, accidentally damaged, or lost within 90 days of purchase (up to $50,000 per calendar year)
- Extended warranty for one year additionally on United States purchases
- $500 trip delay insurance (round trip travel must be booked, and more than 6 hours delay is the time)
- Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance provided the round trip was booked on the Brilliant card
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Annual Fee
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant annual fee is $650 USD. However $300 USD of that can be offset with a $25 USD monthly credit for dining out or take out, so it is $350 USD if you include that.
There is no annual fee for a supplementary Brilliant card.
Brilliant Income Requirements
There is no current income requirement outlines in the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.
Genymoney.ca’s Verdict
Although the annual fee sounds astronomically high (that’s about $900 CAD for an annual fee) you get a lot of benefits from it. It makes sense if you travel a lot, enjoy lounge visits, or dine out and order take out on a monthly basis at least (which will bring the annual fee down to $350 USD).
The Platinum Elite status allows you free upgrades if available, for example, you can get upgraded to a one bedroom suite when you book a regular room. That can be worth hundreds (or thousands) of dollars.
It also gives you lounge access- some lounges in the Sheraton chains can cost $55 per person per day. If you are staying four nights, that’s easily $200+ a trip. The lounges have breakfast available and often evening snacks and appetizers.
The annual 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy certificate gives you a free night at a higher end hotel in the Marriott Bonvoy chain. Here are some hotels to consider using the free night certificate of 85,000 points from Frugal Flyer. The key is the find a hotel that you wouldn’t mind staying one night at! Because if you had to stay more then paying a cash rate of $500USD+ would negate the savings.
Finally, the Priority Pass Select membership gives you unlimited lounge access per year for you and two guests. Most credit cards give you lounge access but around 10 visits per year. If you have a family and have a number of stopovers, the 10 visits can get used up very quickly.
So in essence, although it costs $900 CAD or $650 USD, you get much more than $650 USD in return.
Do you have the Brilliant Bonvoy American Express? What is your favourite benefit from it?
GYM is a 40 something millennial writing about personal finance since 2009 and interested in achieving financial freedom through disciplined saving, dividend and ETF investing, and living a minimalist lifestyle. Before you go, check out my recommendations page of financial tools I use to save and invest money. Don’t forget to subscribe for a free dividend yield spreadsheet and the free Young Money Bootcamp PDF.