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Today, American Express has updated the welcome bonus that it’s offering on the card_name and if my memory serves me correctly, the card is now offering the highest points bonus that we have ever seen it offer. That’s not the same as saying that it’s the best bonus ever … but it’s close.
card_name
In brief
The card_name is the most premium of Marriott Bonvoy cards. It costs annual_fees/year to hold (See Rates and Fees) and offers cardholders Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, a great earning rate at Marriott properties worldwide, an annual free night that no other widely available Marriott card offers, 25 elite night credits per year, and travel benefits that make can make trips considerably less stressful and noticeably more enjoyable.
On top of all that, it also gives cardholders a monthly dining credit and a Ritz-Carlton/St Regis property credit which can help to offset some of the annual fee.
New welcome bonus (terms apply)
bonus_miles_full (find out more).
As I value Bonvoy points at 0.6 cents each (based on the value I know I can get out of them with relative ease), this welcome offer is worth over $1,100 to me.
Note: Make sure you check the eligibility criteria for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Credit Card before you apply (you’ll find them at the end of this post).
Card Earning Rates (terms apply)
- 6 points/dollar on spending made with Marriott*
- 3 points/dollar on dining at restaurants (includes takeout and delivery)
- 3 points/dollar on flights booked directly with airlines
- 2 points/dollar for eligible spending in all other categories
*No Marriott Bonvoy credit card offers a better earning rate at Marriott properties.
Key benefits (terms apply and enrollment may be required)
- Platinum elite status with Marriott Bonvoy for as long as the card is active.
- Annual free night award valid at properties costing up to 85,000 points/night.
- A $100 Marriott Bonvoy property credit valid on 2-night bookings at Ritz-Carlton or St Regis properties.
- A dining credit worth up to $25/month.
- 25 elite night credits every year (limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express).
- Priority Pass Select Membership.
- Global Entry or TSA Precheck membership credit.
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
- Trip delay reimbursement^.
- No foreign transaction fees.
^Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
Quick thoughts
The new bonus (terms apply)
If you’ve been considering getting the card_name, now may be a very good time to apply because when viewed purely from a points on offer standpoint, the current welcome bonus is the highest bonus that we’ve seen attached to this card.
As, however, the card_name has previously published a welcome offer that included 150,000 bonus points and a free night certificate, this current bonus isn’t quite the highest bonus of all time.
That doesn’t make the current bonus bad, it just makes it slightly less valuable than the best bonus we’ve ever seen the card offer.
Getting value (terms apply)
Between the annual free night certificate that the card offers and the monthly dining credit, a new cardholder should be able to recoup most (if not all) of the card’s annual fee, leaving the card’s other benefits as a nice bonus on top.
Solid benefits (terms apply)
I’m not going to go through each of the card’s benefits one by one (that’s for a full review), but I will focus on three things that the card_name offers that I think are key to making it a great card for serious Marriott fans.
1) For any fan of Marriott, the best benefit that this card offers is complimentary Platinum elite status which comes with some of the Bonvoy programs better elite benefits and which usually requires a member to credit 50 elite nights to their account. There is no easier path to Platinum elite status than this credit card.
2) The annual free night certificate that this card offers cardholders is valid at properties costing up to 85,000 points per night and that’s powerful enough to book a night at a wide variety of great Marriott properties worldwide.
Thanks to Bonvoy’s move to dynamic pricing, this certificate isn’t strong enough to book a free night at Marriott’s very top properties on peak dates (when properties usually cost ~100,000 points), but because Marriott now allows Bonvoy members to supplement their free night certificate with up to 15,000 points from their account, it will still go a very long way to reducing the cost of a free night at some truly stunning hotels.
3) The 25 elite night credits that the card_name offers is enough to get a cardholder 50% of the way to the 50 elite night credits needed to earn Marriott’s annual choice benefits, and as that’s where Nightly Upgrade Awards can be selected, this can be a very valuable boost to travelers who enjoy staying with Marriott (limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express).
Finally
For me, the three benefits I’ve just mentioned are reason enough for a big Bonvoy fan to hold the card_name (earning Platinum status the hard way would cost a lot more than this card’s annual fee), so when you also add in the other benefits that this card offers (dining credit, Priority Pass Select membership, Ritz-Carlton/St. Regis credit, and the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit), the card looks like great value.
The key here, however, is to keep in mind who this card is aimed at.
For someone who isn’t going to be making more than a couple of Marriott stays a year, this isn’t the right card (see our Marriott Bonvoy card comparison page to see what card may be a better fit) because that kind of traveler won’t have enough opportunities to make the most of what this card offers.
The card_name is aimed squarely at people who stay with Marriott with reasonable frequency and who will be able to squeeze out all the value that comes with having Platinum Elite status and the other benefits that the card offers.
Put simply, if you’re a big Marriott fan, this is a card you should probably hold and with the welcome bonus as high as it now is, this would be a good time to get it. If you’re not a big Marriott fan, the less premium Marriott cards will probably serve you better and will cost you considerably less.
Are You Eligible For The Welcome Offer?
Per Amex:
Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product or the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express® Luxury Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.
Welcome offer not available to applicants who:
(i) have or have had The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card from JPMorgan or the J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card in the last 30 days,
(ii) have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase or the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase in the last 90 days, or
(iii) received a new Card Member bonus or upgrade offer for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card from Chase, Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase or the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase in the last 24 months.
Make sure you check these restrictions carefully before submitting an application.
6 points per dollar for Mariott spend is a HORRIBLE rate. Not sure how you could ever justify calling that a great rate. The fact that it’s the “best” of Mariott cards is nothing. Hilton top level cards give 14 points. More than double and Hilton hotels require about the same number of points for a Hilton of comparable quality (and that doesn’t even being to discuss that the Marriott redemption doesn’t cover the outrageous resort fees).
We’re discussing a Bonvoy card for Marriott fans (i.e people who choose to stay at Marriott properties when they travel) so what Hilton offers is not relevant here.
We’re not discussing hotel cards in general, or how Hilton and Marriott cards compare, or how Hilton and Marriott policies compare, we’re simply discussing a card’s value to someone who stays at Marriott properties (not Hilton properties) on a frequent basis, so I don’t see what Hilton earning rates have to do with any this.