Best Hotel Rewards Credit Card: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex

The SPG Luxury Amex is now the American Express Bonvoy Brilliant Credit Card— sign up for it here and earn a 75,000 Points sign up bonus.

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If you’ve been holding out for the return of a 75,000-point welcome bonus on the SPG Luxury Amex, you’re in luck. The card’s now offering 75,000 Marriott points to new members who spend $3,000 in the first three months, and it’s now officially the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express Card.

This same 75k welcome offer is now available on the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card from American Express (formerly known as the SPG Business Amex, CLICK HERE TO APPLY).

The launch of this elevated welcome bonus coincides with the official switch from separate SPG and Marriott branding to the unified Marriott Bonvoy naming convention. So, SPG-purple Amex cards are no more; they’re now part of the Bonvoy portfolio — and the SPG Amex (now known as the Marriott Bonvoy Amex to existing card holders) is no longer open for applications.

Offer Details

Based on TPG’s valuations, 75,000 Marriott points are worth at least $900, and if used correctly can easily be worth $1500.

You’ll need to spend $3,000 in the first three months to earn the 750,000 points — that’s on the higher end for a minimum spending requirement on a personal card, but it’s not unattainable; it works out to about $1,000 per month, and remember tax season is upon us.

This welcome bonus will be available for one more month, so you don’t have a lot of time to consider whether it’s worth adding the Bonvoy Brilliant to your wallet.

This are the reasons why this is my favorite hotel rewards credit card.

Card Benefits

As the premium consumer card in the Marriott Bonvoy credit card lineup, the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex has a $450 annual fee (See Rates & Fees). It also has plenty of pe r ks, including:

6x points on Marriott purchases, 3x points at US restaurants and flights booked directly with airlines, and 2x points on everything else
Up to $300 statement credit for Marriott purchases — Each card member year, you and your authorized users will receive up to a total of $300 in statement credits for Marriott and SPG purchases charged to your card. This applies to room rates as well as incidentals charged to your room. So even if you just have a few Marriott stays in a year, it’s easy to take advantage of this benefit and effectively cut your fee to $150.
Annual free night award — Each year on your card anniversary, you’ll receive a free night award worth up to 50,000 points. This gets you more value than the free night certificates that come with the regular SPG Amex card and the Marriott cards, which are capped at 35,000 points.
Automatic Gold elite status — Just for being a card holder. This gets you a 25% points bonus and space-available upgrades to enhanced rooms. You can earn Platinum elite status when you spend $75,000 on the card in a calendar year.
Application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, upt to $100 value!!!!
Priority Pass lounge access: $249 value, great if you flying economy and need that lounge access.
Elite Night Credits — Receive 15 elite-qualifying night credits per year. This benefit is identical to that of the regular Marriott Bonvoy Amex and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card from Chase and is limited to one per member, not one per card.

The Bonvoy Brilliant also joins the ranks of metal cards, and in dropping its SPG branding it’s switched from a purple design to a more minimal texturized black look. However, the metal card design won’t be available until March, so if you apply now you’ll receive the purple SPG Luxury Amex card for the interim.

Finally, starting on Mar. 28, the Bonvoy Brilliant will offer a $100 luxury credit. This will apply to stays of two nights or longer at St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton properties, and you must use a special rate code to get the credit. Unfortunately, it won’t apply to room rates, but it is uncapped so you can use it multiple times a year.

The SPG Luxury Amex is now the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex — sign up for it here and earn 75,000-point welcome bonus

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Eligibility

Amex now has a welcome bonus eligibility tool that lets you know if you’re able to earn a given offer before you hit “apply,” but each Amex and Chase card in the Marriott portfolio also has extensive eligibility requirements listed in its terms and conditions.

If any of the following are true, you won’t be able to earn the bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex:

Currently have or have had any of the following Cards in the last 30 days

The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card from JP Morgan

OR have acquired any of the following Cards from Chase in the last 90 days

The Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase (now the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card)
The Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase (now the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Card)
The Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card from Chase (now the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Card)

OR have received a welcome or upgrade offer for any of the following Cards from Chase in the last 24 months

The Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase (now the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card)
The Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase (now the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Card)
The Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card from Chase (now the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Card)

So in short, you can’t have the Ritz-Carlton card, which is no longer open to application, and you can’t have earned a welcome bonus/upgrade bonus on three of the Chase-issued Marriott cards in the last 24 months (or opened any of those three in the last 90 days). This means you can have both the Marriott Bonvoy Amex that recently closed to new applicants and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.

The SPG Luxury Amex is now the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex — sign up for it here and earn a 75,000-point welcome bonus.

Bottom Line

If you frequently stay at Marriott properties and want to enjoy high-end perks like Gold status, a $300 annual statement credit and a 50,000-point award night each year, Amex Bonvoy Brilliant card is a great choice. Now is a particularly good time to apply, as you can earn 75,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first three months. That will get you well on your way to some great award stays.

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