Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

The Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant from American Express has a $650 annual fee. At $2,650 a month of typical household spending it pays about −$176 a year after fees, before statement credits, $812 less than the Citi Double Cash, a flat 2% card.

Terms checked October 27, 2026. Net values use the spending mix of 1,229 U.S. households in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey. This is an estimate, not financial advice.

What does the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant earn?

6x Marriott Bonvoy hotel purchases; 3x dining; 3x Flights booked direct with airlines; 2x on everything else. Points valued at 0.7 cents (NerdWallet 2026).

How much would it pay you a year?

This is the card's rewards minus its annual fee, at three spending levels, with spending split the way the survey households split theirs. Statement credits and sign-up bonuses are left out.

Spending a month	Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant	Citi Double Cash (2%)
$1,500	−$382	$360
$2,650 (the survey median)	−$176	$636
$5,000	$245	$1,200

The mix is 30% everything else, 25% groceries, 16% phone and utilities, 13% dining, and smaller shares elsewhere. Your own split decides the real answer: add your statements to work it out on what you actually spent.

How did it do for real households?

We ran each of the 1,229 households in the 2024 survey through every card, on 12 straight months of their own spending. It was never the best of the 53 cards for any household, and never paid more than the Citi Double Cash, a flat 2% card. For the median household it paid $813 a year less than the flat 2% card.

The survey records spending categories but not merchants, so merchant bonuses and statement credits never count there, which favors flat cards. How we ran the household test.

What credits does it come with?

Up to $330 a year in credits, worth that much only if you would spend at these merchants anyway. PointMaxx counts a credit only when your statements show you'd have used it.

Credit	Up to
Brilliant dining credit	$25 a month ($300 a year)
Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit	$120 every 4 years ($30 a year)

Fees and sign-up bonus

Annual fee: $650.
Foreign transaction fee: none.
Sign-up bonus: 100,000 points ($700 at 0.7¢ a point) after $6,000 of spending in 6 months. Offers change and can differ by applicant, so check the issuer's page.

Other benefits

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status: 50% bonus points on stays
Annual Free Night Award: up to 85,000 points per night, after each card renewal month
Priority Pass Select: enrollment required
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: round trip must be bought with the card
25 Elite Night Credits per year
Ritz-Carlton / St. Regis property credit: up to $100 per qualifying stay
Brilliant Earned Choice Award: after $60,000 eligible spend in a calendar year

Cards that pay about the same

At $2,650 a month, these pay closest to the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant:

Robinhood Platinum Card: −$211 a year
Citi AAdvantage Executive: −$234 a year
Amex Hilton Honors Aspire: −$102 a year
Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve: −$268 a year

See what it would have paid you

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PointMaxx runs a year of your own card statements against 53 U.S. cards, after annual fees, caps and the credits you'd really use. No statements on hand? The quick estimate asks seven questions instead.

Sources

See a wrong rate? Tell us. PointMaxx is not affiliated with or endorsed by American Express; the card's name is used only to say which card is meant.