The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is offering a $300 dining credit

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Starting Sept. 22, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card is changing their annual up to $300 Marriott Hotel statement credit to a dining credit that can be redeemed at any eligible restaurant worldwide. However, there’s still time where you can take advantage of both credits.

Below, Select outlines the new benefit and what you need to keep in mind as you earn rewards on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card.

While the card has a $450 annual fee; see rates and fees, this credit can easily help you earn back two-thirds of the fee.

However, here’s the kicker:

You can apply for the card now and still use the $300 Marriott Bonvoy hotel credit and also receive the $300 annual dining credit starting Sept. 22. So as an example, let’s say you apply today for the card and have an upcoming trip to a Marriott hotel in August. You can use the full $300 hotel credit, and then once Sept. 22 comes, you can start using the $25/month dining credits.

If you take full advantage of both benefits, you can grab up to $600 in credits in the first year of card membership. That also doesn’t include the current 75,000 point welcome offer which you can earn after making $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of card membership.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card benefits

While the dining credit is a great value for many consumers, the card also comes with a solid list of features for all sorts of travelers.

First, when you’re approved for the card, you will have the chance to earn a valuable welcome bonus of 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. For ongoing spend, the card earns points at the following rate:

• 6X points per dollar spent at Marriott Bonvoy hotels
• 3X points per dollar spent at U.S. restaurants and flights booked directly with airlines
• 2X points per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

The card comes with a number of benefits that are geared toward travelers:

• One free night award each year, up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
• Starting Sept. 22, 2022 earn up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide
• $100 Marriott property credit when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay at The Ritz-Carlton^® or St. Regis^®.
• 15 elite night credits towards earning higher Marriott Bonvoy elite status
• Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership which allows access to over 1,300 airport lounges
• $100 credit towards enrolling in either TSA PreCheck/Global Entry
• *Rental car insurance
• *Travel insurance
• *Purchase and return protection

Overall, this card provides great perks for travelers who enjoy staying in Marriott properties, even if they only stay a few times per year.

• Dynamic award chart: Marriott recently shifted away from a fixed-award chart — which means that hotels have a fixed price when redeeming rewards for points. Now, hotels can adjust how many points hotel guests will need to book a free room based on demand. This means that it may be difficult to estimate the cost of a trip when using your points.
• Transfer points to airlines: If you’re short a few thousand miles to book a flight using airline miles, you can dip into your Marriott Bonvoy balance and convert your hotel points into rewards for your preferred airline loyalty program. For example, if you are short 5,000 miles for a flight through Delta SkyMiles, you can use 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and convert them to Delta SkyMiles. However, the transfer rate isn’t always a great value for your Marriott points, but you can earn 5,000 bonus airline miles for every increment of 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer to an airline program. You can find all of the airline programs that participate here.
• Consider pairing with a transferable rewards credit card: Even if you regularly use your Marriott Bonvoy points, it can be helpful to earn rewards that can be transferred to other programs along with Marriott. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points that can be transferred to a number of airline and hotel loyalty programs including Marriott. So in the case that you need rewards for a booking with an airline or different hotel brand, you have the flexibility to do so.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express® Card, click here.

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.  Please visit americanexpress.com/ benefitsguide for more details.  Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.