Is This The Best Hotel Credit Card From American Express?

by Daniel | Last Updated July 3rd, 2023

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When it comes to hotel credit cards, American Express has some fantastic options to choose from.
And at the top of the ladder, there are two specific cards that stand out, the Hilton Honors Aspire Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card.

So in this article, I’m going to review and compare both of these cards and find out which one is the better card.

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Are These Cards Good For You? 

Now before I go over some of the finer details about both of these credit cards it’s worth considering which card might be a good fit for you.

In terms of available hotels to stay at, both cards have literally thousands of options to choose from.

With Hilton Honors offering over 7,000 properties across 122 countries and then Marriot Bonoy offering over 8,500 properties over 138 countries.
It’s unlikely you will ever have an issue finding a place to say with either card.

Now cost is also a factor as both cards have reasonably high annual fees.

With the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card costing $650 a year and then the Hilton Honors Amex Aspire Card costing just $450, that’s a $200 price difference, which is quite substantial. 

So let’s keep exploring both of these cards to see what exactly you get for that extra $200.

What Is The Signup Bonus Worth?

Now an important question to answer is what kind of sign-up bonus do you get with each of these cards.
So let’s start by looking at what the Hilton Honors Aspire Card is currently offering.

And with Hilton Honors points being valued at around 0.6 cents per point, this sign-up bonus is worth about $900.

So this is enough to cover the cost of the annual fee for 2 years.

And even though it is $2,000 more than what the Hilton Honors Aspire card requires you to spend, at least you have 6 months to meet it.

Along with this, if you manage to stay 6 eligible paid nights at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels it is possible to receive an additional 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points.

Now Marriott Bonvoy points are worth approximately 0.8 cents per point which gives this sign-up bonus a value of around $1,200, which is $300 more than what the Aspire card is offering and just $100 shy of covering the cost of the annual fee for 2 years.
And if you manage to stay an additional 6 nights at a Marriott hotel and receive the 50,000 extra points, for a total of 200,000 points, you are looking at a value of $1,600.

Stay for 5, Pay for 4

Now something that is worth noting is that Marriott has the option to use Marriott Bonvoy Points to get your 5th night free when redeeming your Marriott points to pay for 5  or more consecutive nights at the same Hotel.
This offer is called ‘Stay for 5, Pay for 4’, and it can be used for stays that are in increments of 5 days, so 10 days would mean you get 2 days free, and 20 days would mean you get 4 days free, and so on.
As long as the nights are back-to-back at the same hotel you will receive the benefit.

And this is a great way to really stretch out the value of your points 

Benefits And Perks Of Each Card 

Now besides the generous sign-up bonuses that these cards are currently offering both cards also come with an extensive range of benefits that can be really quite valuable.
So let’s see if the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card can justify the $200 premium over the Hilton Honors Aspire card.

There is then a $250 Airline Fee Credit that can be used towards any incidental fees that are charged to you by an airline, things like in-flight refreshments, baggage fees, and flight changes.

Now it’s worth noting that you can only select one qualifying airline each calendar year, and this can be done from within your Amex account.

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Another nice benefit is a $100 Hilton On-property Credit.
This can be used on bookings of two nights or more at either the Waldorf Astoria or any Conrad hotel.

Just make sure you book through hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com to make sure It is valid. 

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Each year there is an Annual Free Night Reward that can be used for one standard accommodation double occupancy room or ‘Standard Room Reward” rate.

And this can be really quite valuable, as an example you could use this award for a free night at the Conrad New York Down Town which has the option to book a “Standard Room Reward”  using this benefit.
And as you can see there are rooms for $743 per night (or 90,000 Hilton points). 

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Now if you manage to spend $60,000 or more on your account within a calendar year you will receive an additional Free Night Reward.

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Then there is complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond Status.
This provides you with additional benefits when staying at Hilton properties.

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And finally, there is a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership that is worth $469 each year.
The basically provides you with access to over 1,300 airport lounges around the work, and generally speaking, you will be able to get a variety of free food and drinks and occasionally use of shower facilities.

Then each calendar year it is possible to receive 1 Free Night Award that can be used at a property that has a redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
And with Marriott Bonvoy points being valued at 0.8 cents per point, this in itself is worth around $680.

Now if you manage to spend a least $60,000 on the card within a colander year you will then have the choice to choose from 1 of the 3 following benefits that are part of the Brilliant Earned Choice Award.
These include:

• Five Suite Night Awards
• Mattress and Box Spring $1000 Discount from Marriott Retail Brands
• Free Night Award with a redemption value of up to 85K points

When booking a stay of two nights or more at either the Ritz Carlton or the St Regis you will receive a $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit

You will get the same Priority Pass Select Membership as the Hilton Honors Aspire card which is worth $469.
Along with this is a $100 credit that can be used for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

There is then complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status that allows you to earn more points and room upgrades when they are available.

And finally, you will receive 25 Elite Night Credits each year that help to bring you to a higher level of elite status. 

How Can You Earn Points?

So both of these cards offer the ability to earn a ton of extra points from a variety of different categories, with the highest points earning potential coming from hotel stays. 

It is then possible to receive 7x points for flights that are either booked directly with an airline or through AmexTravel.com.
Along with this, select car rental company bookings will also provide 7x points. 

When dining at US-based restaurants you will receive 7x points, and this includes take-out and delivery services. 

And finally, all other purchases that are made on the card will receive 3x points per dollar spent. 

Now an important note to make is that because you receive complimentary Diamond status, you will actually receive a 100% bonus on all base points.

So for every dollar you spend at most Hilton properties, you will receive 20 points, (10 Base + 10 Bonus Points).
This is then added to the 14x points you already receive for staying at Hilton properties for a total of 34 points per dollar spent.

If you take advantage of this on a regular basis you will earn a ton of extra points throughout the year. 

Now as you receive complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, it is actually possible to earn up to 21x points per dollar spent when staying at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.

This breakdown is as follows:

• 6X points as a Brilliant cardholder
• Up to 10X points because you’re a Marriott Bonvoy member
• Then up to 5X points as part of the 50% Bonus Points awarded for having Platinum Elite Status.

It’s also worth noting that when you transfer 60,000 Marriott points to one of the 40 different participating airlines, Marriott will actually award you with an additional 5,000 bonus miles.

What Insurance Coverage Do You Receive?

Now both of these cards come with a decent amount of insurance coverage and are almost identical in what coverage they provide.
The only difference is that the more expensive Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card has one additional feature.

So both cards offer the same Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance that covers up to $75,000 in the event of an accident and this is secondary coverage.

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Then there is Trip Cancellation/Interruption insurance that covers up to $10,000 per covered trip and $20,000 per card per 12-month period.

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Similar to this is Trip Delay insurance which provides you with the ability to receive up to $500 per covered trip if it is delayed for more than 6 hours, with a maximum of 2 claims per 12-month period.

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There is a Baggage Insurance plan that covers up to $2,000 for checked baggage and $3,000 for carry-on baggage.

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Then with Return Protection, you will receive 90 days of coverage on new purchases that a merchant won’t take back.

And this provides up to $300 per item and a total of $1,000 per card per year.

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A similar benefit to this is Purchase Protection which also provides 90 days of coverage for new purchases against damage or theft.

And this covers up to $10,000 per covered purchase and a total of $50,000 per card per year.

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Both cards have Extended Warranty coverage which basically provides you with 1 additional year of coverage on warranties that are 5 years or less. 

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Then Finally just the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card offers Cell Phone Protection.

This provides you with up to $800 per claim, with a maximum of 2 claims per 12-month period, with each claim incurring a $50 deductible fee.

Final Thoughts

Ok, so that covers just about everything there is to know about both of these cards, and as you can see they both offer very similar value across all aspects of the cards.

When it comes to the sign-up bonus, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card has a slight leg up as it offers the ability to earn an additional 50,000 extra points by staying 6 nights at a Marriott hotel.
These points are worth approximately $400 when calculated at a 0.8 cents per point valuation.

This makes up for the $200 price difference in the annual fee and leaves you with an additional $200 in value.

Then with insurance coverage, the Brilliant card has the added benefit of cell phone protection, which is a nice option to have.

If you know you will stay 6 nights at a Marriott Property in the 12 months following acquiring the card, and you really need cell phone protection, then the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers you slightly more value.

But to be honest, I think the Hilton Honors Aspire card is amazing value, and I would personally choose it as my card of choice, specifically because I already have the Amex Platinum card which already provides me with cell phone protection, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status and a ton of other benefits for just $45 more per year than the Marriot Bonvoy Brilliant Card. 

Now if you found this article interesting make sure to check out my review of the Ultimate Credit card for 2023.