Which Amex Card Is Better? Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant or Hilton Honors Aspire Card

by Daniel | Last Updated September 27th, 2022

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With the latest update to the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card last week I thought it would be a good idea to see how it stacks up to one of the best hotel rewards credit cards available now, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.

In this article, I’m going to review and compare both of these hotel reward credit cards and see which one offers the best value for money.

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Who Are These Cards Good For?

This is a question that comes down to whether you prefer staying at Hilton-related properties or Marriott Bonvoy properties.

And just out of interest Hilton Honors spans over 122 different countries and territories and has around 7,000 properties
Then Marriot Bonoy covers 139 countries and territories and has over 8,100 properties.

Now cost is also a factor as the updated Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card is now $200 more than the Hilton Honors Amex Aspire Card.
But let’s continue on and see what extras you get for the additional $200.

Annual Fee

So let’s take a quick look at what each card costs on an annual basis. 

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Winner

So for this section, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is the winner as it is $200 cheaper on an annual basis, which makes it quite a lot more affordable.

Sign-up Bonus

Now when it comes to the sign-up bonus of these cards, they both provide quite a lot of value.

Now, these points are worth 0.5 cents per point which makes this bonus worth $750.
So it’s enough to cover the cost of the annual fee and still leave you with $300 worth of value.

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Now, these points are worth slightly more than Hilton points.
Currently, they are worth 0.8 cents per point.
So this sign-up bonus is worth $1,200, which is $400 more than what the Aspire card is offering.
But it’s worth noting that the spend requirement to receive the points is $1,000 more and the annual fee is $200 more.
So if you deduct the annual fee of $650 off the $1,200 in points value, you are left with $550.

Winner

So for this section, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card is the winner as it offers an additional $250 in value.
But, obviously, it comes at a higher initial cost.

Points Earning Potential 

Now for the next section of this review, let’s see how each card stacks up in terms of its ability to earn points on everyday spending. 

Then any flights that are booked either directly with the airline or through AmexTravel.com will earn 7x points.
And any car rentals booked directly with select partner rental companies will also earn 7x points.

Dining at US restaurants will also earn 7x points, and this includes take-out and delivery services.

Then all other purchases will earn 3x point per dollar spent.

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It is then possible to earn 3x points for flights that are booked directly with an airline.
Restaurant purchases worldwide will also earn 3x points.
And then all other purchases will earn 2x points per dollar spent.

Now with the Brilliant card if you transfer your Marriott Points to one of their participating airlines Marriot will actually give you an additional 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points you transfer.

Winner

So for this section, the Hilton Honors Amex just edges out the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card as it offers slightly more value from its ability to earn points. 

Benefits And User Perks

Now in the next part of this review let’s take a look at what each card offers in terms of benefits and see if the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card is actually worth the extra $200.

There is then the Weekend Night Rewards which gives you the ability to book a free night at a qualifying Hilton property.
Along with this, if you spend more than $60,000 on the card within a calendar year you will receive an additional free night.

Next up, if you book 2 nights or more at either the Waldorf Astoria or any Conrad hotels you will receive a $100 property credit.
And for this to be valid you will need to book through hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com.

There is then a $250 Airline Fee Credit each year which can be used for incidental fees that an airline might charge you.
And to use this benefit you will need to log in to your account and choose a qualifying airline, and just note that it is only possible to choose one airline each year.
Another nice benefit that comes with this card is a complimentary Priority Pass Select Membership that is worth $429.

And this gives you and up to 2 guests free access to over 1,300 airport lounges all over the world.

Finally, there is complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond Status.
This basically provides you with a variety of extra benefits when staying at Hilton Properties.

So not including the free night award or Hilton Honors Diamond Status, these benefits are worth approximately $1,029.

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There is then the Free Night Award that has the ability to be used at a Marriott Bonovoy property with a redemption level of 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points. 

Now similar to the Hilton Aspire card if you manage to spend $60,000 on the card within a calendar year there is access to the New Earned Choice Award.
And this gives you the ability to choose one of the 3 following benefits:

• A Free Night Award with a redemption value of up to 85K points
• $750 off a Bed from Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques
• The option to upgrade your room at a Hilton property with Five Suite Night Awards.

There is a similar $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit that can be used at either the Ritz Carlton or St Regis hotels if you book at least 2 nights or more.

You will receive the same complimentary Priority Pass Select Membership that is worth $429.
And then there is a $100 credit for use on either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

There is complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status that provides you with some nice additional perks when staying at Marriott properties.
And then finally it is possible to receive 25 Elite Night Credits each year, which helps to bring you to a higher level of elite status with Marriott Bonvey.

Now not including the free night award or the Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status these benefits are worth about $929. 

Winner

So for this section, in terms of value for money the Hilton Honors card offers just about as much as the more expensive Marriot Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card.

Insurance Coverage

Now for the next section of this review let’s take a closer look at just how much insurance coverage is offered with each card. 

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.

With Trip Delay insurance it is possible to receive up to $500 per covered trip, with a maximum of 2 claims per 12-month period.

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

With Return Protection there are 90 days of coverage provided 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.

Then there 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.

Then finally is Extended Warranty, and this provides 1 additional year of coverage on warranties that are 5 years or less. 

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So the coverage for the following categories is exactly the same:

• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance up to $75,000.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
• Baggage Insurance Plan
• Trip Delay Insurance
• Return Protection
• Purchase Protection
• Extended Warranty

The only extra coverage that comes with this card is Cell Phone Protection.
And this covers up to $800 per claim, with a maximum of 2 claims per 12-month period, with each claim incurring a $50 deductible fee.

Winner

So for this section, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card is the winner as it has cell phone protection. 

APR

Now for the last section of this review, I’ll just go over what the APR is for purchases and any associated fees that come with the card.
And both of these cards have exactly the same rates and fees.

So the current APR for Purchases is between 18.74% to 27.74%
Getting a cash advance will have an APR of 28.24% and will also incur a fee of $10 or 5% of the amount of each advance, which amount ends up being more.
Then there is a Penalty APR of 29.99% which will come into effect if there are any late or returned payments.
With each penalty incurring a fee of up to $40.

And neither card has any foreign transaction fees.

Final Thoughts 

So that covers just about everything there is to know about both of these cards, and as you can see they are both packed with a ton of value.

Now choosing the best card is a bit difficult as it quite often comes down to a few different factors.
One is which Hotel chain you prefer.
Then which benefits you will actually be able to make use of.
I think the fact that the Hilton Honors Aspire card is $200 cheaper on an annual basis and offers almost a similar amount of value makes it the card of choice for this comparison. 

But that doesn’t discount the Marriott convoy Brilliant Amex card.
I think it is a great card that has a ton of value and would be more than happy to have it.

Now if you think these cards are pretty good, I recommend that you check out this article where I review and compare three of the best premium create cards available now.