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Compare the Features and Benefits of Citi Rewards+® and
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Detailed Comparison Overview

Key Facts
Annual Fee
Avg. Min. Credit Score
APR on purchases
APR on balance transfers
Ongoing APR
Balance transfers fees
Best Multiplier
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
Bonus Offer
Rating
Review
Key features
Unique Card Benefits
No Fees for Authorized Users
0% Intro APR on Purchases
0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers
Free Access to Credit Score
Annual Statement Credits
Grants Hotel Status
Free Annual Hotel Night
Earns Transferable Points
Airport Lounge Access
Global Entry / TSA PreCheck Reimbursement
Trip Protections
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Extended Warranty
Purchase Protection
Return Protection
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
Metal Card
Amex Offers
Annual Fee
$0
Avg. Min. Credit Score
670-850
APR on purchases
0% Intro APR (on purchases for 15 months, 18.24%-28.24% thereafter)
APR on balance transfers
0% Intro APR (on balance transfers for 15 months, 18.24%-28.24% thereafter)
Ongoing APR
18.24%-28.24% (Variable)
Balance transfers fees
There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5)
Best Multiplier
2x Gas Stations
2x Groceries
1x Everything Else
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
$0.01 - $0.016
Bonus Offer

Earn 20,000 bonus ThankYou® points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening.

Rating
YBCC Card Rate Stars Filled
YBCC Card Rate Stars Empty
(3.43) Our Review

Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.

Review

The Citi Rewards+ card comes with no annual fee but offers a unique value proposition among the sea of rewards credit cards on the market. In fact, it’s the only credit card to automatically round up to the nearest 10 points on all purchases made with the card. This can be vastly beneficial for small purchases you make on the card, as you’ll get to supercharge your ThankYou points® earning ability with the Citi Rewards+.

The card’s only bonus categories are gas stations and grocery stores, which will be useful for most households. You’ll earn 2x points on the first $6,000 spent every year in these categories combined, which breaks down to roughly $500 in monthly spend. If you exceed this spending cap, you’ll only earn 1x points per $1 spent.

gas-stations-citi-rewards-plus

Redeeming your ThankYou points is easy through your online Citi account, where you’ll get the best redemption value from travel or gift cards at 1 cent per point. While other rewards like “Shop with Points” or redeeming for a statement credit may be enticing, these redemption options present a poor value at just 0.8 cents and 0.5 cents, respectively. (Note: When we value the “minimum” redemption value of this card in our calculator at 1 cent per point, we are assuming you will take the maximum redemption option of gift cards.)

No matter how you redeem your points, you’ll get to earn 10% of all the points you redeem every year — up to the first 100,000 points annually. That’s a nice little boost to your ThankYou points balance.

Not only is the Citi Rewards+ a good choice for everyday purchases, but it also makes for a great supplementary card to any other Citi rewards cards you may have in your wallet since you can pool your points together.

If you already have the Citi Premier, a popular travel rewards card, you’ll earn 3x points on restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations, air travel and hotels, and 1x point on all other purchases. That’s where the Citi Rewards+ comes in: you can use the card for small purchases or non-bonus categories to take advantage of that favorable 10% automatic round-up feature.

Plus, if you also have a Citi Premier, you can cash out all of your Citi ThankYou points for 1 cent each or transfer them to ThankYou airline and hotel transfer partners.

(Please note: Without also holding a Citi Premier or Citi Prestige card, you will not be able to transfer these points to Citi’s ThankYou® airline and hotel transfer partners.)

Finally, you’ll have peace-of-mind with important coverages like purchase protection and extended warranty that can come in handy when your eligible card purchases are damaged or stolen.

Read more
Unique Card Benefits
yes
No Fees for Authorized Users
yes
0% Intro APR on Purchases
yes
0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers
yes
Free Access to Credit Score
yes
Annual Statement Credits
no
Grants Hotel Status
no
Free Annual Hotel Night
no
Earns Transferable Points
no
Airport Lounge Access
no
Global Entry / TSA PreCheck Reimbursement
no
Trip Protections
no
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
no
No Foreign Transaction Fees
no
Extended Warranty
no
Purchase Protection
no
Return Protection
no
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
no
Metal Card
no
Amex Offers
no
Annual Fee
$650 (Rates and fees)
Avg. Min. Credit Score
Good-Excellent
APR on purchases
-
APR on balance transfers
-
Ongoing APR
20.49%-29.49% (Variable)
Balance transfers fees
-
Best Multiplier
6x Hotels

6X points only applies to Marriott Bonvoy hotels and resorts booked directly through Marriott. Otherwise, earn 2X

3x Airfare
3x Dining Out / Food Delivery
2x All Other Eligible Purchases
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
$0.006
Bonus Offer
Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms apply.
Rating
YBCC Card Rate Stars Filled
YBCC Card Rate Stars Empty
(3.7) Our Review

Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.

Review

The Marriott Bonvoy program offers five different co-branded credit card options, from both American Express and Chase. If we start from the top, there’s the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card, with a considerable $650 annual fee. But the luxury hotel card comes with a substantial number of perks that make sense for the ultra-Marriott loyalist.

For starters, the card offers complimentary Platinum elite status, which typically requires 50+ nights at Marriott hotels per year. At this elite tier level, you’ll enjoy 50% bonus points at Marriott hotels (on top of the card’s earning rate), room upgrades up to select suites upon availability at most brands, and a welcome gift like amenities, points, or even breakfast. Enjoy a guaranteed late checkout of 4pm at most properties (resorts and convention centers are excluded). You’ll also get 25 annual elite night credits which can help you qualify for that next tier of Marriott status — Titanium or Ambassador Elite, anyone?

Even more interesting is that if you also have the Marriott Bonvoy Business® Card, you’ll earn 15 more elite nights on that card for a total of 40 elite night credits. With Titanium status, which also confers United Airlines Silver elite status, available at 75 nights, you’ll need to stay just 35 nights to achieve it.

As you can expect, this card is quite rewarding for hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, offering 6x points at Bonvoy properties. The card’s rewards rate is easy to memorize as it also provides 3x points at restaurants worldwide and 2x points on all other eligible purchases, but unfortunately it falls flat compared to other luxury cards on the market with those rates, given that we peg the value of a Bonvoy point around 0.6 cents each.

Still, if you’re a heavy spender, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card offers another unique benefit. Once you spend $60,000+ on the card per calendar year, you’ll get access to the Earned Choice Award Benefit. From here, there are some incredibly valuable options like 5 Suite Night Awards, an additional free night award (worth up to 85,000 points), or a $1,000 off a bed from Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques. Perhaps the most lucrative awards are the former two options, as the suite night awards and free night certificate can be of excellent use at some of Marriott’s most bespoke properties.

Even if you don’t anticipate $60,000+ of card spend per year, don’t fret. You’ll still get a free night award just by renewing the card and paying the annual fee on your account anniversary. This free night award will land in your account after the card renewal month, and is worth up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. You can “top off” with up to 15,000 more points from your account if you want to book a night that costs between 85,000 and 100,000 points.

As mentioned above, we estimate Marriott Bonvoy points to be worth about 0.6 cents each so with the 85,000 point certificate, you’re expected to receive at least a $510 value (or more!) for a property of your choice. Use your free night awards wisely, and you can land free nights at some of the most luxurious properties in Marriott’s expansive portfolio.

Not to mention, the card also comes with an up to $300 dining credit, which is distributed in up to $25 monthly credits. You’ll get a reimbursement for restaurants worldwide, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be getting this $300 rebate on your favorite eateries. (Terms apply.)

Bonvoy Brilliant Dining Credit

Finally, the Bonvoy Brilliant card comes with a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application credit (terms apply), up to a $100 Marriott property credit for eligible stays (terms apply), and a swathe of essential travel and purchase protections to boot.

Simply put, if you have a Marriott Bonvoy member account and want top-notch perks when staying at Marriott properties, look no further than the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card.

Rates and Fees for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card

Read more
Unique Card Benefits
yes
No Fees for Authorized Users
yes
0% Intro APR on Purchases
no
0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers
no
Free Access to Credit Score
no
Annual Statement Credits
yes
Grants Hotel Status
yes
Free Annual Hotel Night
yes
Earns Transferable Points
yes
Airport Lounge Access
yes
Global Entry / TSA PreCheck Reimbursement
yes
Trip Protections
yes
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
yes
No Foreign Transaction Fees
yes
Extended Warranty
yes
Purchase Protection
yes
Return Protection
yes
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
yes
Metal Card
yes
Amex Offers
yes

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