Not sure Marriott, or the two banks (Amex/Chase) really want to invest in the card with much higher multipliers. They seem to be happy with encouraging people to sign up with pretty good bonuses. Amex pushes Hilton hard, and Chase seems to be pretty happy with having Marriott as just one of their travel options.

Really the only way to accumulate Marriott points really well is on paid stays, and I think that is the way Marriott prefers it. Hyatt is a bit if an extreme - you can generate free luxury stays at Hyatt pretty well through Sapphire and World of Hyatt spending, and you don’t really need to stay with them regularly (obviously if you want the good stuff like suite upgrades you need to be a globalist). Hilton is another extreme where they give away status.

Personally the Bonvoy Brilliant card is just OK - I am spending on it a decent amount this year due to the 1x bonus on every $7,500 spent, but I don’t really spend on it otherwise. I would spend more if they improved earnings a bit. It is a keeper though because 50K certs can be useful, Every time the annual fee hits I consider downgrading, but 35K certs are increasingly hard to use. If they increased the fee, I would have to consider downgrading

I recently picked up the no-fee Hilton card - solid bonus (100,000 points, basically a free night at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, plus $100 credit). I will consider upgrading to the Surpass or Aspire next year (I may apply for the Aspire outright later this year). Now have the hotel trifecta (Hilton, Hyatt, Bonvoy cards); when I’m back under 5/24 I will try to get the airline trifecta