Firstly, my mistake I just caught myself, and its a 50k not 85k certificate.

Both AMEX and Chase have Marriott cards (Bountiful and Bevy) now that costs $250 a year. They are really designed for people who have 100+ one night stays a year, it normally wouldn't work out better than the $95 card.

You do not get a free night for that annual fee, but you do get one after $15k spent. Since you are spending that anyway it could be worth it. This is on top of the 6x points you are getting.

In essence the difference between them is $155 extra for the 50k certificate vs 35k. You also get 1,000 bonus points for every stay (which is why you need a bunch of single night stays).

All depends on how you value those items



Edit: Just another thought. Have you considered a different card? Chase Sapphire Reserve for example. You will get 3x points on all hotel stays which you can transfer to multiple hotels/airlines. You will also get $300 travel credit, so card will only cost $250. There are obviously other benefits too.