Hotel and airline points are only worth it if you redeem them. Spending on a Chase UR card isn't worth much if you have no interest in staying in Hyatt properties, don't want to transfer to United or Southwest, and don't want to engage in foreign airlines. Amex MR aren't worth much if you don't like foreign airlines, Delta, etc.

If someone is primarily interested in earning Marriott points and certificates, spending a lot on a Brilliant is a viable option. I have redeemed Marriott points at exclusively over 1 cent per point in recent years, if you accept current cash room rates at face value. In a vacuum, a 2% return on unbounded spend (which is what you get with Brilliant and valuing Marriott points at 1 cent) ins't bad. You also have to take into account that many people basically earn points at zero acquisition costs (corporate travel), so blended cost of acquisition of a program like Marriott is reduced further.

The challenge I have with Brilliant, and. basically all other Amex cobranded cards, is that Amex Gold + Platinum is a much better earner for restaurant, air travel, and grocery. So you are basically limited to only using the Marriott card for unbonused spend. With Hilton Surpass, you come out a bit better because you earn a more valuable free night at only $15K spend versus $60K spend. Hell - the Bevy could make more sense as a spend card because you earn a useful 50K cert with only 15K in spend.