Originally Posted by
The_Diamond_Z
Instead of the Marriott Brilliant (Amex), does anyone have thoughts on the
Marriott Bold (Chase) in combination with an Amex (Plat, Gold or Green)?
The Marriott Bold has no annual fee, and if you're Silver, it's 13/14x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at Marriott.
I'm essentially deconstructing the Amex Platinum into a couple of cards with what I need/use rather than what Amex packages up, but I favour Amex points (Membership Rewards).
My hotel spending is mainly with Hilton (and I put that on an Amex Hilton), and I always feel I'm leaving something on the table (points-wise) the few times a year I stay at a Marriott (usually an expensive one).
The Bold is just not a good card. Neither is the Bountiful. The Boundless is okay especially if you want to convert it to the Ritz card.
If we look specifically at points earnings, and Brilliant (Platinum) vs Bold (Silver)
Brilliant:
- 6x on Marriott spend,
- 10x base points on Marriott spend + 5x bonus
- Element, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and Homes & Villas by Marriott International: 5x points + 2.5x bonus
- Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay: 2.5x points + 1.25x bonus
Bold
- 3x on Marriott spend (worse than all the other cards)
- 10x base points on Marriott spend + 1x bonus
- Element, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and Homes & Villas by Marriott International: 5x points + 0.5x bonus
- Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay: 2.5x points + 0.25x bonus
So for normal Marriott stays, Brilliant is 21x and Bold is 14x. Not even to mention the actual elite benefits you get as Platinum, whereas Silver doesn't help you.
If you're going to stay at any significant number of Marriott hotels (especially the expensive ones), I would say get Brilliant or nothing.
I don't have a Plat but maybe you could try to prepay the Marriott hotels on AmexTravel.com for 5x points? Platinum status via Brilliant could be an addon...