Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant: Battle of the top-tier hotel cards

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. American Express offers two premium cobranded hotel credit cards: The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. Both cards carry pricey annual fees — $550 and $650, respectively (see Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant rates and fees) and …

Mar 19, 2025 - 19:35

Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant: Battle of the top-tier hotel cards

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

American Express offers two premium cobranded hotel credit cards: The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.

Both cards carry pricey annual fees — $550 and $650, respectively (see Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant rates and fees) and come with similar benefits, such as automatic elite status and annual free night certificates.

Is one card better than the other? Let’s look at them side-by-side to see which should earn a place in your wallet.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant comparison

Here are the basics of each of these two cards in the major categories:

Perk/benefit	Hilton Amex Aspire	Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Annual fee	$550	$650
Welcome bonus	Earn 175,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of cardmembership. This limited-time offer ends April 29.	Earn 185,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of cardmembership. This limited-time offer ends May 14.
Earning rates	14 points per dollar at Hilton hotels and resorts 7 points per dollar on dining at U.S. restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or AmexTravel.com and car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies 3 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases Terms apply	6 points per dollar at Marriott hotels 3 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases Terms apply
Credits	Up to $200 statement credit each calendar year (up to $50 per quarter) on eligible flight purchases made directly with an airline or through amextravel.com Up to $400 per calendar year (up to $200 semi-annually) in statement credits for eligible purchases at participating Hilton resorts Up to $100 on-property credit for incidentals for eligible, paid two-night stays at Conrad and Waldorf-Astoria locations Up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year when you sign up for a Clear Plus membership Enrollment is required for select benefits; terms apply	Up to $300 in statement credits for restaurants worldwide per calendar year (up to $25 in statement credits each month) Up to $100 on-property credit for eligible paid, two-night stays at St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton locations Enrollment is required for select benefits; terms apply
Elite status	Automatic Hilton Honors Diamond status Complimentary National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status after enrollment in the Emerald Club program	Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status
Free-night certificates	Annual free night certificate at almost any Hilton property worldwide after opening your account and on your account anniversary each year. Earn a second free night after spending $30,000 in a calendar year Earn a third free night after spending $60,000 in a calendar year	Annual free night (worth up to 85,000 points) after card renewal; certain hotels may have resort fees and additional terms apply
Other benefits	Travel and shopping protections (terms apply) Access to Amex Offers No foreign transaction fees	25 elite-night credits each calendar year Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit ($120 every four years for Global Entry or up to $85 every 4½ years for TSA PreCheck) Priority Pass Select membership (with guest privileges Travel and shopping protections Access to Amex Offers No foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees) Enrollment is required for select benefits; terms apply

Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant welcome offer

With the Hilton Amex Aspire, new cardmembers will earn 175,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 within the first six months of cardmembership. This limited-time offer ends April 29.

Meanwhile, with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, new cardmembers will earn 185,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of cardmembership. This limited-time offer ends May 14.

Comparison of hands holding cards — THE POINTS GUY

Based on TPG’s March 2025 valuations, 175,000 Hilton points are worth $1,050, compared to $1,295 for the Bonvoy Brilliant offer. Despite Marriott points being valued higher than Hilton Honors points, the Aspire’s large welcome offer is not something to ignore.

Winner: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant. Its welcome offer is slightly more valuable.

Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant benefits

What makes both cards shine is the extensive perks that they offer.

The Hilton Aspire card comes with several statement credits, which, on their own, more than offset the card’s annual fee. Each calendar year, you’ll get up to $200 in statement credits (up to $50 a quarter) on eligible flight purchases made directly with an airline or through amextravel.com.

Plus, you’ll get up to $100 in credits for incidentals when you book at least a two-night eligible paid stay at Waldorf Astoria and Conrad properties through HiltonHonors.com/aspirecard. Finally, you’ll get an up to $199 statement credit for a Clear Plus membership.

You’ll receive one free night reward at almost any Hilton property worldwide after opening your account and again on your cardmember anniversary. You can earn a second and third reward night by spending $30,000 and $60,000 on the card in a calendar year, respectively.

Bathtub overlooking the ocean — CAMERON SPEARANCE/THE POINTS GUY

The card’s most valuable travel perk is automatic top-tier Hilton Honors Diamond status for the primary cardmember. Diamond status comes with perks like bonus points, executive-floor lounge access, complimentary breakfast and room upgrades. Like many Amex cards, the Hilton Aspire comes with a variety of travel and shopping protections.

As for the Bonvoy Brilliant, you’ll get up to $25 in statement credits for restaurant purchases charged to your card each month (up to $300 each calendar year).

You’ll also enjoy an on-property credit of up to $100 on eligible two-night paid stays at St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton locations. Primary cardmembers receive automatic Platinum Elite status. Platinum Elite status includes perks like upgrades to suites, free breakfast and lounge access.

Cardmembers can fast-track to a higher status level with 25 complimentary elite night credits per calendar year. The card also comes with an annual free night award worth up to 85,000 points (certain hotels have resort fees).

Like many other premium cards (but not the Aspire), the Bonvoy Brilliant comes with a Priority Pass Select membership (with guest privileges) and will reimburse you when you charge the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck to the card ($120 every four years for Global Entry or up to $85 every 4½ years for TSA PreCheck).

The Bonvoy Brilliant also comes with a suite of travel and shopping protections.

Winner: Tie. Both cards offer a free night certificate and strong travel and shopping protections. Aspire cardmembers receive top-tier elite status, but the Brilliant’s statement credits are easier to use.

Earning points on the Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

With the Hilton Amex Aspire, you’ll earn 14 points per dollar spent at hotels in the Hilton portfolio. However, in actuality, the return on paid stays is even greater.

One of the card’s complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status benefits is a 100% point bonus for Hilton stays (or 20 points per dollar spent at most Hilton properties). That means you’ll actually earn a total of 34 points per dollar on most Hilton stays as a cardmember.

The Hilton Aspire also earns 7 points per dollar on select travel and dining at U.S. restaurants and 3 points per dollar on all other purchases.

Seelbach Hilton. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

With the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, you’ll earn 6 points per dollar spent at participating Marriott hotels, 3 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases.

In addition to earning 6 points per dollar spent at participating Marriott hotels, you can earn up to 15 points per dollar on stays thanks to the complimentary Platinum Elite status that comes with the card. In total, you can earn 21 points per dollar on your booking.

We don’t recommend using either of these cards for non-hotel spending, as you can get better value with a card that earns transferable rewards. So, the deciding factor here will be based on which card has a better earning rate for hotel purchases.

Winner: Hilton Aspire. It earns more on accommodations than the Bonvoy Brilliant.

Redeeming points on the Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

With the Hilton Aspire, your Hilton points can be redeemed for Amazon purchases and transferred to airlines (at a roughly 10:1 ratio), but you’ll get the most value out of your points by sticking with hotel stays.

Since Hilton has dynamic pricing, you should get fairly consistent value from your points year-round. However, a property can suddenly increase its standard award price without warning.

An option worth considering when staying at top-tier properties is to use points to subsidize paid stays with the Points & Money option — this will get you an outstanding redemption value of up to 1 cent per point.

St Regis hotel in Punta Mita — ANDREA ROTONDO ST. REGIS PUNTA MITA/THE POINTS GUY

As for the Bonvoy Brilliant, you can redeem points toward free stays at more than 9,000 properties across 30 brands in over 140 countries.

This is by far the best option for redeeming your points, but you can also use them for on-property purchases and transfers to airline partners. The ratio for transferring Marriott points to airlines is typically 3:1, which isn’t favorable.

TPG credit cards writer Danyal Ahmed utilized his Bonvoy points and the program’s fifth free night perk to book a stay at the Ritz-Carlton DIFC in Dubai over the weekend spanning New Year’s Eve.

Winner: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant. Marriott has a larger portfolio and various brands suited for all types of travelers. Marriott points are also worth more than Hilton points, according to TPG’s March 2025 valuations.

Transferring points on the Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

Marriott points stand out from other hotel-points currencies because there’s also potential for great value when turning points into airline miles. Marriott points can be transferred to almost 40 frequent flyer programs. Points mostly transfer at a pretty solid 3:1 ratio, factoring in the 5,000-mile bonus given for every 60,000 points transferred.

Citron at JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes — Citron. ANDREA ROTONDO/THE POINTS GUY

Hilton Honors points can also be transferred to select airline partners. However, the ratio is poorer than Marriott’s (usually 10:1).

Generally speaking, we recommend using your hotel points for stays instead of transferring them to airlines. The only time transferring out to airlines can be a good idea is if you need to top off your balance for an award flight.

Winner: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant. Whether you’re looking to redeem points for free stays or free flights, there are many ways to get tremendous value out of Marriott Bonvoy points.

Should I get the Hilton Amex Aspire or Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant?

The right card for you ultimately depends on which hotel chain you’re more loyal to. If you’re not loyal to either brand, we recommend picking the Hilton Aspire for better earning rates and benefits like top-tier elite status. However, it’s also easy to get value from the Bonvoy Brilliant thanks to its more flexible statement credits and annual free night certificate (certain hotels have resort fees). Enrollment is required for select benefits; terms apply.

Bottom line

Alternatively, given the automatic elite statuses and array of perks across the world’s two largest hotel loyalty programs, you could also make a case for carrying both cards. These cards make maximizing benefits easy and offer statement credits to help offset their high annual fees.

To learn more, read our full reviews of the Hilton Aspire and the Bonvoy Brilliant.

Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, click here.