Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant and The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card are two premium Marriott credit cards with several benefits in common, including an annual 85K Free Night Award and a $100 property credit on eligible Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis stays.
Their core value, however, is very different. Brilliant focuses on Platinum Elite status and 25 Elite Night Credits, while the Ritz-Carlton Card emphasizes a $300 airline incidental credit, three Ritz-Carlton Club Level Upgrade Certificates, and a much stronger Priority Pass setup for Authorized Users.
Both cards allow Additional/Authorized User cards with no additional annual fee. The important difference is lounge access: Brilliant Additional Card Members do not receive their own Priority Pass membership, while Ritz-Carlton Authorized Users do.
⭐ Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant vs Ritz-Carlton
| Feature | Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant | The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | American Express | Chase |
| Annual Fee | US$650 | US$450 |
| Marriott Purchases | 6X | 6X |
| Dining | 3X at restaurants worldwide | 3X at restaurants |
| Airfare | 3X on flights booked directly with airlines | 3X on airfare purchased directly from airlines |
| Car Rentals | 2X | 3X |
| General Spending | 2X | 2X |
| Marriott Status | Platinum Elite | Gold Elite |
| Elite Night Credits | 25 nights | 15 nights |
| Annual Free Night Award | 85K FNA | 85K FNA |
| FNA Top Off | Up to +25K Points | Up to +25K Points |
| Main Annual Credit | Up to $300 in monthly dining credits | Up to $300 airline incidental credit |
| Ritz-Carlton / St. Regis Property Credit | Up to $100 on eligible stays | Up to $100 on eligible stays |
| Ritz-Carlton Club Level Upgrades | — | 3 certificates per year |
| Priority Pass | Primary Card Member | Primary Card Member + Authorized Users |
| Priority Pass Guests | Up to 2 complimentary guests | Up to 2 complimentary guests per PP member |
| Additional / Authorized User Fee | $0 | $0 |
| Global Entry / TSA PreCheck | Yes | Yes |
| How to Get the Card | Direct application | Product Change only |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | None | None |
💳 Rewards: The Earning Rates Are Surprisingly Similar
The earning structures of these two cards are much closer than their other benefits.
Both earn 6X on eligible Marriott purchases and 2X on general spending. Dining and airfare are also similar, with both offering 3X in their respective qualifying categories.
The clearest difference is car rentals. The Ritz-Carlton Card earns 3X with car rental agencies, while Brilliant does not offer a separate car-rental bonus category.
That means everyday rewards are unlikely to be the deciding factor. The more meaningful differences are Marriott elite benefits, Elite Night Credits, annual credits, and Priority Pass access.
💰 Annual Credits and Benefits
Both cards provide an annual 85K Free Night Award, and both allow Marriott Bonvoy points to be added to an eligible certificate through the FNA top-off feature.
They also both offer up to a $100 property credit on qualifying Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis stays booked under the applicable terms.
The main annual credits work very differently.
Brilliant provides dining statement credits on a monthly basis. This can be relatively easy to use for someone who regularly spends at restaurants, but the monthly structure means the entire annual benefit cannot simply be used at once.
The Ritz-Carlton Card instead provides an annual airline incidental credit for qualifying airline expenses. Its usefulness therefore depends more heavily on actual air travel.
The Ritz-Carlton Card also provides three Ritz-Carlton Club Level Upgrade Certificates each year.
These are separate from the $100 property credit available on both cards and are particularly relevant for travelers who actually stay at Ritz-Carlton properties and can use the certificates on eligible paid stays.
✈️ Brilliant Wins on Marriott Status; Ritz-Carlton Has the More Powerful Priority Pass Setup
Brilliant’s strongest benefits are inside the Marriott Bonvoy program.
Cardholders receive automatic Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status plus 25 Elite Night Credits every calendar year.
Because Platinum is already granted by the card, those Elite Night Credits are especially useful for progressing toward Marriott’s 50-night and 75-night thresholds, including Titanium Elite.
The Ritz-Carlton Card provides Gold Elite status and 15 Elite Night Credits, so its Marriott status proposition is not as strong.
Priority Pass is where the relationship reverses.
Both cards allow Additional or Authorized User cards without an additional annual fee, but their lounge benefits are very different.
With Brilliant, the Primary Card Member can enroll in Priority Pass Select. Additional Card Members do not receive their own Priority Pass membership.
With the Ritz-Carlton Card, the Primary Card Member and Authorized Users each receive their own Priority Pass Select membership.
Each Priority Pass member can also bring up to two guests at no additional charge under the current benefit.
That creates a very different family-travel setup.
A Ritz-Carlton account with one primary cardholder and three Authorized Users can effectively provide four separate Priority Pass memberships. Those family members do not need to travel with the primary cardholder to use their own membership.
For households where people frequently travel separately, this can be one of the Ritz-Carlton Card’s most distinctive benefits.
🔄 Both Cards Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points
There is no points-ecosystem decision between these cards. Both earn Marriott Bonvoy points.
Those points can be redeemed for Marriott stays or transferred to a broad selection of airline loyalty programs.
For a deeper look at Marriott points, airline transfers, elite status, and Free Night Awards, see the Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide.
The real Brilliant vs Ritz-Carlton decision therefore comes down to how each card adds premium benefits around the same Marriott Bonvoy ecosystem.
⚠️ You Cannot Apply Directly for the Ritz-Carlton Card
There is one major practical difference between these cards: how you get them.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is currently available for direct application through American Express.
The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card is no longer open to new applications. The usual route is to hold an eligible Chase Marriott personal card and then request a Product Change to the Ritz-Carlton Card once the account meets Chase’s requirements.
That makes the two acquisition strategies fundamentally different:
Brilliant → Direct application
Ritz-Carlton Card → Eligible Chase Marriott card → Product Change
So even if the Ritz-Carlton Card better matches your travel habits, it cannot simply be selected as a new-card application.
👤 Which Type of Cardholder Fits Each Card?
Brilliant is more relevant when the priority is Marriott Platinum Elite, additional Elite Night Credits, and progress toward Marriott’s 50-night and 75-night thresholds.
The Ritz-Carlton Card becomes more interesting when Marriott status is already covered elsewhere and the focus shifts toward the airline incidental credit, Ritz-Carlton Club Level upgrades, and Priority Pass.
Families are an especially important use case. Both cards allow no-additional-fee Additional/Authorized User cards, but only the Ritz-Carlton Card extends an individual Priority Pass membership to each Authorized User.
That can make the two cards behave very differently even though both offer an 85K FNA and sit at the premium end of the Marriott credit-card lineup.
🏁 Bottom Line
The core difference between Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant and The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card is Marriott elite progress versus broader premium travel benefits.
Brilliant concentrates its value in Platinum Elite status and 25 Elite Night Credits. The Ritz-Carlton Card leans more heavily on its airline incidental credit, Club Level Upgrade Certificates, and unusually strong Priority Pass access for Authorized Users.
The Authorized User distinction is particularly important: both cards offer no-additional-fee Additional/Authorized User cards, but Brilliant Additional Card Members do not receive their own Priority Pass membership, while Ritz-Carlton Authorized Users do.
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