Reimburses the nonrefundable amount paid to a Travel Supplier with your Eligible Card if a Covered Loss causes Trip Cancellation. Maximum $10,000 per Covered Trip and $20,000 per Eligible Card per 12 consecutive months. The full cost of the Covered Trip must be charged to the Eligible Card, or in combination with Membership Rewards points or redeemable certificates and vouchers. Coverage is secondary. Insurer: New Hampshire Insurance Company (AIG). File within 60 days at aig.claimnotify.com/americanexpress or call 1-844-933-0648.
What benefits does the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card actually offer?
American Express·$650/year·American Express·AMEX Assurance Company / New Hampshire Insurance Company (AIG)
2,2/5Independent review · verified July 2026
2,0
2,9
1,9
Our Verdict · Travel Insurance
Our take on travel insurance for the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Expert review · Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviews
Strong cancel. No medical. Here's what both mean for a $650 Marriott card. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant matches the trip cancellation coverage of the most premium Amex travel cards: $10,000 per trip, 7 covered reasons including illness, inclement weather, military orders, and quarantine, at zero deductible. Charge the full trip to your card or in combination with Membership Rewards points and coverage activates automatically. The medical picture is completely different. Premium Global Assist provides 24/7 coordination for emergencies abroad, but every dollar of every hospital bill is yours. There is no emergency medical reimbursement and no evacuation coverage in any section of the benefit guide. A $650 annual fee card with no emergency medical coverage abroad is worth knowing before departure. Standalone travel medical insurance for $100,000 of coverage starts at $30 to $80 per week. If you travel internationally and stay in Marriott properties, the cancellation and delay coverage is strong. The medical gap is the risk this card does not address.
What works on travel
- $10,000 trip cancellation per trip: 7 covered reasons including illness, severe weather, military orders, jury duty, and quarantine. Zero deductible, secondary coverage
- $10,000 trip interruption: same covered reasons, covers forfeited prepaid land and air arrangements plus economy class rebooking costs
- $500 trip delay: 6-hour threshold covers meals, lodging, toiletries, and medication. All Eligible Travelers on the booking are covered
- $3,000 baggage insurance: $2,000 for checked bags, $1,000 for carry-on, secondary to airline reimbursement
- Premium Global Assist Hotline 24/7: emergency coordination for medical referrals, legal assistance, and medical transport logistics worldwide at no charge for the service
Where travel breaks down
- No emergency medical coverage abroad: every hospital bill, clinic visit, and emergency dental cost is the cardholder's responsibility. A single ER visit abroad runs $10,000 to $80,000
- No emergency evacuation coverage: medical air transport logistics coordinated by Premium Global Assist, but all costs are out of pocket
- Trip cancellation limited to 7 covered reasons: financial default of a travel supplier, pandemic travel restrictions, and fear of travel are excluded
- 2-claim-equivalent annual cap on trip cancellation: $20,000 annual limit per card means two $10,000 claims exhaust the benefit for the year
- No baggage delay coverage: if your checked bags are delayed but not permanently lost, no reimbursement for essentials while waiting
Our methodology
Every score is derived from official bank documents: terms and conditions, benefit guides, and claim procedures. No commercial relationship influences our ratings.
Travel Insurance · 11 guarantees
What does American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Travel Insurance actually cover?
The $20,000 annual limit means two $10,000 claims exhaust trip cancellation coverage for the 12-month period. Pre-existing conditions within 60 days of booking are excluded with no waiver available.
What's covered
- Accidental Bodily Injury or Sickness of the Eligible Traveler, Traveling Companion, or Family Member of either
- Inclement weather preventing a reasonable and prudent person from traveling or continuing on a Covered Trip
- The Eligible Traveler or spouse change in military orders
- Terrorist Action or hijacking
- Call to jury duty or subpoena that cannot be postponed or waived
- Dwelling of the Eligible Traveler or Traveling Companion made uninhabitable
- Quarantine imposed by a Physician for health reasons
What's not covered
- Pre-Existing Conditions (60-day lookback from purchase date of Covered Trip)
- Suicide, attempted suicide, or intentionally self-inflicted injury
- Declared or undeclared war
- Mental or emotional disorders, unless hospitalized
- Financial insolvency of a travel agency, tour operator, or Travel Supplier
- One-way travel without a return destination
- Professional sporting activities
- Intoxication at time of Accident
- Illegal or criminal acts
- Dental treatment (except from Accidental Bodily Injury to natural teeth)
No emergency medical insurance on a $650 card. Premium Global Assist coordinates referrals and assistance but pays nothing. Every dollar of any foreign hospital bill is yours.
No emergency medical coverage. Premium Global Assist Hotline provides 24/7 coordination for medical referrals and assistance abroad, but all costs for actual medical treatment are the cardholder's sole responsibility. A single ER visit in Europe or Japan typically costs $10,000 to $80,000 out of pocket.
What's not covered
- All emergency medical expenses abroad are excluded from insurance coverage under this card.
No evacuation coverage. Premium Global Assist arranges logistics but does not pay for them. A medical flight from Southeast Asia or South America costs $100,000 to $300,000 without coverage.
No emergency evacuation coverage. Premium Global Assist Hotline can coordinate emergency transportation and connect you with local assistance, but all evacuation and transportation costs are the cardholder's financial responsibility. A transoceanic medical evacuation can cost $100,000 to $300,000 without a standalone policy.
What's not covered
- Emergency evacuation insurance is not included in this card's benefits.
Reimburses the nonrefundable amount paid to a Travel Supplier for forfeited, prepaid land, air, and sea arrangements missed due to a Covered Loss, plus additional economy class transportation to rejoin the trip or return home. If a Covered Loss postpones departure and a new date is set, also covers the ticket cost difference and unused nonrefundable arrangements. Maximum $10,000 per Covered Trip and $20,000 per Eligible Card per 12 consecutive months. Coverage is secondary. File within 60 days at aig.claimnotify.com/americanexpress.
What's covered
- Forfeited, nonrefundable, prepaid land, air, and sea transportation arrangements missed
- Additional economy class transportation to rejoin Covered Trip or return home
- If trip postponed: ticket cost difference and unused nonrefundable arrangements
What's not covered
- Same exclusions as Trip Cancellation
- Cancellation before departure (use Trip Cancellation instead)
Covered delay causes are narrow: inclement weather, Terrorist Action, equipment failure documented by the carrier, and lost or stolen travel documents. Crew shortages and airline operational decisions do not qualify.
Reimburses reasonable additional expenses (meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items) incurred when a Covered Trip is delayed more than 6 hours by a Covered Loss. Maximum $500 per Covered Trip, limited to 2 claims per Eligible Card per 12 consecutive months. Coverage is secondary. Insurer: New Hampshire Insurance Company (AIG). File within 60 days at aig.claimnotify.com/americanexpress or call 1-844-933-0648.
What's covered
- Meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items during the delay
What's not covered
- Covered Losses made public or known before departure for the Covered Trip
- Expenses paid prior to the Covered Trip
- Loss due to intentional acts by the Eligible Traveler
- Crew shortages and most operational delays (not covered causes)
No missed connection benefit. Rebooking costs and additional expenses from missing a connecting flight are not covered as a standalone benefit. Trip interruption may cover rescheduling costs if a Covered Loss causes the missed connection.
What's not covered
- Standalone missed connection expenses are not covered.
No standalone early return benefit. Trip interruption covers additional transportation costs to return home when a covered event cuts a trip short, but there is no separate early return home benefit with a dedicated cap.
What's not covered
- Standalone early return transportation is covered under trip interruption, not as a separate benefit.
No baggage delay coverage. If your checked bags are delayed but not permanently lost, there is no reimbursement for essential purchases made while waiting. This benefit is not confirmed in any section of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant benefit guides.
What's not covered
- Baggage delay reimbursement is not included in this card's benefits.
Electronics and jewelry share a $500 combined sub-limit within the overall $3,000 cap. A single laptop and camera could exceed this sub-limit.
Baggage Insurance covers the actual cash value of checked and carry-on baggage lost, damaged, or stolen by a Common Carrier. Combined limit: $3,000 per Covered Trip ($2,000 for checked baggage, $1,000 for carry-on baggage). High-value items including electronics, jewelry, and watches are subject to a combined $500 sub-limit. Coverage is secondary to airline reimbursement. Provided by AMEX Assurance Company. File at americanexpress.com/benefits within 30 days of loss.
What's covered
- Checked baggage lost, damaged, or stolen by a Common Carrier
- Carry-on baggage lost, damaged, or stolen while in the care of a Common Carrier
What's not covered
- High-value items (electronics, jewelry, watches): combined $500 sub-limit applies
- Items left behind on Common Carrier inadvertently
- Money, documents, tickets, securities
- Fragile items broken during normal handling
- War and military action
No travel accident (AD&D) insurance. This benefit is not included with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card. All accidental death and dismemberment costs are the cardholder's responsibility.
What's not covered
- Travel accident insurance is not included.
No hotel theft protection as a standalone benefit. Personal belongings stolen from your hotel room are not covered by a dedicated hotel theft benefit. Purchase protection may cover items bought with the card if stolen within 90 days of purchase.
What's not covered
- Hotel and accommodation theft is not a standalone benefit.
Policy document 1
Policy document 2
Policy document 3
We source benefits from official card guides, but PDFs are sometimes hard to obtain or update. Spotted something off?
Coverage Radar
Where the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant wins, where it loses
Coverage snapshot for this tab — click any layer to highlight its scores.
Stay Interrupt: well above the market average
Trip Delay: above the market average
Baggage: above the market average
Medical: not covered by this card
Evacuation: not covered by this card
Compare
Marriott Bonvoy BrilliantThis card2.2/5?
$650/yrWith travel insuranceIdeal
Complete coverage · 5.0 / 5Premium card avg.
$167 avg. annual feeClick a layer to highlight its scores on the radar.
Side-by-side comparison
How the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant stacks up against the alternatives
Same 5 coverage dimensions, ranked head-to-head against the cards most Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant shoppers also consider.
| Card | This card Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express · $650/yr 2.2/5? | Hilton Honors Aspire American Express · $550/yr 2.9/5? | Sapphire Reserve Chase · $795/yr 3.9/5? | Sapphire Reserve Business Chase · $795/yr 3.7/5? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Trip cancellation Per person, per trip cap | $10,000 per trip All prepaid travel | $10,000 per trip 7 covered reasons | $10,000 per person 13 covered reasons | $10,000 per person All prepaid travel |
Emergency medical Hospital bills abroad | Not covered Cover this gap → | Not covered | $2,500 | $50 deductible $50 deductible | $2,500 Reimbursement only |
Emergency evacuation Air ambulance + repatriation | Not covered Cover this gap → | Not covered | $100,000 | pre-auth required Pre-authorization required | $100,000 Pre-authorization required |
Trip delay trigger Hours before benefits kick in | 6h / $500 Trigger: 6 hours | 6h / $500 Trigger: 6 hours | $500 after 6 hours Trigger: 6 hours | 6h / $500 Trigger: 6 hours or overnight |
Trip interruption Covered amount | $10,000 per trip Same 7 covered reasons | $10,000 per trip Same 7 reasons as cancel | $10,000 per person Shared limit with cancellation | $10,000 per person All prepaid travel |
StrongLimited / misleadingNot covered
Data verified against each card's Guide to Benefits, May 2026.
Cardholder reviews
What cardholders say about the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Real experiences on travel protection and insurance claims 112 reviews
RM
r/marriott
Trip cancellation paid in full after medical emergency
Filed a trip cancellation claim for a $6,000 Marriott vacation package after a medical emergency documented by doctor's note. Reimbursed in full after about 6 weeks. Amex Premium Global Assist was also helpful in coordinating.
UR
UpgradedPoints reader
Trip delay paid $500 the same night
The 6-hour trip delay kicked in when my transatlantic flight was cancelled. Got $500 for hotel and meals the same night. Claim approved within a month.
RC
r/creditcards
Hard to justify at $650 unless you stay at Marriott constantly
$650 a year is a lot. The travel insurance is great but the same coverage is available on other Amex premium cards at different price points. Hard to justify unless you're a dedicated Marriott loyalist.
RA
r/amex
AIG wanted hospital records, not just doctor's note
AIG asked for proof that my cancellation reason was covered. A doctor's note wasn't enough; they wanted hospital records. Took 3 months of back and forth before paying out.
Emergency · Card assistance line
How to contact American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant assistance?
Two separate claim administrators depending on the benefit
AIG (Trip Cancel / Trip Delay)
1-844-933-0648
24/7
Premium Global Assist / International
collect: +1-715-343-7977
Coordination only, medical costs at cardholder's expense · 24/7
Benefit administrator: New Hampshire Insurance Company (AIG) for Trip Cancellation and Trip Delay / AMEX Assurance Company for Car Rental, Baggage Insurance, Purchase Protection, and Extended Warranty
Claims & pre-authorizations
How to file a Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant claim
1
Step 1: For trip cancellation or delay: call AIG within 60 days
Call AIG at 1-844-933-0648 or visit aig.claimnotify.com/americanexpress within 60 days of the Covered Loss. Gather your Eligible Card billing statement showing the charges for the Covered Trip, Common Carrier tickets, proof of the Covered Loss (physician's letter, court subpoena, military orders, weather documentation), and the Travel Supplier's cancellation policy. Furnish all written proof of loss within 180 days.
2
Step 2: For rental car damage: file at americanexpress.com/protectionbenefits within 30 days
Visit americanexpress.com/protectionbenefits or call 1-800-338-1670 within 30 days of the loss. Required documentation: itemized repair bill, copy of the Rental Agreement (front and back), copy of the charge slip for the Rental Vehicle, copy of your driver's license, and a copy of your personal auto insurance coverage or a notarized statement confirming no coverage. Police report if applicable.
3
Step 3: For purchase protection or warranty: file at americanexpress.com/benefits
Visit americanexpress.com/benefits or call 1-800-228-6855. For purchase protection: submit within 30 days of loss with purchase receipt and police report for stolen items. For extended warranty: notify within 30 days of product failure and submit documentation within 60 days. For both: keep itemized repair bills and the original sales receipt.
4
Step 4: For medical emergencies abroad: call Premium Global Assist for coordination
Call 1-800-228-6855 in the United States or collect at +1-715-343-7977 internationally for 24/7 coordination assistance. Premium Global Assist can help locate English-speaking doctors and hospitals and coordinate logistics, but all medical costs are the cardholder's direct financial responsibility. There is no insurance reimbursement for emergency medical costs.
FAQ
What people ask about the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
- Most Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant travel insurance benefits activate automatically when you charge the full amount of your Covered Trip to your Eligible Card. You can also pay in combination with Membership Rewards points, redeemable certificates, or vouchers from frequent flyer programs. No pre-registration is required. Coverage extends to you, your Family Members (spouse, Domestic Partner, and dependent children up to age 19, or 26 if full-time students), and Traveling Companions who purchase the Covered Trip to your card. For rental car coverage, decline the CDW at the counter and charge the entire rental to your card.
- Coverage extends to the Card Member (Eligible Traveler), their Family Members, and Traveling Companions who purchase a Covered Trip to the Eligible Card. Family Members include your spouse or Domestic Partner and unmarried dependent children up to age 19, or under age 26 if full-time students at an accredited college or university. Traveling Companions are individuals who have made advance arrangements to travel with you or your Family Members for all or part of the Covered Trip. Both Family Members and Traveling Companions must purchase their portion of the Covered Trip to your Eligible Card.
- The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant provides secondary Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance up to $50,000 per Rental Agreement, meaning your personal auto insurance pays first in any claim. To activate it, decline the full collision damage waiver at the rental agency counter and charge the entire rental to your card. Coverage applies for rentals up to 30 consecutive days worldwide, with three country exclusions: Australia, Italy, and New Zealand. For questions or to file a claim, visit americanexpress.com/protectionbenefits or call 1-800-338-1670 within 30 days of the loss.
- Claims are split between two administrators depending on the benefit. For trip cancellation and trip delay: contact AIG at 1-844-933-0648 or visit aig.claimnotify.com/americanexpress within 60 days of the Covered Loss, and submit written proof of loss within 180 days. For rental car damage: visit americanexpress.com/protectionbenefits or call 1-800-338-1670 within 30 days. For purchase protection and extended warranty: visit americanexpress.com/benefits or call 1-800-228-6855. For all claims, have your Eligible Card billing statement, travel itinerary, and documentation of the Covered Loss ready before filing.
- The three most impactful gaps are emergency medical coverage abroad, emergency evacuation, and baggage delay. None appear in any benefit guide for this card. Trip cancellation covers only 7 specific reasons and excludes pre-existing conditions within 60 days of booking, financial insolvency of a travel supplier, and fear of travel. Trip delay is limited to 4 covered causes: inclement weather, Terrorist Action, equipment failure documented by the carrier, and lost or stolen travel documents. The car rental CDW is secondary and excludes Australia, Italy, New Zealand, and peer-to-peer rental services. Cell phone protection is not included.
- Yes, for any international travel. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant does not include emergency medical coverage abroad. The card provides the Premium Global Assist Hotline for 24/7 coordination and medical referrals, but all costs for actual medical treatment, hospitalization, and emergency evacuation are the cardholder's sole financial responsibility. A single ER visit in Europe or Japan typically costs $10,000 to $40,000. For a $650 annual fee card, this is the most material gap for international travelers. Standalone travel health insurance covering $100,000 per person typically starts at $30 to $80 for a one-week international trip.
- Cell phone protection is not included with this card. Screen damage, theft, and accidental breakage of your phone are not covered under any section of the benefit guide. Purchase protection does cover items bought with the card against damage and theft within 90 days, but only if the phone itself was purchased using this card within that window. Monthly wireless bill payments do not activate any coverage. For a $650 annual fee card, the absence of cell phone protection is notable compared to some competing premium cards.
- No. Pre-existing conditions are explicitly excluded from the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant trip cancellation and interruption insurance. A pre-existing condition is any injury or sickness that manifested itself or exhibited symptoms within the 60-day period prior to the purchase date of the Covered Trip. The condition must have caused the person to seek diagnosis, care, or treatment, required taking prescribed medications, or required medical treatment as recommended by a physician. Maintenance medications for a condition that is considered stable are not automatically considered a pre-existing condition. There is no pre-existing condition waiver available under this benefit.
- The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance is secondary coverage everywhere. This means your personal auto insurance pays first in any accident claim, and the card covers remaining costs up to $50,000. This is different from cards with primary CDW, where you file directly with the card's benefit administrator without involving your personal insurer. To activate the benefit, decline the full CDW at the rental counter and charge the entire rental to your Eligible Card. Rentals exceeding 30 consecutive days and rentals in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand are not covered.
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