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American Express Blue Cash Preferred vs Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card

Both are American Express cards. Here is every spend category, ranked by what each card actually returns.

Best card by category Card terms as of Oct 29

Everything else

  1. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 1.5% 2x base rate
  2. Blue Cash Preferred 1.0% 1% base rate

Dining

  1. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 2.3% 3x
  2. Blue Cash Preferred 1.0% 1% base rate

Groceries

  1. Blue Cash Preferred 6.0% 6%, capped
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 1.5% 2x base rate

Gas

  1. Blue Cash Preferred 3.0% 3%
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 1.5% 2x base rate

Ground transportation

  1. Blue Cash Preferred 3.0% 3%
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 1.5% 2x base rate

Streaming

  1. Blue Cash Preferred 6.0% 6%
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 1.5% 2x base rate

Flights

  1. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 2.3% 3x
  2. Blue Cash Preferred 1.0% 1% base rate

Hotels

  1. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 4.5% 6x
  2. Blue Cash Preferred 1.0% 1% base rate

What the numbers are doing

Blue Cash Preferred's 6% on groceries runs out: it applies to the first $6,000 of groceries spend a year, and everything past that earns 1%.

The table is earn rate only — annual fees are not netted out of it. These cards charge Blue Cash Preferred $95 and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card $650 a year, so a thin lead in one category may not cover the difference.

Where they differ: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card takes everything else, dining, flights and hotels; Blue Cash Preferred takes groceries, gas, ground transportation and streaming.

pointslipEveryday
Pass content preview
CategoryBest card
Everything elseMarriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card1.5%
DiningMarriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card2.3%
GroceriesBlue Cash Preferred6.0%
GasBlue Cash Preferred3.0%
Ground transportationBlue Cash Preferred3.0%
StreamingBlue Cash Preferred6.0%
FlightsMarriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card2.3%
HotelsMarriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card4.5%

Content preview. Apple Wallet controls the layout; visible categories vary by device. Categories that rank the same as Everything else are left off; every other category is in pass details.

Every category, every card

Everything else

  1. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card — 1.5%
  2. Blue Cash Preferred — 1.0%

Dining

  1. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card — 2.3%
  2. Blue Cash Preferred — 1.0%

Groceries

  1. Blue Cash Preferred — 6.0%
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card — 1.5%

Gas

  1. Blue Cash Preferred — 3.0%
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card — 1.5%

Ground transportation

  1. Blue Cash Preferred — 3.0%
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card — 1.5%

Streaming

  1. Blue Cash Preferred — 6.0%
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card — 1.5%

Flights

  1. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card — 2.3%
  2. Blue Cash Preferred — 1.0%

Hotels

  1. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card — 4.5%
  2. Blue Cash Preferred — 1.0%
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