There is no benefit with Marriott Rewards over other reward cards

That seems way off for Marriott. I just booked a $325 room for 29,500 points and that seems to be the going rate.

Booked the JW on Marco Island for 320,000 pts and it would’ve been $3400.

Yeah, the bonvoy offers are HUGE but not only ar their points worth less there are alot of properties that don't even take points.

It's a shitty card / reward program

I just committed a lot of mental power to this issue. I needed/wanted a new card. I feel like cash-back cards will be in jeopardy with the legislation that's being proposed to limit interchange fees. I think issuers will need co-branded cards to keep up rewards and I think issuers that own their own networks will be able to have better rewards than those that don't: i.e., Amex and Capital One (if the acquisition of Discover is approved) should do better than Citi or Chase or Wells Fargo. I don't live near a hub, so airline specific cards and rewards programs were out. I also prefer my time over price with regard to flights. I narrowed it down to hotel specific rewards/cards (Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG) or general travel rewards/cards (Chase Sapphire line, Capital One Venture line, Amex Platinum).

The general travel rewards/cards aren't really general travel rewards/cards as you have to book through their respective portals (a) with cash to get the best rewards multipliers that are (b) limited to their redemption partners and (c) aren't very flexible. The issuer specific portals are just Priceline or Expedia with limited options and less transparency. The remaining multipliers or the credits on those cards weren't that great for the way that I spend money. Because of that, I feel the general rewards/cards that are marketed as being more flexible are actually more limited.

That left the hotel specific rewards/cards. I'll tell you up front that I'm very particular about hotels. That eliminated IHG from the start. Hyatt has a limited footprint where I spend most of my time. So does Hilton to a certain extent (and I find their properties to be a bit dated). I find Marriott to be in the places I need. The card with the yearly 35,000 point equivalent free night certificate is useless. I went with the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant. The dining credit is super easy to get. I know that I'm going to stay at a Marriott multiple nights a year, and the 85,000 point equivalent free night certificate should cover about a $500 per night stay if the room is available at a non-peak time. The rest of the perks of the card are similar to the Platinum, but the Platinum's credits and multipliers are terrible and don't match my current spending.

With the various points multipliers, you're essentially getting ~12% of a hotel stay that was paid with cash banked within your points total for a future stay. That doesn't include the 4 for 5 promotion. I don't know what's the equivalent at other brands.

The main issue Marriott right now is that everyone is still traveling. Their hotels are still booked so the points required for a stay are increasing because we are still competing with people willing to pay them cash. The next economic cycle should re-adjust the points requirements. A prime example of this competition is the Aloft located next to Truist Park. All home game weekends puts Aloft pricing north of $500 or more per night. I'm not paying that for an Aloft property (and especially not with an OMNI next door). They've lost their minds, or so it would seem. But they have a captive customer base that's still willing to pay.