Amex Bonvoy Brilliant Change

[CalGalTraveler]

Beyond the double dip, does anyone think this card is worth keeping after next anniversary? (Especially since you can downgrade to a $95/year card and still earn the same 6x Bonvoy points and a 35k cert.)

After the $300 restaurant credit the net cost of the card is $150. The question is it worth it to pay $55 more and extra monthly hassle than the $95 card downgrade?

Does anyone think Gold Elite in Marriott Hotels is worth it? What have you gotten with it?

15k extra points (50k-35k) for certificate.

We already have Chase Reserve (2x) so do not use this card for travel. We will likely get the Hilton Aspire card next if they don't devalue.

 

[midnightladybug]

Do you get $300 travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Rewards Card if you pay your maintenance fees with it? That is, will the maintenance fees be considered travel?

I just got the Brilliant card in November. Before that I paid my Marriott maintenance fees every year with the Chase Reserve and it does code as travel and triggers the $300 credit.

 

[Henry M.]

I think I want to keep a Marriott card to get the Bonvoy points. I get more value out of those than most other rewards. I use the Costco Visa for the 4% cash back on gas and 3% on restaurants, Now the question for me is which Marriott card.

i liked the $300 towards maintenance fees, but I guess I could make sure to pay for a restaurant to get $300 back from the Brillant card. I find the 50k point one night certificate is worth more than $150 to me, and worth the $55 extra over the standard card. It is mostly an inconvenience to make sure I spend the $25/month on restaurants with this card.

i travel enough that I can take advantage of the Bonvoy points and I can usually get more than the approximately 2% return from most other cards when I use them at the hotels I like. If I didn't travel much, I'd probably go with the CSR card or some other cash back card.

 

[DanCali]

i liked the $300 towards maintenance fees, but I guess I could make sure to pay for a restaurant to get $300 back from the Brillant card.

I think most people would be ok paying for 1-3 nicer restaurants over the course of the year to get back the $300.

The problem is that the (up to) $300 credit is actually "up to $25/month" so you basically need to make sure you use it monthly at establishments coded as restaurants and charge at least $25 each month to get the full $300 benefit over the course of the year. If you don't use it like that for 4-5 months during the year, your benefit is now much lower. And that's their goal with this type of arrangement... With the $300 Marriott credit, I suspect most people who have the card got the full $300 back via a 1-2 night stay somewhere. Now it's like a $25 monthly coupon.

 

[Henry M.]

I understand. I probably do spend $25/mo in restaurants. I got my $300 back with a single maintenance fee payment before, and now it will have to be split into 12 monthly spends. I don't like it, but it seems like the only alternative to keep getting Binvoy points for my purchases. The regular AmEx card would work too, but I prefer the 50K certificate over the one for 35K, and I don't want two cards.

Bonvoy points only matter if you travel enough to be staying in various hotels. If you don't, it is better to get other rewards. The points devalue over time, so only it is only worth getting them if you will use them relatively soon.

 

[Negma]

Another +1 for getawaysruss. We will double dip on our recent purchase that brought two properties into the system. Paid it off with the Amex and it triggered the $300. now on to food. Additional side note, we are trying the pay over time since it is offered for 0 interest or fees until 8/30/22 ( at least that is our offer).

 

[JudyS]

My renewal date is 9/15/22 and the new policy goes into effect 9/22. I could schedule one of my MFs for the time period between 9/15 and 9/22, but do you think things will clear in time to get my $300 credit?

 

[rcv82]

My renewal date is 9/15/22 and the new policy goes into effect 9/22. I could schedule one of my MFs for the time period between 9/15 and 9/22, but do you think things will clear in time to get my $300 credit?

I would try it. It has cleared pretty fast when I’ve used it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[deniseh]

Does the dining credit only work for restaurants located within the US, or does it apply globally? Is it only one credit per billing cycle?

I’m in the US frequently, but not every month.

I was just on the phone with customer service and was told restaurants are "worldwide."

 

[Bird01]

I don't have the Brilliant card but had thought about getting one (I have the Bonvoy Business Amex) but only because the $300 Marriott credit would pay for most of the annual fee. Between the elimination of that credit and the fact that I shouldn't need extra elite night credits to maintain Titanium (and I should be getting Titanium automatically in the future through the revised MVC elite program) and basically all my reasons for opening this account have dried up.

The $25/month restaurant credit would be easy to use, I've had no problem using the credits I get on another Amex card I have (I just make sure I order some food through Grubhub once a month) but it isn't sufficient by itself to motivate me to open another account and keep track of the benefits of another card.

I'll add my voice to those recommending Chase Sapphire Reserve, it's my go-to card and the lounge benefit alone pays for the card. You get $28/person meal credits in many airport restaurants, which means that every time we fly somewhere we enjoy $56 in free food and beverage, sometimes double that if we connect somewhere and need to eat again. The reward points are easy to use for travel and other stuff, and you earn bonus points if you book flights through Chase's web site, which is easy to do. There are several other benefits I also find worthwhile.

How do you get the $28 per person meal credits? That's a surprise to me even though I have the Chase Sapphire Card.

 

[rickandcindy23]

How do you get the $28 per person meal credits? That's a surprise to me even though I have the Chase Sapphire Card.

That's for the Priority Pass Lounges that are restaurants. You have Priority Pass included with your Chase Sapphire Card. It's a great benefit, but restaurants are few and far between where we travel. The lounges can be pretty terrific, including the one at SJC, which has a menu of items you can order, kind of like a restaurant but doesn't count as a restaurant.

Denver has a restaurant in its airport in concourse B, United is the primary airline there. We fly mostly SW (concourse C) and the restaurant is way at the end of concourse B, but we use it occasionally, when we are running very early. It's not as good as the one we used to use that is no longer a priority pass restaurant.

SFO has a few different ones. Pretty decent food, but it's overpriced.

 

[Negma]

Here is a list of Priority restaurants. We have used a few times and it is very easy. The App has all the up to date places

Restaurant	Airport	Terminal / Location
Stephanies	BOS – Boston, MA	Terminal B – Airside – opposite Gate B24
Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill	BOS – Boston, MA	Terminal C – Landside – before Security
Bar Symon	CLE – Cleveland, OH	Concourse C – Airside – between Gates C4 and C6
American Tap Room	DCA – Washington, DC	Terminal C – Airside – near Gates 35-45
Bracket Room	DCA – Washington, DC	Terminal B – Airside – opposite Gate 12
Chef Geoff’s	IAD – Dulles, VA	Concourse C – Airside – near Gate C14
Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar	IAH – Houston, TX	Terminal A – Airside – near Gate A17
Landry’s Seafood	IAH – Houston, TX	Terminal C – Airside – near Gate C42
The Fan Zone	IND – Indianapolis, IN	Concourse B – Airside – near Gate B17
Kafe Kalik	FLL – Fort Lauderdale, FL	Concourse G – Airside – near Gate G6
Bobby Van’s Steakhouse	JFK – New York, NY	Terminal 8 – Airside – opposite Gate 14
Point The Way Cafe (currently unavailable)	LAX – Los Angeles, CA	Terminal 6 – Airside – opposite Gate 11B
Rock & Brews (currently unavailable)	LAX – Los Angeles, CA	Terminal 1 – Airside – between Gate 65A & 65B
Kentucky Ale Taproom	LEX – Lexington, KY	Airside – next to Concourse B entrance
Corona Beach House	MIA – Miami, FL	Concourse D – Airside – between Gates D23 and D24
Capers Cafe Le Bar	PDX – Portland, OR	Airside – Concourse C immediately after Security on the left-hand side
Westward Whiskey	PDX – Portland, OR	Airside – Concourse C near Gate C6
Providence Provisions Kitchen & Bar	PVD – Providence, RI	Airside
Bambuza	SEA – Seattle, WA	Airside – North Satellite
Trail Head BBQ Bar	SEA – Seattle, WA	Airside – Central Terminal
Lark Creek Grill	SFO – San Francisco, CA	Terminal 2 – Airside – after Security
San Francisco Giant’s Clubhouse	SFO – San Francisco, CA	Terminal 3 – Airside – Concourse F, near Gate F13
Yankee Pier	SFO – San Francisco, CA	Terminal 3 – Airside – Concourse F, near Gate F4
Mustards Bar & Grill	SFO – San Francisco, CA	International Terminal near Gate G3
The Pasta House and Schlafly Beer	STL – St Louis, MO	Terminal 2 – Airside – Upper level, opposite Gate E6
Johnny Rockets	SYR – Syracuse, NY	North Concourse B – Airside – Airside Connector
The Café by Mise en Place	TPA – Tampa, FL	Concourse F Airside – by Gate F85
Barrio Brewery Co.	TUS – Tuscon, AZ	Landside – 2nd Floor, opposite the ‘Arroyo Trading Post’

 

[tschwa2]

My renewal date is 9/15/22 and the new policy goes into effect 9/22. I could schedule one of my MFs for the time period between 9/15 and 9/22, but do you think things will clear in time to get my $300 credit?

My renewal date was 9/9. I charged $300 in Vistana MF's today and will do so every other day for the next 10 days hoping for the credit. Either way this will be my last year with this card.

 

[Red elephant]

My renewal date was 9/9. I charged $300 in Vistana MF's today and will do so every other day for the next 10 days hoping for the credit. Either way this will be my last year with this card.

My renewal date was 9/2 and I paid $300 in maintenance fees. Already got the credit. Will cancel the card next year .

 

[teddyo333]

I just checked the benefits for my brilliant card and see that it now comes with platinum status just for holding the card.

 

[godslaf]

Yep, along with other changes. 85k free night award and annual fee will now be $650

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at Hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® and 3X points at Restaurants Worldwide. Enjoy luxury stays and travel perks. Terms Apply.

www.americanexpress.com

 

[cubigbird]

I just checked the benefits for my brilliant card and see that it now comes with platinum status just for holding the card.

That’s another Bonvoy devaluation as Platinum will now be much more diluted. I guess platinum is the new gold and titanium is the new platinum.

 

[GetawaysRus]

I'm surprised by the number of changes. Usually the Internet travel bloggers are on top of these sorts of things because award credit cards are their purview. I did read advance hints that changes would be coming to this card, but this is far greater than those warnings. And it appears that the bloggers were caught flat-footed. I haven't seen any posts about these changes by the bloggers that I follow so far this morning.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

My DH who has the card is now Platinum Elite. It says he gets access to lounges. Does that include free breakfast when there is not a lounge?

We have a stay this winter at Sheraton Steamboat Villas to ski via the last of our Bonvoy points (great value because the required points doubled since we booked). Fingers crossed they upgrade our room. Does this resort have a lounge or possibility of free breakfast?

 

[rickandcindy23]

I would love to see some numbers on the Marriott Brilliant Amex credit card to compare it to the value we get from the Sapphire Reserve card. I am really considering cancelling that card before my next payment is due for the annual fee.

If I paid all of our MF's on the Marriott Brilliant, I wouldn't be able to use all of those hotel nights. What else can I do with those points?

The Chase card, I get 3X on MF's, so a $20,000 spend gets 60,000 points. When I use those 60,000 points through the Ultimate Rewards Portal, I get $900 in airfare. That is what it's worth, no iffy reward values.

6X points for Vistana/ Marriott MF's, $20K spend gets 120,000 points, and they are hotel points.

 

[tschwa2]

I would love to see some numbers on the Marriott Brilliant Amex credit card to compare it to the value we get from the Sapphire Reserve card. I am really considering cancelling that card before my next payment is due for the annual fee.

If I paid all of our MF's on the Marriott Brilliant, I wouldn't be able to use all of those hotel nights. What else can I do with those points?

The Chase card, I get 3X on MF's, so a $20,000 spend gets 60,000 points. When I use those 60,000 points through the Ultimate Rewards Portal, I get $900 in airfare. That is what it's worth, no iffy reward values.

6X points for Vistana/ Marriott MF's, $20K spend gets 120,000 points, and they are hotel points.

which would get you about 2 nights in a hotel so not sure if it is worth much more than the $900 in airfare.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

What I like about the Chase Reserve card is that you can also pay out your benefit at 1.5x cash. We found the best deal and booked several excursions and local hotels in Europe outside of the Chase portal and then paid ourselves back at 1.5x to offset the cost. Cash provide options. Bonvoy can only be used at a rapidly devaluing rate at hotels.

I hope Chase continues this benefit.

We also book United airfare using Chase points. Counts as a cash booking on United so we can get priority upgrades. When you book with United points you are not eligible for upgrades unless you are a top elite their award prices compared to Chase 1.5x cash have been supersized so cash is a better buy.

 

[GetawaysRus]

The bloggers are waking up. Here's one with some analysisof the Marriott creditcard lineup:

Marriott releases its new card lineup: Is it a Bevy of Bountiful Brilliance?

Marriott cards has released two new cards and spruced up a third. The Bonvoy Bevy and Bountiful are here. But are they worth seeking out?

frequentmiler.com

 

[tschwa2]

Yep, along with other changes. 85k free night award and annual fee will now be $650

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at Hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® and 3X points at Restaurants Worldwide. Enjoy luxury stays and travel perks. Terms Apply.

www.americanexpress.com

I guess I am lucky mine renewed on the Sep 13. I did pay MF's so I got my $300 and now will use the $25 per months credit hopefully most months and am now platinum and got the extra 10 nights. I did just get the 50k night but I rarely use above 62,000ish so the 85,000 would have been a waste, all with the lower fee and I have a year to decide if I will continue.

 

[GetawaysRus]

My card renewed in late August, but my guess is that we may not get the automatic Plat and the extra 10 nights credit until our next anniversary date?

The game has gotten more complex. My suspicion is that the impetus for these changes is coming from Marriott and not from the banks themselves. Marriott seems to view its customers as suckers.

Next I'll want a Marriott Burst your Bubble card.