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In my recently revised post about Shortcuts to Marriott Elite Status, I pointed out that the quickest and easiest way to get to Platinum Elite status is by signing up for the Bonvoy Brilliant card. The problem is that at $650 per year, it may be easy, but it ain’t cheap. Is the Brilliant card worth it? Well, it’s not very rewarding for spend, but it does come with significant perks. In this post, you’ll find details about the card’s benefits, comparisons to other Marriott cards, and a brief discussion about whether the card is right for you.
Bonvoy Brilliant Overview
| Card Offer |
|---|
95K Points ⓘ Affiliate 95k points after $6K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$650 Annual Fee Recent better offer: (Expired 10/2/24) 185k points after $6K spend within the first 6 months. |
The Bonvoy Brilliant card is pricey, but it is loaded with perks that can easily offset that cost. The combination of the $300 dining credit, automatic Platinum Elite status, and an 85K free night certificate (upon renewal) can make the card worth renewing each year — if you get good value from those perks.
| Bonvoy Brilliant Overview | |
|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $650 |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None |
| $300 Dining Credits | Earn up to $25 back each month on dining and food delivery charges. |
| Free Night Award | 85K certificate each year upon renewal |
| Big Spend Bonus | Earn an Annual Choice Award after $60K calendar year spend. Choose 1:
|
| Automatic Elite Status | Platinum Elite |
| Automatic Elite Credits | 25 elite qualifying nights each year |
| Earnings from Spend |
|
| Travel benefits |
|
| Purchase protections |
|
Dining Credits
You can easily earn $300 per year back with your Bonvoy Brilliant card by using it regularly for dining spend. Each month, you will earn up to $25 in credits back for any purchases at restaurants or certain food delivery providers like Doordash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, etc.
If you want to use a different card for most dining spend (after all, there are many cards that are more rewarding at restaurants), here are some tricks for earning the dining credit easily each month:
- Reload your credit balance with any of these U.S. restaurants through their apps: Chick-fil-A, Dunkin' Donuts, Panera (buy gift card in-app), Starbucks, Wendy's.
- Buy a gift card in-store from any restaurant you frequent.
- Buy a restaurant gift card through the Toast app (Hat Tip Nun)
- The Fluz app offers a large selection of restaurant gift cards that code as restaurants when you buy them. In other words, buying one of these gift cards for $25 should trigger the $25 rebate. As a bonus, Fluz will give you a small cash rebate too. Gift cards bought through Fluz that qualify as dining purchases include Amazon Meal Kits, DoorDash, Groupon, GrubHub, Starbucks, Walmart Cafeteria, and many more. You can find a full list of qualifying Fluz gift cards at GC Galore. If you’re new to Fluz, below are our referral links. You’ll received 2 "boosts" when joining. Each "boost" is worth up to 25% back on select gift cards. We’ll earn $5 after you make your second purchase of $25 or more.
85K Free Night Award
Each year upon renewing your Bonvoy Brilliant card, an 85K Free Night Award will be deposited to your Marriott account. This can be used to pay for one night at any Marriott property that costs up to 85,000 points for the night. You can also add up to 15,000 Marriott points to the booking in order to book a night that costs up to 100,000 points.
If you use the certificate at a hotel that costs less than 85,000 points, there is no residual value to the certificate. Marriott would let you use it at a hotel that costs only 5,000 points, but then the certificate would be all used up, so please don’t do that. You also cannot use the certificate to cover multiple nights. For example, if a hotel costs 40,000 points per night, you might think that you should be able to use the 85K certificate to pay for two nights, but you cannot.
I recently found that the median value of Marriott points was 0.8 cents each. This means that half of the time you can get less value and half the time you can get more value. If you use the 85K certificate for a property that costs 85,000 points or more, this means that you have a 50/50 chance of getting at least $680 value from the free night certificate. In practice, though, you may want to use the certificate at a property that costs less. For example, if you use the certificate at a hotel that costs 75,000 points, then you have a 50/50 chance of getting at least $600 value.
Annual Choice Award
In order to earn an Annual Choice Award, you have to spend at least $60,000 on the card within a calendar year. Once you’ve done that, you’ll get your choice of the following:
- 85k Free Night Award
- Five Suite Night Awards
- $750 off a bed on Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques
85K Free Night Award: The 85K Free Night Award is probably the best choice in most situations. It’s easy to get over $600 value from one of these certificates and so this is like getting an extra 1% back (or more) on your $60,000 spend, but only if you use the certificate towards good value before it expires!
Five Suite Night Awards: Suite Night Awards can be valuable in certain circumstances, but they can also be frustratingly difficult to use. Each Suite Night Award is a one-night confirmable upgrade to a standard suite or select premium room, depending on the hotel’s availability of those rooms. The number of Suite Night Awards used must match the entire length of stay; it cannot be used for part of a stay (e.g., it cannot be used for the first two nights of a five-night stay). Once Suite Night Awards are requested to be applied to a stay, Marriott will begin checking upgrade availability 5 days in advance of your stay, up until 2pm on the day of your arrival. If your Suite Night Award request doesn’t clear, you’ll get the awards back to be used later. Caution: suite night awards can be difficult to use:
- Many Marriott brands do not allow the use of Suite Night Awards: The Ritz-Carlton®, Protea Hotels®, Aloft®, Element®, Design Hotels™, all-suite hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, EDITION®, The Ritz-Carlton Reserve®, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club®, and Grand Residences by Marriott® properties.
- A frustratingly large number of individual hotels within participating brands do not allow the use of Suite Night Awards. The only way to find out for sure is to call and ask Marriott Member Services or to book a stay and try to apply your upgrades (but even that approach isn’t foolproof).
- You must use a Suite Night Award for every night of your reservation. If you have 5 awards, for example, you cannot apply them to a 6 night reservation.
- Once you’ve applied your Suite Night Awards to a reservation, Marriott begins checking for suite upgrade availability 5 days before your stay. If you are not upgraded 5 days beforehand, Marriott will check again each day up until the day before your stay. If the upgrade isn’t successful, the Suite Night Awards will be credited back to your account.
$750 off a bed on Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques: I’m not sure why anyone would want to spend $60,000 on this card in order to get a coupon for a bed discount. I bet you can find similar discounts by Googling or waiting for sales.
Elite Benefits
Marriott Elite Overview
| Elite Status Level | Requirements Per Year | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Elite | 10 Nights | Late checkout, 10% point bonus |
| Gold Elite | 25 Nights | 2PM late checkout; 25% point bonus; welcome gift (points only); room upgrade; enhanced internet |
| Platinum Elite | 50 Nights | 4PM late checkout; 50% point bonus; welcome gift w/ breakfast option; room upgrade includes suites; lounge access; Choice benefit (such as 5 nightly upgrade awards) when you achieve 50 nights. |
| Titanium Elite | 75 Nights | All of the above, plus: 75% point bonus; United Silver Premier status; Air Canada Aeroplan 25K Status; Ritz-Carlton suite upgrades; Additional Choice Benefit (such as 40K free night certificate) when you achieve 75 nights. |
| Ambassador Elite | 100 Nights + $23K Spend | All of the above, plus: Ambassador Service (dedicated Marriott agent); Your24 (Choose the 24 hours of your stay. For example, choose to check in at 9am after an overnight flight). |
Automatic Platinum Elite
The Bonvoy Brilliant card offers automatic Bonvoy Platinum Elite status. Platinum status gives you guaranteed 4PM late checkout (subject to availability at resorts); a 50% point bonus; complementary room upgrades, including to suites; lounge access at some hotels; and a welcome gift with a breakfast option at many hotels.
Platinum Elite status can be incredibly valuable at some hotels and almost meaningless at others. The lack of consistency in elite benefits between Marriott hotels is one of the most frustrating aspects of the Bonvoy program. For example, you might be treated like a king at a St. Regis hotel and barely acknowledged at a Ritz. And while some of that comes from individual hotel policies, this differentiation is actually baked into the program. Different brands have different requirements for supplying elite benefits. While St. Regis hotels have to offer daily free breakfast as a welcome amenity choice to Platinum elites, Ritz-Carlton hotels don’t have to offer anything but a few points.
25 Elite Qualifying Nights
Each year as a cardholder, Marriott will add 25 elite qualifying nights to your Marriott account. Since you will already have Platinum Elite status (which otherwise would require earning 50 elite nights per year), you might wonder why those elite nights would be useful. There are three reasons I can think of: 1) to earn Choice Benefits; 2) to reach a status level higher than Platinum; and 3) to inch you closer to Lifetime Platinum status.
Before we dive into each of these, it’s worth pointing out that you can automatically get 15 additional elite qualifying nights each year by holding a Bonvoy Business card. With both cards, you’ll start each year with 40 elite qualifying nights.
Choice Benefits
Every year in which Marriott Bonvoy members earn 50 elite qualifying nights and again at 75 elite qualifying nights, they are invited to select a Choice Benefit. Full details about Choice Benefits can be found here. For most people, I recommend the following options:
- 50 Night Choice Benefit: Select either 5 Suite Night Awards or 5 Elite Qualifying Nights (the latter can help get you closer to Titanium status)
- 75 Night Choice Benefit: Select either the 40K free night certificate or 5 Suite Night Awards.
Shortcut to Titanium Elite status
Titanium Elite status requires earning 75 elite qualifying nights each year. With 25 nights under your belt automatically, you’ll only need 50 more elite qualifying nights each year. Additionally, if you get a Bonvoy Business card, you’ll get 15 more qualifying elite nights each year and so you’ll only need 35 nights to reach Titanium. And if you pick 5 Elite Nights as your 50 Night Choice Benefit, you’re down to needing only 30 nights at Marriott hotels to earn Titanium Elite Status.
Titanium Elite status offers the following benefits (in addition to all of the benefits offered to Platinum Elites):
- 75% Point Bonus on paid stays
- United Airlines Silver Premier status
- Complementary suite upgrades (subject to availability) at Ritz-Carlton properties
Shortcut to Ambassador Elite status
The Bonvoy Brilliant’s 25 elite nights can also be a stepping stone towards top-tier Ambassador Elite status, but that requires both 100 elite qualifying nights and $23,000 spend per year at Marriott properties. The main advantages to this status are:
- Ambassador Service (a dedicated Marriott agent)
- Your24 (Choose the 24 hours of your stay. For example, choose to check in at 9am after an overnight flight).
Lifetime Elite Status
The Bonvoy Brilliant card can get you closer to Lifetime Elite status both with its automatic Platinum Elite status (which gives you additional years of status) and with its automatic 25 elite nights each year. Here are the requirements for Lifetime Status:
- Lifetime Silver Elite: Requires 250 lifetime nights + 5 years of elite status
- Lifetime Gold Elite: Requires 400 lifetime nights + 7 years of Gold elite status or higher
- Lifetime Platinum Elite: Requires 600 lifetime nights + 10 years of Platinum elite status or higher
Marriott does not offer Lifetime Titanium or Ambassador Elite status.
Earnings from Spend
The Bonvoy Brilliant card offers 6 points per dollar at Marriott properties, 3 points per dollar for airfare charged by the airline, 3 points per dollar for restaurants worldwide, and 2 points per dollar for all other eligible spend.
With Marriott Bonvoy points worth about 0.8 cents each at the time of writing, this card’s earning power is lackluster. For example, 3x for dining translates to a return of approximately 2.4% back. Considering that many cards offer an effective return on dining of 5% back or more (you’ll find a list here), 2.4% isn’t very good at all.
Overall, I think that the Brilliant card is a good choice for Marriott fans for its perks, but I don’t recommend using it for daily spend. One possible exception is if you know that you’ll get great value from the 85K cert that you can get with $60K spend. In that case, spending to exactly $60,000 each year may make sense.
Bonvoy Brilliant Compared to other Marriott Cards
Below are all of the Marriott cards available today. Click a card’s name for more details:
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
95K Points ⓘ Affiliate 95k points after $6K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$650 Annual Fee Recent better offer: (Expired 10/2/24) 185k points after $6K spend within the first 6 months. FM Mini Review: Decent ultra-premium option for Marriott fans, especially those aiming for lifetime status tiers Earning rate: 3X airfare -on flights booked directly with airlines; 3X restaurants worldwide, 6X Marriott; 2X on all other eligible purchases Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Annual Choice Award with $60K calendar year spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ 85K Free Night Award each year upon renewal ✦ $300 dining credit per membership year ($25/mo) ✦ Platinum Elite status ✦ 25 elite nights credit ✦ Priority Pass membership (Lounges only) with 2 guests ✦ Global Entry fee credit ✦ Free premium internet at Marriott properties Note: Enrollment required for some benefits. See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide |
85K Points ⓘ Affiliate 85K points after $5K spend in the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$250 Annual Fee Recent better offer: (Expired 10/2/24) 155K points after $5K spend in the first 6 months. Earning rate: 6X Marriott.✦ 4X restaurants & U.S. Supermarkets on up to $15K spend per year ✦ 2X on all other eligible purchases Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: One 50K Free Night Award after $15K calendar year spend on eligible purchases. Noteworthy perks: 15 night credit towards elite status every year upon account anniversary ✦ 1,000 bonus points with each qualifying stay ✦ Gold elite status See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide |
85K Points ⓘ Friend-Referral 85K points after $4K spend in 3 months$250 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Earning rate: 6X Marriott.✦ 4X restaurants & grocery on up to $15K spend per year ✦ 2X everywhere else Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: One 50K Free Night Award after $15K calendar year spend. Noteworthy perks: 15 night credit towards elite status every year upon account anniversary ✦ 1,000 bonus points with each qualifying stay ✦ Gold elite status See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide |
3 Free Night Awards, valued at up to 50K points each ⓘ Affiliate Three 50k free night certificates after $6K spend in the first 6 months. Redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy(R) points for each bonus Free Night Award, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy(R). Resort fees & terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$125 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 5x50K free night certificates after $8K in spend (expired 10/16/24) Earning rate: 6x at Marriott Bonvoy properties ✦ 4x at restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased from U.S. suppliers and on U.S. purchases for shipping ✦ 2x on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn an additional 35k free night certificate (can be topped-up with up to 15k additional points, subject to resort fees) after you spend $60K on purchases in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: Complimentary Marriott Gold elite status ✦ 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year ✦ 35k Free Night Award every year after card renewal (subject to resort fees) ✦ Complimentary premium Internet access at Marriott properties ✦ Terms Apply (Rates & Fees) See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide |
60K points + Free Night Certificate ⓘ Friend-Referral 60K points + 50K free night certificate after $2K in the first 3 months. Terms apply. No Annual Fee This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Recent better offer: 50K points after $1K in the first 3 months and 50K points after 6 eligible paid nights at Bonvoy hotels. (expired 8/9/23) FM Mini Review: The best use for this card is probably to downgrade from the Ritz or Boundless card to avoid the annual fee. That way, you can always upgrade again when you need the annual free night or other perks Earning rate: ✦ 3X Marriott Bonvoy ✦ 2X grocery stores, rideshare, select food delivery, select streaming, and internet, cable and phone services ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Automatic Silver status ✦ 5 nights of elite credit each year See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide |
125K points ⓘ Non-Affiliate Limited Time Offer: Earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months.$95 Annual Fee This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Recent better offer: 5 x 50K free night certificates after $5K in spend (expired 1/9/24) Earning rate: ✦ 6X Marriott Bonvoy ✦ 3X gas stations, grocery stores, and dining on up to $6K in combined purchases each year ✦ 2X everywhere else Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn Gold status when you spend $35K each year ✦ 1 Elite Night Credit towards elite status for every $5K spent Noteworthy perks: ✦ Annual free night certificate for 1 night at a hotel redemption level up to 35K ✦ Automatic Silver status ✦ 15 nights of elite credit each year ✦ 1 Elite Night Credit for every $5K spent See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide |
Are you eligible for this card?
If you already have any Marriott cards, you might not be eligible for a welcome bonus with the Brilliant card. That is, you can still get the card, but you might not earn a welcome bonus.
The following table shows the crazy rules in place for those seeking a second or third (or fourth, or fifth…) Marriott card:
| Card You Want | |||||||
| Cards You've Had (Or Recently Applied For) | Chase Bonvoy Bold | Chase Bonvoy Boundless | Chase Bonvoy Bountiful | Amex Bonvoy Business | Amex Bonvoy Brilliant | Amex Bonvoy Bevy | |
| Chase | Ritz Carlton | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠30 | |
| Bonvoy ($45 card) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Bonvoy Premier | ⚠24 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Bonvoy Bold | ✅ | ⚠90 ⚠24 | ⚠30 ⚠90 ⚠24 | ||||
| Bonvoy Boundless | ✅ | ||||||
| Bonvoy Bountiful | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠24 | ||||
| Bonvoy Business ($45 card) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠30 | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Bonvoy Premier Plus Business | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠90 ⚠24 | ⚠30 | ||
| Amex | Bonvoy | ⚠30 | ⚠30 ⚠90 ⚠24 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Bonvoy Business | ⚠90 ⚠24 | ⛔ | ✅ | ✅ | |||
| Bonvoy Bevy | ✅ | ✅ | ⛔ | ||||
| Bonvoy Brilliant | ✅ | ⛔ | ⛔ | ||||
| Eligibility Key | |
| ✅ | You are eligible for this card and welcome bonus |
| ⚠30 | Your are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you have had the card on the left within the past 30 days |
| ⚠24 | You will not be approved if you currently have or if you've received a welcome bonus in the past 24 months for the card on the left |
| ⚠90 ⚠24 | You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you were approved for the card on the left within the past 90 days; or if you've received a welcome or upgrade bonus in the past 24 months. |
| ⚠30 ⚠90 ⚠24 | You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you've had the card on the left within the past 30 days; or if you were approved for it within the past 90 days; or if you've received a welcome bonus or upgrade bonus for it in the past 24 months. |
| ⛔ | You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you've ever had this card before (but the system seems to "forget" that you've had the card about 5 to 7 years after you cancel) |
Bottom Line
The Bonvoy Brilliant card is super expensive and it’s not very rewarding to use for spend. So why consider it at all? The reason to consider the Brilliant card is for its perks. The card’s $25 per month dining credits help reduce the card’s overall cost, and the card’s free night certificate and elite benefits offer significant value. Under the right circumstances, the free night certificate (which you get each year after renewal) alone can be used to book a hotel night that costs as much as the card’s annual fee. And for those who stay in Marriott hotels often, Platinum Elite status can be extremely valuable (but keep in mind that at some properties Platinum status can be nearly worthless).
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Has someone confirmed that an in-app Panera gift card works? It posted with the category, restaurant bar & cafe, and PANERA BREAD ONLINE. However it says it will appear “On your statement as PANERA EGIFT CARD ST. LOUIS MO.”
Panera e-gift card worked, no problem.
Annual fee just hit. No retention offer. Wanted to downgrade but decided to cancel.
Hi Greg, I have the Bold card for many years, which has been great for keeping points alive and getting 15 Elite nights each year. I would like to get the Brilliant, but would I need to close the Bold first to get the bonus? Thanks.
No I don’t think you have to close it. As long as you havent’ received a welcome bonus on the Bold card in the past 24 months, you should be OK to apply for the Brilliant
Hi Greg:
Do you think a better offer such as the 150K that expired will come?
Thanks
Yes I think it’s likely to return eventually
If I have the Ritz card, but would love to be able to keep the ritz, is there an easy path to trade out of the ritz, apply for the Bonvoy Brilliant after 30 or more days, and then get back into the Ritz card? I like the Ritz for the travel protections, free night award, lounge access and I easily use the $300 credit. Better protections than my CSP, and better deal than just becoming an Auth User in P2’s CSR (given the fee for that).
Seems like you should be able to downgrade to the Bold, Boundless, or Bountiful, apply for the Brilliant, and then re-upgrade to the Ritz after earning the welcome bonus. There might be risks in that process that I’m not aware of though.
Thanks Greg! That was my fear, about unknown risks. I know at the time I got the Ritz card, you had to have had whichever Marriott card I had at the time for at least a year, and the rep had to confirm my eligibility. Just don’t want to go down a hole I can’t climb out of.
Greg, I don’t mean to sound sacrilegious here but if you’re not concerned about a sign up bonus, will AmEX approve you for the Brilliant if you have the Ritz? I didn’t pay close enough attention to the ramifications of your Bonvoy chart and screwed up. I’m ok with having to wait a year for the 85K ngt on the Brilliant cc but I just want to be able to get it once I have the Ritz.
Yes, with the Amex Marriott cards, the rules simply say that the welcome offer isn’t available under various circumstances. With Chase there are some situations where you’re not allowed to get the card at all.
Hi Greg. Nice post on Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card. I currently have Bonvoy Bold card and my anniversary is coming up in July. Thinking about upgrading to Ritz Carlton Card and getting the 85K points cert without spend. Should I pull the trigger?
To be clear, you’re thinking of upgrading a Chase Bonvoy card to the Ritz, right? You can’t upgrade the Amex Brilliant card to the Chase Ritz card. If the former is right, yes I think that’s a great way to go as long as you’re confident that you can get good use from the annual cert.
Hi Greg. Appreciate the quick response. Correct. Upgrading from current Chase Bonvoy Bold to Ritz card. I think I can take advantage of annual cert as I have several Ritz properties as options here in Florida
Considering that the hotel benefits are iffy, the Brilliant needs to throw in some more bennies before I’m going to shell out $650 a year. IF you don’t need Plat status, you are essentially buying an 85,000 pt room night for $350.00. I need more incentive…
Forget about the elite benefits. Forget about the FNC. Just look at just the points-earning.
If the card’s ENCs push you from Gold to Platinum or from Platinum to Titanium, then what is the dollar value of your Marriott spend * 2.5 extra points per dollar at your redemption rate?
$10,000 * 2.5 = 25,000 points * 0.8 cpp = $200
$20,000 * 2.5 = 50,000 points * 1.2 cpp = $600
Now imagine someone who is sitting at 45 ENCs. Add the 25 ENCs from the card. the person is now at 70 ENCs. But, then, add 5 ENCs from the 50-night choice award. Now, the person is at 75 ENCs (plus another 5 ENCs from the 75-night choice award for 80). This person has gone from Gold to Titantium. Do the math.
When you hit Lifetime Platinum, drop the cards.
Hope this helps.
Lee, unless I’m missing something, since there is no benefit to going beyond 75ngts (since Ambassador level is unrealistic for most of us), why would you take the 5 ENCs instead of the 40,000 FN or other options? Secondly, I believe the points earning rate you’re talking about applies to charges staying at Marriott properties, not all outside charges, right? …so unless, you spend a lot at Marriott properties, what is the significance?
I’ve thought about this card but I’ve just hit the 10 years for lifetime platinum but I’ll be about 200 nights short after hitting platinum in 2023. I’ve got the biz and the old Bonvoy (SPG) card. Having access to Interval International along with my Vistana account allows me to accumulate nights via timeshare stays. I don’t have to worry about upgrades because I’m in a suite every time!
Makes sense!
Just curious, if you had to hit at least 50 nights/yr for Platinum for 10 yrs how are you short 200?
I think there are quite a few of us like that. I believe some of my Platinum years were carried over from having the former SPG AMEX.
Excellent post. Question: For someone close to Lifetime Plat status. If they got this card right now, would the “year” of Plat status that counts toward Lifetime status hit their account fairly quickly? Or at the end of the calendar year? Or after a full 12 months with the card? Thanks to Greg or anyone who knows.
Hmmm, I don’t know. Hopefully someone else will chime in with the answer?
A year at Platinum or above will add to the year-count by the end of February in the following year . . . not during the year in which it was received. So, one must wait.
Thanks
Stupid question: Is there anything that would prohibit a person from concurrently holding multiple Brilliant cards?
I think it’s possible:
1) Get the Brilliant card first
2) Get the Bonvoy Bevy card second (you probably won’t get a welcome bonus though)
3) After a year, upgrade the Bevy to the Brilliant.
That said, if the goal is to get a second 85K cert each year, I think the better play is to get the $450 Ritz card. To do that you need to first sign up for another Chase Marriott consumer card and after a year call to upgrade it to the Ritz.
That’s the idea. My only concern is that, with dynamic pricing, the 85k FNC (plus 15k max) might not be usable given the properties we typically target.