Update 9/21/22: Today is the last day to use the $300 credit.
American Express has made a major change to the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant $300 annual credit. Currently it can be used for purchases made at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. As of 9/22/22 cardholders will instead receive a $25 monthly credit for restaurants worldwide.
At first I thought this was a major negative change as I read it was only being valid on Marriott dining, but that isn’t the case and it’s valid on restaurants worldwide. It’s annoying dealing with another monthly credit but I didn’t really find this card worth keeping long term anyway. I think for people that did find this card worth keeping this will be a net negative as they were likely spending $300 at Marriott properties anyway.
There is a play where you could sign up for the card now (or just before 9/22/22), use the $300 credit and then get almost a year of $25 dining credits but the bonus on the card is only 75,000 points at the moment so that isn’t exactly exciting.
Has anyone received the promised credit for any Marriott credit that wasn’t done by Sep 22 ?
Was able to get both the $300 Marriott and dining credits on my card (the year that the changes overlap). Renewal in early September, bought GC, received 300 credit, and also just received the $25 dining credit from dining charges posted after 09/22.
when/how did Marriott notify us about this change? i’ve looked through past emails and don’t see anything about this.
I received an email with subject “We’ve updated your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card” this evening.
Anyone get the $25 dining credit for September yet?
I was able to use it.
My $300 GC purchase credit still hasn’t posted. Original charge posted to my account on Sept 19th.
I received a Free Night certificate (50K point value) in June. Is the FNC now worth 85K points?
Same question here!
I wouldn’t think so, but you can just log into your account and look.
I downgraded a couple weeks ago. Any sense how fast I would get platinum status if I upgraded back? I would really just want to upgrade for a stay I have upcoming to enjoy free breakfast, then downgrade after lol. Is that a bad idea?
I wonder if the $95 af Amex isn’t available anymore?
Not sure Amex would even let you upgrade so shortly after downgrading.
Not to mention a hard hit and waste of a 5/24 slot for a free breakfast? That’s almost as bad as wasting a hard hit for a Wawa credit card to save .50 cents a gallon for 30 days…
There’s a hard hit for upgrading? I always thought product changes didn’t take up any new 5/24 spots nor reported to credit bureaus
Now that we get platinum status, are there status match opportunities anyone can think of?
My 1 year anniversary is in 30 days or so. My Bonvoy account today is showing platinum status(I was previously lifetime gold). I wonder how long I have it until, if I chose not to renew? I only have 35 nights this year though, so it won’t let me choose the choice benefit simply by being platinum. Will that bump be back down to lifetime gold come January since I won’t get 50 nights in 2022? Or since I’m already platinum I’ll have it for the year after I got it?
Not sure the extra $200/year is worth it… at least they did significantly bump up the perks for the $200 AF jump. The dining credit is easy to use and track for me, but as others have pointed out, a bit confusing considering this is a Marriott/hotel/travel card, not dining. Why wouldn’t they keep the most value to those who stay at Marriott properties with the $300 credit?
Basically you have to spend $350 in your 85k free night to come out even. Previously it was $150, but you only got 50k for your “free” anniversary night.
If I decide not to renew, I also wonder if I’ll get a retention bonus when I call to cancel…
According to onemileatatime:
For those who opened their account prior to September 22, 2022, the new annual fee will take effect on renewal dates on or after January 1, 2023. So for a brief period, existing cardmembers will be able to enjoy the new benefits without paying a higher annual fee.
Trying to find confirmation of this somewhere else. But if that’s true, that’s huge! Same old AF for all these new benefits, and if that’s true, I’ll definitely renew one more time.
Confirmed via Marriott press release:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marriott-bonvoy-introduces-new-cobrand-credit-cards-from-american-express-and-chase-designed-for-people-who-live-to-travel-and-want-to-earn-points-faster-301630743.html
I can confirm.. My renewal date was in June. Today I have the dining credits and my marriott profile is already platinum elite
My renewal was this month and the fee was posted a few days ago. I was able to utilize the 300$ Marriott credit last week for a stay. This morning I saw bonus nights increase by 10 on my bonvoy account and restaurant monthly spend tracker on my amex account. looks like It’s the last year I am going to keep this card. Too good of a deal to pass on 450 renewal fee = 300 marriott credit + 300 dining credit + hoping for a 85K night certificate which should post in a few days after paying the fee.
I forget, will Uber Eats qualify as a restaurant? So can you stack this with the Platinum/Gold Uber Eats credits and get $50/month? Amex cards are like a college meal plan now.