In a move that I can’t quite figure out, the luxury version of the Marriott Bonvoy family of credit cards. the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card is getting rid of it’s annual (cardmember year) benefit of up to $300 in credit when staying at Marriott Bonvoy properties.
There is now a note on application pages that states:
- Each Card renewal year, get up to $300 in statement credits for purchases on the Card at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy(TM). Effective 9/22/22, the $300 Marriott Bonvoy statement credit benefit will no longer be available. It will be replaced with a NEW benefit of up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide.
Like I said, I’m a bit confused by this. The card is the highest level Bonvoy card you can get, with a $450 annual fee. The main benefits of the Brilliant over the lower level cards are the $300 statement credit and the free annual Award Night that is valued at up to 50,000 Bonvoy points (as opposed to 35,000 with the other cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card or the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card.
The replacement benefit is of equivalent value. For someone that, for example, exclusively uses points for stays at Bonvoy properties because work pays for their business stays, perhaps this is an improvement? Though even then, they would have incidental charges.
Instead, Cardmembers will need to remember to use $25 worth of dining credits each month which, while super easy to do, is yet another thing to remember when it comes to monthly or bi-annual statement credits across numerous American Express cards, most notably the The Platinum Card® from American Express.
Meanwhile, current cardmembers should get the best of both worlds as even if you’ve already used your $300 hotel credit, you’ll begin receiving these credits in September. New Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card holders would presumably be able to double dip for this one year only.
Tell me what you think about this change…
Thoughts?
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