Positive AMEX Marriott Changes Already Showing Up

AMEX Marriott Credit Card Changes

The Amex Marriott Credit Card changes went into effect this morning and the loyalty benefits are already showing up in our Marriott Bonvoy accounts. I was Gold yesterday and I’m Platinum this morning. I’m also 10 elite night credits richer than I was yesterday since the Bonvoy Brilliant increased the number of nights you get each year from 15-25.  One interesting thing I noticed is that in order to use the Platinum Annual Choice Benefit you must have 50 elite nights towards status. Traditionally, you were entitled to select the benefit as soon as you hit Platinum Elite status regardless of whether you had achieved 50 elite nights. This probably won’t be a major deal to most of us but it feels just a teeny bit cheap. Unlike Hyatt Milestone Rewards which are earned through elite nights achieved, this Bonvoy benefit has been a product of status. If you have two Marriott branded cards including this one, you start each year off with 40 elite nights so it really won’t be very difficult to get to 50 nights.

The new names of the revamped credit cards are Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express^® Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card and the new designs are adorable. The Brilliant’s fee is now $650 (up from $450) but there are some awesome new offers on the card that could justify the fee in year one at least. I checked my referral link in a private window this morning for the Amex cards and there are some awesome welcome offers available for both personal cards and the existing Marriott Bonvoy Business Card. (If you do use my referral link I’ll get 20,000 Marriott points 🙂