Great video about the Brilliant Matt, and I’m glad you’re starting to look at Marriotts more! The Brilliant is a great card, but I wish that there wasn’t a monthly dining credit. With the Gold, it’s super annoying to have two monthly credits! Just renewed the AF on my Brilliant so I’m waiting for that first 85k FNA!
Thank you Stan! And yeah the awesome global footprint with Marriott has especially really opened my eyes to that ecosystem. The Dining Credit is definitely super annoying and it seems like most people preferred the Marriott Credit previously that you could use whenever you wanted (not monthly). Yeah I can see how there could be some exhaustion with the Credits. That 85k FNA I bet could come in super clutch especially for potentially redeeming during your honeymoon!
The credits are annoying but manageable to a degree. E.g. on the Gold I order from some places that are on both Grub Hub and Uber eats so I’ll place separate orders on each app for pick up at the same time and that’s a once a month treat!😂
I'm one that likes the monthly dining credit. We eat out weekly so 1st week each month will be for this card. I finally applied and got approved.. couldn't pass up the 2x 85k bonus for spending $6k in the 1st 6 months.
I am a Marriott loyalist and I have the beautiful Amex Marriott Brilliant,.. however, during the last few months I noticed a huge jump on points redemption for the premium and luxury brands. I am guessing is because of all those Marriott cards high bonus offers. 😢
Aw dang yeah that makes sense as more and more people are able to rack up Marriott Points or high certificates, points systems can become saturated. Honestly, I could really see myself becoming a Marriott loyalist in the future as well. Thanks for watching Leo!
The Marriott ecosystem has much more properties than Hilton. I'm looking into getting my first hotel card since I have status with both Marriott and Hilton through my Amex Platinum. I have travel coming up in Europe and Asia for 24' and there seems to be a lot more options with properties with Marriott. Great vid Matt 💥
Nice Mike! That's awesome you have that travel coming up! Yeah Marriott by far has the best global footprint in my experience, and it's a huge reason I'm shifting into their ecosystem for International travel. Thanks so much for watching Mike!
I can usually get around $1,000 value from the 85k cert but we spend a lot of time in RC and St Regis properties. Usually on cash but it’s super nice to redeem the certs when we have them 😊
That is amazing!! Yeah those 85k certificates can be super valuable so it’s awesome that you’ve been able to receive so much value from them. Thanks so much for the support!
I am a diehard Bonvoy Brilliant member and am very happy. Understand though that i ONLY stay at Marriott for all travel, no exceptions. Overall, i find Marriott hotels suitable for all my travel destinations and needs. I use the card for dining and maximize the $300 dining credit. I do at least two staycations af a Ritz each year and get the $100 credit for thise. I love the perks that come with the Marriott Platinum.
ill eventually get the Bonvoy Business. The Brilliant is definitely a good card but I don't need another high annual fee. Im already well over $3k in annual fees. But your boy does need some more Marriot points hahaha
Haha the Bonvoy Business is a great option as well! Able to get long term value out of it as well with the free night award! Thanks so much for watching Sledge!
For whatever reason, I favor Marriott. I have the Ritz AND a Boundless. Strange to me, is that the Ritz is only Fold status. So, I will downgrade to get the Brilliant. To me, the status and FREE BREAKFAST make it a no brainer. I will also do Seay with my Amex Plat, but I will keep the 2 Boundless to have 3 certificates 50k+/year.
Im a hilton loyalist with 2 aspires but i also have the bonvoy brilliant and WOH card. Hilton seems to have the better and more fun properties. Marriotts only good chain to me is CHIC which isnt at many places
Hilton does definitely have some fun & awesome properties! I still lean most toward Hilton as well and think the Aspire is the best hotel card. Thank you so much for your support!
The $25 a month dining credit; do I just go to a restaurant and simply pay the tab with the card and they will automatically take $25 and credit it back to me if the place has a merchant code of a restaurant?
I dont have specific personal experience traveling in Japan, but in general Marriott does by far have the best global footprint and so I would guess would have better exposure than Hilton in Japan. Thanks so much for watching!
Gotcha- yeah still always good to rack up Marriott Points- did you get the 125K Point Offer? Good opportunity for long-term value as well via the Free Night Award you get each year. Thanks so much for watching!
It's not worth it for me. I have ihg and choice privilege credit cards which are very useful for me. However, I enjoy watching you on RUclips. You do a great job ❤
I’ll be honest at first glance the FNC looked like trash, after a few minutes of research it is really good 85k+15 top off and even the 35k+15k top off are still good.
@@Abdullahi_World Absolutely! Especially when you consider the top-off ability with Marriott FNC's, really a ton of potential value there. Thank you so much for your support!
Yes definitely still worth it if you fall into specific groups like being a Marriott loyalist or traveling to luxury hotels frequently for sure. Thank you for watching!
Got the same offer with the Marriott Business! I prefer Hilton but Marriott is a great 2nd option in case Hilton ever fails to meet my expectations. Hotel cards provide great value! For now Hilton Aspire covers my premium hotel card needs. Great overview and information Matt! Keep up the great work! 🫵
Absolutely! Always good to a have a little bit of points diversity in terms of ecosystems with hotels. The Hilton Aspire is still the best, and is definitely the high-tier Hotel Card I'm targeting the most. Thanks so much for your support Cesar!
Is the $650 Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant worth it?
🎥Check out my Entire 10 Credit Card Journey At Age 23: ruclips.net/video/mTHG1eZVMKg/видео.html
Great video about the Brilliant Matt, and I’m glad you’re starting to look at Marriotts more! The Brilliant is a great card, but I wish that there wasn’t a monthly dining credit. With the Gold, it’s super annoying to have two monthly credits! Just renewed the AF on my Brilliant so I’m waiting for that first 85k FNA!
Thank you Stan! And yeah the awesome global footprint with Marriott has especially really opened my eyes to that ecosystem. The Dining Credit is definitely super annoying and it seems like most people preferred the Marriott Credit previously that you could use whenever you wanted (not monthly). Yeah I can see how there could be some exhaustion with the Credits. That 85k FNA I bet could come in super clutch especially for potentially redeeming during your honeymoon!
The credits are annoying but manageable to a degree. E.g. on the Gold I order from some places that are on both Grub Hub and Uber eats so I’ll place separate orders on each app for pick up at the same time and that’s a once a month treat!😂
I'm one that likes the monthly dining credit. We eat out weekly so 1st week each month will be for this card. I finally applied and got approved.. couldn't pass up the 2x 85k bonus for spending $6k in the 1st 6 months.
Looking forward to seeing your thoughts on the card after a year. Thanks for the info + video!
Thanks so much for watching Jimmy!
I am a Marriott loyalist and I have the beautiful Amex Marriott Brilliant,.. however, during the last few months I noticed a huge jump on points redemption for the premium and luxury brands. I am guessing is because of all those Marriott cards high bonus offers. 😢
Aw dang yeah that makes sense as more and more people are able to rack up Marriott Points or high certificates, points systems can become saturated. Honestly, I could really see myself becoming a Marriott loyalist in the future as well. Thanks for watching Leo!
The Marriott ecosystem has much more properties than Hilton. I'm looking into getting my first hotel card since I have status with both Marriott and Hilton through my Amex Platinum. I have travel coming up in Europe and Asia for 24' and there seems to be a lot more options with properties with Marriott. Great vid Matt 💥
Nice Mike! That's awesome you have that travel coming up! Yeah Marriott by far has the best global footprint in my experience, and it's a huge reason I'm shifting into their ecosystem for International travel. Thanks so much for watching Mike!
Great analysis Matt!
Thanks Buck!
I can usually get around $1,000 value from the 85k cert but we spend a lot of time in RC and St Regis properties. Usually on cash but it’s super nice to redeem the certs when we have them 😊
That is amazing!! Yeah those 85k certificates can be super valuable so it’s awesome that you’ve been able to receive so much value from them. Thanks so much for the support!
I am a diehard Bonvoy Brilliant member and am very happy. Understand though that i ONLY stay at Marriott for all travel, no exceptions. Overall, i find Marriott hotels suitable for all my travel destinations and needs. I use the card for dining and maximize the $300 dining credit. I do at least two staycations af a Ritz each year and get the $100 credit for thise. I love the perks that come with the Marriott Platinum.
Love that!! The Bonvoy Brilliant definitely makes a ton of sense for you in that case. Thanks so much for watching!
ill eventually get the Bonvoy Business. The Brilliant is definitely a good card but I don't need another high annual fee. Im already well over $3k in annual fees. But your boy does need some more Marriot points hahaha
Haha the Bonvoy Business is a great option as well! Able to get long term value out of it as well with the free night award! Thanks so much for watching Sledge!
Haha 🫡
In my opinion, Marriott has the best top tier hotels for a loyalty program. I hope to see a video of you at a Ritz-Carlton in the future 😎
Love the loyalty program with Marriott! Haha i hope to be making that video sometime soon😎thanks for watching JP!
For whatever reason, I favor Marriott. I have the Ritz AND a Boundless. Strange to me, is that the Ritz is only Fold status.
So, I will downgrade to get the Brilliant. To me, the status and FREE BREAKFAST make it a no brainer.
I will also do Seay with my Amex Plat, but I will keep the 2 Boundless to have 3 certificates 50k+/year.
Im a hilton loyalist with 2 aspires but i also have the bonvoy brilliant and WOH card.
Hilton seems to have the better and more fun properties. Marriotts only good chain to me is CHIC which isnt at many places
Hilton does definitely have some fun & awesome properties! I still lean most toward Hilton as well and think the Aspire is the best hotel card. Thank you so much for your support!
The $25 a month dining credit; do I just go to a restaurant and simply pay the tab with the card and they will automatically take $25 and credit it back to me if the place has a merchant code of a restaurant?
Yes exactly! It’ll be automatically applied as a statement Credit when you pay with the Card. Thanks so much for watching!
I am trying to find targets offers better than 2x 85k carts so far I haven’t seen it , but gotta do it by 11/1 , have you found a better sub ?
I haven’t seen any sort of other targeted offers, but those 2 85k certificates could get you a ton of value! Thanks for watching Jason!
I wonder marriott have better exposure in Japan than hilton, especially in Okinawa Islands, do you know?
I dont have specific personal experience traveling in Japan, but in general Marriott does by far have the best global footprint and so I would guess would have better exposure than Hilton in Japan. Thanks so much for watching!
Dang I just applied for the business marriot and dang wish I had applied when u did. 5he welcome bonus is better than the one I got
Gotcha- yeah still always good to rack up Marriott Points- did you get the 125K Point Offer? Good opportunity for long-term value as well via the Free Night Award you get each year. Thanks so much for watching!
Do the automatic 25 nights per year count towards the 600 nights required to earn lifetime platinum status?
Hey Danny great question! Yes they do count toward lifetime plat status!
It's not worth it for me. I have ihg and choice privilege credit cards which are very useful for me. However, I enjoy watching you on RUclips. You do a great job ❤
Gotcha, yeah totally fair that people have different preferences when it comes to Hotel Cards & Loyalty Status. Thanks for watching Vicki!
Yum cantaritos 🙌
Absolutely loved it!! Thank you for watching Claudia :)
First b4 CJ
Haha Let’s go! 🥇
Second b4 CJ
Haha appreciate you!! 🥈
I’ll be honest at first glance the FNC looked like trash, after a few minutes of research it is really good 85k+15 top off and even the 35k+15k top off are still good.
@@Abdullahi_World Absolutely! Especially when you consider the top-off ability with Marriott FNC's, really a ton of potential value there. Thank you so much for your support!
In short, YES, IT IS.
Yes definitely still worth it if you fall into specific groups like being a Marriott loyalist or traveling to luxury hotels frequently for sure. Thank you for watching!
Got the same offer with the Marriott Business! I prefer Hilton but Marriott is a great 2nd option in case Hilton ever fails to meet my expectations. Hotel cards provide great value! For now Hilton Aspire covers my premium hotel card needs. Great overview and information Matt! Keep up the great work! 🫵
Absolutely! Always good to a have a little bit of points diversity in terms of ecosystems with hotels. The Hilton Aspire is still the best, and is definitely the high-tier Hotel Card I'm targeting the most. Thanks so much for your support Cesar!