Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card Platinum Elite Status: How It Works

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card Platinum Elite Status: How It Works

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Link: Apply now for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review) is Marriott’s most premium co-branded credit card, and there are all kinds of reasons to consider picking it up, including a great welcome offer.

While the card has a steep $650 annual fee (Rates & Fees), I find that to be easy to justify, thanks to benefits like an anniversary free night award, a $300 annual restaurant credit, and more.

Arguably the biggest selling point of this card is how it can help you earn elite status. Not only does the card offer Platinum Elite status, but it also offers 25 elite nights toward status annually. People sometimes get confused about the details and logistics of the card’s elite perks, so I wanted to talk about that a bit more in this post.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card Platinum Elite status basics

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status for as long as you have the card:

  • This is only available to the basic cardmember, and not to any authorized users
  • There’s nothing you need to do to register, but rather the status automatically posts to the Marriott Bonvoy account provided at the time of application
  • Officially, it can take 8-12 weeks for Platinum Elite status to post to an eligible account, though in reality, most people report the status posting within a few days of account approval, around the same time the card arrives in the mail
  • The status is valid year-after-year, for as long as you maintain the card, and there’s nothing you need to do to re-register
  • Officially, the Platinum Elite status is cancelled immediately if you cancel the card, though anecdotally many report the status staying active through the end of the status year (which is typically the end of February of a particular year)
  • Platinum Elite status ordinarily requires 50 elite nights per year, but if you get it through this card, then you don’t get those 50 elite nights; however, you do earn 25 elite nights per year with the card (which I’ll talk more about below)

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite is where status really starts to get valuable with Marriott. It offers a variety of perks, including room upgrades subject to availability (including to standard suites), complimentary breakfast at select brands, 4PM late check-out at non-resorts, bonus points, and more.

Receive a room upgrade as a Platinum Elite member

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card 25 elite night benefit basics

Separate from the Platinum Elite status, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card also offers 25 elite nights toward status annually, for as long as you have the card:

  • This is only available to the basic cardmember, and not to any authorized users
  • There’s nothing you need to do to register, but rather the elite nights automatically post to the Marriott Bonvoy account provided at the time of application
  • Officially, it can take up to 60 days for the 25 elite nights to post to an eligible account, though in reality, most people report the elite nights posting within a few days of account approval, around the same time the card arrives in the mail
  • In subsequent years, the 25 elite nights post before March 1, though in reality, typically post within a few days of the beginning of the year
  • If you cancel your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card and the elite nights have already been deposited for that year, they won’t be removed from your account
  • You can only earn elite nights via one Marriott Bonvoy personal card and one Marriott Bonvoy business card

The 25 elite night benefit on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card tends to cause some confusion, given that Platinum Elite status requires 50 elite nights per year. When you’re given the Platinum Elite status for having the card, you don’t get any of the corresponding elite nights.

However, you do get 25 elite nights thanks to this separate perk. What’s the value in getting 25 elite nights posted to your account?

For what it’s worth, in addition to the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card, I also have the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review). Between those two cards, I start every year with 40 elite nights in the Marriott Bonvoy program, as the former offers 25 elite nights, while the latter offers 15 elite nights.

Get 25 elite nights toward status annually

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card lifetime elite status basics

There’s a Marriott Bonvoy lifetime elite status program, and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card can help you toward earning that status. Specifically:

  • Lifetime Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status requires earning 250 elite nights and having five years of Silver Elite status or higher
  • Lifetime Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status requires earning 400 elite nights and having seven years of Gold Elite status or higher
  • Lifetime Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status requires earning 600 elite nights and having at least 10 years of Platinum Elite status or higher

The Platinum Elite status and the 25 elite nights toward status annually offered by the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card count toward both of those metrics. So holding onto this card can help you eventually earn lifetime elite status.

Of course let me emphasize that the lifetime elite status program could change at some point, and card perks could also change at some point. So I’d think twice before making too many decisions based on the ability to earn lifetime elite status.

Earn lifetime Marriott Bonvoy elite status

My take on Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card elite perks

I think getting elite perks with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card represents a phenomenal value, but I also want to make sure people manage expectations appropriately, so let me share how I approach the value of this card.

To me, the card’s $650 annual fee is more or less justified by the $300 restaurant credit and anniversary free night award, so I view the elite perks as costing very little.

Earning Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status just for having a credit card is an awesome opportunity. Now, do keep in mind that Marriott’s elite ranks are pretty swelled, so don’t expect that you’re going to roll into a Marriott in New York or Hawaii, and be treated like the world’s biggest VIP.

However, the status does offer concrete value. In particular, it’s great to get guaranteed 4PM check-out at non-resorts, and also to receive complimentary breakfast at most brands, and/or club lounge access.

Generally speaking, the further away from the United States you get, the better elite treatment will be. In many places with a lower concentration of elite members, you may pretty consistently see suite upgrades.

Even as someone who already has lifetime Platinum Elite status, I still find it worthwhile to hold onto the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card and Marriott Bonvoy Business Card, in order to earn 40 elite nights per year.

At 50 and 75 elite nights, I can select five nightly upgrade awards at each threshold, and each can be used to score a great room upgrade, subject to availability. I know some people don’t have much luck using these, but that doesn’t reflect my experience.

For example, I recently stayed at Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian, a Luxury Collection property. I applied my nightly upgrade awards, and was confirmed into an incredible terrace suite, which would have cost thousands of dollars per night. You just need to be strategic about using them.

Terrace suite at Hotel Maria Cristina

Bottom line

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is a lucrative credit card. The card offers a variety of perks, from an anniversary free night award, to a $300 annual restaurant credit, to Platinum Elite status, to 25 elite nights toward status annually. If you stay at Marriotts with any frequency, then I think this is a card that’s worth having.

What’s your take on the elite status perks offered by the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees).

Conversations (12)
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  1. Audrey Chan Guest

    How do I apply for one in Malaysia as I'm a Malaysian but have bank accounts in Spore too? Thank You Very Much in Advance ❤️

  2. TJ Guest

    It would be nice to have more descriptive captions for many of the pictures on this site. For example, the breakfast layout in this article just says "Earn lifetime Marriott Bonvoy elite status" as the caption rather than saying at which hotel the picture was taken, whether that's in the lounge, or is even part of the platinum elite breakfast benefit (highly unlikely!). Similarly, in another article (the Woodward Geneva hotel review), a whole series...

    It would be nice to have more descriptive captions for many of the pictures on this site. For example, the breakfast layout in this article just says "Earn lifetime Marriott Bonvoy elite status" as the caption rather than saying at which hotel the picture was taken, whether that's in the lounge, or is even part of the platinum elite breakfast benefit (highly unlikely!). Similarly, in another article (the Woodward Geneva hotel review), a whole series of dinner pictures had the same caption of something like "Dinner at..." rather than describing the entree, so I had to try to match up each plate with the menu pictured earlier in the article.

  3. fcsuper Guest

    From my conversations with both Marriott Bonvoy support and AMEX, the platinum status given by the Brilliant card does not count towards lifetime platinum status. You still need to earn platinum with 50 nights per year for that year to count towards lifetime status.

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ fcsuper -- I can't speak to what you're being told, but anecdotally all reports I've seen suggest that the card does count toward it.

    2. Stanley C Diamond

      Logging into my Marriott account, I do see those nights provided by CC counted towards lifetime status. Not every customer service representative knows what is the correct answer. I had an AMEX representative that told me the airline credit for the then newly revamped Aspire CC can only be used for U.S. airlines while it can actually be used for any airline.

  4. Dim Tunn Guest

    @Ben – when do we get the Maria Cristina review?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Dim Tunn -- Very, very soon! :-)

  5. Kyle Guest

    If I have the Bonvoy Boundless already and sign up for this card, will I still get the 25 elite nights since I already got 15 from the other card or how does that work? Will I get the 10 additional?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Kyle -- You would get 10 additional nights, since you can't get more than a total of 25 elite nights across personal cards.

    2. PST_flyer Guest

      @ben, do w platinum via the card, do you get the choice of getting 5 suite night upgrade awards?

    3. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ PST_flyer -- You get the Choice Benefits when passing 50 elite nights per year. The 25 elite nights the card offers annually count toward that, while the Platinum status as such wouldn't get you any Choice Benefits.

    4. PST_flyer Guest

      Thanks @ben - secretly I was hoping for the $1,000 off a Marriott bed jk,jk.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Ben Schlappig OMAAT

@ fcsuper -- I can't speak to what you're being told, but anecdotally all reports I've seen suggest that the card does count toward it.

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Ben Schlappig OMAAT

@ Kyle -- You would get 10 additional nights, since you can't get more than a total of 25 elite nights across personal cards.

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Audrey Chan Guest

How do I apply for one in Malaysia as I'm a Malaysian but have bank accounts in Spore too? Thank You Very Much in Advance ❤️

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