As a pretty reliable reader of FT even before I joined, I truly believe that no one has ever had elite nights taken away from them once rewarded.

Moreover, it has been over 1 month and my spouse definitely has not had the elite nights previously accorded to her earlier in the year removed from her account.

Those who are LT Platinum and above do not see the value in holding the card given the increased expense since they automatically have Platinum or better status.

Those near the goal of LT Platinum status can probably accelerate that status by holding onto the card.

Those farther away from that goal must evaluate how frequently they stay at Marriotts for the increased annual fee.

Finally, I am going to say something objectionable to many on this board -- I don't see the "tremendous" value in an 85K points award, thank you very much.

First, I am frugal with my points and look to get the best bang out of them, so I don't often book at premier properties or resorts such as the Maldives -- have no interest in ever going there given the amount of time and expense just to get there -- so huge point certificates for these type of marquee properties leave me sorta laughing -- if there is a perfectly acceptable Marriott or other points property nearby, I likely will avoid those hotels that are commanding top points/$$.

Second, I have found Marriott's switch to dynamic pricing not only less horrendous than forecast, but actually provides better value -- since Marriott has permitted top offs of up to 15K points.

Previously, the free night sitting at rigid values without the ability to top off, left many destinations/hotels blacked out because they only needed some extra points above the certificate cut offs.

Now that one can add to the certificates, I find that no only have I personally struggled to use the 50K certificates, but very often I have found that the 35K certificates are a perfectly acceptable alternative as long as you have the points to top them off.

With the purchase of Starwood, Marriott has many hotels in and around US cities and you can find many price-points in downtown cores, even if you don't want or wish to stay at a hotel with a notable/infamous reputation.

Therefore, with my days chasing Platinum over, I gladly downgraded my 2 Brilliant cards to the Bonvoy Amex cards and have never looked back -- this was done last year when I was able to maximize my $300 Marriott credits but before the price increase. Therefore, I received hefty checks from AMEX for doing so.

At the first opportunity, we did the same with my wife's sole brilliant, and although she has a couple of years to reach LT Platinum, her travel patterns without me do not necessitate her being Platinum status as breakfast is usually provided by the group meeting organizer.

I know some think that the Brilliant will work for them and I am glad for them, but Marriott IMHO really devalued the overall desirability of holding the card by hiking the annual fee by $200 for the gargantuan 85K certificate whose overall utility is lost on someone like me.