AmEx Bonvoy Brilliant Luxury Card [General Discussion Thread]
#61
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
Thanks andersonCooper I did look on my amex account. They are only offering me 15,000 point bonus. It's not worth it to me. My primary goal with all my cards is to accumulate aa frequent flyer miles. I will just stick with my old spg amex and switch most of my spend to my aa citi mc.
And to echo UA-NYC above, even though we choose different airlines, I agree with you that I don't want MAR just to hand out highest status with a CC
#63
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 161
Wife and I both have personal SPG card.. she got 100K offer to upgrade and i did not... should i just apply for a new card and upgrade hers to have 2? Then cancel both of our SPG personal? We love the priority pass and option to get TSA reimbursement. We would still be getting 2 free night but at a higher level for an extra $55 in AF (just using the evaluation of $150 AF after the credits from card benefits) Thx
#64
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: CX DM, SPG Platinum, Amex SPG, Chase CSR, Citi TYP
Posts: 64
For me, 50,000 upgrade offer for $2,500 spend. I only have the SPG personal card for less than 2 years and spent about $30,000-40,000 a year. If I didn't have CSR, I might consider accepting the upgrade for the sake of PP, though I almost never use PP lounges at this time (when I still travel for business and have airline elite status). But I am already SPG Lifetime Gold (Elite), and the $300 statement credit is not so easy to use for me. If I could apply the $300 to any room charges, I might give a more serious think. Finally, waiting for 8 weeks for the statement credit to show up is a bit ridiculous. Anyway, I pass.
Oh, and Amex is not widely accepted overseas. So....
Oh, and Amex is not widely accepted overseas. So....
Last edited by Safetravel3; Aug 23, 2018 at 11:23 pm
#65
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,192
I understood the $300 USD could be room rate globally at any hotel so one night in HK or Lon should cover that? Or am I wrong on my understanding?
Much easier than Amwx Aspire which is resort only
Much easier than Amwx Aspire which is resort only
#67
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: CX DM, SPG Platinum, Amex SPG, Chase CSR, Citi TYP
Posts: 64
I read it's for incidentals only. I do use hotel limos, but don't want to bother with getting the statement credits.
#68
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: CX DM, SPG Platinum, Amex SPG, Chase CSR, Citi TYP
Posts: 64
#69
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: spg, MR
Posts: 8
Oh. I got it. I just called to clarify with customer service and they confirmed that same info. So I logged into my amex account and clicked onto upgrade card icon, and it showed a 50k bonus for upgrade. I also found out that we have spend 76K this year on our preferred card. So that makes me eligible for platinum,as she confirmed that already spent dollars on the old card carry over onto the Luxury card. So I took the plunge and upgraded. She also said that it takes 12 to 16 weeks to get status upgrade after the dollars have been spent. That is a long time. I am hoping that is not the case because I have two stays coming up this year at Marriott properties. Anyone know if it does really take that long? Thank you Safetravel!
#70
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: Delta Platinum, United Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 120
I have the old Marriott card for over 3 years (one free night capped at 25k). Just applied and was approved for the SPG personal today (75k sign up bonus + one free night capped at 35k). Could I apply for the luxury and get another annual free night (capped at 50k)? I am doing all this before August 26, would I be eligible for both the SPG sign up bonuses and the free nights? I am getting contradicting answers from different blogs...
The answer is yes. One of the bloggers wrote a good post with a table showing how all of the various Marriott and SPG cards work when you hold many of them. I also have the Marriott Personal and Business as well as the SPG Business. I just applied for this card to add to my lifetime Marriott points total before year end (still in the race for legacy lifetime status). I can't find the blog post right now.
#71
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: CX DM, SPG Platinum, Amex SPG, Chase CSR, Citi TYP
Posts: 64
Oh. I got it. I just called to clarify with customer service and they confirmed that same info. So I logged into my amex account and clicked onto upgrade card icon, and it showed a 50k bonus for upgrade. I also found out that we have spend 76K this year on our preferred card. So that makes me eligible for platinum,as she confirmed that already spent dollars on the old card carry over onto the Luxury card. So I took the plunge and upgraded. She also said that it takes 12 to 16 weeks to get status upgrade after the dollars have been spent. That is a long time. I am hoping that is not the case because I have two stays coming up this year at Marriott properties. Anyone know if it does really take that long? Thank you Safetravel!
#72
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 107
I have CSR for PP and also have Admirals Club access. I don't think I'll keep the card for long, but my automatic upgrade to Plat (I'm LTG) and 100K made it difficult to refuse for a year...
#73
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: CX DM, SPG Platinum, Amex SPG, Chase CSR, Citi TYP
Posts: 64
I am an SPG Platinum (Elite). To me, the only difference comparing to Gold is free breakfasts and lounge access for some coffee and beers. I hardly get any upgrade to suites. Maybe that's just me. I know you can get the free upgrade to Platinum Elite due to your past spend, but I would still look at the long term benefits. I don't find that much on you since you have CSR PP and AA Admiral Club, and an SPG Amex personal card, which has the same earning power as the luxury card. Cancelling the new card after 1 year cannot be that good. Just my 2 pennies' worth.
#74
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: ATL
Programs: MR/SPG Plat, HH Gold, DL PM
Posts: 413
For those of you that either took an upgrade offer or applied for a new card:
1. Have you combined your accounts yet, and if so, MR to SPG or vice versa?
2. Did you have points from your last SPG billing cycle, and have they posted yet, or are you still waiting?
I want to jump on the offer, but I'm still waiting for last month's points to post, and I'm also waiting to combine my accounts (I will keep MR), and don't want any issues. I also wonder if upgrading will have any impact on this at all, since the card number wouldn't change; I would think it's just a change in the earning structure.
1. Have you combined your accounts yet, and if so, MR to SPG or vice versa?
2. Did you have points from your last SPG billing cycle, and have they posted yet, or are you still waiting?
I want to jump on the offer, but I'm still waiting for last month's points to post, and I'm also waiting to combine my accounts (I will keep MR), and don't want any issues. I also wonder if upgrading will have any impact on this at all, since the card number wouldn't change; I would think it's just a change in the earning structure.
Last edited by Saidoh; Aug 24, 2018 at 6:58 am
#75
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 161
For those of you that either took an upgrade offer or applied for a new card:
1. Have you combined your accounts yet, and if so, MR to SPG or vice versa?
2. Did you have points from your last SPG billing cycle, and have they posted yet, or are you still waiting?
I want to jump on the offer, but I'm still waiting for last month's points to post, and I'm also waiting to combine my accounts (I will keep MR), and don't want any issues.
1. Have you combined your accounts yet, and if so, MR to SPG or vice versa?
2. Did you have points from your last SPG billing cycle, and have they posted yet, or are you still waiting?
I want to jump on the offer, but I'm still waiting for last month's points to post, and I'm also waiting to combine my accounts (I will keep MR), and don't want any issues.
2. I wasn't spending on SPG personal as I was meeting my spending the Ritz card. My Ritz (Marriott) points posted on the 8th when my statement closed so pre-merger.