In US credit cards, there is one enduring truth: where one goes, the other tends to follow.

When Chase came out with their record-breaking offer of five free nights worth 50,000 Bonvoy points each on the Chase Marriott Boundless Visa, the natural next question was to ask what sort of spectacular bonuses we’d see coming out on the Amex side: the Amex US Bonvoy Brilliant and the Amex US Bonvoy Business.

Well, we now have our answer: the Bonvoy Brilliant is blowing us all away with an offer of 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, plus you’ll get to enjoy complimentary Marriott Platinum Elite status for the 2021 status year.

Simultaneously, the Amex US Bonvoy Business Card is also smashing its previous record-high offer. The business card will offer 100,000 Bonvoy points with complimentary Platinum Elite status thrown in for the 2021 status year as well.

Yes, you read that right.

Marriott Platinum Elite, the status level that comes with free breakfast, club lounge access, suite upgrades, and late checkout. The status level for which most of us have to bend over backwards to finesse our way towards the usual 50-night threshold to qualify. Completely free for the year, simply as a perk for being a cardholder of either the US Bonvoy Brilliant or the US Bonvoy Business.

Both offers last until January 13, 2021, giving you plenty of time to take action and nab these unbelievable offers for yourself and your entourage.

Amex US Bonvoy Brilliant: Up to 125,000 Bonvoy Points + Platinum Elite Status

Let’s start with the Bonvoy Brilliant, Amex US’s premium personal Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit card, which will grant you 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points upon spending US$5,000 in the first three months, along with complimentary Marriott Platinum Elite status for the 2021 status year.

It must be noted that your Platinum Elite status will actually begin on February 1, 2021, and will last one full year until January 31, 2022. Platinum status is available only to the primary cardholder, and if the card is cancelled for any reason, then the elite status would be cancelled too.

Moreover, upon renewing your card for a second year (which is highly recommended, as we’ll discuss below), you’ll receive a further anniversary bonus of 25,000 Bonvoy points, effectively raising the total offer to 125,000 Bonvoy points.

To apply for this offer, you have the option of applying directly via the American Express US website, or through a refer-a-friend link by an existing cardholder. In both cases, the terms of the offer are the same, showing a published end date of January 13, 2021.

125,000 Bonvoy points would be enough for two nights at a higher-end Category 6 or 7 hotel, three or four nights at a mid-range Category 5 hotel, or up to 31 nights at a cheaper Category 1 hotel!

You could also transfer the points over to one 40+ airline partners, and the signup bonus would be enough to cover two sets of transfers at the optimal ratio of 60,000 Bonvoy points = 25,000 airline miles, meaning you’d come out with at least 50,000 airline miles of your choosing. 

In terms of earning rates, the Bonvoy Brilliant offers the following:

• 6 Bonvoy points per US dollar spent at Marriott hotels
• 3 Bonvoy points per US dollar spent at US restaurants and airlines
• 2 Bonvoy points per US dollar spent on everything else

The card does come with an annual fee of US$450. On its own, I’d say that’s pretty worthwhile compared to the tremendous benefits you’re getting from this special offer, but the good news is that the US$450 is in fact further reduced by a US$300 Marriott credit per calendar year.

This US$300 credit can be spent on any Marriott purchase, whether it’s the room rate, incidentals, or even gift card purchases made at hotels that sell gift cards directly at the front desk. In essence, if you travel with Marriott to the tune at least US$300 per year, then you can think of this credit as cash back in your pocket.

Plus, the Bonvoy Brilliant also comes with the most powerful anniversary free night certificate out of any Marriott credit card. Upon renewing your card for the second year and thereafter, you’ll receive a free night certificate worth up to 50,000 Bonvoy points, which can be redeemed on Category 6 hotels at the standard rate or even Category 7 hotels at the off-peak rate!

And as if that weren’t enough, the Bonvoy Brilliant also rewards you with a complimentary Priority Pass membership with unlimited access for yourself and two guests – a stronger guest policy than any credit card you’d find in Canada.

When you put the above perks together, you’ll see why the Bonvoy Brilliant can be such a powerful credit card to hold onto for the long term, year after year: each year, you pay only a US$150 net annual fee, and in exchange you get a very powerful free night certificate and an unlimited lounge access membership, both of which can easily recoup that US$150 in value multiple times over!

If you’ve already gotten started with US credit cards, then you can simply go ahead and apply to add the Bonvoy Brilliant Card to your portfolio.

If not, you can quite easily apply for this card via the Nova Credit service. When filling in the application, simply check the box that says “I don’t have a credit history in the US, but have had a credit card or loan in the UK, India, Mexico, Canada or Australia” on the application form, where it asks you for a Social Security Number.

The Nova Credit service will then link to your Canadian credit file to assess your creditworthiness, although you may still be required to call or live-chat with Amex US for identity verification purposes (usually to submit a copy of your foreign passport). Be sure to review the full guide to getting US credit cards for Canadians for more information.

There are some data points that users are able to complete the Nova Credit process twice (such as if you had already gotten the excellent offer on the Gold Card or Green Card recently, and were interested in the Bonvoy Brilliant Card as well), but it does seem that “your mileage may vary” in this case, as not everyone has reported success with this route.

Amex US Bonvoy Business: 100,000 Bonvoy Points + Platinum Elite Status

Now let’s look at the Amex US Bonvoy Business, which is the sole Marriott co-branded credit card geared towards small business owners in the US.

Until January 13, 2021, the card is offering 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points upon spending US$5,000 in the first three months, along with complimentary Marriott Platinum Elite status for the 2021 status year (i.e., from February 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022).

Plus, to sweeten the deal even further, you’ll get US$150 back in statement credits for eligible purchases on US advertising in select media within the first six months. As above, the same offer is available through both the public and refer-a-friend channels.

100,000 Bonvoy points would be enough for a couple of nights at a higher-end hotel or up to 25 nights at the cheapest Category 1 hotels.

Moreover, if you were saving up your Marriott Bonvoy points for a dream trip to the Maldives or somewhere like that, then you’ll definitely want to jump on one of, if not both of these offers, as they can certainly help you build up your balance very quickly to book an aspirational trip such as the Maldives’ overwater villas.

In terms of earning rates, the US Bonvoy Business offers the following:

• 6 Bonvoy points per US dollar spent at Marriott hotels
• 4 Bonvoy points per US dollar spent at US restaurants, gas stations, wireless telephone purchases, and shipping
• 2 Bonvoy points per US dollar spent on everything else

Compared to the Bonvoy Brilliant, the US Bonvoy Business has a lower annual fee of US$125, although its accompanying perks and benefits are also weaker.

There’s no annual credit or Priority Pass membership; instead, you simply get an anniversary free night certificate worth up to 35,000 Bonvoy points, which can be redeemed at a Category 5 hotel at the standard rate and is on par with the anniversary certificate offered by the Canadian-issued Amex Bonvoy Card.

While the free Platinum Elite status will render this moot for 2021, we should also point out that both the US Bonvoy Brilliant and the US Bonvoy Business will also give you 15 elite qualifying nights just for holding the cards, which can be stacked into 30 elite qualifying nights via this particular combination of a US personal card and a US business card.

Therefore, if you were to pick up both of these outstanding offers before January 13, 2021, not only would you be earning Platinum Elite status for next year, but you’d also set yourself up in a great position to re-qualify for Platinum Elite year after year: you’d have 30 elite qualifying nights under your belt already, so you’d only need to stay 20 more nights to reach the 50-night threshold for Platinum Elite organically.

And indeed, it’s far more enjoyable to stay 20 nights at Marriott hotels when you already have Platinum Elite status for the year! 😉

If you’re just starting from scratch with US credit cards and you’re indeed interested in picking up both offers, I think it’s best to start with the Bonvoy Brilliant, because business cards in the US do not contribute to your personal credit history and so will not help you build your credit history.

If you can successfully get the Bonvoy Brilliant via Nova Credit sometime soon, then by the time early January rolls around and your relationship with Amex US has aged to about three months, I’d say you have a good shot of trying to get approved for the Bonvoy Business as well!

Apply Now

You know what time it is. It’s time to spread the love.

Since these best-ever offers are available through both the public channel and the refer-a-friend channel, we may as well apply via refer-a-friend links to maximize the net benefit to the community.

Feel free to reach out via the contact form if you’re interested in receiving a refer-a-friend link from me. Otherwise, anyone who currently holds an Amex US Bonvoy Brilliant Card or Amex US Bonvoy Business Card may feel free to share their referral link in the comments below, so that other Prince of Travel readers may take advantage of this offer by choosing one of the links in the comments, and we can all win.