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The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card card both offer an annual credit for purchases. Hilton has a $200 semi-annual resort credit* for charges at Hilton Resorts. Marriott has a $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide.
(*up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts.)
How long do you have to wait to get these statement credits posted to your account?
In this post:
How Long Does the Amex Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card Resort Credit Take to Post?
About 3-4 weeks, based on the data point below. I paid $356.14 for dinner at a restaurant in a Hilton resort in Australia on Feb 1. On Feb 20, the credit posted to my account.
The Hilton Aspire card has a “Hilton Resort Credit” for any charges at the Hilton properties listed here: http://www.hilton.com/resorts. Get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts on your Hilton Honors Aspire Card. That's up to $400 back annually.
Essentially anything you can charge to your room, i.e. room service, valet, laundry, room rate charges, spa services, restaurants, drinks, etc are reimbursable by the credit.
The credit kicks in as soon as you open a Amex Aspire card and renews every card anniversary.
Amex says it can take 8-12 weeks for the statement credit to post, but in this example it only took 19 days or just under 3 weeks.
Eligible Hilton Resort purchases must be made directly with the participating Hilton Resort and charged to your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card account for the benefit to apply. Incidental charges (including charges made at restaurants, spas, and other establishments within the hotel property) must be charged to your room and paid for with your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card at checkout in order for them to be recognized as Hilton Resort purchases.
Amex Aspire Benefit Terms
Using the Amex Hilton Aspire Resort Credit Example
We celebrated my father-in-law's 60th birthday this year with a week on the Gold Coast of Australia. Located about an hour south of Brisbane, our week in Surfer's Paradise was full of koalas, kangaroos, swimming, and early morning walks on the beach to get delicious coffee and pastries.
We didn't stay at the Hilton Surfers Paradise hotel, but I noticed that it was listed on Hilton's Resort page. That means it is eligible for the resort credit, even though it doesn't have resort in the name. I always check that page before trying to use my Amex Aspire credit.
Since I had just opened my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and it was the new year, my wife and I decided to take the family out to dinner at the well reviewed restaurant at the Hilton, “Catch.”
Normally I don't like eating at hotel restaurants if I have a choice, but if I was getting a credit and it had good reviews, why not?
The seafood was great and the wine was tasty. The bill was not outrageous for 6 people, but getting $250 taken off the top made it much easier to manage (now a $200 semi-annual credit)!
How Long Does the Amex Marriott Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card Restaurant Credit Take to Post?
About 2-3 business days, based on the data point below.
The (up to) $25 per month worldwide restaurant statement credit typically starts as soon as you open a Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card and should renew on the 1st of every month.
Amex says it can take 8-12 weeks for the statement credit to post, but in this example it only took 2 days.
Staying at the Ritz Carlton Geneva
My wife and I recently stayed at the wonderful Ritz Carlton Geneva, Hotel de la Paix Geneve. The most basic, classic room cost 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. The cash value of the room at booking was 700 Swiss Francs, or about $700 USD.
Thanks to Platinum Elite status, we were upgraded to a room overlooking Lake Geneve. This room would have added another $100-150 to our rate, so our 60,000 points were even more valuable.
We were able to get 1.4 cents per Bonvoy point with this booking. See how to earn tons of points and redeem them at excellent rates in my 100% free, 5 day Ultimate Credit Cards Course.
We had dinner at the excellent Living Room Bar & Kitchen, just off the Lobby of the Hotel de la Paix. We charged our drinks and the awesome lamb risotto for 2 (cooked in a cheese bowl) to the room and paid at check out with my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
We also charged the valet parking charge to our room as well. The total bill was $134.50.
From the chocolates offered at check in, to the free Swiss chocolate and Swiss wine tasting in the lobby, to the excellent and friendly staff, we had a perfect time at the Geneva Ritz Carlton.
Using Bonvoy points for the room and the (up to) $25 Bonvoy Brilliant credit to offset the cost of dinner was just the icing on an already delicious cake.
Summary
The $25 Marriott Bonvoy Restaurant Credit sometimes posts within 2-3 days. The Hilton Aspire credit may take a bit longer and posts within 3-4 weeks.
Remember to pay your credit card bills on time, set up autopay, and never carry debt on your credit cards.
If you end up with a credit on your account, you can spend it, move it to another card, or request a refund check.
The Amex Hilton Aspire and Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant are the best hotel credit cards and are a must have in any troop's wallet.
Whether you go TDY for work often, travel for pleasure, or don't even travel that much, these cards are still necessary in your card portfolio. The recurring annual benefits and the sometimes huge welcome bonuses make these cards extremely valuable.
Can I use the $300 credit resort for hotel stays?
On Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant yes, room charges (cost of the room) counts towards the $300. For instance if you stayed one night at a JW Marriott at $400 per night, the $300 credit would kick in if you haven’t used the credit yet that year and you paid for the room on your AMEX Bonvoy Brilliant card. $400-$300 = $100 you would still be responsible for $100 of the room cost.
For the Marriott $300 credit, are there specific hotels that trigger the credit or do all hotels in the Marriott portfolio trigger the credit (as long as you charge expenses to the room)?
All hotels, resorts, and properties in Marriott portfolio trigger the credit. This is different than the Hilton credit, where you need to be at a “Hilton resort.”
To clarify, you do or don’t have to stay there? You said you weren’t staying at Surfer’s Paradise, but you ate at their restaurant, and got the credit? But the rules say it must be charged to your room?
If that’s not the case, does this mean you can essentially dine at a hotel or resort (or just one, but not the other) for free, even if you’re not staying there?
Thanks for the clarification.
I still got the credit. The restaurant was a part of the hotel, so it coded as a Hilton resort charge.