re: Are there any major plot differences in GoT and the books?

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Seems like I read where Brandon Stark is older than Jon Snow in the books? Anything else like that?

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As I have checked back on the thread, there is another interpretation to your question.

At the beginning of the novels - just sticking with the sons of Winterfell - Robb and Jon are both about 14 (going on 15), Bran is 7 and Rickon is 3. Time does pass during the novels, but nothing like what happened in the show - because each season was a year apart. During Season 1 - the characters in the show were ~17, 10 and 6, roughly corresponding to the actors' ages (except Robb and Jon).

The actor playing Robb was about 24 when he filmed Season 1, or 7 years older than his character. He turns 30 this year. Kit Harrington (Jon Snow) was also about 24 at the time of filming Season 1.

Isaac-Hempstead Wright (who plays Bran) turns 17 this year, making him about the age of the Robb and Jon characters - in the show - during Season 1, despite being a character of approximately 10 or 11 during the most recent events of the novels.

So, there's that. That may have been the source of someone saying "Bran (of the show) is older than Jon Snow (in the books)" if the question is interpreted that way.

But that definitely goes back to my earlier point about casting of the actors playing the children. In any series with children, no matter how they want to tell the story over a specified time period, the cast members continue to age. Is 24 to 28 a big visual change? For some folks, yes, but others can credibly play a range of ages.

But, for a 10 year old? Unless there is a medical condition (Gary Coleman, for example), he's not going to look 10 in just a couple of years, maybe sooner. If you take 10 years to film a story that only happens over 2 years, you either have a 20-year old playing a 12-year old, you have to change the story to fit the actor or you have to recast the character.

None of those options are ideal.