A Starwood representative has just posted the following update on Marriott travel certificates:
On 8/18, our new Travel Package offering will launch along with our new loyalty program. After our loyalty programs become one, our new Travel Package award chart will go into effect and members will be able to book for packages at all 6,700 of our hotels.
If you currently have a Travel Package Certificate that’s not yet attached to a hotel reservation, you have the following options:
– If you know when you want to travel, make a new reservation or attach your certificate to an existing one prior to August 18, 2018.
– If you are still trying to plan that perfect trip, you can hold onto the certificate and will be able to add it to a reservation starting September 18, 2018.
Please note that you will not be able to modify your certificate for an existing reservation or attach it to a new one between August 18 and September 18, 2018. Please plan accordingly.
In other words, if you have a hotel certificate from a travel package you need to attach it to a hotel stay by 8/17 or else you won’t be able to do anything with it between 8/18-9/18. After 9/18 you will be able to add it to a hotel, though Marriott still won’t tell us which hotels will work with the different levels of certificates.
Phone reps have been telling people conflicting information about what exactly might happen. One commenter even shares that a Marriott rep told someone to check DansDeals for possibilities of what might happen!
In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Marriott doesn’t know exactly how to handle things and if they don’t decide what to do until 9/18.
Last month I wrote a comprehensive post on travel packages and what might happen to them.
- With this update, it sure seems like Marriott is not going to go with options 1 or 2 from that post.
- Option 3 remains the strongest possibility, while options 4 and 5 are also possibilities.
- These packages are highly lucrative and will be going away for good in just a week or less time. I’d still advise attaching the certificate to a hotel where you might want to stay or at a hotel that is going up in cost.
Will you buy a travel package before they are devalued?
Related Marriott Travel Packages posts:
- Reader Questions: What Makes The Marriott Travel Packages So Lucrative And Which Category Should I Buy? A Comprehensive Guide.
- All About Marriott’s Lucrative Miles+Nights Travel Packages; The Best Way To Spend Your Starpoints.
- Guesstimating Where Marriott Travel Packages Will Work In August; Take Advantage Of Marriott’s Lucrative Miles+Nights Packages Now!
- Marriott Will Massively Devalue New Miles+Nights Travel Packages In August; Comparing The Value Of The Current Packages To The New Packages
- Another Guess At What Will Happen With Marriott’s Miles+Nights Travel Packages And Which You Should Buy Now Before It’s Too Late!
- Marriott Has No Plans On Letting Us Know What They Plan On Doing With Current Travel Packages, But Don’t Let That Stop You From Taking Advantage Of Them!
- Exploring The Options For A Partial Points Refund Of The Marriott Travel Packages, Which Package Should You Buy Now?
- Hunting Down The Marriott Hotels Getting More Expensive To Potentially Maximize Travel Certificates
Leave a Reply
78 Comments On "Marriott Needs Another Month To Figure Out Travel Package Certificates; Will Option 3 Be The Winner?"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
I have a cat 1-5 and cat 6 not attached because I don’t know if will be able to ever use it. Bought them for the miles and for the refund. Should I still attach them to something going up (based on this update) or should I continue waiting, leaving them unattached for more of a chance of getting a good refund? Thank you very much!
A refund is still possible, though it seems much less likely after this update.
Personally I’d attach it to a hotel going up in cost at this point, but you can always gamble and leave it unattached.
let’s hope for a miracle and they give points instead of the nights
Aha. Okay thanks. And if I attach I can always attach it to something else later and sell it if necessary (by adding them as another guest on a reservation)?
Yes.
Great! thanks so much for prompt response (on erev shabbos)!
If i attache my cat 1-5 to a hotel going up in cost can I then transfer it to a different hotel in that category after 9/18?
Or will I still be able to trade for points if they allow that option?
That’s option 5.
Nobody knows, but we can hope.
My issue is that I want to use my Cat 9 at St. Regis. Can’t use until 9/18 now.
True, but it’s a long shot that current category 9 will work at a top-tier SR anyway…
So how do we go about using a Tier 1-3 certificate to book the Maldives Ritz, when you need to attach it to a hotel PRIOR to 8/18 but can’t book current SPG Hotels until AFTER 8-18? And if I attach it to a current Ritz Tier 1-3…then I can’t change it to the Maldives Ritz until after 9/18??
There is no Maldives Ritz.
If you mean the W or SR Maldives, you would need to wait until 9/18 to see what will happen.
And not attach it to anything until then?
I did mean SR Maldives. Understood. Thank you!!
So if not traveling and in it only for refund, probably not a great buy at this point?
Depends on whether you want the airline miles. You can still get a 45K points refund if you don’t want the free nights.
I tried today to get the 45k refund, and they just cancelled the hotel reservation and returned thecretificate to my account, but said there is no option to get 45k refund. These days wait time on hold to make a reservation, or to cancel, is at least half an hour…
HUCA.
This could be disastrous for me! I had planned to use a Cat 6 travel package for a hotel which is currently Cat 8 but will become Cat 6 as of Aug/18. The stay is from Aug/21-28 and there is an award reservation already booked (even though I do not have sufficient points). When I booked he stay, I was told to contact Marriott on the 18th to have the reservation switched over to the travel package. Given many of the reps do not have all the information, how do I ensure I can check-in without any issues on the 21st?
Ouch. Not sure what to tell ya’.
I have a cat 6 unused. Can I still call and get a partial refund for the points or do you think it pays to wait ?
Do you have plans to travel over the next year or 2?
Can you extend after your year is up?
Currently you can.
I never was planning to make a 7 night reservation. I did it for the 132K United Miles and hoping for the refund of points. Just debating if it’s even possible if I can get some points back rather than waiting to see what happens. Is that even an option at this point?
Yes, you can request a 45K points refund.
You should be able to do better than that on the grey market by selling it…
What is the gain by attaching it to any hotel going up in value vs one not going up, if I don’t plan to stay at that hotel?
Also, what is the worst case scenario if I attach it to a cat 1-5 marriott hotel that I’m buying to eventually swap to a spg hotel after September?
Can you always swap hotels till now? Thanks
In case the value will be based on that hotel’s new category.
I have plans on travelling the next year but have no idea the dates or location. I’m guessing I should just hold on to them?
Nope, my advice is in the post.
I have a category 9 certificate. Can i downgrade to cat 1-5 and get the point differential refunded?
You can now. Nobody knows what will happen after 8/17.
Currently have a Category 1-5. On your last post, you mentioned that Category 1-5 and Category 9 were the two best options (outside of the Tier options). Curious as to why? If they refund to points, it ends up being the same. If it maps, then it seems like Category 8 would be best mapping based on one of your analysis. Dont have a plan for hotel, but most I would consider are Category 8 or 9.
That’s if you reserve the Domes of Elounda and hope for option 5.
If you reserve the Domes just to flex the cert to a potential upgrade just be mindful you making a $400-500 prepayment you dont get back if you don’t end up staying there.
Sorry what do you mean by this?
How does one sell these certificates on the so-called “gray market”?
Are you saying just list it on eBay or something or is there some website where people will actually pay for you to book this for them somewhere?
The way it looks now, I’ll be stuck with 2 Cat 1-5 weeks that I probably won’t be able to use.
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=30336.0
Dan
I just called Marriott to buy a travel package I have 315k Marriott points and the rep I spoke to told me she’s transferring the points1-1 so she’s giving me 315k united miles (she knew nothing about the free nights but I let that go!) is that possible?? Or is that too good to be true??
Probably too good to be true, but let us know.
What hotel I can use my current Cat 6 at that’s going to be going up to a Cat 7 or higher? Anywhere…
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/hotel-deals/hunting-marriott-getting-expensive-potentially-maximize-travel-certificates/
The cat6 best option is completely blocked/sold out. I assume the next best option is for hotel thats going +5000 points and becomes cat5?
Dan: For SR or Le Meridien Bora Bora, which certificate should i buy to be able to attached it to those properties post 9/18? There is some confusion whether i should buy Category 7 (or 8?), or Ritz Tier 4-5 certificates…
Also, would it be better to attach the certificate to currently available property (let’s say Ritz Bal Harbour for Ritz 4-5 certificate), and hope that i would be able to change to SR or Le Meridien post 9/18 (or get points refund), if i want to maximize chances of booking those?
thanks!
Barak
This is where I got confused. Le Méridien and st Regis in Bora bora are cat 7 but you can’t boook them with a Marriott certificate yet. They are supposed to become cat 8. So I’m thinking about redeeming my Marriott points for a cat 8 certificate. And I don’t know why Dan and some mentioned booking these two properties with a tier 1-3 certificate.
Maifriend: since you can’t book them yet, do you plan to attach them to some other Cat 8 hotel (and hope you can change it to Le Méridien or st Regis in Bora), or take a chance and leave them unattached?
The post from the SPG rep is clear. If you have a certificate then book before 8/18 or wait until 9/18. I’m afraid that on 9/18 they will tell you that the hotel you wanted to book was a cat 7 but is now a cat 8 and you will need a cat 8 certificate. They could also be nice and allow a one time exception but I doubt.
Interestingly Marriott will still sell these packages after 8/18 but very expensive. I don’t think they will reimburse the certificate and give you points back. It’s like buying a gift card at Best Buy. They won’t give you your money back because you don’t know what to do with the gift card.
Ok I found this. Although the properties at Bora Bora are cat 7, you might need more to book them: https://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/categories/index.html?spgCategoryCode=7&language=en_US
Mainfriend and Barak: What do you intend to do?
Mailfriend: so what do you plan to do? Looks like you plan to use your Marriott points to buy Cat 8 certificate; how do plan to use it to buy Bora hotels?
since you can’t book them yet, do you plan to attach them to some other Cat 8 hotel (and hope you can change it to Le Méridien or st Regis in Bora), or take a chance and leave them unattached?
Dan – can we get your poo t if view on this?
Thanks, Barak
I have 960K Marriott points and want to redeem all of them as I don’t want to leave points behind. I’m also targeting the 132K united miles.
So it’s either:
1) one cat 1-5 plus one cat 7 plus one cat 8 certificate but will I be able to book Bora Bora, maybe not. I called Le Meridien and they wanted 270/280K SPG points for 5 nights for a regular bungalow not overwater which I don’t qualify because I have young children (that’s what I understood from their policy).
2) one tier 4-5 (assuming it’s required for Bora Bora) and one tier 1-3 but what am I going to do with tier 1-3 and I will be leaving 132K United miles on the table.
3) one tier 4-5 and one cat 6 (to go to Maui) and left over points.
I think I’m going with option #1. With a cat 8 I can go to Fiji, cat 7 with Ritz Carlton in Maui or Westin Opera in Paris and JW Marriott Phuket with the cat 5.
A lot of SPG properties look nicer than their Marriott counterparts and can accommodate 2 adults and 2 children which is not always the case with Marriott where there is availability only if you book for 3 people.
I’m going to attach as many as I can as you must find availability.
I called Marriott Rewards to buy the travel packages. 1st question I asked was “can we book SPG properties?”. The rep said not until the merger is completed (8/18) as SPG properties are not in the system. So that confirms what we already know beside the one month between 8/18 and 9/18 where we can’t do anything.
2nd question I asked was “if St Regis Bora Bora becomes a cat 8, can I book that hotel with a cat 8 certificate or do I need higher certificate?”. The rep said yes you can cook with a cat 8 cert.
If he’s right then we are good with a cat 8 certificate. If he’s not then I’ll go somewhere else.
He said it takes 3 days to deposit the united miles into your united mileageplus account.
Congrats!
I also have 2 small boys (age 7 and 4), do you know if both Meridien and St Regis doesn’t allow overwater bungaloos with kids?
Which hotel did you book Cat 8 for?
Thanks,
Barak
I read somewhere on SPG web site that they don’t allow you to book over water bungalow if you have young children for safety reason.
I called again tonight (8/16) and asked the rep if unattached certificate will be cancelled after 8/18. She asked a supervisor and said that they won’t be cancelled so not sure who is right/wrong. I didn’t want to attached the cat 8 cert to Fiji Marriott Momi bay (which will become a cat 5) and cancel it later. Dan on his latest blog said he attached a certificate to the domes of Elounda in 2019 but you can’t book DoE even with money so don’t know if attaching is different from booking.
I called Marriott and bought #1. The Marriott rep said I can book Bora Bora properties using a cat 8. I guest that is true as long as I book outside of peak season. I’m only interested in beach resort so I have to find quickly a few resorts in Hawaii/South east asia and attach the cat 8 and 7 certificates. I see that the Marriott in Fiji is a cat 8 becoming a cat 5 so I’ll wait until 2019 to book with the cat 5 cert. Most of the properties I like are SPG like the Westin in Maui.
Selling on the “grey market” is going to be much more difficult. Marriott is not stupid. They were anticipating breakage from all those out there that thought they were going to game the system and get a windfall of points. These people are not getting a windfall and now have all these certs with no plans to use them. Any International property will need to see the passport of the person who has redeemed the cert and the person who purchased the cert on the grey market will not get away with saying they will be checking in later. Be happy with the miles you got a don’t kvetch about not getting what you thought you were going to get.
and what about not an intl hotel?
If I have a tier 1-3 package and want to stay at a current Starwood hotel, is it best to attach it to a Marriott hotel now or just wait until after 9/18 to book the Starwood property?
If I bought a tier 4-5 only because I thought they will be refunded. I don’t plan on staying there, My only option is to sell it. Is it worth it for me to downgrade to a category 1-5 and get the difference in points? or keep as tier 4-5 and sell later on?
That was a gamble. Very slim chance that would have happened. You rolled the dice and lost. Cash in your chips and walk away. If i were you I would downgrade and salvage the points difference at least. This magical “grey market” for resale is not going to happen.
Why would you say that if you can gift the certificate and make the buyer the primary guest?
Because it is against Marriott’s T&C. They clearly state free nights/certs cannot be transfered. Some hotels may not care if you are not there others may enforce the rule that you have to be part of the check in. FDAs could be on a power trip and follow the rules and ask your “guest” for payment, which would be refunded when the person in whose name the cert is in shows up. Marriott will clamp down on this as they are counting on breakage from peole who thought they would get a windfall. Go ahead and do it and be prepared for consequences. You may get away with it, you may not.
Scaremongering. People have been doing this with every hotel chain for years without issues.
So would you recommend to downgraded the certificate? I’m for sure not staying in the hotel.
I’m interested in your cert. Please message me.
Can i change dates after i attach my cert to a hotel ?
Please excuse the ignorance of my question.. upon purchasing the travel package, am I supposed to receive an actual voucher or voucher number for the 7 day hotel part of the package? I did not after several weeks (thinking they will send me one). How else does one redeem to attach to a hotel stay?
Have you checked your account activity lately? It should be there. Did the airline miles post?
I only have 46,000 starpoints. United miles are very valuable for me. I do have a lot of Chase rewards points. Anyone know if I can still transfer 15,000 chase rewards points over to Marriot to turn them into starpoints to make up the difference to get the lowest package for United miles, or is that over?
Yes you can. Link your Marriott and SPG account and start the transfer. 3 chase UR = 3 Marriott = 1 SPG.
Thanks!
Oh wait, mistake, I mean 20,000 chase rewards points, and now I see it’s a 3:1 transfer ratio, so seems like it’s not worth it…?
will stays after 8/18 count toward platinum? and does it make a difference when it was booked
I got this response from SPG:
“Thank you for your patience while we reviewed your inquiry. It is not possible to redeem your Ritz certificate or hold a room pending the program combination on 18AUG18. Please click here for a link to frequently asked questions. Here is the information we have about your certificate:
Members may book a redemption reservation with an existing Free Night Certificate under the current terms up until August 2018, even if the arrival date is after August 2018. Starting in August, any outstanding Certificates will be updated from Category-based to points-based values in the new combined redemption chart and may be used for stays at Rewards or SPG hotels up to the points value displayed on your updated Certificate. For example, you will be able to apply a Marriott Rewards Free Night Certificate to an SPG stay, or an SPG Free Night Award to a Marriott Rewards stay. Ritz-Carlton Rewards Free Night Certificates can also be applied to Marriott Rewards and SPG hotels.
One the combination of programs is completed on 18AUG18, your certificate value will be converted to a points based value. It can then be redeemed at an eligible property. Please contact one of my Ritz Carlton colleagues at 800-542-8680 for information on the expected point value of your certificate should you choose to redeem it on or after 18AUG18.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Best Regards,
M. Pilar Saenz-St. Clair
Supervisor, Starwood Customer Service
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, LLC”
They are referring to the CC free night certs not the TPs. There are still lots of theories on what will happen with the TPs. Some rumors include all certs convert to New Cats 1-4 and refund of points for the higher categories if you redeemed for Old cat 6 or above, That seems fair to me.
I just updated a Cat 8 travel package to Cat 9. In my account they showed a refund of 135,000 for cat 8 an a deduction of 165,000 for cat 9 vs the old 240,000 an 270,000. Looks like we may take a heavy hit.
Never seen the before.
Dan et al – I’m looking for advise on the following:
I have enough points to buy category 1-5 package however, I would probably not go and stay in the same hotel (especially cat. 1-5) for a week. I do like the redemption ratio of Marriott points to United. My plan is to book St. Regis in Maldives for 4-5 nights for next year and booking this hotel for ~48K points looks more lucrative than buying the Marriott category 1-5 package. Would you recommend saving points to get the St. Regis hotel in Maldives or would I be better off getting the 1-5 package and then trying to upgrade with points later on?
What about 1 night certs cat 1-5 from cc anniversary, Does the same thing apply?