New Marriott Rewards Property Categories and Travel Package Requirements effective Aug '18

[mdurette]

I just noticed Atlantis Coral towers is going to a category 5. That would be a decent TP to book with a Cat 5 TP.


Actually, I am seeing a lot of good options for what will be future category 5s. They will cost more points per night to get come Aug.

So I'm thinking stocking up on whatever category 5 TPs you can get your hands on now would be worth it.

 

[dioxide45]

Thinking the same thing, i.e., two five night, high category certificates, but I may not be able to travel until fall 2019 and spring 2020. Therefore, I think I have two options:

1. Book something within 12 months, then cancel and rebook for something later...or is that the same as extending a certificate?
2. Hold the certificate until Fall 2019 reservations open and hope I can extend at that time?

Thoughts?

It won't matter if you book now and cancel and rebook later or just book something in the fall for fall 2019. In either case you will be tied to the new hotel categories. They would have to reissue the certificate in either case which would also extend it.

 

[SMB1]

I just noticed Atlantis Coral towers is going to a category 5. That would be a decent TP to book with a Cat 5 TP.


Actually, I am seeing a lot of good options for what will be future category 5s. They will cost more points per night to get come Aug.

So I'm thinking stocking up on whatever category 5 TPs you can get your hands on now would be worth it.

Do we somehow know if we book a TP now it will still be good for that category after August 1? My guess is if I "buy" a cat 7 package now I will only be able to redeem it for a cat 5 after Aug 1 because Cat 7 now and cat 5 in August require 35,000 points per night. I've called and asked Marriott reps, Marriott Rewards reps, and last time I was connected to a customer care rep. None of their answers were the same. A couple said cat 5 certs would access cat 5 certs. Others said it will be based on #points per night. The customer care rep really took the time to understand what I was asking. I even gave her the specific reservations I was trying to make. She spent a lot of time trying to find accurate information, but really came up blank. She could only speculate.

I ask because if I knew certain category certs would map over to the same category after August 1 I would purchase higher category certs. If not I will get cat 1-5 certs and access an additional 132,000 united miles.

 

[hangloose]

Do we somehow know if we book a TP now it will still be good for that category after August 1? My guess is if I "buy" a cat 7 package now I will only be able to redeem it for a cat 5 after Aug 1 because Cat 7 now and cat 5 in August require 35,000 points per night. I've called and asked Marriott reps, Marriott Rewards reps, and last time I was connected to a customer care rep. None of their answers were the same. A couple said cat 5 certs would access cat 5 certs. Others said it will be based on #points per night. The customer care rep really took the time to understand what I was asking. I even gave her the specific reservations I was trying to make. She spent a lot of time trying to find accurate information, but really came up blank. She could only speculate.

I ask because if I knew certain category certs would map over to the same category after August 1 I would purchase higher category certs. If not I will get cat 1-5 certs and access an additional 132,000 united miles.

I also wish I knew this answer. Have an existing TP and MR Pts ready to purchase another prior to Aug 1. I am planning to go after the highest FF mile package with highest hotel category I can afford. Where possible, I will try to make a reservation using that certificate also.

 

[VacationForever]

I exchanged a 5-night travel cat 1-5 package just for the miles. I kept the category low so that if the new rule is to have no extension, then worst case is that I sacrifice the nights.

 

[TXTortoise]

I guess the real risk is a change in policy that precludes renewal of a certificate or repricing at reissue in some manner.

While low risk, the new program changes might be enough of a catalyst for Marriott to make such changes.

 

[hangloose]

Took me 1 hr and 11 mins today once the MVC rep transferred me to Marriott Rewards rep to change my Cat8 7 night package to Cat8 5 night. Yikes. They finally got it right, but a lot of effort, questions and a supervisor helping.

If Marriott reclassifies an issued but unused Cat8 hotel certificate, what future category does that map to? Cat6 or Cat7? Hard to tell.

 

[dioxide45]

Took me 1 hr and 11 mins today once the MVC rep transferred me to Marriott Rewards rep to change my Cat8 7 night package to Cat8 5 night. Yikes. They finally got it right, but a lot of effort, questions and a supervisor helping.

If Marriott reclassifies an issued but unused Cat8 hotel certificate, what future category does that map to? Cat6 or Cat7? Hard to tell.

I suspect they would map it so it could be used for any hotel up to 40,000 points per night. That is between a five and a six.

 

[jeepie]

They would map it so it could be used for any hotel up to 40,000 points per night.

I have seen speculation about this, but no confirmation from Marriott. Can you point me to where this has been confirmed? TIA.

 

[dioxide45]

I have seen speculation about this, but no confirmation from Marriott. Can you point me to where this has been confirmed? TIA.

I edited my post, since it is based on my speculation.

 

[BocaBoy]

Thinking the same thing, i.e., two five night, high category certificates, but I may not be able to travel until fall 2019 and spring 2020. Therefore, I think I have two options:

1. Book something within 12 months, then cancel and rebook for something later...or is that the same as extending a certificate?
2. Hold the certificate until Fall 2019 reservations open and hope I can extend at that time?

Regarding option 1, it will not help you with what you are trying to accomplish. This is because when you cancel, you will get back a certificate with the same expiration date.

Option 2 will be viable unless they change the rules (or practice) concerning extensions.

 

[Mr. Vker]

I just noticed Atlantis Coral towers is going to a category 5. That would be a decent TP to book with a Cat 5 TP.


Actually, I am seeing a lot of good options for what will be future category 5s. They will cost more points per night to get come Aug.

So I'm thinking stocking up on whatever category 5 TPs you can get your hands on now would be worth it.

That's not going to work. They will not map to new cat 5's. You will either get a point refund or a new cert valued similarly to a Cat 5 today.

 

[kds4]

I just noticed Atlantis Coral towers is going to a category 5. That would be a decent TP to book with a Cat 5 TP.


Actually, I am seeing a lot of good options for what will be future category 5s. They will cost more points per night to get come Aug.

So I'm thinking stocking up on whatever category 5 TPs you can get your hands on now would be worth it.

'Stocking up on Category 5 TPs' in general is not going to be helpful. Having accommodation certificates sitting in your account unused as of August 1st will more likely just result in frustration later.

The key is getting Category 5 TPs now AND making a reservation at a property that will be going up to a Category 6 or higher on August 1st. Reserving now to stay at properties that will cost more later is the value of getting and using TPs before they are devalued August 1st and you pay more to get the same (or less) than you can get now. I am waiting as close to the end of the month as possible before redeeming mine (so I can stretch my AC reservation dates as far into 2019 as possible, since I need summer).

 

[Mr. Vker]

'Stocking up on Category 5 TPs' in general is not going to be helpful. Having accommodation certificates sitting in your account unused as of August 1st will more likely just result in frustration later.

The key is getting Category 5 TPs now AND making a reservation at a property that will be going up to a Category 6 or higher on August 1st. Reserving now to stay at properties that will cost more later is the value of getting and using TPs before they are devalued August 1st and you pay more to get the same (or less) than you can get now. I am waiting as close to the end of the month as possible before redeeming mine (so I can stretch my AC reservation dates as far into 2019 as possible, since I need summer).

Bingo.

 

[VacationForever]

The 3 hotels which we have applied our 5-night certificates to, all went up in points requirement post August. It was cat 8 in Singapore, cat 9 in Amsterdam and Hong Kong. I guess we lucked out. I still have one cat 1-5 with nothing attached.

 

[StevenTing]

I didn't see this anywhere and I hate the way Marriott displays this but here is a Google Sheet where I copied the hotel list so you can more easily filter and sort. Should be useful for at least 3 weeks.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18FzZIgto3Ms8CrV3caJOpuhbMFIiWtcYldO5Uon31ec/edit?usp=sharing

 

[ljmiii]

'Stocking up on Category 5 TPs' in general is not going to be helpful. Having accommodation certificates sitting in your account unused as of August 1st will more likely just result in frustration later.

Quite true. I certainly intend to have reservations attached to all my 5-night certificates by July 31st...even if they are not where/when I most want to go. If the news after Aug 1st is good then all the better and I'll cancel and rebook.

Also, from our 'What it's worth department', The Points Guy thinks any unattached 'old' 5 and 7 night certs will be cancelled with some meager number of points refunded. This is based on an unofficial Starwood 'source' he usually finds reliable. Meanwhile his official Starwood source wrote, "I have no idea what the converted equivalent points will be" and his unofficial Marriott source didn't think that the old certs will be cancelled at all.

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/analyzing-terrible-new-marriott-hotel-air-packages/

 

[SMB1]

Quite true. I certainly intend to have reservations attached to all my 5-night certificates by July 31st...even if they are not where/when I most want to go. If the news after Aug 1st is good then all the better and I'll cancel and rebook.

Also, from our 'What it's worth department', The Points Guy thinks any unattached 'old' 5 and 7 night certs will be cancelled with some meager number of points refunded. This is based on an unofficial Starwood 'source' he usually finds reliable. Meanwhile his official Starwood source wrote, "I have no idea what the converted equivalent points will be" and his unofficial Marriott source didn't think that the old certs will be cancelled at all.

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/analyzing-terrible-new-marriott-hotel-air-packages/

I would be shocked and extremely angry if they cancelled the unused certs. I think the chances of that are slim to none.

 

[jpa2825]

I would be shocked and extremely angry if they cancelled the unused certs. I think the chances of that are slim to none.

I think, at worst, they would cancel the cert and deposit the points back to your MR account. For example, a Cat 1-5 cert would refund 100k points for 5 night (4 nights @ 25k/night) or 150k points for 7 night (6 nights at 25k/night). If that happened, most would consider getting the airline miles at a "discount" AND the ability to use the points in increments smaller than 5 or 7 straight nights to be a good / decent trade.

If they don't want to be as generous, they could alter the pre-AUG 1 certs not yet attached to a reservation to the closest mapped Cat post-AUG 1 (e.g., Cat 1-5 becomes Cat 1-4, Cat 6&7 become Cat 5 (maybe you toss some points to the Cat 7 folks as well), Cat 8&9 & Tier 1 become Cat 6 (maybe you toss some points to the Cat 9 & Tier 1 folks as well), etc.)

In reality, Marriott knows how many of these un-redeemed Certs are out there. They can decide whether they want to "take a hit" or "be a hero" based on the various conversion scenarios. My guess is the fewer un-redeemed Certs in the system, the more generous they will be.

 

[ljmiii]

I would be shocked and extremely angry if they cancelled the unused certs. I think the chances of that are slim to none.

I WAS surprised when I first read of the possibility of them being cancelled and converted to points.

I always thought dreams of old Cat 5 Certificates being worth new Cat 5 rooms were just that...dreams. I assumed that old certs would be mapped into new certs based on points/night...with 6, 8, and 9 going up or down since they don't map directly. And honestly it never occurred to me that they would cancel the old certificates since they are trumpeting the ability to buy new ones.

But if they ARE going to go to the bother of cancelling old certificates while selling new ones that are far less generous I don't see them refunding points equal to the 'value' of the old certs (i.e. giving 100,000 points in return for a Cat 5 night cert (since 5 nights for 4)).

But shocked...not so much. Devaluation is the name of the game.

 

[jpa2825]

Pretty good predictive article & chart from back in APR here. All just speculation but interesting analysis.

 

[SMB1]

I think, at worst, they would cancel the cert and deposit the points back to your MR account. For example, a Cat 1-5 cert would refund 100k points for 5 night (4 nights @ 25k/night) or 150k points for 7 night (6 nights at 25k/night). If that happened, most would consider getting the airline miles at a "discount" AND the ability to use the points in increments smaller than 5 or 7 straight nights to be a good / decent trade.

If they don't want to be as generous, they could alter the pre-AUG 1 certs not yet attached to a reservation to the closest mapped Cat post-AUG 1 (e.g., Cat 1-5 becomes Cat 1-4, Cat 6&7 become Cat 5 (maybe you toss some points to the Cat 7 folks as well), Cat 8&9 & Tier 1 become Cat 6 (maybe you toss some points to the Cat 9 & Tier 1 folks as well), etc.)

I never expected the old CAT5 to map to the new cat five. I think either of these scenarios you mention here would be realistic and fair.

 

[Steve A]

I have reservations for next May in London at a cat 9 hotel and airline reservations using a seven night cert and ff miles. I expect it to be honored. My past experience, several years ago when a point change occurred while I was in the UK, is that they honored existing certificates with reservations made prior to the change.

 

[dioxide45]

I have reservations for next May in London at a cat 9 hotel and airline reservations using a seven night cert and ff miles. I expect it to be honored. My past experience, several years ago when a point change occurred while I was in the UK, is that they honored existing certificates with reservations made prior to the change.

As long as you have an existing reservation with the certificate attached, you are golden. The issue will be for those with issued certificates that are just sitting in their account not attached to a reservation.

 

[NboroGirl]

I'm a little confused on the category changes. If I go to Marriott.com and look at the two Marriott properties in St. Kitts, it shows both of them as being category 7. If you look at the new points chart, the Beach Club, currently at 35,000 points per night is going up to 50,000/night and will now be category 6. The St. Kitts Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino is currently at 35,000 points/night, remaining at 35,000/night and it's new category will be 5. I mistakenly believed if the points stayed the same, then the category stayed the same, but I now understand that's not the case. In my example, the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino won't be changing the number of points/night and the new category is 5, so I was assuming the old category was also 5. I'm now sorry I bought the travel package with the cat 1-5 certificate.

Is there any chart that shows the old category and the new category for each hotel? Right now I've been going to marriott.com and looking up the category by selecting points to fake-book a room somewhere. Do I just divide the old points/night by 5000 to get the old category?