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

[dioxide45]

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?

The smallest unit size at the Beach Club is a 2BR. THe old point prices were based on a studio/hotel size unit and to actually book the Beach Club it would have cost two additional upgrades (5000 each). So it would have previously cost 45,000 to book a 2BR at the Beach Club. Now the new point requirements are actually priced based on the smallest unit size at the resort. So the increase is really only 5000 points per night, not 15,000.

Marriott is also going from having nine categories to only eight. They have adjusted the point levels for all the categories. See the very first post for the chart that shows old and new price levels for all the properties. I don't thin it shows the old categories, but you should be able to tell based on the current point requirement.

 

[jpa2825]

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?

Post #1 of this thread has the links to the new and old point values.

 

[VacationForever]

For Marriott categories... as you know you can go to the first link in the first post for new point requirement and category starting on August 1. It also shows the old points requirement at the same time.

You can then extrapolate. Here are the old categories with the points. I have not paid attention to categories below 5 since I rarely stay at anything below Cat 5. But what I have listed below is accurate for the old Marriott Cat 5 to Cat 9.

Cat 5 25K
Cat 6 30K
Cat 7 35K
Cat 8 40K
Cat 9 45K

 

[bazzap]

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?

I suspect the difference may be because the St Kitts Beach Club MVC resort only has 2 and 3 Bed units and as has been suggested previously this is now reflected in the Points requirement (rather than as previously having to “top up” the points for a unit size upgrade.

 

[JanT]

Unless I am linking to an old rewards package rate, it appears to me that the package rates in conjunction with United Airlines are not jumping in points purchase rates very little if at all. All packages using airlines other than United are jumping significantly. Is my take on this correct?

 

[NboroGirl]

Post #1 of this thread has the links to the new and old point values.

For Marriott categories... as you know you can go to the first link in the first post for new point requirement and category starting on August 1. It also shows the old points requirement at the same time.

You can then extrapolate. Here are the old categories with the points. I have not paid attention to categories below 5 since I rarely stay at anything below Cat 5. But what I have listed below is accurate for the old Marriott Cat 5 to Cat 9.

Cat 5 25K
Cat 6 30K
Cat 7 35K
Cat 8 40K
Cat 9 45K

I think everyone misunderstood my previous post. I know Post #1 had the new and old point values. That's not what I was looking for. I wondered if there was any listing that showed old vs. new hotel CATEGORIES. Post #1 shows NEW hotel categories, but not old. VacationForever kind of confirmed my guess that dividing the points by 5000 is a good indicator of category. Thanks.

 

[kds4]

Unless I am linking to an old rewards package rate, it appears to me that the package rates in conjunction with United Airlines are not jumping in points purchase rates very little if at all. All packages using airlines other than United are jumping significantly. Is my take on this correct?

I am using a Category 1-5 accommodation certificate and 132k United Mileage Plus miles package (which includes the 10% bonus) for this example:

Current - 270,000 MRPs
8/1/18 - 330,000 MRPs

Just at face value, the package cost has jumped 60k points but there are more 'hidden' cost increases to flesh out. So, let me break each package down to its component pieces of an accommodation certificate (AC) and frequent flier (FF) miles. I'm going to calculate the cost of the AC first because that is clearly defined based on existing redemption charts of MR points required per night to redeem a stay.

Current (until 8/1/18) Category 1-5 properties cost 25k MRPs per night (at the standard rate). Also, if you redeem 4 nights you get a 5th night free. So, for a 7 night TP, you are really paying for 6 nights (and getting 1 free). This equals 150k MRPs of the 270k it currently costs for a 7 night Category 1-5 TP. The remaining 120k MRPs are the cost of the 132k United Mileage Plus miles you get with this TP. Using 120k MRPs to get 132k FF miles is a conversion ratio of .91:1. This means you are spending less than 1 MRP to get 1 FF mile. That is the best MRP to FF conversion ratio possible, and if you fly United is a great way to boost your account balance.

Now, let's compare how that same package will look after 8/1/18.

First, the package is dropping from including Category 5 properties to be only Category 1-4. So, it is possible that some of the hotels you may have wanted to go to will no longer be available unless the MRPs required per night remained the same at those properties and they were dropped down to the new Category 4 rate (which is 25k MRPs per night). If your desired property is a Category 4 or below effective 8/1/18, the math for the accommodation certificate portion of the package remains the same. You are paying 150k MRPs (25k for 6 nights and getting the 7th night free). That leaves 180k MRPs as the cost of the FF miles portion of the TP at the new rates. Effective 8/1/18, the amount of FF miles that you can get with a TP are dropping from 120k to 100k. United has a 10% bonus (because of their partnership with Marriott), so for a TP with United Mileage Plus FF miles (which is the example I am using), the miles for this travel package would be 110k. However, under the 'old' package rates, you got 132k. The amount of miles you get on United has dropped by 22k, but back to the math. You are spending 180k MRPs to get 110k United Mileage Plus miles. This gives you a conversion ratio of 1.64:1. This means the FF mile portion of your TP will 'cost' you over 50% more than it does now. In simpler terms, you will be spending more MRPs and getting fewer miles for those MRPs starting on 8/1/18. This also assumes you can get the property you want to go to with this Category 1-4 package. If you cannot, because your property stayed a Category 5 (and costs more MRPs per night starting 8/1/18 - 35k MRPs), you will have to buy the 'new' Category 5 TP for 390k MRPs (which covers the additional 10k MRPs per night for the 6 nights out of 7 that you are paying for).

If you're still with me, all of this adds up to meaning that even the United travel package is 'jumping' significantly on 8/1/18 - or as I and others have been saying; will be devalued significantly. If anyone is planning on 7 nights of travel to a property that will become/remain a Category 5 or higher on 8/1/18 (or needs/wants to increase their FF mileage balance at the best possible conversion ratio), the time to get a travel package and book the stay is before 7/31/18.

On 8/1/18, everything will cost more to get less IMHO. YMMV.

 

[kds4]

I think everyone misunderstood my previous post. I know Post #1 had the new and old point values. That's not what I was looking for. I wondered if there was any listing that showed old vs. new hotel CATEGORIES. Post #1 shows NEW hotel categories, but not old. VacationForever kind of confirmed my guess that dividing the points by 5000 is a good indicator of category. Thanks.

Depending on the category, the difference can be as much as 25k MRPs per night.

New MRP costs for standard award redemption per night by category effective 8/1/18.

1 - 7,500
2 - 12,500
3 - 17,500
4 - 25,000
5 - 35,000
6 - 50,000
7 - 60,000
8 - 85,000

 

[JanT]

kds4,

Thanks for the breakdown. I guess haven't been looking at the 8/1/18 page. I didn't notice that jump in points. Then again, with all the changes, etc. my brain is foggy. LoL Thank you for taking the time to put all that together. So appreciated!

I am using a Category 1-5 accommodation certificate and 132k United Mileage Plus miles package (which includes the 10% bonus) for this example:

Current - 270,000 MRPs
8/1/18 - 330,000 MRPs

Just at face value, the package cost has jumped 60k points but there are more 'hidden' cost increases to flesh out. So, let me break each package down to its component pieces of an accommodation certificate (AC) and frequent flier (FF) miles. I'm going to calculate the cost of the AC first because that is clearly defined based on existing redemption charts of MR points required per night to redeem a stay.

Current (until 8/1/18) Category 1-5 properties cost 25k MRPs per night (at the standard rate). Also, if you redeem 4 nights you get a 5th night free. So, for a 7 night TP, you are really paying for 6 nights (and getting 1 free). This equals 150k MRPs of the 270k it currently costs for a 7 night Category 1-5 TP. The remaining 120k MRPs are the cost of the 132k United Mileage Plus miles you get with this TP. Using 120k MRPs to get 132k FF miles is a conversion ratio of .91:1. This means you are spending less than 1 MRP to get 1 FF mile. That is the best MRP to FF conversion ratio possible, and if you fly United is a great way to boost your account balance.

Now, let's compare how that same package will look after 8/1/18.

First, the package is dropping from including Category 5 properties to be only Category 1-4. So, it is possible that some of the hotels you may have wanted to go to will no longer be available unless the MRPs required per night remained the same at those properties and they were dropped down to the new Category 4 rate (which is 25k MRPs per night). If your desired property is a Category 4 or below effective 8/1/18, the math for the accommodation certificate portion of the package remains the same. You are paying 150k MRPs (25k for 6 nights and getting the 7th night free). That leaves 180k MRPs as the cost of the FF miles portion of the TP at the new rates. Effective 8/1/18, the amount of FF miles that you can get with a TP are dropping from 120k to 100k. United has a 10% bonus (because of their partnership with Marriott), so for a TP with United Mileage Plus FF miles (which is the example I am using), the miles for this travel package would be 110k. However, under the 'old' package rates, you got 132k. The amount of miles you get on United has dropped by 22k, but back to the math. You are spending 180k MRPs to get 110k United Mileage Plus miles. This gives you a conversion ratio of 1.64:1. This means the FF mile portion of your TP will 'cost' you over 50% more than it does now. In simpler terms, you will be spending more MRPs and getting fewer miles for those MRPs starting on 8/1/18. This also assumes you can get the property you want to go to with this Category 1-4 package. If you cannot, because your property stayed a Category 5 (and costs more MRPs per night starting 8/1/18 - 35k MRPs), you will have to buy the 'new' Category 5 TP for 390k MRPs (which covers the additional 10k MRPs per night for the 6 nights out of 7 that you are paying for).

If you're still with me, all of this adds up to meaning that even the United travel package is 'jumping' significantly on 8/1/18 - or as I and others have been saying; will be devalued significantly. If anyone is planning on 7 nights of travel to a property that will become/remain a Category 5 or higher on 8/1/18 (or needs/wants to increase their FF mileage balance at the best possible conversion ratio), the time to get a travel package and book the stay is before 7/31/18.

On 8/1/18, everything will cost more to get less IMHO. YMMV.

 

[JanT]

Ok, I'm sorry. I still cannot find the 8/1/18 United Airlines package information. I went to the link in post 1 and that shows all the other airlines than United. There is a hotlink within that link to get to RewardsPlus (United info) but it is no different than what is showing currently on the Marriott website. Can anyone provide me a link to the UA package information beginning 1 August. Thank you!

Depending on the category, the difference can be as much as 25k MRPs per night.

New MRP costs for standard award redemption per night by category effective 8/1/18.

1 - 7,500
2 - 12,500
3 - 17,500
4 - 25,000
5 - 35,000
6 - 50,000
7 - 60,000
8 - 85,000

 

[kds4]

kds4,

Thanks for the breakdown. I guess haven't been looking at the 8/1/18 page. I didn't notice that jump in points. Then again, with all the changes, etc. my brain is foggy. LoL Thank you for taking the time to put all that together. So appreciated!

I hope it helped. If you are an MVCI owner you are eligible for the 5 night travel packages (which are an even better value than the 7 night packages) which are discussed elsewhere.

 

[kds4]

Ok, I'm sorry. I still cannot find the 8/1/18 United Airlines package information. I went to the link in post 1 and that shows all the other airlines than United. There is a hotlink within that link to get to RewardsPlus (United info) but it is no different than what is showing currently on the Marriott website. Can anyone provide me a link to the UA package information beginning 1 August. Thank you!

There isn't a separate 'UA package' that I know of after 8/1/18. You simply contact MR (or MVCI if you are an owner) to redeem a travel package. They will ask you which airline you want the miles credited to and if you choose United, there is a 10% mileage bonus that is added to your package. If it is the 50k miles package you will get 55k. If it is the 100k miles package you will be credited 110k in your Mileage Plus account.

If you look about half-way down the page that is linked on the original post of this thread you should see the following:

You’ll receive 10% more MileagePlus award miles when you redeem for a Hotel + Air Package, up to 12,000 more miles. Discover all the advantages of RewardsPlus.

However, I will also say that there is a conflict in this statement. It says 10% more miles and up to 12,000 more miles. It can't be both under the new mileage scheme. If the maximum number of miles you can get for a travel package will be 100k effective 8/1/18, a 10% bonus will be 10k miles - not the 12k stated.

I believe the 12k bonus reference is based on the current (until 8/1/18) mileage scheme which goes up to 120k miles. A 10% bonus on 120k miles would be the 12k they are advertising.

In short, I believe the new maximum bonus on United will be 10k miles.

 

[JanT]

kds4,

Yes, I saw the 10% more MileagePlus award miles sentence and I knew that was the case. I haven't talked directly with Marriott about a travel package and I know I need to call them if I want one. My confusion lies in the fact that in this link: https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/marriott/redemption/HAR18036_TravelPackages_Chart2.pdf it lists all the participating airlines and United is not listed there. Further down on the page it talks about all the benefits of RewardsPlus and there is a hotlink to that. When you click on that hotlink it takes you to a separate page and all the RewardsPlus packages are listed there - as well as the current packages for other airlines. So, United is not in the new list of participating airlines, except for the link to RewardsPlus. That link is not showing any changes to the RewardsPlus packages. Does that make sense?

There isn't a separate 'UA package' that I know of after 8/1/18. You simply contact MR (or MVCI if you are an owner) to redeem a travel package. They will ask you which airline you want the miles credited to and if you choose United, there is a 10% mileage bonus that is added to your package. If it is the 50k miles package you will get 55k. If it is the 100k miles package you will be credited 110k in your Mileage Plus account.

If you look about half-way down the page that is linked on the original post of this thread you should see the following:

You’ll receive 10% more MileagePlus award miles when you redeem for a Hotel + Air Package, up to 12,000 more miles. Discover all the advantages of RewardsPlus.

However, I will also say that there is a conflict in this statement. It says 10% more miles and up to 12,000 more miles. It can't be both under the new mileage scheme. If the maximum number of miles you can get for a travel package will be 100k effective 8/1/18, a 10% bonus will be 10k miles - not the 12k stated.

I believe the 12k bonus reference is based on the current (until 8/1/18) mileage scheme which goes up to 120k miles. A 10% bonus on 120k miles would be the 12k they are advertising.

In short, I believe the new maximum bonus on United will be 10k miles.

 

[SMB1]

kds4,

Yes, I saw the 10% more MileagePlus award miles sentence and I knew that was the case. I haven't talked directly with Marriott about a travel package and I know I need to call them if I want one. My confusion lies in the fact that in this link: https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/marriott/redemption/HAR18036_TravelPackages_Chart2.pdf it lists all the participating airlines and United is not listed there. Further down on the page it talks about all the benefits of RewardsPlus and there is a hotlink to that. When you click on that hotlink it takes you to a separate page and all the RewardsPlus packages are listed there - as well as the current packages for other airlines. So, United is not in the new list of participating airlines, except for the link to RewardsPlus. That link is not showing any changes to the RewardsPlus packages. Does that make sense?

I see what you are saying and it is a little misleading, but I think KDS4 is right on with the 10% increase from 50 -> 55 and 100 -> united miles under the new travel packages. Huge devaluation.

 

[dioxide45]

I think everyone misunderstood my previous post. I know Post #1 had the new and old point values. That's not what I was looking for. I wondered if there was any listing that showed old vs. new hotel CATEGORIES. Post #1 shows NEW hotel categories, but not old. VacationForever kind of confirmed my guess that dividing the points by 5000 is a good indicator of category. Thanks.

I don't think Marriott included the old category in that chart linked in post #1 because there is no real correlation to the old categories and the new ones. They are restructuring their categories all together. They did include current and new point requirements to give you the idea of what the point differences are.

 

[jeepie]

'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).

Good points I think. I would add (my opinion!) that the same strategy can be used for other categories. Also, since 7 night TPS have been severely devalued, it is a good move to hedge against the likely similar treatment of 5 night TPS, even if one is not prepared to make hotel reservations just yet. I just bought two TPS, one United and one Alaska, Cat 8 and 9 respectively. Btw, United miles posted in 3 days, Alaska in 5. I’ll probably do a couple more before 8/1. I’m not going “all in” because I hope the new TPs will be announced in the next couple of weeks. Cheers.

 

[kds4]

[Merged]
Travel Package 'Sweet Spots' Until 7/31/18

So, I thought if could be useful to identify which properties will be adjusting up in category on 8/1/18 thereby creating 'sweet spots' to apply existing travel packages to before D-Day (aka Devaluation Day).

I am starting with the current Category 5 properties - for those who do/will have a Category 1-5 TP accommodation certificate to book between now and 7/31/18. The following properties are all currently 25k MRPs per night and will map to the new Category 5 effective 8/1/18 becoming 35k MRP per night. For a 5 night TP, that will be at least a 40k MRP increase in cost to stay at these properties if booked on/after 8/1/18.

Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel Marriott Canada 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Eugenia de Montijo, Autograph Collection Autograph Collection Spain 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity JW Marriott India 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Marriott's Villas at Doral Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Paragraph Resort & Spa Shekvetili, Autograph Collection Autograph Collection Georgia 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Residence Inn Temecula Murrieta Residence Inn USA 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5

 

[mvc]

Thought this needed its own thread, I also posted in the main merger one. Mods: adjust accordingly.

New Charts:

https://points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change

New Packages:

https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/marriott/redemption/HAR18036_TravelPackages_Chart2.pdf

A cursory check of a few properties indicates what MR told us...some go up, some go down, though for an example like Orlando, there are roughly triple the number of downs vs. ups. And the 35K value of a the free night on the MRCC is MUCH more valuable than the current Cat 5 one...lots more options.

Thought this needed its own thread, I also posted in the main merger one. Mods: adjust accordingly.

New Charts:

https://points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change

New Packages:

https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/marriott/redemption/HAR18036_TravelPackages_Chart2.pdf

A cursory check of a few properties indicates what MR told us...some go up, some go down, though for an example like Orlando, there are roughly triple the number of downs vs. ups. And the 35K value of a the free night on the MRCC is MUCH more valuable than the current Cat 5 one...lots more options.

 

[mvc]

Thought this needed its own thread, I also posted in the main merger one. Mods: adjust accordingly.

New Charts:

https://points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change

New Packages:

https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/marriott/redemption/HAR18036_TravelPackages_Chart2.pdf

A cursory check of a few properties indicates what MR told us...some go up, some go down, though for an example like Orlando, there are roughly triple the number of downs vs. ups. And the 35K value of a the free night on the MRCC is MUCH more valuable than the current Cat 5 one...lots more options.

 

[kds4]

[Merged]
Travel Package 'Sweet Spots' Until 7/31/18

So, I thought if could be useful to identify which properties will be adjusting up in category on 8/1/18 thereby creating 'sweet spots' to apply existing travel packages to before D-Day (aka Devaluation Day).

I am starting with the current Category 5 properties - for those who do/will have a Category 1-5 TP accommodation certificate to book between now and 7/31/18. The following properties are all currently 25k MRPs per night and will map to the new Category 5 effective 8/1/18 becoming 35k MRP per night. For a 5 night TP, that will be at least a 40k MRP increase in cost to stay at these properties if booked on/after 8/1/18.

Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel Marriott Canada 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Eugenia de Montijo, Autograph Collection Autograph Collection Spain 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity JW Marriott India 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Marriott's Villas at Doral Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Paragraph Resort & Spa Shekvetili, Autograph Collection Autograph Collection Georgia 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Residence Inn Temecula Murrieta Residence Inn USA 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5

Please note that this is not intended to be a substitute for the links provided in the original post on this thread. It is only a 'hack' for those who have had trouble mastering how to use the sort and search functions of that document to interpret the data for their individual travel planning needs. YMMV.

 

[VacationForever]

[Merged]
Travel Package 'Sweet Spots' Until 7/31/18

So, I thought if could be useful to identify which properties will be adjusting up in category on 8/1/18 thereby creating 'sweet spots' to apply existing travel packages to before D-Day (aka Devaluation Day).

I am starting with the current Category 5 properties - for those who do/will have a Category 1-5 TP accommodation certificate to book between now and 7/31/18. The following properties are all currently 25k MRPs per night and will map to the new Category 5 effective 8/1/18 becoming 35k MRP per night. For a 5 night TP, that will be at least a 40k MRP increase in cost to stay at these properties if booked on/after 8/1/18.

Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel Marriott Canada 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Eugenia de Montijo, Autograph Collection Autograph Collection Spain 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity JW Marriott India 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Marriott's Villas at Doral Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Paragraph Resort & Spa Shekvetili, Autograph Collection Autograph Collection Georgia 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5
Residence Inn Temecula Murrieta Residence Inn USA 25,000 to 35,000 - New Cat 5

The current Cat 5 will be Cat 4 after August 1st. If the certificate has not been attached prior to August first, I strongly believe that it will only be good for Cat 4 properties after August 1st, unless you pay more points to adjust to a higher category.

 

[kds4]

For those who do/will have a Category 6 travel package AC to book by 7/31/18, take a look at this property. While it is currently a Category 6 (30k MRP per night), it will be jumping to 50k MRP per night on 8/1/18 (and mapping to the new Cat 6). That is an 80k MRP increase over a 5 night stay.

Marriott's Club Son Antem Marriott Vacation Club Intl Spain 30,000 to 50,000 - New Cat 6

 

[kds4]

The current Cat 5 will be Cat 4 after August 1st. If the certificate has not been attached prior to August first, I strongly believe that it will only be good for Cat 4 properties after August 1st, unless you pay more points to adjust to a higher category.

Correct. The properties I am pointing out are those I would want to book my travel package AC to by 7/31/18 for just the reason you described.

 

[kds4]

For those who do/will have a Category 7 travel package AC to book by 7/31/18, take a look at these properties. While currently a Category 7 (35k MRP per night), they will be jumping to 50k MRP per night on 8/1/18 (and mapping to the new Cat 6). That is a 60k MRP increase over a 5 night stay.

Fairfield Inn & Suites Virgin Zion National Park Fairfield Inn USA 35,000 to 50,000
Marriott Vacation Club Pulse, San Diego Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 35,000 50,000
Marriott's Cypress Harbour Villas Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 35,000 50,000
Marriott's Fairway Villas Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 35,000 50,000
Marriott's Imperial Palms Villas Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 35,000 50,000
Marriott's Marbella Beach Resort Marriott Vacation Club Intl Spain 35,000 50,000
Marriott's Royal Palms Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 35,000 50,000
Marriott's Sabal Palms Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 35,000 50,000
Marriott's St. Kitts Beach Club Marriott Vacation Club Intl Saint Kitts and Nevis 35,000 50,000
SpringHill Suites Springdale Zion National Park SpringHill Suites USA 35,000 50,000

 

[kds4]

For those who do/will have a Category 8 travel package AC to book by 7/31/18, take a look at these properties. While currently a Category 8 (40k MRP per night), they will be jumping to 60k MRP per night on 8/1/18 (and mapping to the new Cat 7). That is an 80k MRP increase over a 5 night stay.

Marriott's Kauai Lagoons - Kalanipu'u Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 40,000 60,000
Marriott's Newport Coast Villas Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 40,000 60,000
Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 40,000 60,000
Marriott’s Waikoloa Ocean Club Marriott Vacation Club Intl USA 40,000 60,000

There is a long list of Category 8 properties that will also be jumping up 10k from 40k to 50k MRP on 8/1/18 (mapping to the new Cat 6).