2016 Marriott Rewards/Changes to Categories & Tiers

[SueDonJ]

Posted to Marriott Rewards Insiders and Flyertalk:

"Preview 2016 hotel category changes - current categories are still available until March 24, 2016.

See the full list of hotel category changes. If you book by March 24, 2016, you can redeem for your stay under the 2015 rates even if you stay after that date.

How many hotels are affected?
82% of the properties remain unchanged.
62% of all the properties will remain in Categories 1-4.
18% of the hotels are changing. Of those changing, 30% are decreasing by one category and 70% are increasing by one category.

*NEW!* – March 24, 2016 is also the day you can begin mixing cash and points for reservations of one night or more using the NEW Cash + Points.

Please note:
All redemption reservations booked on or before March 24, 2016 will be honored at the current point price, even if the stay occurs after March 24, 2016. If you have not ordered your certificate prior to March 24, 2016, contact Guest Services prior to your stay to request the lower-priced certificate.

As always, you may book redemption reservations up to 50 weeks in advance of your stay, even before having the required points in your account."

 

[IuLiKa]

Thank you for the info. It is nice to see some of the hotels in France going down a tier..

I like the new cash and points... do you know if we can use our cat 5 certificate that we get from VISA anniversary and combine it with cash for a higher category.. I am having a hard time using that certificate lately.. I usually give it away.

 

[mjm1]

Sue, thanks for posting. I'm glad I already reserved a stay at Moab using a free Cat. 5 certificate as it's going to Level 6. It seems the options to use the free night from the Visa card continue to decrease. Nothing new there.

Mike

 

[Squan66]

Options for the Marriott Visa are slim these days. My husband and and I each have the card. I will be using both to visit some colleges in Virginia this year. It looks like we can still use it in Charlottesville when we visit UVA. I will need the free night with what college costs these days

 

[GetawaysRus]

The only good thing that's happened with the Marriott VISA this year is that reward stays now count as elite night stays. So even though it's getting harder to get value from the annual cat 1-5 e-certificate, at least I now get one night credit when I do use it. So it's a small boost to help me retain Marriott Gold status.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Marriott's Brutal 2016 Hotel Category Changes - by Lucky/ One Mile at a Time: Tips, Tricks and Travel with Lucky/ onemileatatime.boardingarea.com

"Marriott Rewards has just announced their 2016 hotel category changes. These changes kick in for bookings made as of March 24, 2016.

With these changes, Marriott Rewards isn’t changing the number of points required for a free night redemption at a given category of hotel, but rather is adjusting which hotels belong to which categories. Their free night redemption chart will continue to look as follows:..."


Richard

 

[AlmostRetired]

Each and every year the number of categories that increase are significantly more than the number of decreases. It is at the point that often it makes more sense to pay for a room instead of using points. I am going to be in Savannah this summer before going to HHI. After trying the few discount codes I am eligible to use, the room costs are 129 per night plus tax or 30,000 reward points. Even If you account for tax, that is less than 1/2 cent per point.

The exchange for DP or weeks makes even less sense. My Monarch week earns me 130000 MR points and the MF is about 1380. I can't possibly use the points near my MF value. A DP point gets you 32 MR points so the same 1300OO will take about 4000 DP or $2000 in MF. This is even worse.

It is what it is and I use the MR points I earn the best I can. This year I exchanged MR points for a 5 day travel package when American Airlines offered the 20 percent bonus. I hope to use it to go to Spain this spring for my wife's 60th.

I am loyal to the Marriott brand when it is a good option for hotel use. The biggest advantage to MR is achieving yearly and eventual lifetime Gold /Platinum status. Having access to the concierge lounge, free Wifi speed upgrade and room upgrades are nice benefits.

 

[dioxide45]

Options for the Marriott Visa are slim these days. My husband and and I each have the card. I will be using both to visit some colleges in Virginia this year. It looks like we can still use it in Charlottesville when we visit UVA. I will need the free night with what college costs these days

Given that even very few Marriott hotels go for less than $100 a night, even those in the cat 1-5, I think there is still value in the free Cat 1-5 Cert. Given that the annual fee is only $85, I think you can still get some value from that cert. If one is already lifetime platinum, it might not be worth the effort since the 15 elite nights don't matter much.

 

[BocaBoy]

The Marriott Visa "free" night is still quite usable for value, although it is now very hard to use it for top vacation resorts or full service inner city hotels in expensive cities. However, if one does a lot of traveling, it is far from worthless. I now consider it to be a way to get a night in the ordinary course of travel to save meaningful dollars. Eligible full service hotels can often be found in very nice suburban locations. One big change that occurred last year to add "value" is that these certs are now good for 12 months instead of the previous 6 months.