Abound contest

[Ken555]

I suspect the issue here is the third party contest fulfillment vendor.

Without question. Nevertheless, this was a poorly designed campaign. Other third party vendors use the customers domain for email - I know, since I've been professionally involved with hundreds of such campaigns. It's not that difficult to do so, but I can't say I'm surprised...this is exactly the type of inferior tech solutions Marriott has implemented for years.

There was no integration of the winning process into the website, so no prompts to *do* anything after winning with the exception of a single email. And, that winning email was received at 12:03am PT (I'm in Hawaii right now so it showed at 10:03am...). Worse, the campaign is still active so I don't understand the rationale for limiting redemption of winning awards to five days - that seems arbitrary and unnecessary. Of course, the entire validation process itself seems unnecessary... since they know exactly who we are.

 

[dioxide45]

Without question. Nevertheless, this was a poorly designed campaign. Other third party vendors use the customers domain for email - I know, since I've been professionally involved with hundreds of such campaigns. It's not that difficult to do so, but I can't say I'm surprised...this is exactly the type of inferior tech solutions Marriott has implemented for years.

There was no integration of the winning process into the website, so no prompts to *do* anything after winning with the exception of a single email. And, that winning email was received at 12:03am PT (I'm in Hawaii right now so it showed at 10:03am...). Worse, the campaign is still active so I don't understand the rationale for limiting redemption of winning awards to five days - that seems arbitrary and unnecessary. Of course, the entire validation process itself seems unnecessary... since they know exactly who we are.

Yeah. I don't understand the email validation process/requirement either. They know how we clicked through and obviously capture something to ensure we are eligible to even participate. If you click on the link without an active login, it doesn't work. They probably went with one of the cheaper fulfillment vendors, or it is a somebody who knows somebody kind of thing...

 

[Eric B]

Got my first 500 PlusPoints today.

 

[Moparman42]

Got my first 500 PlusPoints today.

mine too. now to see if and what I can do with them!

 

[grgs]

Got my first 500 PlusPoints today.

Did you get an email? Or, just noticed them in your account?

 

[Eric B]

Checked my account.

 

[echino]

No 500 points still.

I logged in to the Marriott search by points feature both via my Vistana account and via my MVC legacy weeks account, no points in either.

I "won 500 PlusPoints or 11,200 Marriott Bonvoy® Points", received the email, went through verification process, filled out W-8BEN form as a Canadian on January 28.

 

[dsmrp]

I play on my husband's as well as my own account; only get sweepstakes entries ...

 

[YYJMSP]

woo hoo!!! won 1000 BonVoy points, so I guess it's not rigged...

 

[echino]

I just got an unexpected email today:

"Congratulations on your recent win in the Abound by Marriott Vacations Sweepstakes and Instant Game! We have received your information and your eligibility has been approved. No additional action is required from you at this time. You will either be contacted or receive your prize within the guidelines outlined within the official rules."

I am not aware I have won anything recently. I had won an instant prize of 500 points, but it was back in January. Might today's email be about a weekly prize? The rules say weekly prize notifications should go out today. If it is a weekly prize, the email does not mention what I won.

 

[dioxide45]

I just got an unexpected email today:

"Congratulations on your recent win in the Abound by Marriott Vacations Sweepstakes and Instant Game! We have received your information and your eligibility has been approved. No additional action is required from you at this time. You will either be contacted or receive your prize within the guidelines outlined within the official rules."

I am not aware I have won anything recently. I had won an instant prize of 500 points, but it was back in January. Might today's email be about a weekly prize? The rules say weekly prize notifications should go out today. If it is a weekly prize, the email does not mention what I won.

It looks like you won a prize in the weekly sweepstakes draw.

 

[luv_maui]

rules."

I wonder when you’ll find out what you won. You’d think they’d at least tell you what you won. But I guess it’ll be a surprise.

 

[byeloe]

I have been playing twice daily first through the email link on the vsn site and then clicking through from my VSN account over to the Marriott account.

I have won only sweepstakes entries and I win the exact same prize on both sites.
It no longer seems like a coincidence

 

[buzglyd]

I got the beach towel a few days ago. I haven’t seen it because I’m in Florida but the wife said it was pretty thin. She said it’s more like a picnic blanket because you won’t be drying yourself off with it.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I got the email and filled out the form to verify our address. It then sent us a "Congrats you qualify" and will be sending the reward soon. Funny thing is that we were offered 500 Abound or 1000 Bonvoy and it didn't ask about which prize we preferred. I would like the 500 Abound to try it out but we'll see.

 

[sponger76]

I got the email and filled out the form to verify our address. It then sent us a "Congrats you qualify" and will be sending the reward soon. Funny thing is that we were offered 500 Abound or 1000 Bonvoy and it didn't ask about which prize we preferred. I would like the 500 Abound to try it out but we'll see.

The fine print on the website says that if you already have access to Abound, you'll get the Abound points. If not, you will get the Bonvoy points. There is no choosing.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

The fine print on the website says that if you already have access to Abound, you'll get the Abound points. If not, you will get the Bonvoy points. There is no choosing.

Thanks! Did not see that. So the proof will be evident whether we truly have Abound access when we get the 500 points. Tuggers are the best!

 

[sponger76]

Thanks! Did not see that. So the proof will be evident whether we truly have Abound access when we get the 500 points. Tuggers are the best!

Well, for Vistana owners, if you have the ability to elect your VOI for Abound points that means you have access. For MVC owners, if you can elect an enrolled week for Abound points, same thing.

 

[kozykritter]

I just got an unexpected email today:

"Congratulations on your recent win in the Abound by Marriott Vacations Sweepstakes and Instant Game! We have received your information and your eligibility has been approved. No additional action is required from you at this time. You will either be contacted or receive your prize within the guidelines outlined within the official rules."

I am not aware I have won anything recently. I had won an instant prize of 500 points, but it was back in January. Might today's email be about a weekly prize? The rules say weekly prize notifications should go out today. If it is a weekly prize, the email does not mention what I won.

I received the exact same email today. At first I thought it was a follow-up on the Shutterfly prize I won last week but didn't bother to claim because I have no use for it. But just like your email it didn't mention what prize I had won. I'm so hoping this isn't a system glitch and that both of us have won something good!

 

[KangarooTravel]

I won 500 plus points yesterday to go along with my towel that I won earlier in the contest. I play every day bit only once. I own one vistana week.

 

[Denise L]

I have only won sweepstakes entries. Today, I tried to play but the page with the tiles didn't come in and when I tried again, the page said Thanks for Playing and never let me play . I was so sure today was the day I would win something exciting !

 

[Denise L]

Well, today was the day. I won 500 Abound or 11,200 Bonvoy points. I want the Bonvoy points unless folks here think that I can do anything with 500 Abound points. We won't be trading in our Maui weeks for Abound points, ever. If we aren't electing Abound but are eligible, will the sweepstakes let us take the Bonvoy points?

 

[Eric B]

Well, today was the day. I won 500 Abound or 11,200 Bonvoy points. I want the Bonvoy points unless folks here think that I can do anything with 500 Abound points. We won't be trading in our Maui weeks for Abound points, ever. If we aren't electing Abound but are eligible, will the sweepstakes let us take the Bonvoy points?

There isn’t an opportunity to choose - per the rules if you are eligible for Abound you get PlusPoints.

 

[DanCali]

Well, today was the day. I won 500 Abound or 11,200 Bonvoy points. I want the Bonvoy points unless folks here think that I can do anything with 500 Abound points. We won't be trading in our Maui weeks for Abound points, ever. If we aren't electing Abound but are eligible, will the sweepstakes let us take the Bonvoy points?

The 500 Abound points (worth $350-$500) are a lot more valuable than 11,200 Bonvoy points (worth maybe $100).

Not sure where you are on the west coast, but you should take a look at the points charts. With 500 points you can get 5 nights in a studio at Timber Lodge (Tahoe) in the Spring or Fall. Or 5 nights in a studio in the summer at one of the properties in the Palm Springs area (MVC or Westins). Grand Chateau in Vegas may also be an option for you for a driving trip. And if your benefit level is Executive or higher (should be with Maui weeks) you can stretch it even further with 25%/30% discount at 30/60 days out and get 4-5 days in a 1BR. Can be a nice staycation in the off season and there's no rush - those points are good for 2 years.

11,200 Bonvoy points won't even get you a single night at a Residence Inn...

Abound 2024 Points Charts

I noticed that they released the individual points charts for the resorts, so I put it all in a booklet for everyone's convenience. All copyrights belong to Marriott Vacation Club. (@StevenTing - Please upload to vacationpointexchange as well when you get a chance) I had to compress the file...

tugbbs.com

 

[grgs]

The 500 points I won in the contest are now showing up in my account. They expire on Mar. 7, 2025.

Not sure what I'll do with them yet, but I'll start playing around to see what's available.

Update: I found a couple of nights that I wanted to reserve, but was unable to make the reservation. I kept getting this message:

There is availability at the resort for the day you selected. However, you may not have the number of Points in your account to complete the reservation for this usage year. Please try these additional options: Revisit your points balance to view available points. Check eligibility to bank your points into your desired use year. If you are an owner of weeks enrolled with Abound by Marriott Vacations, you may be eligible to elect to receive Club Points for your current year or future year usage week(s). If the issue remains unresolved, contact Owner Services.

I started a chat session, got through to a live rep, and they were able to make the reservation for me. The rep said that the contest points can't be reserved directly. Not sure if that's been the case for others or not.