Getting Very Nervous About Marriott Inefficiency

[Hoc]

I'm starting to get quite nervous. I have 255,000 MR points that I was saving for a travel package. With the new changes coming up on the 14th, I decided to book the package now.

I called on Jan. 2 and, after shifting some days around, was able to get the Marriott Marquis + 120,000 AA miles for April. I advised that, since the hotel was a cat. 7, I would have to buy 15,000 additional points. The woman, with a strong Indian Accent, said she had done it, but then had problems getting the miles to issue. She transferred me to another department. They said that the miles had already been sent.

On Jan. 3, looking at my Marriott account, the 255,000 points were still showing, and while there was an award reservation showing for the Marriott Marquis, the reservation said that there was no e-certificate in my account to cover it. So, to be safe, I manually purchased another 15,000 points to make sure that there was no problem with getting my award.

Today, looking at my account, no change is showing. I still have a reservation for the Marriott Marquis, but the reservation still says that I do not have an e-certificate. The additional purchased points have not shown up in my Marriott account, which still shows that I have 255,000 points available and that the last award issued was last May. The miles have not appeared in my AA account.

With the drastic devaluation in points in a week, I am getting very worried. . . .

 

[davidvel]

Sounds like you have the rewards reservation only.

Call them ASAP and have them confirm the cert and points transfer is there, and tell them you want to see it in your online acocunt. Then follow up with an e-mail to customer service confirming.

 

[Latravel]

I'm in the same situation but intentionally. I purposely reserved my hotels but did not purchase my travel certificate until now. I am waiting until closer to Jan. 14. in order to maximize the use of the certificate in case I change my travel plans, however unlikely. If it makes you feel any better, this was based on advice from the Marriott representative.

In about a week, I'll purchase a travel certificate though I expect long waits on the phone. Your situation is easily fixed with the right representative. If the person doesn't sound like they know what they are doing (which I've experienced), hang up and call again for another person. It makes a difference.

 

[tlwmkw]

We booked online and had no trouble

We have booked online and the e-cert was e-mailed to the hotel (we've only done this twice but it worked both times). This way you can avoid talking to someone in India.

 

[tlwmkw]

When do the points value drop?

Someone mentioned Jan 14- we are thinking a trip to London in August so would be good to book hotels now if the points value will be dropping.

 

[Dave M]

January 14 will be the last date to book a Reward under the currrent points structure. If you plan to use a Reward this year, be sure to book it by then. Doing it online will be best because the Marriott Rewards phone lines are likely to be crazy next week.

 

[JimIg23]

going a bit off track, I was looking at the 7 night Hawaii certificate for 150k. We dont plan on going to Hawaii for 2 years. Does anyone know how long the certificate is good for after you buy it? (Can find the answer online)

Thanks

 

[LAX Mom]

going a bit off track, I was looking at the 7 night Hawaii certificate for 150k. We dont plan on going to Hawaii for 2 years. Does anyone know how long the certificate is good for after you buy it? (Can find the answer online)

Thanks

Are you asking about a 7 night certificate or the Hawaii Hopper award? If you order one at current values, you have to use it within one year. Also the reservation must be made prior to Jan. 15 if you are using a 7 night certificate. I think if you make a reservation after Jan. 14 the new point values apply for a 7 night stay.

You can get a reservation with current point values if you have a 7 night cert. from a travel package. They are treated differently than the standard award for a 7 night stay. Also the Euro Hopper (elite award) is still good for one year at any hotels in Europe.

There isn't anyway to book a trip in 2 years from now using the current redemption schedule. The latest date you can extend the current point values is Jan. 14, 2010.

 

[JimIg23]

yep, I was looking at the Hawaii Hopper. I cant use it until late 2010-early 2011. Oh well.

 

[Hoc]

Call them ASAP and have them confirm the cert and points transfer is there, and tell them you want to see it in your online acocunt. Then follow up with an e-mail to customer service confirming.

They said it's there. But it's not showing online. In the past, I have found emails to and from customer service to be useless. If they don't want to honor it, they just say, "Oh, customer service was mistaken."

At least I still have a week. If it's still not showing in a couple of days, I'll try again.

 

[Dave M]

I think you should call now. There appears to be a glitch that I have never encountered. Based on reports here and at FlyerTalk by others who have ordered Travel Packages, your experience is very, very unusual.

What you don't want to do is wait and have someone say it may take several days to figure this out and, eventually have someone say, "You're too late; it's past January 14." Also, the phone line wait times, according to the "Marriott Concierge" (a Marriott employee officially assigned to respond to selected questions at Flyertalk), are expected to get increasingly long as January 14 nears.

The points should have been deducted from your account on January 2 and should have disappeared by the time you hung up, logged in again to your Marriott Rewards account and checked your points balance. Also, your AA FF miloes should have shown up by now.

 

[sandesurf]

I agree...call now and straighten it out.
I also called on Jan. 2nd. to buy a travel package. I received e-mail comfirmation of the hotel reward, even though I already had a reservation, and the AA points are already there too.
Good luck!

 

[Hoc]

So, as mentioned above, they said it was there on January 2, and again when I called back on January 6. When it still did not post as of today, I called again. The agent said, "Somebody dropped the ball."

Then he told me that my two purchases of 15,000 points did not go through. This even though I pulled my credit card statement up on the screen and I had been charged for both purchases. He made me buy another 15,000 points for another $187.50 while we were on the phone so that he could put the transaction through. It went through, though he was unable to attach the certificate to my pending reservation.

Now, I will just have to deal with getting the other $375 refunded to me and dealing with having the certificate applied to the reservation when I go to New York in April.

 

[labguides]

I missed it.. what is the change in Marriott points?

 

[Hoc]

I missed it.. what is the change in Marriott points?

They are being devalued again by about 50 percent as of January 15.

 

[KathyPet]

I am so confused. I read here about tuggers making rewards resedrvations but not ordering their reward certificates. I was under the distinct impression that when you went on line and make a reservation saying you we using reward points that the points were automatically deducted from your account so how are people making rewards reservations and holding off on having the certificates issued?

 

[labguides]

Unfortunately, I don't know the dates for travel this year. Is Marriott changing their cancellation policy? I have always been able to cancel a reservation made using points and points were just re-deposited.

 

[Latravel]

"...how are people making rewards reservations and holding off on having the certificates issued?"

By phone. I made multiple reward reservations for my Italy trip, some i'll keep and some I won't, without attaching or purchasing a travel certificate. I did this in case my preferred hotel opened up. I have subsequently purchased 2 European hoppers which are not attached to any hotels yet, again, for flexibility. The European hoppers don't need to be attached by Jan. 15 since they are good for any hotel regardless of the category, therefore, the changes won't affect my certificate.

Travel packages, on the other hand, need to be attached to a hotel by Jan. 15 due to the "higher" cost in terms of points, or in case the category changes. As I said above, I made hotel reservations a couple of months ago by phone, and now I have to decide which hotel reservations to attach to the certificate. I have to do this by Jan 15 to lock in the point rate.

If I did all of this on line, the points would have been automatically deducted from my account, which I did not want. I wish there was a way around it.