purchasing points

[travelbrite]

a couple of questions.
how many points can a husband and wife purchase per year-50,000 or 50,000 each for a total of 100,000?
can you just collect points every year, or can you only purchase them if you are planning on using them right away?
when ordering a travel pkg (air + hotel) do you need to book the flights and hotel immediately, or can marriott just deposit the nights in the hotel and the airline miles to your accounts?
the 5 nights (change from 7 nights) change doesn't go into effect until January 09, so i can order the reward pkg and book the 7 nights before jan even if it is the travel won't take place until June?

thanks

 

[thinze3]

a couple of questions.
how many points can a husband and wife purchase per year-50,000 or 50,000 each for a total of 100,000? This is correct.

can you just collect points every year, or can you only purchase them if you are planning on using them right away? You can save your points for future use.

when ordering a travel pkg (air + hotel) do you need to book the flights and hotel immediately, or can marriott just deposit the nights in the hotel and the airline miles to your accounts? Marriott wants you to book your room and transfer your miles when you buy the package, but you can always go back and delete that room reservation and save your 7-nt certificate for future use.

the 5 nights (change from 7 nights) change doesn't go into effect until January 09, so i can order the reward pkg and book the 7 nights before jan even if it is the travel won't take place until June? From what others have been told - YES.


thanks

Good Luck

Terry

 

[travelbrite]

i did some searches and was able to find the answers to my questions
1. it is 50,000 max per year for family
2. you can buy points every year and accumulate them for $12.50 per 1000, so $625 for 50,000 points
3. you do not need to redeem them right away.
4. still not sure about the jan 15th deadline.
I really need a marriott vacation advisor. when i purchased my timeshare, the woman i purchased from transferred and left me with a gentleman who has been basically useless.

 

[travelbrite]

thanks Terry, i guess we posted at the same time-LOL

 

[travelbrite]

oops sorry terry, is it 50,000 or 100,000 per year?

 

[Dave M]

1. it is 50,000 max per year for family

No, Terry was correct. If two spouses have their own Marriott Rewards accounts, they can each purchase 50,000 points per year. Those points can then be combined, if needed, when claiming a Reward.

4. still not sure about the jan 15th deadline.

All of the current rules will stay in place until January 15. Thus, you could, for example, get a 7-night certificate under the existing rules on January 10 and immediately apply it to a reservation for a stay after January 15.

I really need a Marriott vacation advisor. When i purchased my timeshare, the woman i purchased from transferred and left me with a gentleman who has been basically useless.

You can call Owner Services and ask to have another Advisor assigned to you. However, most of the Owner Services reps are quite capable, so you might consider talking to whoever answers when you call with questions. Any rep has exactly the same info available about you and your ownership as a designated Vacation Ownership Advisor would.

 

[travelbrite]

thanks dave, when you say account, what does that mean, i have a marriott rewards account, my husband owns a timeshare, i have the marriott visa card. i think that means just 50,000 for us
i should start buying points and racking them up for travel packages.
IMO this is marriots way of getting people to buy direct instead of resale (which there is nothing wrong with that, people are in business to make money, and the sales people probably pulled for this) I enjoy trading into timeshares, it is definitely a different type of vacation and we love it, but every now and then those packages of air and hotel to places such as Europe or where a timeshare is not practical nor available i.e. Paris, points and marriott's point system in particular has been a nice perk.

 

[Dave M]

You can each have your own Marriott Rewards account. The points purchases ($625 for 50,000) accrue to individual Marriott Rewards accounts and are unrelated to timeshare ownership. If one of you does not have your own MR account, you can sign up for it in a few minutes at Marriott's site.

 

[travelbrite]

redeeming points
what are the steps i take to redeem a travel package with my reward points.
i want to purchase the hotel + air say cat 7 hotel 120K miles for 270,000 points.
i've found the flights i want on my airline that i am a member with.
how do i know if they will apply the marriott points to the flights?
do i call the airline first or a mva?

 

[Dave M]

Call the airline and ask them to hold your reservation for a few days while you get your Marriott Rewards points converted to FF miles and put in your airline FF account. Some airlines will hold the reservation, others won't. Either way, call Marriott Rewards and request your travel package, giving Marriott your airline FF account info into which the FF miles are to be deposited. Normally, it only takes a few days for the deposit to show up. Then call the airline to have your reservation ticketed or to make a new reservation if they weren't willing to hold it for you earlier.

 

[CMF]

True or False?

"You can only buy points if you need them to book X."

Example A: I want to book a trip/hotel that cost 75K points and only have a balance of 25K points. In this example I'm allowed to buy 50k points to make up the balance.


Example B: I want to buy 50k points to have and to hold in my Marriott Rewards balance for unspecified used at an unspecified date. No can do.

Which of these is true?

Charles

 

[mas]

I've never purchased points as stated in example B, but from everything I've heard and read, your example is true, you can purchase points and hold them in your account up to an amount of 50k per year. This would make example A true as well.

 

[Dave M]

Both are true. You can buy up to 50,000 points (100,000 for two spouses with their own Marriott Rewards accounts) in a year as needed for a Reward or you can do the same simply to hold the points for future use. There is no requirement that the points be used immediately upon purchase. The purchase T&C at Marriott's site have no such requirement and there have been numerous posts here by people who have purchased for future use.

 

[Dave M]

From the T&C:

• A member may purchase or receive as a gift a combined maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year.
• Please allow 24-48 hours for transaction to be completed and points awarded to recipient.
• You must be a Marriott Rewards member in good standing to both purchase and receive points.
• Once points have been purchased or gifted, no refunds will be permitted.
• Purchasing points with the Marriott Rewards Visa® card will result in earning one point per dollar spent on these transactions.

No requirement that the points be used currently.

 

[travelbrite]

thanks Dave, you're very helpful and patient- i know these questions get redundant...

 

[Bill4728]

From the T&C:
Quote:
• A member may purchase or receive as a gift a combined maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year.
• Please allow 24-48 hours for transaction to be completed and points awarded to recipient.
• You must be a Marriott Rewards member in good standing to both purchase and receive points.
• Once points have been purchased or gifted, no refunds will be permitted.
• Purchasing points with the Marriott Rewards Visa® card will result in earning one point per dollar spent on these transactions.

No requirement that the points be used currently..

Please note that although a couple can each purchase 50K pts ( for a total of 100K) they can't be combined into a single MR account. So if you wanted to purchase a 100K reward, you can't combine the points in your spouse's account with the points in your account. BUT you can each buy an award that is only 50K.

Edited to strike out incorrect info

please see the following two posts for correct info.

 

[thinze3]

But you can combine the points at time of booking!


Thank you to the OP for reminding me. I purchased my 50K points today and will probably do my DW's later tonight. Used the Marriott Visa of course.


Terry

 

[kmij]

if one purchases a travel package before the 15th of january, 2009 can the miles and the hotel certificate be used for travel in feb or march of 2010??? or does that have to be used by january 2010???
thanks, in advance for any help on this one!
jean

 

[Dave M]

Contrary to the implication suggested by Bill's post, points in separate accounts for each spuse can be combined for the purchase of a single Reward, as Terry states. From the Marriott Rewards T&C:

Transferring Points from One Account to Another

This member benefit is only available at time of reward redemption (only one reward request per redemption, please).

Immediately prior to redemption, a member may authorize the transfer of the necessary number of Marriott Rewards points into the Marriott Rewards account of his/her spouse or domestic partner, in order to qualify for a specific reward.

Only the necessary number of Marriott Rewards points needed to redeem the specified reward, rounded to the nearest 1,000 points, may be transferred — no more, no less.

 

[Dave M]

Jean -

Marriott has no control over the frequent flyer ("FF") miles added to your airline FF account. Thus, once those FF miles are deposited in your FF account immediately after you request the Travel Package, they are subject to the airline's rules on use. For most airlines, that means you can continue to hold those FF miles for future use as long as you have some activity in that airline FF account at least once every 18 months. Check your airline's FF program rules for its FF miles expiration policy.

However, it appears that the hotel certificate, which is valid for one year from the date it is issued, cannot be extended, unlike the current informal extension rule. Thus, if you order a Travel Package under the current Reward structure (prior to 1/15/09), you should definitely plan to use the hotel portion by January 14, 2010 or lose it.

 

[kmij]

dave,

thanks for your prompt response. not exactly what i wanted to hear, but better to know this information up front and ahead of time.
as far as an email that i got from marriott about a month ago announcing there are no blackout dates any more, is that true??
i was looking to book a hotel in san francisco for a family wedding in sept. it said "no awards available for these dates". what is the deal with that???
thanks, again for any response.
jean

 

[Bill4728]

Please note that although a couple can each purchase 50K pts ( for a total of 100K) they can't be combined into a single MR account. So if you wanted to purchase a 100K reward, you can't combine the points in your spouse's account with the points in your account. BUT you can each buy an award that is only 50K.

Contrary to the implication suggested by Bill's post, points in separate accounts for each spuse can be combined for the purchase of a single Reward, as Terry states. From the Marriott Rewards T&C:

Quote:
Transferring Points from One Account to Another

This member benefit is only available at time of reward redemption (only one reward request per redemption, please).

Immediately prior to redemption, a member may authorize the transfer of the necessary number of Marriott Rewards points into the Marriott Rewards account of his/her spouse or domestic partner, in order to qualify for a specific reward.

Only the necessary number of Marriott Rewards points needed to redeem the specified reward, rounded to the nearest 1,000 points, may be transferred — no more, no less.

Thanks for correcting me. This wasn't what I was told before by Marriott. But with your quote, I'll be sure to insist when I need to do this next time.

 

[ecm500]

Does purchasing points still make sense with new changes?

I'm a relatively new member and had originally planned to purchase 40-50k points per year to save up for a travel package, in addition to points earned from TS purchase, Marriott stays, the MR Visa card and other promotions (love the Marriott Mall - I buy everything there now that I used to buy directly on each site).

Now I'm doubting this strategy - maybe saving up is still OK as long as the points are earned and relatively free, but is purchasing them still a good idea? Maybe I should just put the $500 in a savings account and fund my own future vacation cost.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Ellen

 

[Bill4728]

I'm a relatively new member and had originally planned to purchase 40-50k points per year to save up for a travel package, in addition to points earned from TS purchase, Marriott stays, the MR Visa card and other promotions (love the Marriott Mall - I buy everything there now that I used to buy directly on each site).

Now I'm doubting this strategy - maybe saving up is still OK as long as the points are earned and relatively free, but is purchasing them still a good idea? Maybe I should just put the $500 in a savings account and fund my own future vacation cost.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Ellen

We bought ours pts before the new MR policy was announced. And have already bought our reward certificate for 7 days in the most expensive European hotels. So the purchase of points was a no brainer for us.

If you are planning a trip in 2009 and can buy a certificate before the Jan 2009 when the new reward policy starts, it may make sense for you to buy some points too.

 

[ecm500]

Thanks Bill - the trip I'm planning won't happen until 2010 or 2011 when DH takes his first year of retirement, so maybe I'll keep thinking. In your experience, does Marriott ever do year-end point sale promotions like I'm currently seeing at Delta and other airlines (Buy x, get x+20% points)?

I've read the giftcard thread and am already planning to do that to pay for next June at Frenchman's Cove... thanks again for your advice.

Ellen