Gift card vs. e-gift card

[pooker]

I purchased a large amount of gift cards from Marriott (they had a good promotion going on). The gift card T&C's states that it is accepted at any Marriott property. The gift card facilities messed up on my order so they sent me an e-gift card with my amount. In the e-mail and in Marriott's T&C's it states this is to be used like any physical gift card.

So far I have had two hotels seemingly decline it. I was told from gift card services that this was accepted at all Marriott's. I e-mailed Marriott and they replied and stated that these hotels would accept the gift card. I am currently a guest at one of these hotels and they called the hotel on my behalf. I was told that they spoke to the manager (who would be reaching out to me today, which never happened) and they verified it with Joe (a Marriott employee) that they would in fact accept my gift card.

After not hearing from the manager all day, I went downstairs to verify that everything was good to go with my gift card and to question why Jessica never reached out to me. I was informed that they will not be accepting my e-gift card and that although Marriott did call, the person they talked to had no authority to make a claim like that.

I was made to feel like I was scamming the hotel and it was hostile for me. When I inquired why the manager never reached out to me, I was merely informed that they will talk to me on checkout (11/25).

I e-mailed Marriott again and called customer service (my phone call was a documented 40 minutes long because of the wait). They told me that while all Marriott's should accept this gift card, it is up to the individual facility.

I ended up eating candy bars for Thanksgiving due to the two hotels charging everything to my credit card and maxing them out. I was unable to withdraw funds from my bank due to the holiday. Marriott said there is nothing they can do about this. Gift card services said while they were at fault, there is still nothing they can do. It is up to the hotel's discretion on whether or not they accept a gift card (regardless if it is digital or physical).

I just wanted to give a warning to people out there. If I knew this could of happened I would of never purchased these gift cards. I didn't know that accepting gift cards was discretionary.

I guess I am curious on what some of you would do in this situation. I am honestly tired of arguing and I am thinking about just cutting my losses and having this gift card go to waste. Marriott says there is nothing they can do.

[BKKLEE]

what does "seemingly" decline it mean? either they actually did or didn't.....

don't follow how the hotel is maxing out your CC if you're still at the hotel as they don't charge until you checkout??

IMO your story just doesn't make sense............

Originally Posted by pooker

I purchased a large amount of gift cards from Marriott (they had a good promotion going on). The gift card T&C's states that it is accepted at any Marriott property. The gift card facilities messed up on my order so they sent me an e-gift card with my amount. In the e-mail and in Marriott's T&C's it states this is to be used like any physical gift card.

So far I have had two hotels seemingly decline it. I was told from gift card services that this was accepted at all Marriott's. I e-mailed Marriott and they replied and stated that these hotels would accept the gift card. I am currently a guest at one of these hotels and they called the hotel on my behalf. I was told that they spoke to the manager (who would be reaching out to me today, which never happened) and they verified it with Joe (a Marriott employee) that they would in fact accept my gift card.

After not hearing from the manager all day, I went downstairs to verify that everything was good to go with my gift card and to question why Jessica never reached out to me. I was informed that they will not be accepting my e-gift card and that although Marriott did call, the person they talked to had no authority to make a claim like that.

I was made to feel like I was scamming the hotel and it was hostile for me. When I inquired why the manager never reached out to me, I was merely informed that they will talk to me on checkout (11/25).

I e-mailed Marriott again and called customer service (my phone call was a documented 40 minutes long because of the wait). They told me that while all Marriott's should accept this gift card, it is up to the individual facility.

I ended up eating candy bars for Thanksgiving due to the two hotels charging everything to my credit card and maxing them out. I was unable to withdraw funds from my bank due to the holiday. Marriott said there is nothing they can do about this. Gift card services said while they were at fault, there is still nothing they can do. It is up to the hotel's discretion on whether or not they accept a gift card (regardless if it is digital or physical).

I just wanted to give a warning to people out there. If I knew this could of happened I would of never purchased these gift cards. I didn't know that accepting gift cards was discretionary.

I guess I am curious on what some of you would do in this situation. I am honestly tired of arguing and I am thinking about just cutting my losses and having this gift card go to waste. Marriott says there is nothing they can do.

[pooker]

Originally Posted by BKKLEE

what does "seemingly" decline it mean? either they actually did or didn't.....

It was refused.

Edit-

The entire hotel stay was charged to my card and same with the checkout at the first hotel (Thanksgiving). It was pre-authorized at the current one, and charged for all at the first one. Both of which reduce credit limit. I was told they will not accept this gift card.

I don't know what about my story doesn't make sense. I had planned on paying for all of my stays with the gift card. They would not accept them so all pre-authorizations and final charges went to my credit card. If you eat in the restaurant, order drinks, etc it was all billed to my card that same day.

I am a young traveler (in my early 20's) so I do not carry around cards with high credit limits. I had the full intention of using the gift card to pay for all of my meals, room charges, etc at the Marriott.

[BKKLEE]

the actual GC or what you're referring to as an e-GC??

Originally Posted by pooker

It was refused.

Edit-

The entire hotel stay was charged to my card and same with the checkout at the first hotel (Thanksgiving). It was pre-authorized at the current one, and charged for all at the first one. Both of which reduce credit limit. I was told they will not accept this gift card.

[crhptic]

Sorry to hear of your difficulties. Not sure what you can do with the current situation other than complain to the GM and threaten to withhold future business if they do not work with you. It does seem bizarre that they would not accept the gift cards, as they get paid just like they would with any other credit card.

The official T&C for Marriott gift cards state:

Marriott GiftCards may be used at participating JW Marriott®, EDITION℠, Autograph Collection®, Renaissance® Hotels, AC by Marriott℠, Marriott® Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard® by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites® by Marriott, SpringHill Suites® by Marriott, Residence Inn® by Marriott, TownePlace Suites® by Marriott and Marriott Vacation Club℠ and participating hotel outlets: retail, spa, golf and food and beverage.

The key word in there, which I bolded, appears to be "participating".

For future stays, what I'd do in your position is email the hotel directly prior to booking to ask if they accept Marriott gift cards and e-gift cards. Get an email back, saying yes (from the hotel directly, preferably from a manager - you may have to call the hotel to get this person's direct email address) before you book. Then you should be on solid ground. If you had this issue again after confirming in writing, I think you'd have a good case for demanding a refund for the gift cards as they are not being accepted according to the published T&Cs.

[pooker]

Originally Posted by BKKLEE

the actual GC or what you're referring to as an e-GC??

Yes the e-gift card.

Per the T&C's that was e-mailed to me.

"Marriott eGiftcards are accepted at over 3700 participating Marriott branded locations worldwide. Click here to view complete Terms and Conditions for Marriott eGiftCards."

[BKKLEE]

I DO NOT agree with this statement...............if billed to your room, these charges will not be billed until you checkout from the prop.............

Originally Posted by pooker

I don't know what about my story doesn't make sense. I had planned on paying for all of my stays with the gift card. They would not accept them so all pre-authorizations and final charges went to my credit card. If you eat in the restaurant, order drinks, etc it was all billed to my card that same day.

[pooker]

Originally Posted by crhptic

Sorry to hear of your difficulties. Not sure what you can do with the current situation other than complain to the GM and threaten to withhold future business if they do not work with you. It does seem bizarre that they would not accept the gift cards, as they get paid just like they would with any other credit card.

The official T&C for Marriott gift cards state:


The key word in there, which I bolded, appears to be "participating".

For future stays, what I'd do in your position is email the hotel directly prior to booking to ask if they accept Marriott gift cards and e-gift cards. Get an email back, saying yes (from the hotel directly, preferably from a manager - you may have to call the hotel to get this person's direct email address) before you book. Then you should be on solid ground. If you had this issue again after confirming in writing, I think you'd have a good case for demanding a refund for the gift cards as they are not being accepted according to the published T&Cs.

Yeah, I saw that. I guess it is just a life lesson. Some of the T&C's seemed a little bit ambiguous to me. Ahh well, such is life.

Originally Posted by BKKLEE

I DO NOT agree with this statement...............if billed to your room, these charges will not be billed until you checkout from the prop.............

The key word here is pre-authorized. It is still a hold that is placed on the card for the charges you incurred and effectively reduces your credit limit until it is either fully charged or removed. If you disagree that this happens, then I do not know what to tell you. I am looking at the charges right now.

[Moriens]

Actually, the problem seems to be that the gift cards cannot be used for deposit, prepayment, or pre-authorization, even though they should be usable as final payment at all properties participating in Marriott:

Q. Can a Marriott GiftCard / eGiftCard be used at any Marriott property?
A. Yes, Marriott GiftCards / eGiftCards can be used at all participating Marriott properties worldwide.
…
Q. Can I use a GiftCard / eGiftCard to guarantee room reservations?
A. No, a GiftCard / eGiftCard cannot be used to guarantee room reservations

Q. Can I use a GiftCard / eGiftCard to pre-pay for a room reservation (e.g. Advance Purchase Rates)?
A. No, a GiftCard / eGiftCard cannot be used to pre-pay for a room reservation

So (if the terms and FAQ are accurate) you need to supply a credit (or debit) card when you check in. The credit limit (or available balance) of that card will be reduced by your rate and estimated incidentals for 10+ days from checkin. However, the hotel should still accept the Marriott gift card as a form of payment at checkout.

I don't think there is anything you can do about your credit limit issue. That's just how the gift cards work.* (Also, you can't use the gift cards for prepaid (advance purchase) rates.)

(If you are not staying on a prepaid or advance purchase rate:) You should email gifts@marriott.com to confirm that the hotel(s) you are staying at accepts Marriott gift cards. You should insist on paying with the gift card at checkout. If the hotel refuses to accept the gift card, you should ask them to confirm on hotel stationery that they refuse to accept Marriott gift cards, and then forward that information to gifts@marriott.com.

*My guess is that the gift card supplier has no way to do a “hold” on a gift card. If someone checked into hotel A with a gift card, and then spent all the money on it at hotel B's restaurant, then hotel A would be stuck without a guarantee from the guest. So the hotels put their hold on the credit limit on a real credit card instead.

If you have time, please let us know what happened, and which hotels these were!

[Often1]

The T&C of the cards are not ambiguous at all. They make it clear that only "participating" Marriott's accept them. If OP did not confirm with the specific property at which he was booking that it was a "participating" Marriott and it turns out that it is not, he has nothing to complain about here on FT, to Marriott or to the individual property.

It's regreatble for OP, but the T&C really do matter and here, where an individual property doesn't participate, it simply won't take them.

As to the entire issue of credit limit, what may be happening is that as OP is running up a bill, the property is upping the authorization.

[sophiegirl]

Assuming (and as I have no evidence to the contrary...) that the OP did contact Marriott, and was told the card would be accepted, he is understandably upset. Early in my travel life I certainly would not have thought to verify it again, and in fact did not know that accepting these was optional by a property until I read this thread.

Personally, I think that stinks. IMO, a Marriott card, sold by Marriott, should be accepted at Marriott...expecting the customer to verify that seems inhospitable, to say the least.

With regards to his credit - if he bought the certs on the card, and is now having the "same" charges pre-authorized to it...that's a pretty hefty hit, and I certainly couldn't have carried it easily in my 20's.

If they would take the cards, checking in /out every few days would allow the OP to "pay up", releasing some of the pre-authorization....but sounds as if that is kind of moot now.

Pooker, I am sorry. Tough situation to be in, and I hope it works out. One thing I will say - as you have now learned, there are many facets to be considered when buying gift cards. A "good promotion" is only one of them - regardless of what the bloggers may tell you.

[orca15]

I really hope you don't let this go without a fight. I think the "participating" thing is a red herring; I would be extremely surprised if your hotel was on a non-participating list, assuming you aren't in Timbuktu or some such. Get the GM in a room with a phone, call the gift card line, as for a senior supervisor, and get it straightened out. I guarantee you the gift card customer service management isn't going to want to let this go any more than you do. Tell the GM you plan to post on every travel site you can find, and follow through.

Later on, when you catch your breath, go back to them (GC) and insist on a free night, or some other compensation, for the first hotel refusing the card. IMO this whole fiasco started with failure to deliver the real gift card (same thing happened to me, and I just cancelled it, BTW).

Normally I am not one to throw a hand grenade when a simple mistake is made, but you have suffered a real loss of time and financial hardship, not to mention having to scrimp on food, and it's because the GC folks aren't getting the word out.

Doubt you can get around the pre-authorization problem, but the failure to accept the card is unsat. Have the GC folks figure out how to charge the card, deduct it from your balance, and refund your CC - anything else is unacceptable. Fight!! and report back!

[sammyindc]

Originally Posted by crhptic

Sorry to hear of your difficulties. Not sure what you can do with the current situation other than complain to the GM and threaten to withhold future business if they do not work with you. It does seem bizarre that they would not accept the gift cards, as they get paid just like they would with any other credit card.

The official T&C for Marriott gift cards state:


The key word in there, which I bolded, appears to be "participating".

For future stays, what I'd do in your position is email the hotel directly prior to booking to ask if they accept Marriott gift cards and e-gift cards. Get an email back, saying yes (from the hotel directly, preferably from a manager - you may have to call the hotel to get this person's direct email address) before you book. Then you should be on solid ground. If you had this issue again after confirming in writing, I think you'd have a good case for demanding a refund for the gift cards as they are not being accepted according to the published T&Cs.

Best bet is to always call the property ahead of time and ask them if they are "participating" in the gift card either electronic or physical.

[BKKLEE]

since accepting the GC gives the prop both immediate and non-commissioned payment it would seem obvious that all props would be accepting the card, however if common sense doesn't prevail then it would seem easy for Marriott GC folks to just publish a list of the few props that do not accept the GCs and desire to await payment and pay commissions..........

Originally Posted by sammyindc

Best bet is to always call the property ahead of time and ask them if they are "participating" in the gift card either electronic or physical.

[SkiAdcock]

Originally Posted by sophiegirl

Assuming (and as I have no evidence to the contrary...) that the OP did contact Marriott, and was told the card would be accepted, he is understandably upset. Early in my travel life I certainly would not have thought to verify it again, and in fact did not know that accepting these was optional by a property until I read this thread.

Personally, I think that stinks. IMO, a Marriott card, sold by Marriott, should be accepted at Marriott...expecting the customer to verify that seems inhospitable, to say the least.

With regards to his credit - if he bought the certs on the card, and is now having the "same" charges pre-authorized to it...that's a pretty hefty hit, and I certainly couldn't have carried it easily in my 20's.

If they would take the cards, checking in /out every few days would allow the OP to "pay up", releasing some of the pre-authorization....but sounds as if that is kind of moot now.

Pooker, I am sorry. Tough situation to be in, and I hope it works out. One thing I will say - as you have now learned, there are many facets to be considered when buying gift cards. A "good promotion" is only one of them - regardless of what the bloggers may tell you.

Agree with what sophiegirl posted.

Originally Posted by orca15

I really hope you don't let this go without a fight. I think the "participating" thing is a red herring; I would be extremely surprised if your hotel was on a non-participating list, assuming you aren't in Timbuktu or some such. Get the GM in a room with a phone, call the gift card line, as for a senior supervisor, and get it straightened out. I guarantee you the gift card customer service management isn't going to want to let this go any more than you do. Tell the GM you plan to post on every travel site you can find, and follow through.

Later on, when you catch your breath, go back to them (GC) and insist on a free night, or some other compensation, for the first hotel refusing the card. IMO this whole fiasco started with failure to deliver the real gift card (same thing happened to me, and I just cancelled it, BTW).

Normally I am not one to throw a hand grenade when a simple mistake is made, but you have suffered a real loss of time and financial hardship, not to mention having to scrimp on food, and it's because the GC folks aren't getting the word out.

Doubt you can get around the pre-authorization problem, but the failure to accept the card is unsat. Have the GC folks figure out how to charge the card, deduct it from your balance, and refund your CC - anything else is unacceptable. Fight!! and report back!

Also agree. Unless the OP is in Timbuktu (no offense to Timbuktu) my guess is most of the 3,000+ hotels in Marriott's family do accept them. Putting aside the pre-paid issue for the moment, I wonder if this is a case of the hotel(s) not knowing how to handle processing an e-card.

Originally Posted by sammyindc

Best bet is to always call the property ahead of time and ask them if they are "participating" in the gift card either electronic or physical.

Yes, but I can't fault the OP. If he's told that they'll be accepted at Marriott properties, it's the norm to assume that this (probably mainstream) property would accept it. I would have thought the same. And remember, he did contact someone at the property who said yes & was then later told that that person didn't have the authority to say yes.

Originally Posted by BKKLEE

since accepting the GC gives the prop both immediate and non-commissioned payment it would seem obvious that all props would be accepting the card, however if common sense doesn't prevail then it would seem easy for Marriott GC folks to just publish a list of the few props that do not accept the GCs and desire to await payment and pay commissions..........

Exactly. The list of participating is undoubtedly larger than the list of non-participating, so if there are non-participating properties they should be listed.

FWIW re: credit card holds, etc. I've run into the OP's situation a few times (minus the gift card issue). A lot of travel at dif properties in short period of time, pre-authorized holds (plus the per day incidentals) on each stay, then check-out authorizations, exchange rate didn't help (ie, the US$ was getting its butt kicked), so add exchange rate into the pre-auth/charges, also waiting for reimbursements on expenses for previous trips, and voila, a lot of virtual credit wiped out, even though technically available credit was there.

I didn't have to eat candy bars, but on one 8-day stay I didn't have an option other than to eat at the hotel most of the time since they had pre-authorized the stay plus $100+/day in incidentals (on top of the $500/night which was convention rip-off price) & had tied up my credit line (after the scenario above w/ multiple hotel stays). That might have been one alternative for the OP, presuming his hotel had a restaurant.

Cheers.