BKKLEE

and that's what the new program gives you..............NOTHING.....

escapefromphl

SPG cash & points are generally only available during low occupancy periods, they are basically a way for Starwood to offload excess inventory, get some revenue and some points off their books. The rates are sometimes not even that cheap, you can often get the same rate on Priceline, however you don't get elite nights then. So they have the benefit of providing great value for their customers which in return stimulates loyalty. Without cash & points redemption options Starwood points would be worth a lot less.

So hopefully there is some way that Marriott intends to provide additional value to their customers such that you need less points than you normally would for one night on one of these 2 night cash and points stays.

iztok

It is not "NOTHING" it is actually providing some "entertainment" in FT community

BKKLEE

if this was ANYTHING like the SPG program I'd agree, but all this is is if you have back-to-back reservations, 1 with cash and the other with points you can combine them - WHOPPEEEEEE - this is NOT, as they state, ability to get a room for a # of points + cash, ala SPG or HH

I mean really, read what they say is so GR8:

"You’ve been asking for the ability to combine redemption nights and cash nights within a single reservation – and the wait is almost over. Get ready for Marriott Rewards Cash + Points coming soon

fireworksboy

Maybe you're not understanding what the new Cash and Points feature actually is - IT'S NOTHING. So, it is actually worse than nothing because MR will advertise the crap out of it as if it is something so that they can distract from the other benefits it has removed. It's called bait and switch. It is a joke.

PS - If I were Priority Club or Starwood, I would call Marriott on this and ask them nicely (thru the press) not to use the term "Cash and Points" because it clearly isn't.

OU812

While Marriott Cash + Points program isn't like SPG's or HH's, I can still see some benefit. For me it was a pain to book separate reservations for one award night and one cash night on the website and then have to call the Platinum Reservations desk to get them combined. If I forget to do it before arriving, it usually isn't a problem getting the Front Desk Clerk to combine them, but sometimes there are, especially if I am upgraded on the paid stay but not on the award stay. So if I can do it myself on Marriott's website great. Hopefully, the functionality will include the ability to use certificates from the Megabonus and the Marriott Visa.

I can also see problems with this as well. Very often rooms available for points are not the same as those available for cash. Hopefully, Marriott's IT has figured out how to make this work, but I am not counting on it.

Finally, I think this is a precursor to the new BOGO benefit that will be announced by Michelle in a couple of weeks. Think about it. By enabling this functionality on the website, this will also allow elites to use the BOGO certs MR is going to deposit in our accounts each quarter without having to call Platinum Reservations. Once their used for a reservation via the website, their gone, just like other certs. No dups, no selling on Ebay, etc. (I am still hoping BOGO is coming back, although I have my doubts.)

Regards,

RIP...

Mr. Vker

I recently had a "cash and points" stay at Renn Aruba.

First night Paid, two nights points, then last night paid. The system couldn't handle it. Everyday, I had a new folio under the door indicating a single night's stay with all previous charges rolled forward. Had to get new keys every day. After returning home, only one paid night posted (points for both nights did) and no points for incidentals posted. Had to submit a correction request to Marriott. It was corrected.

Sounds like this will help smooth this. Although, I do not have these stays often. Seems like its not a huge program upgrade vs. what has been eroded in the last year.

ohmark

At best, appears to be a minor improvement not justifying the trumpet-blaring announcement.

fireworksboy

I don't want to kill the messenger here so I won't, but please pass this on to the idiots in the Rewards dept .... NO ONE was "ASKING FOR THE ABILITY TO COMBINE REDEMPTION NIGHTS AND CASH NIGHTS WITHIN A SINGLE RESERVATION" - no one - at least here at FT.

If someone at Marriott believes that someone here did ask for it, please point them out so we can beat the crap out of them for wasting your time with this feature and giving Marriott an excuse for not considering all of the many issues most of us have with the company.

MaineFlyer16

LOL hahahahahaha

NJUPINTHEAIR

I fear that the consensus for reading this announcement as no news at best and misleading at worst is correct, inasmuch as the Marriott Concierge has not posted to this thread that we are misinterpeting the way this "new" option would work.

His/her silence, unfortunately, speaks volumes.

MaineFlyer16

Makes sense...although I think Michelle has indicated that BOGO is dead and instead we are likely to get something different.

jeff30189

Not shooting the messenger, this has nothing to do with Marriott Conceirge.

This "cash + points" is not an enhancement. You can do it today, albeit with a little more difficulty. Anyone here who is willing to mattress hop to accumulate stays doesn't see the difficulty in combining cash + points under the clunky dual reservation set up that exists now.

A REAL Cash + Points would be what Starwoods has in place. I'd LOVE to see that as it would be a TRUE enhancement to what I can do on my own currently.

plagwate

All this is is an administrative streamlining of their process. Perhaps this "new benefit" was intended to be posted in the Marriott employee newsletter? All that C&P does is save Marriott staff (be it FDC or phone reservations) from having to manually intervene and link reservations that contain two different payment types. I'm sure some new bubbly, bright-eyed, tight-@$$ with an MBA sold this to Marriott's leaderhip as a huge customer benefit that will save Marriott tons in labor costs.

joshua362

Cash & Points to guarantee some sort of suite / room upgrade would be the real winner here....