hhoope01

Well, how much will these enhancements really change the program? First, the no black out dates may not really change redemptions very much. How many black out dates did most hotels really have? I do believe that blackout days are fairly rare. The problems with availability though is the capacity controls they put on the number of award rooms. And if Marriott isn't changing those, then item #1 doesn't change much.

Item #2, will add a few more points into the bank, but how many? What percentage of people staying at Marriott hotels are Plat elites? I suspect that in general it is a fairly small number. Add to that all we are talking about is 15 pts/$ rather than 13 pts/$ (not including any CC points.) This equates out to about a 2000 point increase if you have a 5 night, $200/night stay. I don't see that breaking the bank either. Its nice to have and definitely appreciated though.

Item #3, this one seems to be the real change in the program. But realize you would still be paying more points per night than if you order a 7 night award. So while this helps provide some flexibility in their program, if you want the best points per night rate, then the 7 night awards are still king.

So overall, I see these changes as nice to have, but not a major change in their program. Yes, Marriott could still increase/change/remove some of their existing awards. But I don't think they have to based on giving us these changes.