I really, really hope that Marriott isn't starting to play tricks with its gift cards. Attorneys general in several states have made it a priority to go after merchants who use deceptive practices regarding gift certificates, and one popular category of deception is selling the instrument and then refusing to accept it for "sale" merchandise.

I've never had a problem using a gift card, regardless of the title printed on the front. Well, I've had problems on occasion with clerks who've never seen them, but never an issue like the one described here. Marriott's a better company than the firms that AG's bust for running gift certificate scams: I sincerely hope this was a rogue manager and that he gets his behavior corrected ASAP.