It's interesting to see that nothing has changed in 4 years. Here's a post of mine from April 2008, re gift cards:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/9652504-post28.html
"I tried to use a gift card at a Residence Inn last summer. It was a nightmare. They could see the $100 balance, but couldn't figure out how to charge it. The manager at one point suggested that I pay with credit card, then mail my $100 gc into Marriott to be applied to the balance.
I agree that Marriott should train their staff how to process their gift cards. How hard would it be to email all their managers step by step instructions for them to tape to the wall? I mean, seriously, this is not Rocket Science here."
FYI, I ended up calling Marriott and asked them to work with the manager to find resolution. They did manage to finally charge the card and deduct the balance from my folio. But it left a sour taste in my mouth and I haven't bothered with Marriott gift cards since then.
BTW, are these cards the same as the ones you find at grocery stores? Because I've been considering giving these as gifts, but won't if they are still problematic.