Yes - my hotel stay points posted normally as well. So in the end, the WN points cost me exactly $8. No loss of Marriott points at all.

Didn't try the Bigcrumbs thing. I also have never tried the Hertz offer through Marriott. It appeared to me that the $50 voucher would have to occupy the CDP field when you book at Hertz, thus killing off a lot of its value. (If it was a $50 paper cert that you handed to the return agent for a direct credit, that'd be a different story.) Besides, ever since Hertz' #1 Club Gold processes started to break down in 2008, I've been almost exclusively with National.