Maybe this is another pricing scam similar to resort fees. Why would a guest not get points for "service charges" that are paid to the hotel? What is this service charge for if it doesn't qualify for points?

Marriott has loss a lot of credibility with me in the past couple years by not being able to explain many of their actions or policies. I just went through a dummy booking process at this hotel and sure enough there is a service charge listed. No explanation at all of what the service charge is for. Nothing to indicate that a guest doesn't receive points.

Then Marriott customer service comes back with a useless response. I don't see how their quote can refer to anything other than 3rd party provided good and services. CS takes no responsibility for the wording and doesn't even attempt to explain why this particular service charge is anything other than a room charge. If it happens to be something such as a tax surcharge, then why not say so and label it appropriately?

The CS response basically says you, the customer, are wrong and we are right because we say so.

It seems to me that Marriott has backed away from being straight-forward about its policies and changes. Now the rule seems more like "you will get "so and so" (upgrades, points, breakfast, welcome gift, etc.) unless someone decides you won't."