Originally Posted by
ESpen36
Exactly. Part of the skeptic/cynic in me is thinking that this "free night certificate" benefit is pretty much a joke, if it can be used only at undesirable properties/locations that have lots of empty rooms anyway (=costing Marriott very little to provide the benefit). Sort of like those "companion" airfare certificates that have so many blackout dates and restrictions that they are basically worthless.
The Marriott free night certs have the same availability rules as any other award room. In other words, I've never had a problem using them.
Over the years, the power of a Cat 5 cert has obviously weakened, but I still find them to be greater value than the cost of the annual fee. 3-4 years ago, I used them mostly in Asia. In the past couple years, I've been using them whenever I have an unavoidable night in an airport hotel. I figure airport hotels are universally bland yet often have high-ish rates ($175-200). So an effective, if boring, way to get value from the certificates.