[QUOTE=writerguyfl;29842127]I'd guess that Hanlon's Razor is the culprit. This isn't a scam, it's just poor implementation of a company-wide program by some hotels. If it were a legitimate scam, that would mean that hundreds of hotels that are owned by dozens of different companies somehow conspired to cheat guests.
If Marriott implemented it surmising correctly that the points would rarely post, it's still a scam. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it certainly wouldn't take much understanding of the system to foresee this result.