I sent off my request for a 30 000 point refund earlier today via the web form that was mentioned here an on insider.marriott.com , and look what I just got back as a response.
It looks like someone panicked after the inbox flooded and no one had told them about this, so they got their message aligned. Obviously nothing seems to have tangibly happened on the ground yet, and essentially they're saying "We need to ask someone to explain this to us, so please give us 5-10 days to hunt them down".
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to Marriott Customer Care in regards to your travel package.
We know that our guests were advised that the blackout period for travel packages is over and to send in their requests for downgrade. Unfortunately, we have encountered some further systems issues that are not allowing us to currently process the requests to downgrade a travel package certificate. Your patience as we work to correct the systems issues is greatly appreciated.
At this time, we do not have a time frame for when we expect to be able to process the requests. We are asking guests to allow 5 to 10 business days, and to resubmit their requests at a later date. Should you have an upcoming stay in the next 4 to 8 weeks that you had hoped to attach the certificate to, or for further help and inquiry, please reach out to our Loyalty Specialists by phone at 800-450-4442. Please be aware, we are experiencing a large volume of calls due to the loyalty merge, and has created some longer than normal hold times. Some of the systems issues are also impacting our ability to view and update guest accounts. We apologize for any inconvenience this may create.
Once again, we appreciate your patience as we continue to work to bring you the service that you deserve. We thank you for your loyalty to Marriott and SPG.