I'm sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, I did my best to search for it but couldn't find my scenario since the merger.

My fiancee and I are using points to book our honeymoon at the Hotel Punta Islita in Costa rica, an Autograph Collection property. To begin with, she has gold elite status and I have silver, so we decided she should book. Her account was short about 90,000 points, so I called to transfer the maximum 50,000 per year (I hope that wasn't a mistake).

I've read that if you use the points to immediately book a reward, you can exceed the annual limit. But I've also read that this policy has changed since the merger. What is the procedure for this, if it is still allowed? Do we book on her account and receive an e-certificate so that once there are enough points in her account, the booking is completed? Then I call and transfer the needed points from my account explaining that the maximum should be disregarded because we are using the points immediately for a reservation? Or do we transfer the points first? If this is no longer the rule, does 50,000 per year mean per calendar year (I can transfer 50,000 more in 2019) or anniversary year of the account?

Thanks for the help