Originally Posted by
Ripley62
I know this is a month after the other posts. its been a few years since I regually traveled to Thailand but I also have a the same Marriott 7 night certificate, like yours mine are for 25k per night or less. A word of warning there have been a number reports Marriott is not extending the certificates beyond the 1 year from purchase. So beyond at the latest August 2019, August 2018 was the last the older packages were sold.
I'd also look the hotels prices, in general Thailands hotels nightly rates are low enough that redemptions aren't really great. For example the Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa for the months of April and May this year run around $1300 to $1500 with tax for 7 nights. This is a 35k hotel so you'd have to add 70k points to use the 7 night cert. The turning in value, the points Marriott will refund, of a 7 night cert for 25k/night is 45k points. Which sounds low but that means it'll tcost you 115k points to use that 7 night certificate. I'd think there are some very nice hotels in Tokyo or HK were those 115k points would be a bigger savings than buying a 7 night in Thailand. I just used the Renn Ko Samui as an example most of the Thai Marriott hotels are similar value for points.
Another example is Le Méridien Chiang Mai which is also now a Cat 5/35k hotel so it would require an additional 70k points for the 7 nights. That hotels during April or May for a 7 night booking is under $900 total.
That's always been kinda my argument, though often it falls on deaf ears. I was never able to play the hotel-points game because 98% of my travels were self-funded and I only got the air miles game. But Thailand is among the very best places in the world on bang-for-buck with paid rooms, and I've spent years going to midrange sweet-spot places there where I try to get 3* quality at $20-30 a night.
What it usually means is independents that WERE at/near the top of market 30 years or so ago, like the Suriwong or Pornping in Chiang Mai. You'll get 70-80% as good as the international chains for about 15-20 cents on the dollar.If you move further up to just under 3 figures you can get 90% at maybe 40 cents on the dollar.
I'd save the hotel points for someplace really atrocious like French Polynesia. When I took my Tahiti trip I got places that'd go for $5-10 in Thailand at $35-40. The settings were beautiful but I've never had to live so much like a monk anywhere, even Japan.