Originally Posted by
escapefromphl
It sounds like you didn't lock it in and just made a points advance reservation. The change Marriott made to points advance which let points fluctuate on existing reservations really is the biggest devaluation Marriott has made in a while. I try to avoid making these reservations at all and only ones I can lock in with a points deduction.
To me, this is one of the most useless "benefits" of the program. I get that if you don't have the points to book a room you shouldn't necessarily be able to lock in a low redemption rate, but if that's the company position then why offer the points advance benefit at all? It isn't as if you're guaranteed a room by doing that, which would actually be of some use even if the points required change.