Originally Posted by
DFWsakp
Am I correct? OR Is Marriott correct here.
Sadly, Marriott is correct. Free night certificates only apply to the base point rate, not to any upgrade fee (points or cash) for a higher category room.
For example, if an available room shows as 35K + additional 15K for a higher category room (total 50K), the certificate only covers the 35K -- regardless of whether the certificate is "up to 35K," "up to 40K," or "up to 50K." This is the case even if there are no 35K rooms available at the time.
Along similar lines, the Marriott's "Stay for 5, Pay for 4" feature only works for the base rate. In the example above (assuming the same rate for five consecutive nights), a five-night stay would be (4 x 35K) + (5 x 15K) because the points to upgrade must be paid for all nights, even for the free night.
Originally Posted by
margarita girl
I think the important thing to note here is THE TOP UP FEATURE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED!
Actually, the soon-to-happen "top off" feature is not at play in the OP's case. It has not yet been activated.