Thanks for the insight of the phantom inventory problem. I am from the tech world and know most massively distributed organizations have patchwork systems that have a plethora of problems. We commonly refer to this as "enterprise software" as a friendly designation to other tech-savvy people that "dragons be here". I was just expecting more from Marriott given how well it all seems to be from the outside. littlevoices did hint to this in the reply about never cancel a booking until having another confirmed so I suspect it's just a general problem with their platform.

I've never cared about brand loyalty or advanced bookings. I've just recently started playing around with the reward structure and paying attention to points and miles thanks to some newsletters I inadvertently signed up for. I'm hopeful you're right and this isn't a common occurrence but your bit referencing the "inability to book the room with points online was a bit of a red flag" is also a red flag to me saying this is a known problem. I do fully agree with you though which is why I called to confirm the availability in the first place. I'm hopeful you're right and it's just my typical luck of getting hammered from every angle. I guess only time will tell as I utilize the Bonvoy program more in the future.

Thank you Kacee and littlevoices for your input. I really appreciate it.