I never paid attention to my yearly qualifying spend until the end of last year as I was on the verge of Ambassador status. I did notice that large on site dining and activity charges frequently were not crossing over. I plan to keep on top of things this year and wondered if there were any tips. Should I confirm with Marriott that specific restaurants, spa or hotel activities qualify before trips as that may impact where I eat or what I do?

I did just reach out to customer support (who did not know the difference between qualifying spend vs earned points) about a lack of dining credit on a stay this year, but hoping not to have to do this each time.