Originally Posted by A Traveller
It already is in plain language.
Public is anyone.
Special rates from private organization are private. Even if you aren't a member of a private organization, if you indicate you are, regardless of the level of security on the viewing of those rates, you are viewing rates that are private.
Period.
If you can convince someone with their finger on the "reserve" button to give you a better deal, more power to you.
IMHO, the only language that needs to be cleaned up is the word "listed". Marriott, for whatever reason, makes hundreds (if not thousands) of private-
use rates publicly-
listed.
We're flogging a dead horse here. We all agree that you aren't supposed to use a private-use rate if you aren't part of the organization, whether it's a company, AAA, or whatever. The question is: when you are eligible to use a private-use rate that is also publicly listed, should you also be able to use EEO?
The simple thing for Marriott to do: either make EEO's combinable with any points-qualifying rate (which still gives Marriott a bit of protection from people trying to use them with truly rock-bottom rates), or make them available with only full public-
use rates.
Personally, I'm not complaining about anything here. EEO is the best perk I get as a Gold - I do about four weekends per year at Marriotts where I get full service at Priceline rates. That does not suck. If they take AAA off the board, so be it. Not the end of the world.