. . . I always assumed the catalog was targeted specifically for people who spend 250-300 nights in a hotel. . . .

That's a good point. The Marriott program is tailored for several different types of users.

Those of us on the Marriott timeshare end acquire our points differently ( by trading a timeshare week back to Marriott ) and we tend to be more value conscious as it comes down to how you utilize the points to extract the cost of the maintainance fees you pay on the week you trade. That's why we timeshare folk don't bother estimating the cost per point. For us, it's a function of your cost of acquiring the points and how you utilize your travel package in return.

Folks who earn mostly via hotel stays are working on a different cost basis. Road warriors who spend endless weeks on the road might indeed prefer something out of the catalogue as they might be travel weary. There is indeed some nice merchandise to choose from.

But those individuals whose business travel is moderate, or folks who build up their points slowly over time, might also want to consider the value side of the equation since it takes them some time to build up points and they could indeed leverage a travel package for maximum relative value.

The MR program is indeed very flexible.

Barry