Perhaps it might be easier to reconcile if one understands that points.com is buying points wholesale and re-selling them. It's not the same as when a person contacts Marriott to buy points to round out an award. It's more akin to an airline, car rental or credit card company giving the customer MRP's, except that one is just giving points.com cash instead of spending on a product and receiving points as a perk. That's my take anyway. I don't think there will be a limitation.

Regarding category creep, that goes on all the time, in both directions; properties crept down post-9/11 and have been creeping back up recently. I believe socrates explained it best as a function of internal compensation levels (what Marriott pays the hotel for our award stay), which are based on some proprietary formula. The "big" devaluation will be when it costs more points to buy the same category award, or when more categories are added and properties are shifted en-masse. That's what I meant. We're overdue, IMO. That's why I've burnt my award points/miles down to minimal levels.

Pat