ok, thanx for confirming that and good to see that this will change in August. How many days may it take before I see my nights in my account? I stayed April 10-12 but I still don't see the nights in my account. However I see my stay of April 15-17 has been posted.

While I haev never purchased points, I think the 50K is a limit for each method. So you could get 50K by purchasing points and another 50k through a transfer for a total of 100K.

This may be a silly question - I am planning stays for Plat Challenge and notice the Marriott Reward Member Rate (cancellable) is always the lowest among the public discount rates such as AAA and Senior Rates. However it also says Please note: Non-commissionable rate versus the AAA or Senior Rates only say about Valid ID required.
Does the Marriott Reward Member Rate is an eligible rate to earn Stay / Night? The FAQs on Marriott site do not touch this topic. I assume it would since this is a form to award loyalty as a benefit to become a member and book direct. But I want to make sure this. The difference is $5 lower than Senior and AAA rates and only $1 higher than the nonrefundable rate. Since I need to do 9 stays, even $5 difference adds up.
Furthermore, this is a Springhill. Somehow the Member Rate is put under "package" = the word "package" bothers me as in the T&Cs. Package is not considered eligible rate.
Rooms booked through third party online retailers, such as Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Hotels.com, Booking.com, Priceline.com, Tripadvisor.com or any other 3rd party online/mobile travel portal (regardless of how the hotel is paid) are not eligible for Points or Elite night credit. Wholesale rates, wholesale packages, Fam-Tastic® rates, travel industry rates and organized tours or package bookings are not eligible for Points or Elite night credit regardless of booking channel.

This is bothersome because the hotel lists the Member Reward Rate under "Packages".

Can anyone confirm the Marriott Reward Rate is good to use for pay stays to do the Challenge, even it says Non-Commissionable?

I think "non-commissionable" has to do with whether a TA would get a commission if you booked the rate through them. While there may well be some type of rate on Marriott's website that doesn't include points, I've always received points and stay credit for any rate I booked via their website including the Member Rewards rate. So you shouldn't have any issues getting night/points.for the stay.

Here is a basic question: How do I set the default credit card for reservations? The systems automatically uses one I don't want instead of the Marriott visa I'd prefer.

Thanks!

If you logon and navigate to your profile page. At the bottom you should see the list of credit cards the system can use. Click "edit" on the one you want to make your "preferred" card. Notice at the bottom of the pop-up window is a check-box titled "Make my preferred card." Check that box and click save.

Is there a typical amount of time I can expect for my Marriott points and stays to credit? Coming from the Starwood side I am so used to stays posting like clockwork 24-36 hours after I check out. I thought for a while that Marriott was posting within 48-72 hours but my last stay was over 3 days ago and still nothing. Is this typical? I am still learning Marriott.

If I book a Marriott as a Gold Elite now, but for a check in after the official merger (looking at dates at end-Aug/early-Sep) anyone have an idea of free breakfast/lounge would still apply? This actually influences about 4 reservations I'm looking to make for the rest of this year.

Sorry I can't answer your question, but it's always safer to not have it on file. With the sheer number of data breaches over the last few years, you should save as little important information to online profiles that you can.

I do believe a Marriott Gold elite (assuming you achieved it through Marriott not through your SPG Gold status), you should become a Plat elite under the new "combined" program. That means, yes, you should still get free breakfast/lounge where applicable for elite status (i.e. no lounge access at resorts nor breakfast or lounge access at RCs, etc.)

I earned it as a match from SPG (but I did have Marriott Silver priort), so I need to assume I will stay Gold.

So I set my account up as a Ritz one and I'm gold (via match). I have an upcoming stay at a renaissance and I noticed that the gold benefits listed via Ritz say "Suites and Club Level room are exempt from this benefit." under upgrade, but the marriott terms explicitly include exec level and suites.

I assume these terms only apply at the respective hotel types and that I am eligible for a suite on my stay but wouldnt be if I were staying at a property under the Ritz umbrella right?