Mar 4, 2019, 1:50 pm

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

NOTE: this thread is for discussing promotions and discounts on gift card purchases and cash-back rebate sites etc.

Discussion about gift card usage can be found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...on-thread.html

For more details, see the first post of this thread: New to this thread? Start here: Intro - https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18858149-post1.html

You can use Marriott gift cards to pay for Marriott stays (not applicable for discounted prepaid rates), resort fees and parking fees, treatments at the spa, dining at Marriott properties and more. Keep in mind, however, that some Marriott brands do not accept Marriott gift cards. This includes Bulgari, Design Hotels, Homes & Villas by Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club and possibly more.

Historical portal earning and noticeable deals and discounts (July-2020):
Rakuten: 1.5%
MrRebates: 0%
TopCashBack & BeFrugal:

Asia Pacific: 5%

Europe, Africa, etc: 5%
US/Canada Properties: 3%

There are others as well. See evreward.com and cashbackmonitor.com for other current deals.

Pros and cons of buying hotel Gift Cards:

Pros:
1. 15% discount. We do not get additional earning from credit card since we would have earned the same points by paying with cash (credit card)
2. Good for mattress runs at reduced costs. Assume score lower room rates.

Cons:
1. Commitment to a single brand Marriott. Eliminate the flexibility of stays with Hilton, IHG, Hyatt and other brands.
2. GCs are prepaid funds. The funds do not earn anything (interest). We lose the time value of money. The longer we do not use the GCs, we more we lose.
3. GC values are not protected (perishable). The physical GCs can get lost or stolen. We may forget to use the GCs. The GCs can be hacked and value drained. After the GC purchases, the credit card protection is gone.
4. GCs are not accepted at all hotels. Marriott hotels are more decentralized and it carries so many brands. Some do not follow Marriott rules and they may not accept those GCs even though they should. A lot hotels overseas do not accept the GCs.
5. GCs have limitation. At current time, they can't be used to book prepaid hotel stays. This defeats the main purpose of buying the GCs. The GC holders are not entitled for the discounted hotel rates.
6. GCs are dominated in US $ only. Even if they are accepted at foreign location, GC holders lose further more from foreign exchange. With credit card, we may get to choose to charge in USD $ or local currency.
7. GCs can't be redeemed for cash. If GC holders ever want to get the cash out of the GCs due to financial hardship, they can only be sold at the secondary markets like eBay etc. at steep costs.

To check card balance, visit gifts.marriott.com.
For Customer Service call +1 800.442.6132 or email [email protected].
Gift Card Registration: Lost, stolen or damaged cards will be replaced only if previously registered on gifts.marriott.com. Value of replaced card will equal balance on card at the time it was reported lost, stolen or damaged.

Notes:
1) If you make an LNF/BRG adjustment to your reservation you will still get cash back.

DIRECTIONS FOR A HOTEL TO PROCESS A GIFT CARD

Click on Givex icon
Enter login and password info at 2 levels
- property info
- employee info (password is birthdate MMDD, at least at this property)
Enter gift card number
Click on Check Balance (other 2 options are Activate and Redeem)
Click on Redeem
Enter amount to use
Enter card number again
Click Calculate
Click Submit

I used an e-gift card and a plastic one. It’s the same process for both. No swiping.

MASTER THREAD: Current Marriott Gift Card, Cash Back, Tricks & Promos

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Oct 25, 2016, 4:01 am

#1171

TravelinSperry

Join Date: Feb 2013

Location: Miami, FL

Programs: UA 1MM, AA Plat, Marriott LT Titanium, Hyatt Glob, IHG ♢ Amb, Hilton ♢, Hertz Pres

Posts: 6,018

Quote:

Originally Posted by danola

Do reservations through Ebates count nights toward annual and lifetime elite levels ???

Of course. You are still booking via Marriott. You are just 'starting' at eBates so they can credit you with cash back (they make a commission to "bring" you to Marriott and share that commission with you).

As for TopCashBack - I agree with other posters - I find them to be terrible and not worth the trouble. I've had dozens of reservations not post for them - but when using eBates or ShopAtHome or others everything posts fine. It's not cookies then - since I never change how they are allowed and every other cashback website posts correctly. Just TCB. They are not good imo and their CS is even worse.

Oct 25, 2016, 6:32 am

#1172

cfischer

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2005

Location: BOS/EAP

Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat

Posts: 32,090

Shopathome has 10%/15% on Marriott. wow .... need to rebook a few

Oct 25, 2016, 5:04 pm

#1173

YoungBubbie

Join Date: Feb 2013

Posts: 1,815

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfischer

Shopathome has 10%/15% on Marriott. wow .... need to rebook a few

I noticed it states not good on discounted rates. I know that I've gotten paid from ebates on my LNR and AAA rates.

Anyone know if shopathome comes through anyway on these discounted rates?

Oct 25, 2016, 6:26 pm

#1174

cfischer

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2005

Location: BOS/EAP

Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat

Posts: 32,090

Quote:

Originally Posted by YoungBubbie

I noticed it states not good on discounted rates. I know that I've gotten paid from ebates on my LNR and AAA rates.

Anyone know if shopathome comes through anyway on these discounted rates?

Anything that is commissonable comes through IME.

Oct 25, 2016, 7:16 pm

#1175

YoungBubbie

Join Date: Feb 2013

Posts: 1,815

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfischer

Anything that is commissonable comes through IME.

Thanks.

Oct 26, 2016, 4:46 am

#1176

mooper

Original Poster

Join Date: Oct 2004

Location: BZN

Programs: AA:LT Platinum DL:LT Gold UA:1P MAR:LT Titanium

Posts: 8,291

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelinSperry

It's not cookies then - since I never change how they are allowed and every other cashback website posts correctly. Just TCB. They are not good imo and their CS is even worse.

They use the exact same affiliate program as others. To assert it's not the tracking program is to suggest TCB is not passing along revenue received. Possible, but quite doubtful given their size, reputation, and risks of fraud like that. Critique of customer service, reporting interface, website, etc. is fair, but it's doubtful they're skimming commissions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by danola

Do reservations through Ebates count nights toward annual and lifetime elite levels ???

Yes, as long as you're booking via Marriott.com, it everything will apply normally. eBates and other CB portals pass through to Marriott.com.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfischer

Shopathome has 10%/15% on Marriott. wow .... need to rebook a few

That's the highest CB rates I can recall ever seeing. I just rebooked one as well.

Oct 27, 2016, 1:10 pm

#1177

mland0821

Join Date: Sep 2013

Programs: Marriott, American, Delta, United

Posts: 38

looks like 15% @shopathome is over?

Oct 27, 2016, 1:14 pm

#1178

blueeagle3

Join Date: Mar 2012

Location: FRA

Posts: 614

Quote:

Originally Posted by mland0821

looks like 15% @shopathome is over?

Its 3% now, am i right?

Oct 28, 2016, 5:31 am

#1179

rylan

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Sep 2007

Location: BOS

Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC

Posts: 15,206

I've had poor posting results from TCB as well. About half of my stays would post, and if I tried to get missing credit it would take forever and then get denied.
Stopped using them and book when ebates has 5% promos.

Oct 28, 2016, 1:17 pm

#1180

mooper

Original Poster

Join Date: Oct 2004

Location: BZN

Programs: AA:LT Platinum DL:LT Gold UA:1P MAR:LT Titanium

Posts: 8,291

Quote:

Originally Posted by rylan

Please see the OP and prior posts. TCB uses the exact same platform as others. Short of them fraudulently failing to report/pass along revenue, and excluding customer service and interface differences, the success rate should be precisely the same as if you had used a different portal. It's all tracked the same way, so something that fails for one will inherently fail for others.

Oct 31, 2016, 6:44 am

#1181

rylan

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Sep 2007

Location: BOS

Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC

Posts: 15,206

Strangely though I've only had 1 stay at Marriott fail to properly/automatically post on Ebates in over 6 years.

Mainstreetshares (formerly bigcrumbs) also seemed to post correctly, and when it didn't their customer service was great.

Nov 1, 2016, 11:12 am

#1182

vandykes44

Join Date: Nov 2000

Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Programs: LatinPass Million Miler

Posts: 261

If I go through the shopathome portal and book a room for March, will the 9% cash back bonus apply when the room is paid for? Or does the reservation have to be made and paid for during the promo period?

If I purchase a few Marriott giftcards through the shopathome portal, will they be eligible for the 9% rebate?

Thanks

Nov 2, 2016, 4:27 pm

#1183

mooper

Original Poster

Join Date: Oct 2004

Location: BZN

Programs: AA:LT Platinum DL:LT Gold UA:1P MAR:LT Titanium

Posts: 8,291

Quote:

Originally Posted by vandykes44

The 9% should apply regardless of when the stay is, as long as you booked during the 9% period. However, the cash back won't post until after the stay is complete, and sometimes several weeks after.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vandykes44

If I purchase a few Marriott giftcards through the shopathome portal, will they be eligible for the 9% rebate?

The affiliate program now has gift cards ineligible for CB. Years ago, we could double-dip by purchasing GCs with CB, then booking a stay with CB and paying for it with the GCs. As, the good ol' days...

Nov 22, 2016, 10:46 am

#1184

JohnneeO

Join Date: Jun 2005

Location: EWR

Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Gold (Current Platinum), United Mileage Plus, Avis Preferred

Posts: 850

Fall MegaBonus Question:

I have already met the first threshold (2 paid stays for 5,000 points), and another offer has popped up for another 5,000 points for my next paid stay.

I have one more stay scheduled in the promo time period. Currently, I am booked for two nights at a Category 3 for Points+Cash ($55 and 8000 points per night). This property is now offering Pointsavers awards of 10,000 points/night (discounted from 15,000/night).

I am considering switching to the Pointsaver award, and spending 4,000 additional points to save the $110. However, I am not sure if I am giving up anything with regard to the MegaBonus.

Two questions:

1) Does the points + cash rate count as a paid night for the Megabonus?

If it does, then keeping the points + cash rate would net me 5,000 additional points. If not, then I am inclined to switch to the Pointsaver award.

2) What would you do?

TIA!

Nov 23, 2016, 7:12 am

#1185

rylan

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Sep 2007

Location: BOS

Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC

Posts: 15,206

No, points+cash counts as an award stay, and you don't even earn rewards points for the cash portion that you paid.

I'd go with the straight up pointsavers for 10k/nt.