They don't exactly expire, rather your account can be closed and all points gone.

The best way is to get activity. Buying something online through Marriott Rewards Mall is probably the cheapest method.

But I've never heard of this happening.... Marriott seems to just have a policy of "we could expire your points, but we don't"

As mentioned, the Marriott Mall is a simple n easy way to get some points if you want to just show a little activity.

Points expiration prevention
 

Dear MR members,

Got a problem. By October 2009, my 5k or so MR points were expire per rule 7 in the MR Terms and Conditions below.

"An account may be closed at Marriott's discretion if no points are accrued during a 24-month period. All points in the account will be forfeited at that time."

My question is how to accrue some points so they don't expire. I was thinking about buying 1k MR points at 12.50 about 3 months or so before expiration hoping to reset the 24 month clock...

Will buying points reset the clock and prevent the points from expirating?
Thanks everyone in advance.

Yes

But if you have only earned 5K points in 2 yrs - is it worth it?

Also, while rules stipulate that Marriott "could" expire the account and points, in reality they don't seem to be doing that. My wife's account sat idle for virtually 10 years until we remembered her account. It was still active and all the points were still good.

So personally, if you can find an easy, no cost way to get a few points (i.e. apply for the base Marriott Signature Visa), then go ahead and give yourself some piece of mind. But if you can't find one, then given your current points amount and your limited earning potential, I would take my chances on the account not expiring.

Why not shop the "Marriott Rewards Mall?" I often wait for stores such as Land's End to offer "free shipping". Returns are easy at Sears.

Any idea how long it take for "Marriott Rewards Mall" to post to your account? I ordered on 3/7/2009 my Entertainment Book and the 300 reward points have not been posted to my account.



Are you suggesting ordering something thru the Mall, then returning it in the store in order to generate activity (points given with purchase, points lost with return)?

Thanks

Points expire - 24 months after stay or points purchase?
 

I've got about 50k points on Marriott at the moment - and haven't stayed at a hotel since Dec 2007 (downturn...). I know points are valid for 24 months - but... 24 months since last what? Point acquisition; or stay?

The only reference I can find on the T&Cs is "An account may be closed at Marriott's discretion if no points are accrued during a 24-month period. All points in the account will be forfeited at that time."

I spent $12.50 to purchase 1,000 points last month.

Has it reset my 24-month counter?

Andy.
PS - I understand points purchases are NOT counted for SPG expiration, but they are counted for Hilton.

Even though Marriott's T&Cs say their points expire (and this is only based on account inactivity, not the time since you stayed in the hotel) - however in actual fact they don't apply this rule. So, you don't need to worry about it - your points won't expire and neither will your account.

However, if you are being ultra-cautious, just buy something through the Marriott mall to earn a few points, this will keep your account (and all of your points) active for another 24 months.

I browsed the mall, but wasn't able to find a store that was any use outside of the US. Have you used the system to buy something?

No, must admit I haven't I'm afraid even tried - I didn't pay attention to location with my response, apologies :(

That means you might be stuck with a partner like Hertz crediting a rental, or a (bit of a waste) transfer of airline miles - but really its not needed anyway, those points are safe for a while yet. Alternatively signing up for the credit card would also work

Don't know if anyone else can think of any small earning possibilities in Europe, must admit this problem hadn't occured to me as I have the visa card in case I was ever in this situation.

Points expiration?
 

Hello,

I'm a Hhonors Diamond and just realized that I have a MR account that has been inactive since November of 2008. I only have about 6,800 points but when will they expire?

Thanks

It's written in the Marriott Rewards Terms and Conditions that accounts may be closed and points forfeited if there is no activity in a 24 month period.

See #7 under "General Membership".

However, it's not been Marriott's practice to actually follow thru on that - I've never heard of an account being closed for lack of activity.

Yes. I have no activity for more than 3 years. My point does not expire at all.

MR expiration after 24mos?
 

I see on the MR site that points expire after 24 months of inactivity. Is this relatively new? i remember a few years ago, being surprised to see I still had points with a last-activity date in 1999!

How do I find my expiration date? I don't see it on the site and the "search for activity" function only goes back 13 months, so I don't know if I had anything in the 13-24 month period.

Thanks!
=aw