Oct 17, 2016, 8:48 am
Last edit by: Oxon Flyer
Marriott webpage summarising ways to keep points from expiring :
https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/poi...ck=2043917&lk=1000584075
Fastest easiest way is to buy 1,000 points for $12.50US. https://buy.points.com/PointsPartner...EN&product=BUY
T&Cs re: 24-month points expiration:
http://www.marriott.com/marriott-rew.../expiration.mi
”1.6.d. Points Expiration Policy. Members must remain active in the Loyalty Program to retain Points they accumulate. If a Member Account is inactive for twenty-four (24) consecutive months, that Member Account will forfeit all accumulated Points. Members can remain active in the Loyalty Program and retain accumulated Points by earning Points or Miles, redeeming Points, or purchasing Points (as described in 2.9) in the Loyalty Program at least once every twenty-four (24) months, all subject to the exceptions described below. If a Member does not maintain an active status for five (5) consecutive years, the Member’s Account may be deactivated. Once Points are forfeited, the Points cannot be reinstated, but a Member can earn new Points, unless that Member’s Account has been deactivated.
i. Not all Points activities help maintain active status in the Loyalty Program. Examples of activities that do not count toward maintaining an active status in the Loyalty Program include, but are not limited to:
A. Gifting or transferring Points; however, converting Points to Miles or Miles to Points does count toward maintaining an active status;
B. Receiving Points as a gift or transfer
ii. Awards redeemed by a Member prior to Point forfeiture are still valid even though the Award may not yet have been fulfilled at the time of Point forfeiture. However, if those Awards are cancelled after the Points expiration date, those Points are still subject to forfeiture. For example, if a Member redeems Points for an Award Redemption Stay that occurs after the Points expiration date, and then cancels the reservation prior to arrival without having completed any qualifying activity to extend the expiration date, those Points will expire.
iii. The Points expiration policy does not currently affect Points in a Lifetime Elite Membership Account; however, the Loyalty Program may choose to apply a Points expiration policy to Lifetime Elite Membership Accounts in the future.
Note : Points expiration was paused until Dec 31 2022. As of Jan 2023, points expiration was reinstated.
Did you extend Marriott Bonvoy® Points Expiration?
To provide you ample time to redeem Marriott Bonvoy® Points, the expiration of Points was paused until December 31, 2022. At that time, your Marriott Bonvoy® Points will only expire if your Account has been inactive for at least 24 months.
https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/poi...ck=2043917&lk=1000584075
Fastest easiest way is to buy 1,000 points for $12.50US. https://buy.points.com/PointsPartner...EN&product=BUY
T&Cs re: 24-month points expiration:
http://www.marriott.com/marriott-rew.../expiration.mi
”1.6.d. Points Expiration Policy. Members must remain active in the Loyalty Program to retain Points they accumulate. If a Member Account is inactive for twenty-four (24) consecutive months, that Member Account will forfeit all accumulated Points. Members can remain active in the Loyalty Program and retain accumulated Points by earning Points or Miles, redeeming Points, or purchasing Points (as described in 2.9) in the Loyalty Program at least once every twenty-four (24) months, all subject to the exceptions described below. If a Member does not maintain an active status for five (5) consecutive years, the Member’s Account may be deactivated. Once Points are forfeited, the Points cannot be reinstated, but a Member can earn new Points, unless that Member’s Account has been deactivated.
i. Not all Points activities help maintain active status in the Loyalty Program. Examples of activities that do not count toward maintaining an active status in the Loyalty Program include, but are not limited to:
A. Gifting or transferring Points; however, converting Points to Miles or Miles to Points does count toward maintaining an active status;
B. Receiving Points as a gift or transfer
ii. Awards redeemed by a Member prior to Point forfeiture are still valid even though the Award may not yet have been fulfilled at the time of Point forfeiture. However, if those Awards are cancelled after the Points expiration date, those Points are still subject to forfeiture. For example, if a Member redeems Points for an Award Redemption Stay that occurs after the Points expiration date, and then cancels the reservation prior to arrival without having completed any qualifying activity to extend the expiration date, those Points will expire.
iii. The Points expiration policy does not currently affect Points in a Lifetime Elite Membership Account; however, the Loyalty Program may choose to apply a Points expiration policy to Lifetime Elite Membership Accounts in the future.
Note : Points expiration was paused until Dec 31 2022. As of Jan 2023, points expiration was reinstated.
Did you extend Marriott Bonvoy® Points Expiration?
To provide you ample time to redeem Marriott Bonvoy® Points, the expiration of Points was paused until December 31, 2022. At that time, your Marriott Bonvoy® Points will only expire if your Account has been inactive for at least 24 months.
FAQ: How to prevent Marriott Rewards points expiring (after 24 months inactivity)
Feb 5, 2017, 10:12 pm
#151
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: usually somewhere between 30000 and 40000 feet...but actually the English countryside
Programs: BA GGL/Lifetime Gold, EK Gold, Lowly M&M, Marriott tit, Hhonors Diamond, numerous others
Posts: 1,156
Welcome to Flyertalk also.
I have to say that the operative word here is "was". As per many schemes, inactivity will mean forfeiture of points.
For a number of reasons, and this was several years ago now, my Marriott account lapsed. A call to CS and some bookings got my points returned although I had to start on the bottom rung again. Fair enough.
Because of that gesture, I stayed enough in the intervening years to retain Gold, all nights, no CC deals, and now with the SPG status match, Platinum.
So by all means reach out to CS and do let us know how you get on.
As for a lawsuit, I think you are barking up the wrong tree with that one.
Good luck
I have to say that the operative word here is "was". As per many schemes, inactivity will mean forfeiture of points.
For a number of reasons, and this was several years ago now, my Marriott account lapsed. A call to CS and some bookings got my points returned although I had to start on the bottom rung again. Fair enough.
Because of that gesture, I stayed enough in the intervening years to retain Gold, all nights, no CC deals, and now with the SPG status match, Platinum.
So by all means reach out to CS and do let us know how you get on.
As for a lawsuit, I think you are barking up the wrong tree with that one.
Good luck
Feb 8, 2017, 10:50 pm
#153
Moderator, Virgin Atlantic
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: www.V-Flyer.com
Programs: VS Red, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium - earned out of our own pocket!.
Posts: 2,392
Feb 18, 2017, 3:02 pm
#154
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,135
1) can you still buy 1000 points for $12.50 to extend expiration by 24 months?
2) Is there likely to be a better offer on the card over the next 2-3 months (current one is 80k with $85 annual fee not waived). Or has the offer always been around 80k points?
Thx
2) Is there likely to be a better offer on the card over the next 2-3 months (current one is 80k with $85 annual fee not waived). Or has the offer always been around 80k points?
Thx
Last edited by sam007; Feb 18, 2017 at 3:36 pm
Feb 19, 2017, 10:02 am
#156
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,107
2. Doubt you'll get an offer over 80K points.
Cheers.
Feb 20, 2017, 7:48 am
#157
Moderator, Marriott Bonvoy & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: McKinney, TX, USA
Programs: United Silver; AA Plat/2MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,727
Actually, given the SPG cards are through Amex and the Marriott cards are through Chase, you could potentially get both sets of cards along with all their sign-up bonuses (assuming you have the credit and meet all their requirements of course.)
Feb 26, 2017, 11:07 am
#158
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 13
Redemption Stay to Avoid Losing Points
Hi - does a redemption stay need to be reserved or completed before the point-expiration date in order to avoid losing points? I could plan a stay for June but my date to avoid points from expiring is late May. Thanks!
Feb 26, 2017, 11:43 am
#159
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Charleston, SC, USA
Programs: Avis Pref+, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Life Gold, Honors Silver, IHG Plat via MC.
Posts: 6,786
Mike, you should be fine just by reserving it, assuming you have enough points by May for the stay, because the deduction of points will show as a Qualifying Transaction. To be doubly safe, you can make a second (dummy) res. for the far future, say next November, to hold most of the rest of your points, then cancel it in June/ July.
I don't know if Marriott operates like this, but we made a dummy res. on points in my friend's IHG account a few days before expiry, then cancelled it a week later, which re-set the calendar & gave him another year!
I don't know if Marriott operates like this, but we made a dummy res. on points in my friend's IHG account a few days before expiry, then cancelled it a week later, which re-set the calendar & gave him another year!
Feb 26, 2017, 11:51 am
#160
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,107
Mike doesn't say if he'll have enough points in May. Presumably if he did he wouldn't have to wait until June for an awards stay, just anytime between now & when the points are expiring. He can make a dummy reservation, points get pulled, cancel & points go back into his account.
Also what applies to IHG might not apply to Marriott, so I tend to avoid giving advice based on a different hotel's program.
If Mike is really concerned about losing the points in May, he can always just spend $12.50 to buy 1,000 points w/ no muss, no fuss, and that will reset the clock for 24 months. I understand people wanting to avoid spending $$ if they can extend points for free, but the $12.50 is cheap, easy to do & posts within a few hours.
Cheers.
Also what applies to IHG might not apply to Marriott, so I tend to avoid giving advice based on a different hotel's program.
If Mike is really concerned about losing the points in May, he can always just spend $12.50 to buy 1,000 points w/ no muss, no fuss, and that will reset the clock for 24 months. I understand people wanting to avoid spending $$ if they can extend points for free, but the $12.50 is cheap, easy to do & posts within a few hours.
Cheers.
Feb 26, 2017, 12:20 pm
#161
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Charleston, SC, USA
Programs: Avis Pref+, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Life Gold, Honors Silver, IHG Plat via MC.
Posts: 6,786
As far as comparing the two programs, that's why my 2nd paragraph begins with, "I don't know if Marriott operates like this. . ." But Sharon & I agree that the pulling of points to issue an Award Certificate is the Qualifying Activity. Making a res. now for June without having all the points before the May expiry deadline is not enough.
Jul 4, 2017, 3:37 pm
#164
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Canadia
Programs: A loyal Amerisuites customer... oh wait
Posts: 2,033
Your spend has to be a room stay.
Consider buying a small number of points if it's getting close.
With Starwood, you can generally eat a meal in a restaurant (there's a minimum, converted to US$) and you can get points for that. Not so with Marriott.
Jul 4, 2017, 6:23 pm
#165
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
Recently we have to book a lot of Marriott family properties, and have done multiple transfers of tens of thousands SPG pts to Marriott. I notice the transfer in from SPG reset the expiration date though according to the program rules that should not be the case.