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Marriott - Change to Certificates, 1-5 category now 1-4. Value remains 25K.

Marriott - Change to Certificates, 1-5 category now 1-4. Value remains 25K.

Old Sep 4, 2018, 5:29 pm
  #16  
 
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There you have it.. three more properties prior to Aug 18 that you could not book on a total of six already identified for nine subtractions over several hundred additions. Those three were former SPG so you couldn't book before Aug 18 either .. they just happened to increase enough so you still can't book them.

Category creep had bit me in the past few years as my former cat 5 properties became cat 6 in the old program. I think at least one of them did slip back to cat 4. So I am all for hating on the program but this particular change was positive.. well until the peak off peak stuff makes it even more complicated.

That being said I am still swapping credit cards to get a new up to 35k cert instead.

Last edited by pitflyer; Sep 4, 2018 at 9:14 pm
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Old Sep 4, 2018, 6:51 pm
  #17  
 
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I've actually found the certs are an upgrade since you can now actually redeem them on the west coast of Canada which used to have ZERO cat 5 hotels.
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Old Sep 4, 2018, 7:01 pm
  #18  
ryw
 
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I was happy with this change - the realignment of categories and addition of SPG properties means that I can use 25k certificates in places like Manhattan (and still have lots of choice!). Thanks CPRich for the macro level analysis!
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Old Sep 5, 2018, 5:34 am
  #19  
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There used to be an option or two in downtown seattle like the spring hill suites. Now there are none and the options for the category four hotel classed hotels are outside of the city center in the suburbs or near the airport. A car is a must and I prefer not to have to rely on a car.
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Old Sep 5, 2018, 6:08 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by pjcflip
There used to be an option or two in downtown seattle like the spring hill suites. Now there are none and the options for the category four hotel classed hotels are outside of the city center in the suburbs or near the airport. A car is a must and I prefer not to have to rely on a car.
Can you provide an example? I know even previously there were several threads talking about how the old Category 1-5 certificates could rarely get you in the downtown of a decent city.
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 5:58 am
  #21  
 
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Cert downgraded by one category

I had a category 1 to 5 cert from a promo and now it's been downgraded to category 1 to 4. I haven't followed the merger changes closely so wanted to check that this was correct or should it still cover category 5 properties? I was planning to use it for the Fuji Marriott but it's 35k a night. I had a search but couldn't find the answer.

Thanks
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 7:10 am
  #22  
 
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There are fewer categories in the new MR program than in the old one. It's a bit of a devaluation, because all properties used to be no more than 45k points/night and now that's 60 (and soon going up even higher), but cat 5 in the old program is roughly cat 4 in the new program for the moment.
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 10:27 am
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by taxicabnumber
There are fewer categories in the new MR program than in the old one. It's a bit of a devaluation, because all properties used to be no more than 45k points/night and now that's 60 (and soon going up even higher), but cat 5 in the old program is roughly cat 4 in the new program for the moment.
Thank you, missed this thread.
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 11:11 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by BeanTownBoy
I don't know what the before and after is, but I hoped to use my Chase Marriott certificate (good for up to 25,000 points) for the Courtyard Lenox/Berkshires (in Western Massachusetts) and was surprised to find that was 35,000 for a mid-week stay this week. I thought that was high and instead paid the $144 for a room rather than burn 35,000 points. It did not seem like a good use of points.
That property was Cat 7/35K before the merger and is now Cat 5/35K, so 25K wouldn't have sufficed before.
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 11:16 am
  #25  
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Originally Posted by copyright1997
Criteria:
You are correct - Marriott released an updated list after the original and I missed searching that one.

So 9 properties unavailable via Certificate, offset by the 1500+ properties added.

Post above was corrected - thanks for the reminder.

Last edited by CPRich; Sep 7, 2018 at 11:34 am
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 11:19 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by pitflyer
However, are there are any FORMER cat 4s or lower that are now new category 5 or higher? Those hotels would have been accessible before with these certs, but are no longer. Not sure if anything fits, but there were some big jumps from previous cat 7 to new cat 4, so I'm guessing there are ones that went the other way?
No, there are not.

This was correct before the updated list - I'll get around to updating, but it's directionally correct (e.g the M5 to 5 cell is 6, should now be 9). I did check this specific criteria (<Cat 5 going to Cat 5 or higher) and there still are none.

Old categories across the top, new down the left.


Last edited by CPRich; Sep 7, 2018 at 11:42 am
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 11:24 am
  #27  
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Originally Posted by pjcflip
There used to be an option or two in downtown seattle like the spring hill suites. Now there are none and the options for the category four hotel classed hotels are outside of the city center in the suburbs or near the airport. A car is a must and I prefer not to have to rely on a car.
All previous Cat 5 and lower in the Seattle area are now Cat 4 or lower:

Courtyard Seattle Bellevue/Redmond
Courtyard Seattle Everett Downtown
Courtyard Seattle Federal Way
Courtyard Seattle North/Lynnwood Everett
Delta Hotels Seattle Everett
Fairfield Inn & Suites Seattle Bellevue/Redmond
Fairfield Inn & Suites Seattle Bremerton
Residence Inn Seattle East/Redmond
Residence Inn Seattle Northeast/Bothell
Seattle Marriott Bellevue
SpringHill Suites Seattle Issaquah
TownePlace Suites Seattle Everett/Mukilteo
TownePlace Suites Seattle South/Renton
TownePlace Suites Seattle Southcenter
Seattle Marriott Bellevue

Several properties which were higher than Cat 5 and not previously available are now Cat 4 and available (plus 4 SPG properties):

AC Hotel Seattle Bellevue/Downtown
Aloft Seattle Redmond
Aloft Seattle Sea-Tac Airport
Courtyard Seattle Bellevue/Downtown
Courtyard Seattle Kirkland
Courtyard Seattle Sea-Tac Area
Courtyard Seattle Southcenter
Element Seattle Redmond
Fairfield Inn Seattle Sea-Tac Airport
Four Points by Sheraton Seattle Airport South
Residence Inn Seattle Bellevue
Residence Inn Seattle Bellevue/Downtown
Residence Inn Seattle North/Lynnwood Everett
Residence Inn Seattle Sea-Tac Airport
Residence Inn Seattle South/Tukwila
Seattle Marriott Redmond
SpringHill Suites Seattle South/Renton


The SpringHill Suites Downtown was a Cat 7 so was not available with a previous Cat 5 cert.

The SHS Issaquah was a Cat 5 and is now a Cat 4, so both was and still is available via the certs.

The SHS Seattle South/Renton was a Cat 6 and is now a Cat 4, so it was not available with the previous Cat 5 cert but now is available with the Cat 4 cert.

Last edited by CPRich; Sep 7, 2018 at 11:48 am
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 11:35 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by ellie_nz
I had a category 1 to 5 cert from a promo and now it's been downgraded to category 1 to 4. I haven't followed the merger changes closely so wanted to check that this was correct or should it still cover category 5 properties? I was planning to use it for the Fuji Marriott but it's 35k a night. I had a search but couldn't find the answer.
Full details are above, as I think you've found.

The Fuji Marriott was previously a Marriott Category 7, so a Category 5 certificate would not have worked before the reclassification either.
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 11:51 am
  #29  
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Personally I have found a lot more 25K properties that can be of use now than before. May be it is just our travel needs, but I like the Cat 1 to 4 on the new chart that has opened up a lot more options than in the past.

What really hurts are those Cat 9s on the old chart. Many Autograph Collections in Europe have gone from 45K to 60K, so as all the nicest hotels in London and Paris. Next year they will be at 80K. I will miss the Autographs, especially those from the Old Boscolo brand. Luckily there are still other options in London and Paris should you need them.
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 8:11 pm
  #30  
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Yes, MR Cat 9 and RC Tier 5 are the big losers, along with both programs' old Cat 2. Though the net change of all properties averaged to a 3-4% decrease, those 4 tiers saw 14-18% increases in points required.

Fortunately, there are only 92 old Cat 9s. The 955 old Cat 7/8 and SPG 6/7 all dropped, so there are still options below the top 2%.
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