Travel Package certificates have to be attached by a customer service representative, so you'll need to call.

Thanks for the clarification. I've never used one before. Oddly enough, the agent I talked to said that I should be able to do that online myself. I guess she was just as clueless as I was. :D

If the certificate is one of those annual ones you get through the credit card, or is given in response to a promotion ("stay twice, get a free night" sort of thing), you usually can attach it yourself on-line. Maybe that's what she was thinking of. That has not been the case with Travel Package nights, perhaps because the complexity of the Travel Packages. Maybe Marriott will allow it in the future once they get the transition finished.

That makes a lot of sense. She probably did think of the annual certificates and thought the same process applied to the Travel Package certificates. Thanks again!

Just booked a 7 night Cat.4 at Sheraton Taipei
 

1. Called Marriott 1-800-321-7396
2. Short waiting, told agent wanting to use partial travel cert (7 night Old Cat.1-5) for Sheraton Taipei
3. Agent fumbled for about 5 minutes to find the right hotel
4. Agent recognized that I have several certs, and went ahead
5. Award reservation was made after 15+ minutes due to some difficulty of computer system
6.Old Cert changed to New cert for Cat 1-4 took 20+ minutes
7. Attach cert to reservation another 20 minutes. Agent kept coming back to apologize for a dozen times throughout.
8. Received three emails: Order of new cert, award reservation, and cancellation of old cert, in that order
9. Reservation was for two persons, confirmation email showing only 1 guest. asked for correction, received new email still showed 1 guest. (This has happened in another cash reservation for 2 guests but email said 1 guest.)

Summary:
1. Marriott agent knows precisely what need be done, but total phone call after agent answered took near one hour.
2. Wanted to book for only six nights but was told I must book for 7 nights. I cannot volunteer reducing it to less than 7 nights. (So there must be a period of 7 nights award availability)
3. Reservation was for two guests but emails repeatedly show 1 guest.

Has anyone (recently) successfully used a TP for a second guest without the cert holder being present?

Good plan, sadly don't have enough points to make booking for a week and no 'points advance' option with SPG. Had confirmation of receipt of complaint to CEOs office after two weeks, a further fortnight later am still awaiting further follow-up from his PA who was meant to be sorting things. Overall pretty unimpressed with Marriott. By comparison have had some excellent stays and customer service from IHG recently, so they're getting more of my business!

I did all three with legacy Marriott staff in one call. She knows all the right steps needed. The time wasted was mainly because of the slow system.

I think the best way is
1. Book a point stay at whatever hotel
2. Call Marriott

The points deducted from step 1. will automatically be returned to your account in step 2.

The second best way is just call Marriott and do all in one step.

I concur.

I had an old Cat 6 7-night TP certificate that I planned to use at a new Cat 5 hotel. To save the space, I made a points booking at that hotel during the change-over and just let everything sit until the chaos died down.

Earlier this week I decided to see if I could change the old 6 for a new 5, attach it to the existing points reservation, and get the 210K points I had paid for the points reservation returned to my account. I called Marriott, told the CSR what I wanted to do, and she did it in less than 10 minutes. The unused certificate has now disappeared from my account, the reservation now shows as a TP reservation, and the 210K points appeared back in my account within hours (maybe overnight?). Easy peasy.

But didn't you have to pay an extra 30k since the old cat 6 doesn't map to the new cat 5?

I was finally able to cancel an attached OC8 and upgrade for 30,000 points to an unattached NC6 (QP99) through US Call Ctr. The call only took an hour and change.

The rep and supervisor both read me the policy that No Upgrades are allowed.a
I asked for an exception to the policy and made my strongest and most polite case for an exception. I was told NO.
Then, after I graciously gave up and said I would accept the NC5+30K, I was told YES they would sell me the upgrade.

The supervisor needed to call a support desk to process the transaction either way. The first support person declined the SUP's request; but the 2nd support person allowed it and directed them what to do. Fresh 12-month reset too.

Satisfied with outcome. Hopefully, my certificate Hell is over and I will find good use for my QP99. Thanks to everyone who provided guidance in this thread.

Any idea why new converted certificates show as 'Partial certificate'?

I called today to book the Prince Sakura in Tokyo with my 5n cat-6 certificate. Took over an hour, system wasnt allowing it, and the hotel had trouble to, agent kept saying that it is a Partial certificate and hotel was saying that certificate only worth 135k not 200k... anyways, at some point the agent put me on hold and talk to another team, and came back with the booking made, no idea what they did.

I'd always thought it was because it is only for the hotel night as you've already had the airline miles? I think a lot of reps get confused re points value to 'purchase' the cert vs what it can be redeemed for.