!!!! Thank you for sharing your piece.

Should I convert my old certificate into the new one first and then keep calling? Is there a specific number that I might have a better chance of calling to get an agent to allow me to upgrade the certificate?

I did it in one call - I think the suggestion upthread re just quoting the QP is a reasonable approach.

I believe ST Regis and Luxury Collections are the only ones left on SPG. They come over mid month.

It sounds like you were quoted the price difference between a OC6 and a OC7. Considering how confused some of the agents are, you might actually get a NC7.

I am waiting for that especially Marriott only allows booking up to 11 months out... Mid Dec is just in the nick of time. Much prefer having point advance booking than tied up lots of pts when the stays are not at all certain.

I went all in on travel packages before the August cutoff date, but expect to have enough points to cover one or two 5-night awards at a current Cat 7 by next fall.

Oh, I ave similar reserve as well because the 5th night free is far more useful to us while the 7 nights often is a stretch. We used an OC6 last year at Hong Kong SkyCity when it was 30K property. We used a NC4 in Oct at the same property when it went down to 25K. We have some hard time to figure out where to use our remaining certs.

However I fully understand the 7 nights TP is a great value for those have families and like to plant at a resort or vacation spot for a full week.

Also unlike others, the hotel stays are more valuable to us than the miles portion. Truly a minority.

I think most people would prefer 5-night stays, which may be the reason they aren't offered to all. There was a brief period a few years ago that 5-night packages were available to everyone. I ended up with two of them, the last of which I used recently.

Because hotel awards were exchangeable and extendable, I would buy them when airline transfer bonuses were highest and I would utilize one or two each year. Since I have at least one ski trip per year, I haven't had a problem using the 7-night certificates.

I have always gotten better than 1 cent per point of face value when using hotel awards. I have one OC 9 and one OC 1-5 that I will wait to convert. Without the flexibility that extended before, it will be harder to get outsized value, but I will still expect to get far more than the liquidation value on my last couple.

Trying to redeem Marriott Travel Package Certificates is a DISASTER!
 

To start, I have Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status...

Almost 8 hours spent on the phone over last 48 hours, and still no solution to making a hotel booking using a Ritz Carlton Tier 4/5 7-Night Travel Package certificate... I think I have been very patient, but now i think this is borderline abuse... It is beyond disbelief that a company can treat any customer like that, let alone their most loyal customers...

Any suggestions? Anyone have contact info for the head of Marriott Rewards?

Here is a play by play:

Dec 4 11:30 pm - Spoke to Clarence (Starwood supervisor) about booking reward booking with travel certificates at St.Regis Bal Harbour... advised it was available and that it had to be done with assistance of in house hotel reservations... was asked to call back dec 5 during the day.
25 mins


Dec 5th - 5:30pm
Call Starwood Platinum desk - spoke to Justin (Starwood supervisor) who spent an hour trying to figure out how to use certificate for stay at St.Regis Bal Harbour... at the end, told me that Marriott had to convert old travel certificate (Aug 2018) to current version and transferred me to Marriott but included a case # 8960XXXX.
1 hour

Spoke to Tom (Marriott supervisor) at Marriott, and he had difficulty converting old certificates (aug 2018) to current certificates.. Told me that a manager had to do this and no one was available and to call back dec 6th during business hours... gave me a case #8961XXXX .
2 hours

Dec 6th - 9:42 am
Spoke to Cheryl (Marriott supervisor), who was able to finally convert the certificates over a 2 hour call and I asked if i can just get a refund on these certificates (i have 5 tier 4/5 Ritz 7 night certs) as they are terrible to work with... told her i will use one at the St.Regis Bal Harbour but i don't want the rest anymore as rules are changing to something very unfair... Apparently when i bought certs (aug 2018), they could be used at any Ritz Carlton in the world, but after Jan 1st, that is no longer the case... i feel cheated and scammed, which is unfortunate, as i have been a big Marriott support for over 15 years, most of it platinum... This file is apparently still open, and Cheryl said she will call me back with a solution, but in the meantime, she will transfer me to Starwood platinum, so i can finally make my St.Regis Bal Harbour booking...
2 hours


Spoke to Starwood Platinum CSR (name unknown)... asked for supervisor, but she said she can read the notes and help me... She managed to make the booking but was having trouble applying certificate... she disconnected with me once, called me back... and got disconnected again, and didn't call back...
1 hour

Dec 6th - 12:52 PM
Called back Starwood Platinum, and spoke to Megan (Starwood supervisor)... explained the whole thing all over again... she found the booking from previous agent, and spoke to her manager to apply cert to St.Regis booking, as previous agent made booking and deducted 500k points from account instead of using certificate... Apparently manager was having a problem applying certificate and then the systems went down... They have no idea if I still have a reservation or not... i was requested to call back tomorrow Dec 7...
1 hour 30 mins

They talking about the partial NC7. Of course there is the full NC7, costing 360,000 points.

I have the NC TP attached to my reservation. If I cancel the reservation, I would think the TP gets detached. Then I can reattach the TP with a new reservation.

Or better call Marriott and have them do it? They always complain and say something...

Don't do it. Making changes to a reservation while a certificate is attached will frequently cause the attached certificate to be liquidated.

Call Marriott and ask to have the certificate detached from the reservation before making any changes. Once the certificate is detached, it can be cancelled or change online like other reservations.

I think I can help a little...St Regis properties cannot use TP certs until Dec 11 or possibly 14. They are not in the MR system yet. Now, will yours work then? I don't know. But that's why its likely not working now. You can only use points. I dealt with this with St Regis Maldives yesterday.

A sure way to lose your cert if you do it the way you are thinking - whether cancel the reservation yourself or by the rep.

If you ever read the thread, you would have read about countless mentioning and people's painful experiences - that any change to your reservation be it date change or cancellation, the cert would be canceled and partial value of points returned to your account. In fact this just happened a page or 2 back.

It is the poor design of Marriott IT but we have to learn how to deal with it. Enough DPs have been posted that the only way to prevent it is to detach the cert from the reservation before you touch the reservation for anything you need to get done.

It cannot be emphasized enough this point to the rep. Just tell them you want to detach the cert in case some incompetent reps thought they know more and go ahead to modify your reservation with the cert still attached. Then ithe cert would be immediately gone, liquidated.
Personally I would make sure I see the cert detached before I make the next request.

ALWAYS DETACH the cert from the reservation before you touch the reservation for any reason. Else you would regret on what happens, then be prepared to make many phone calls to get your cert reinstated.

Your interest in booking former SPG hotels isn't unique. After December 11, I would suggest reading the latest updates in the Travel Package forum. In the interim, you "should" be able to cancel the St. Regis booking and get you points back.