And I basically agree with you except I thought this thread was specifically about the current status challenge they are doing which afaik is the same for everybody doing it. If you are doing some corporate match that's different then yes there's a decent chance your terms are different, I just didn't think that's what this thread was about and if it is that's cool too.

Either way...yes please read your T&C. Having said that it took quite a long time on the phone to get them to send me these T&C (my CSR put me on hold for 25 minutes while she had to "get permission" to email them. and she wasn't the first one i tried to get them out of). They don't have them posted anywhere on their website, so just trying to help people out. I wish they weren't so secretive about everything... not trying to toot my own horn, just trying to save others a headache.

I called a third time before a stay over this last weekend. I asked the agent what promotions I was enrolled in and she was able to identify the Mega Bonus and the Platinum Challenge without prompting her, which will have to be confirmation enough. Maybe Marriott they should call it the Double Super Secret Platinum Challenge.

Tygran37, I really appreciate you sharing them, as otherwise I wouldn't have any idea what they are.

7 night stay certificate
 

Is anyone able to confirm award nights count?
 

I signed up for the challenge a couple of weeks ago and have been told by customer service twice that only paid stays count.

Maybe a silly question but can anyone confirm if stays booked under Government or Military rate count towards the 16 nights? Thank you.

So, I have Gold status and want to get Platinum status.

Do i need to complete 8 stays or 16 stays ?

That matches what I can see internally. Award nights are not mentioned as being eligible anywhere that I can find.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International

[email protected]

Do these usually show up as eligible nights once the stay is credited? If so, then yes.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International

[email protected]

16 nights.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International

[email protected]

Please confirm, as that is not I or several others on this thread were told by different CSRs.

I am confirming that award nights do not count for this offer. If you were told differently, then you should call in to report it.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International

[email protected]

Thank you for helping us out, William. You are absolutely correct as I contacted Marriott tonight and was told the same. It does indeed bother me that I, along with a few others on this thread, were given incorrect information though. Interestingly, the associate I spoke with tonight also stated she will send a note to the associate who gave me the wrong information.

We are planning out our trips for the upcoming year. Currently, we have platinum premier status from the challenge we earned in April of this year (2018). Does any one know how long the status will last? From what I have read, most are saying Feb of 2020, I hope that's the case since we do the majority of our traveling in Asia during the summer. Thanks!!!

The challenge, if I would apply for e.g. today, would be still possible even we do have Oct. 3rd now, so less than 3 months left this year?

As posted by [MENTION=898264]tygran37[/MENTION] earlier in this thread, the T&C basically had two opposite pieces of information regarding award stays. In the beginning it says "eligible PAID stays", but towards the end there's another clause specifically saying that "award stays COUNT". If what William said above is true, does that mean [MENTION=898264]tygran37[/MENTION] was given an incorrect T&C?

When this platinum/gold challenge program first came out, the Starwood Lurker on FlyerTea (the Chinese forum for frequent travelers like here) also explicitly said that award stays count. When I called in to sign up, the CSR confirmed the same thing by reading out the lines from the T&C. But now looks like they're reversing that statement, after many people have signed up with the false assumption.

And this leads to another question: if I cannot complete the challenge due to award stays NOT counted, does this disqualify me from participating in similar challenges in the future?

This whole thing would've been much easier if Marriott just posted an official T&C online.