Last edit by: RedSun
Effective 14 Sept 2019 from VFTW:
Points advance locks in the room not the rate.
Effective September 14 pricing that will apply to points advance bookings will be the current price at the time the member actually redeems points to cover the reservation. This will no longer be a way to lock in current pricing on the if-come. And with high season dates, which can change each month, the price of the room may vary up until the time of redemption.
Marriott tells me that for reservations made prior to September 14 they will honor up to 5 points advance bookings at the standard rate even if those reservations fall on a peak date.
Maximum of 3 Points Advance bookings at a time
Marriott will be updating their terms to limit members to three points advance bookings at a time. Expect to hear from Marriott if you make a bunch of points advance reservations.
Points advance locks in the room not the rate.
Effective September 14 pricing that will apply to points advance bookings will be the current price at the time the member actually redeems points to cover the reservation. This will no longer be a way to lock in current pricing on the if-come. And with high season dates, which can change each month, the price of the room may vary up until the time of redemption.
Marriott tells me that for reservations made prior to September 14 they will honor up to 5 points advance bookings at the standard rate even if those reservations fall on a peak date.
From Marriott email:
Starting September 14, You will be permitted a maximum of three Points Advance reservations at any time
Before September 14, please take the following steps to reduce your Points Advance reservations to adhere to the upcoming policy.
Cancel any remaining Points Advance reservations or convert them to a paid rate.
If youre unable to complete this before September 14, well contact you at the phone number listed in your account to help you resolve any excess reservations.
If youre unable to complete this before September 14, well contact you at the phone number listed in your account to help you resolve any excess reservations.
For Points Advance reservation(s) made before September 14 only: When you redeem, if any night has a Peak rate, call us and well adjust the night to its Standard rate. If you need to change your reservation, youll receive the available redemption rate when you rebook
From Marriott Lurker: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31525589-post1.html
As a reminder, any reservations booked with points made prior to today will remain at the reserved Standard redemption rate. However, if you need to change that reservation, you may see a new redemption rate when you rebook. If the hotel you booked moves into Off-Peak, you can rebook at the new, lower redemption rate and then cancel the original reservation (standard cancellation time periods apply).
Maximum of 3 Points Advance bookings at a time
Marriott will be updating their terms to limit members to three points advance bookings at a time. Expect to hear from Marriott if you make a bunch of points advance reservations.
Point Advance Reservations General Discussion Thread
#7
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SFO/YYZ
Programs: AC 25K, AS MVP Gold, BA Silver, DL Silver, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,161
Do you have any points advance reservations? Marriott has been randomly ordering certificates for them way in advance, and in true Marriott fashion you probably won't get any activity log listings for it. Check your reservations.
#8
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: SPG Plat
Posts: 785
I do have a ton of those. How do I know which ones had the certificates ordered? Theres nothing in the activity logs to show points were deducted.
#9
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SFO/YYZ
Programs: AC 25K, AS MVP Gold, BA Silver, DL Silver, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,161
Go to them. They won't have the point advance banner at the top now. Instead they'll say "This reservation has e-certificates". I would start from the soonest one since it did it to me and picked the reservation happening nearest in the future.
#11
#12
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,040
I always liked the SPG way of deducting points as soon as you made an award reservation. I've never understood the MR thing about attaching certificates to the reservation.
#13
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SFO/YYZ
Programs: AC 25K, AS MVP Gold, BA Silver, DL Silver, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,161
You can choose to deduct at the time of booking if you want. Points Advance is incredibly useful. For example, I have bookings near the end of the year that I anticipate I will use two 50k certificates from credit cards to pay for. I don't have those now, and I certainly cannot just allocate 100k points in the meantime since I need points for other bookings happening more imminently. It's better for me in terms of securing more points bookings far out if others choose to only book if they have the points on hand, so I'm totally in support of that.
#14
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,040
It's better for me if no one is allowed to make an award reservation until they have the points in their account. Speculative reservations and those made far in advance can kill award availability for the rest of us. Airlines generally wouldn't issue an award ticket or hold a reservation for one for very long if the miles aren't actually in the FF account.
#15
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Silver (1MM), Marriott Amb (LTT)
Posts: 9,609
-RM