Feb 9, 2019, 3:52 pm
Last edit by: swag
It's out now: https://points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change
PDF of properties sorted by brand: https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e2/marrio...ogram=marriott
PDF of properties sorted by brand: https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e2/marrio...ogram=marriott
Annual Award Category Changes - Effective March 5, 2019.
Feb 11, 2019, 7:54 am
#91
Join Date: Nov 2018
Programs: AA, Delta, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 250
It’s only a win if you can find a hotel you want to stay at with the cert. with the 25k certs that become much more difficult as it also has with the 35k.
the value is more about actually using earned points for a hotel night compared to paying for it. Not using the cert.
the value is more about actually using earned points for a hotel night compared to paying for it. Not using the cert.
Feb 11, 2019, 8:00 am
#92
Join Date: Nov 2018
Programs: AA, Delta, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 250
I’m not saying there aren’t any 35k hotels worth staying at but your not getting value for the AF it the cert isn’t used for a night you’d otherwise actually spend money on or would have done if you didn’t have the cert to use before it expired.
Feb 11, 2019, 8:02 am
#93
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,453
And of course that's getting harder. That's kind of the whole point here. You're just restating the very obvious.
Feb 11, 2019, 8:09 am
#94
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: CT/ Germany - Ich spreche deutsch
Programs: UA 1K, Bonvoy LTTE, HH Dia, HY Expl
Posts: 4,657
Neither do I but I am sure there are people that don't want the certificates to expire so they actually go somewhere to use them even though they really didn't want to. I did this with the Hyatt CC certificates once and took a trip up to Boston just to use it since there were no hotels in NYC that were in the Cat. 1-4 range. After that I cancelled the Hyatt card. Point is the card and the attached certificate becomes less valuable to some with all the increases. I have both the Chase Marriott card and the Amex Starwood card and the Chase will be history when the renewal comes up due to several hotels I would want to use the certificate at going up to a category outside of the 35k certificate redemption value. I plan on keeping the Amex card because I have had it for centuries.
Feb 11, 2019, 9:48 am
#95
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,453
Yes, of course, that's a very obvious consequence that's been noted by many. We were responding to Ripley62's comment to the effect that current Cat 4/5 cert redemptions don't pencil out at a high enough value per point equivalent. The response is, "if I can burn a cert, I don't care about the equivalent per point value."
Feb 11, 2019, 10:56 am
#96
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: SFO
Posts: 487
same here.. I’m going out of my way to book Hyatt as they have always made my loyalty feel valued
Feb 11, 2019, 10:58 am
#97
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 981
I am definitely not the target they want, I freely admit that. I am just wrestling on whether keeping my SPG card will be worth it or not at this point. The only real benefit I see with it now that the last two local hotels I could have used the 35K annual night at are now priced out is Amex Offers, but I really don't use the Amex Offers that often.
Feb 11, 2019, 11:08 am
#98
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 981
From reading this thread and others, it appears those of you with a number of years with Marriott should have expected these changes in general.
I see statements such as "[name of hotel] in [Any City, Any Country] is my favorite and it is increasing from a Category [x] to a Category [y]." Well, if it is your favorite hotel then perhaps it is hundreds or thousands of other members favorite hotel also. And since Marriott determines categories based on popularity of use of award reservations at said property, it is somewhat expected.
It was much better on the member with SPG as they based their award categories on a property's ADR. So yes, you might have a Four Points in San Francisco at a higher category than a full service property in the U.S. midwest, it was easier to justify because the regular rates and thus the ADR of the San Francisco property was higher than that midwest property.
Even though I prefer the SPG way of pricing award categories, it is hard to argue with Marriott's way of pricing award categories since it is based on the principal of supply and demand and the higher category properties are demanded more often in the form of award reservations than are the lower category properties.
I see statements such as "[name of hotel] in [Any City, Any Country] is my favorite and it is increasing from a Category [x] to a Category [y]." Well, if it is your favorite hotel then perhaps it is hundreds or thousands of other members favorite hotel also. And since Marriott determines categories based on popularity of use of award reservations at said property, it is somewhat expected.
It was much better on the member with SPG as they based their award categories on a property's ADR. So yes, you might have a Four Points in San Francisco at a higher category than a full service property in the U.S. midwest, it was easier to justify because the regular rates and thus the ADR of the San Francisco property was higher than that midwest property.
Even though I prefer the SPG way of pricing award categories, it is hard to argue with Marriott's way of pricing award categories since it is based on the principal of supply and demand and the higher category properties are demanded more often in the form of award reservations than are the lower category properties.
Feb 11, 2019, 4:13 pm
#100
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: CT/ Germany - Ich spreche deutsch
Programs: UA 1K, Bonvoy LTTE, HH Dia, HY Expl
Posts: 4,657
Hyatt’s decreases in NYC are welcome considering Marriott’s increases in the city. Redeeming 20k WOH points for two full service Hyatt’s and the Andaz Wall Street vs 50k for numerous CY, FI and RI seems like a no-brainer.
Feb 11, 2019, 4:15 pm
#101
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: coastal Croatia
Programs: BAEC Gold, M&M Senator
Posts: 2,181
And with Hyatt 130 hotels are going up one category and 129 hotels are going down one category. Unlike the 90% up 10% down at Marriott. That's not to say that the changes are all good--there's plenty to complain about there, too. But overall it's more balanced (Japan & Korea are up but Thailand, Australia, Turkey & India are down; Washington state is up but Texas is (90%) down; San Francisco is up but San Diego is down, etc.)
Feb 11, 2019, 5:34 pm
#102
Moderator: Mileage Run, InterContinental Hotels
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 5,916
And with Hyatt 130 hotels are going up one category and 129 hotels are going down one category. Unlike the 90% up 10% down at Marriott. That's not to say that the changes are all good--there's plenty to complain about there, too. But overall it's more balanced (Japan & Korea are up but Thailand, Australia, Turkey & India are down; Washington state is up but Texas is (90%) down; San Francisco is up but San Diego is down, etc.)
Feb 11, 2019, 6:10 pm
#103
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: SFO
Posts: 487
And with Hyatt 130 hotels are going up one category and 129 hotels are going down one category. Unlike the 90% up 10% down at Marriott. That's not to say that the changes are all good--there's plenty to complain about there, too. But overall it's more balanced (Japan & Korea are up but Thailand, Australia, Turkey & India are down; Washington state is up but Texas is (90%) down; San Francisco is up but San Diego is down, etc.)
Feb 12, 2019, 1:21 pm
#104
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SFO
Posts: 312
I was researching booking Las Alcobas Napa over the weekend, before the change, and found some dates but didn't commit (my mistake, I know). Now I'm getting this error: We’re sorry. This property is not taking redemption bookings at this time. You can either book a cash reservation or search for another property.
Very frustrating. If they're going to make changes effective in the future, you should be able to actually book them before the effective date...
Very frustrating. If they're going to make changes effective in the future, you should be able to actually book them before the effective date...
Feb 12, 2019, 2:07 pm
#105
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 133
Neither do I but I am sure there are people that don't want the certificates to expire so they actually go somewhere to use them even though they really didn't want to. I did this with the Hyatt CC certificates once and took a trip up to Boston just to use it since there were no hotels in NYC that were in the Cat. 1-4 range. After that I cancelled the Hyatt card. Point is the card and the attached certificate becomes less valuable to some with all the increases. I have both the Chase Marriott card and the Amex Starwood card and the Chase will be history when the renewal comes up due to several hotels I would want to use the certificate at going up to a category outside of the 35k certificate redemption value. I plan on keeping the Amex card because I have had it for centuries.