Canadian Courtyards give $10 CAD not USD in F&B credit as Platinum Welcome Amenity
Jan 18, 2019, 9:08 am
#1
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Canadian Courtyards give $10 CAD not USD in F&B credit as Platinum Welcome Amenity
Beware if you stay at a Canadian Courtyard or other Marriott property in Canada that gives $10 F&B credits in lieu of free breakfast to Platinum Elites. You will be probably lowballed and given credits worth $10 CAD instead of the $10 USD mandated by the Marriott Rewards rules, which represents a difference in value of 30% if fair exchange rates were to be applied.
I had to argue for it to be $10 USD at the check-in desk and when redeeming the vouchers at the restaurants and they ended up counting them in USD but at the hotel's cash exchange rate of 1.15 CAD per 1 USD. So I got $11.50 CAD out of each voucher.
I had to argue for it to be $10 USD at the check-in desk and when redeeming the vouchers at the restaurants and they ended up counting them in USD but at the hotel's cash exchange rate of 1.15 CAD per 1 USD. So I got $11.50 CAD out of each voucher.
Last edited by CardMaster; Jan 20, 2019 at 4:27 pm
Jan 18, 2019, 12:47 pm
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Jan 18, 2019, 1:56 pm
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Jan 18, 2019, 2:54 pm
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Jan 18, 2019, 9:42 pm
#10
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The only legal tender currency for transactions in Canada is the Canadian dollar. The hotel cannot give you $US 10 because US dollars are not a currency allowed to do business in Canada.
A modified request maybe why not give an equivalent of $US 10 in Canadian currency for the Food and Beverage Amenity. The answer would be because the currency goes up and down all the time. Right now it is about $US 10 = $CAD 13. In periods of 2007, $USD 10 = $CAD 10. In periods of 2010, $USD 10 = $CAD 8.5. The OP is disingenuous and secretly wanted to say "if the US dollar is weaker than Canadian dollar, give me $10 Canadian. If the Canadian dollar is weaker than US dollar, give me the $US 10 in Canadian equivalent!"
Marriott should totally ignore the complaint of the OP.
As far as I know, in Washington State, a bottle of 500ml pop is about $USD 1.75 - $2 pre-tax at a convenient store. In BC Canada, a 500ml pop is also about $CAD 1.75 - 2.00. Because the purchase power of the $10 is quite on par with each other, there is no need make adjustments.
A modified request maybe why not give an equivalent of $US 10 in Canadian currency for the Food and Beverage Amenity. The answer would be because the currency goes up and down all the time. Right now it is about $US 10 = $CAD 13. In periods of 2007, $USD 10 = $CAD 10. In periods of 2010, $USD 10 = $CAD 8.5. The OP is disingenuous and secretly wanted to say "if the US dollar is weaker than Canadian dollar, give me $10 Canadian. If the Canadian dollar is weaker than US dollar, give me the $US 10 in Canadian equivalent!"
Marriott should totally ignore the complaint of the OP.
As far as I know, in Washington State, a bottle of 500ml pop is about $USD 1.75 - $2 pre-tax at a convenient store. In BC Canada, a 500ml pop is also about $CAD 1.75 - 2.00. Because the purchase power of the $10 is quite on par with each other, there is no need make adjustments.
Jan 18, 2019, 9:53 pm
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Jan 18, 2019, 10:00 pm
#12
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There are Tim Hortons and Wendys locations that publish their exchange rate for US dollars on the menu. The hotel can simply apply 10 USD credits against whatever is being purchased, processed at the prevailing exchange rate. That's how paying with a Marriott gift card, available only in USD, works in countries that do not use USD including Canada.
Jan 18, 2019, 10:32 pm
#13
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Marriott, which is based in the United States, pegs its point earning, F&B credits, penalties, and other terms & conditions involving money to the U.S. Dollar -- or the equivalent in local currency.
It's not about the cost of a 500 ml bottle of pop. It's not about buying power at all. Even within the United States, $10 USD buys more in Dubuque than in New York City. It's about the dollar amount or the local equivalent.
For currencies used by Courtyard, AC Hotels, and MOXY properties worldwide, I would hope that Marriott calculates the equivalent of $10 USD in local currency, based on exchange rates, and that all hotels using that currency are consistant. It would be guest-friendly to round up to a "round number," as perceived for each local currency, which would also mean not having to add a "local penny" one day and subtract it the next, as exchange rates fluctuate.
You're suggesting that Marriott should totally ignore its Loyalty Program Terms & Conditions?
Jan 19, 2019, 12:05 am
#14
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There are Tim Hortons and Wendys locations that publish their exchange rate for US dollars on the menu. The hotel can simply apply 10 USD credits against whatever is being purchased, processed at the prevailing exchange rate. That's how paying with a Marriott gift card, available only in USD, works in countries that do not use USD including Canada.
As for foreign credit cards, the store always receive Canadian dollars. The credit card company does the foreign conversion and the currency spread (ie the fee you pay for the conversion) and bill the purchaser of their home currency.
Jan 19, 2019, 12:06 am
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I think this is misleading implying Canadian store processing goods in US dollars. It is very clear in Canadian law, you can only use Canadian dollars to pay for goods in Canada. The situation you are talking about is the purchase is in Canadian dollars. The store first give a value added service by doing a currency exchange for you from US dollars to Canadian dollars. Then the main transaction of applying the now converted Canadian dollars to buy the Canadian Tim Horton coffee/donuts. Then the cashier returns Canadian dollars to you and not US dollars.