Happy

In the past the 7 nights booking using the TP cert would show as 5 nights and 2 nights with the 5 nights incl 1 night free. It is why the 7 night cert cannot be cleanly attached without human intervention.

Now someone said he could cancel a TP 7 nights cert booking online and the cert came back to the account... If this indeed the case this is the first time I read about such DP in this thread and personally I certain do not know such is possible.

Happy

What you described is when there is no category change on the underlying property.

Not if the hotel has changed category from original booking to when the cert being reissued. The process would be much more involved - someone has posted his experience on such - the booking was done as if a point booking, with additional points add to the account to make the booking, then removed the extra pts. The cert does not show as attached, but it is "attached" in the view of the internal system.

crazyhorse

I was not aware that in the past they made it as a 5 + 2 night reservation. That was probably because I am not a big user of these travel packages. I think prior to the 2018 devaluation, I may have used it only twice and that too one of them was because I needed to get the Southwest Companion Pass in a hurry. The 7 night cert I used then did give me a good value too but I was more interested in the Companion Pass. at the time.

I have read multiple data points of people who say that the cert came back to their accounts when they canceled the reservation. But since I also read about an equal number of people who had trouble I just prefer to detach the cert first before canceling the reservation.

I made a reservation last week before the changes for a Cat 5 which is now a Cat 6. The reservation is showing the message "This reservation has eCertificate(s)" right now after the changes and even shows the point values at which I booked the reservation. (40,000 points per night with one of the nights struck out since its free)

God forbid, but if I need to make changes I will follow the process that has worked for me.

Are you referring to a scenario where a reservation is made but a certificate is not attached? In that case, I don't think its even possible for the certificate to be attached at all, regardless of when it was booked (pre or post devaluation). The agent would have to (first be willing to) upgrade the certificate. What may be a likely scenario is that the agent may have canceled the certificate and then added additional points to make it as a pure points reservation and told the customer that the certificate is attached. The certificate cannot be seen on the reservation because it is not really there! Its actually a points booking. Only way to test my theory is to cancel the reservation and see if it returns points at the new rate. But don't blame me if things go wrong!

pazza2000

Surely now Marriott can’t deny an extension of these TP’s, even for those who have already received one? I’m sure we will receive some DP’s soon

RedSun

Another extension won't help much. A lot of the hotels have already changed to higher categories. We won't be able to use the TPs at the same properties if we postpone the trips....

pazza2000

What about unattached TP certs. due to expire in the near future?

RedSun

Marriott should just roll back the category changes, extend all annual reward nights and TP for another year automatically. Maybe the same with elite status.

The world is at its standstill now. Nowhere is safe and we can't even travel if we are brave enough to go....

rrgg

They'll be extended into January, not one year. I don't know if it's automatic or on request but it's reported at VFTW and TPG.

RedSun

This is the crisis management that any "loyalty" programs from the consumer oriented companies can show the true color.

We really need the leadership from those companies to show that they truly care about the customers.

RedSun

It looks like Marriott allows us to extend the TP to Jan 31, 2021. Also, the existing reservation can be changed as long as this is done by April 30,2020. I assume we should be able to change the dates regardless of the category changes.

I'm still disappointed since this is just a half-hearted change. We just do not know how long this virus situation is going to continue I'd expect a full year extension from Marriott's side, not just to April 30, 2020.

Given the impact of COVID-19 on how we work, socialize and travel, we have been adapting our cancellation policy over the past several weeks to the evolving nature of this epidemic. Today, we are updating our policy to provide our customers the most flexibility we can offer during these challenging times. Generally speaking, for guests with existing individual reservations, including reservations with pre-paid rates that are typically more restrictive, we will allow changes or cancellation without a charge up to 24 hours prior to arrival as long as the change or cancellation is made by April 30, 2020. For guests making new individual reservations between today and April 30, 2020, we will allow those reservations to be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before a guest's scheduled arrival date. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information and for additional details about availability and exclusions.

Wiki updated.

UsernameChuck

I wouldn't have read their statement that way... it says we'll be responsible for any change in rate, I'm not sure why that would apply to cash rates but not point rates. Are there any dps for someone being able to change the date for a post-category-change hotel? (I'd love it if the answer were yes)

RedSun

We can always detach and attach the TP to new reservation (with new rate/category). So what would this update do us any good due to the virus situation?

I expect Marriott would keep us "whole" to April 30,2020. But I had expected an entire year.

HIFlya

So...right now I am using a CC FNA that originally expires on 06/02/2020 for a reservation in SAN for 06/01/2020-06/02/2020. I have a 7 night TP that was originally expiring in late 07/2020 and it is for a reservation from 06/02/2020-06/09/2020. Based on this new policy, will I have to detach both the FNA and the TP certificates from my reservations and cancel them for the FNA and TP to extend until 01/2021? Or will it be done automatically while they are attached? And as long as I detach and cancel after 04/30/2020 within the T&Cs of the reservation I will get my FNA and TP back with the extension in place?

RedSun

It is up to Marriott or the "Lurkers" to interpret the "policy".

Based on the way Marriott has been doing this, I assume everything will be manual, not automatic. If you want to make a reservation in July 2020, you'll have to call in and the rep attach the FN or TP to the new reservation. They will likely re-issue the new FN or TP with a new 365 day expiry.

HIFlya

But must be done before 04/30/2020? Or because they are extending all FNAs, then there is no need to rush that?