Tanic

One of the sweetest of sweet spots was to redeem 300k or so MR points into WN. Got 120k Rapid Reward points + Companion Pass for up to two years + 7 hotel nights. RIP Travel Package.

margarita girl

Nah, there’s a separate thread for that.

Travel packages are being discontinued: what about points to miles?

What’s being discontinued is the points to miles + hotel cert. We are still uncertain whether points to miles will be affected per the thread mentioned above.

rylan

Well when a room starts costing 120k+ points for a night when categories go away and hotels can charge whatever they want on 'dynamic pricing', we will be wishing we could cash in these useless MR points for slightly less useless airline miles.

FirstKiwi

This week, we have been successful redeeming 510K points for a 7 night category 6 travel package with 100k airline miles. The hotel certificate portion is valid until mid Jan 2023.

Hopefully, we can leave New Zealand later this year (and then return home to NZ again safely, without compulsory managed isolation/quarantine at crazy prices). NZ only has just one Marriott (Sheraton) property, and it's currently a cat 4. My partner has a cat 4 cert that was extended and remains valid (but, none of the MIQ hotels are Marriott) and, unfortunately, the govt don't accept Marriott certificates as payment for the MIQ hotel stay

We get the best value from using our certs in Asia.
Over the years, we have experienced great enjoyment from these travel packages (cat 4 and 5) and have flown first class several times. We are grateful that Marriott has offered these packages as long as they have, otherwise, we would not have been able to afford to travel 'up front' and stay at nice places for 7 nights.

Looking forward to experiencing a category 6 hotel, but, it will be interesting to see what happens to TP Certs when categories dissolve soon.

It's sad to hear these packages are being removed from the menu.

Enjoy while it lasts!

BillMorrow

For the longest time, I have only used my Marriott points for these awards. They did offer more value in the past, but still do offer value. I will be obtaining at least one more package by Wednesday. For a category six award with 100k miles, the cost is 510k points. For seven nights in a category six hotel the standard cost would be 300k (with a range of 240k to 360k). You receive the seven nights at this fixed price (no peak pricing) and for the additional 210k points, you receive 100k airlines miles (110k with UA). I am Titanium and receive a total of 23.5 points/$ spent at Marriotts (17.5 for Titanium + 6 for Amex Marriott Card). That is a spend of $8936 to obtain the 210k points. This is same as obtaining 100k miles for an $8936 spend or about 11 miles per dollar spent. That is still a good deal. I don't fly as much as I used to, so those miles definitely come in handy.

For Marriott timeshare owners(I am one), there are also five night travel packages available. These are the packages I typically obtain. For a five night category six award with 100k miles, the cost is 390k points. The math is similar with the incremental cost for 100k miles being 190k points. That works out to be $12 miles/dollar spent at Marriott.

Prior to the advent of Bonvoy, the number of miles received per dollar spent was even better. The value was such that I would purchase 50k MR points for my wife and myself each year.

When I first became a platinum member about 20 years ago, these packages were a tremendous value. For a reasonable number of points, you could stay at any Marriott in the world and get there in premium class on your flights. Back then, the packages also included a certificate for a one week Hertz car rental.

To add more perspective to how far Marriott's program has fallen, consider other benefits Platinums used to receive. Each quarter, we would receive a coupon booklet. Included were two BOGO coupons for weekend stays at full service properties (one coupon each for Marriott and Renaissance). Also included were two BOGO coupons for dinner entrees at hotel restaurants (again one each for Marriott and Renaissance). These were great in hotels that had steak houses. I can't remember what the other coupons were, but these were the main ones. Platinums also received what I consider true arrival gifts at full service properties. On check-in, you were given a card with choices. I always chose a cheese plate with a half-bottle wine. That was nice! If arriving late,it could replace dinner.

So Marriott's program continues its downward spiral. It will be interesting to see what gets cheapened in March. It has become apparent that the executives there think they have become so large that they will just dominate. With this, they also consider the property owners to be their true customers. I

Edit:Formatting

travelinmanS

Wait until you get to pay 150K points for a night at the Marriott Waikiki. Coming soon....

mikebor

This new Marriott CEO reminds me of Eddie Lampert from Sears, ruining the brand with every cut and elimination he makes. Just awful.

I don't even recognize this once wonderful hotel chain anymore. The Starwood merger was so terrible for the customers. I said it when it was announced. It's a shame.

eponymous_coward

Wait, wut?

”The ability to convert hotel certificates earned from credit cards to points is a nice benefit and one others should consider.”

You can do this? What’s the conversion rate?

estrela

Really don’t like the direction Marriott takes.

Shifting my business to other chains and independent hotels that also give 12+% cashback via OTAs.

bocastephen

I don't think we want to revisit the argument of who was better or worse - for those of us who came from SPG, we feel we had the superior program, and I am sure those who came from Marriott feel the same about theirs. One thing is for sure, the crappy evolution of the program today has nothing to do with those two programs that existed before the merger. So suffice to say, mergers in general are bad, but until the people start electing politicians who are willing to block them, it's just something we need to adjust our own expectations to as these programs evolve. One thing Lifetime Platinum status has given me is the flexibility to book anywhere I want, without fear of losing my core benefits.

keepclimbing

I did.

Marriott's current management seems intent on reducing or eliminating as much remaining value from the programme as possible, so even if you haven't yet found a way to take advantage of this particular aspect of it, anything you do still value is likely to be next on the chopping block.

churning

I'm feeling really stuck. I have 1 million Bonvoy and my target to burn them all was Summer 2023 on one epic trip. If I get a Cat 8 travel package, it will expire January 2023 which doesn't work. What would you do? Other option is to book some speculatively on the very last day in March before the changes take place and then see what happens and pray I can make a March 2023 trip instead of Summer 2023.

miadeals

Does this still exist for a day or is it long gone?

vivrant

If it were me, I would get two category eight packages and pray that Marriott let’s you extend them. At the very least you will have 200k AS miles to show for it which is only 10k miles shy of being good for three one ways to Asia in F.

halls120

Correct. Which is part of the reason I haven't stayed at a Marriott property in over 4 years. I actively avoid them.