Marriott Travel Packages [** Discontinued Jan 19, 2022 **]
 

Since the original Marriott Travel Packages have expired 12 months after the big merger on 8/18/2018, we need a new place to discuss the TPs. The OC TPs do not exist any longer.

This will include the legacy Travel Packages issued prior to the merger and have been re-issued. It also includes the new Travel Packages issued after the merger. The new TPs are less attractive.

Anyone have success applying a converted cert to a legacy booking pre category change?

I have a NC5 5 night that I want to apply to a property that I booked as cat 5, but is now cat 6.

Recently Marriott has stopped issuing "adjustment" points for the old (point advance) reservations with lower rates until close to travel time. They said they would still honor them, just not adding the points now. This will certainly impact your situation. Give them a call.

Good luck.

They were pretty clear they wouldn't do anything for the travel packs, and indicated they had to be attached to the reservation prior to the category change. I tried to argue that I couldn't attach it prior to the change, and that it had to be converted to the new package.

In the case of points, they're actually adding the additional points to the account to finalize the reservation?

Right now, Marriott won't add additional points to finalize the reservation. They will still honor the reservation but they want to wait until you are close to the actual travel.

Call Marriott again to see if you can get the TP attached to prior reservation.

I was able to attach a NC TP to a prior PA booking with the old category. But it was quite a while (months) ago. The logic at that time was that, Marriott would honor the old category. If the hotel changed from NC-5 to NC-6, then Marriott should still honor the NC-5 and allow the NC-5 TP be attached.

Things continue to change at Marriott side. They enforce more and more rules.

The agent canceled the TP and re-ordered the new TP and attached to the booking.

This is a moot point now. I do not think Marriott will be any flexible with the legacy TP going forward.

You can still give them a call and hope for the best. It does not cost anything.

According to the Lurkers, a NC TP (which everyone has now as all OC are expired & extinct) cannot be attached to an existing PA booking. Period! It can only be attached at the time of booking.

You can read Lurker II's reply here.

"Secondly, members cannot book a Points Advance Reservation for the use of a Travel package Award. They must be ordered and/or attached to the reservation at the time of booking."

If you have a PA booking and expect to attach a TP to it, I think you are out of luck. You will need to cancel your reservation and rebook it at the current category. Since TP's are category based, peak, standard and off-peak pricing doesn't come into play.

James

The question is that, if you booked a Cat-5 hotel and now it is Cat-6. And you want to attach your Cat-6 TP. But this property is not bookable with points now. Would the Marriott rep allow you to attach the Cat-6 TP to this reservation? I think you should be able to since you already booked your hotel space and pay at the current rate.

We all know you can't attach the Cat-5 TP to this booking any more since it has changed to Cat-6.

I interpret the Lurker's comment to mean that a TP cannot be attached to a PA booking. Full stop! It clearly stated that a TP can only be applied to a new reservation at the time of booking.

This would also apply to any PA bookings made before a category change. For example, you have a PA reservation for a Cat-5 property that is now a Cat-6 and a Cat-5 TP, you will not be able to attach your TP to the PA reservation. Since, accordingly, you can only attach a TP to a reservation when making the booking, if space is no longet available, you are out of luck. Similarly, if space is available, you would not be able to attach your Cat-5 TP since the property is now a Cat-6. Again, you are out of luck.

The key here, from the Lurker's reply, is that you cannot attach a TP to an existing reservation.

James

I totally agree with you. This would cause problem since Marriott award availability sometimes is not working properly. It can change many times during the same. When I pick up the phone to ask the Marriott to make a new booking and attach my TP, it may not be available at that moment, due to its system issues.

I disagree with your ending interpretation. You can't use a TP to attach to a reservation that is not currently at the same level as your TP. You could have made a reservation in March before the category change, say rose from a category 4 to a 5. If you now have a cat 5 certificate, you can attach it. If you have a cat 4 certificate, you cannot. For the past few years, Marriott would pay for a points advance booking by taking the current point cost and refunding points to equal the lower category. As they can't attach a lower category certificate without reissuing at a higher category, whether a TP or a CC certificate, those certificates can't be used.

I had a reservation made in February that I just last week attached a certificate to, although it never changed category. That goes completely against not being able to attach a certificate unless it is a new booking.

If you meant can't attach to only a points advance booking, then sorry for the misinterpretation!

I think we all agree that, the TP can't be attached to a prior booking whose point category has increased.

The question now is if we can attach the TP to a prior booking that is at the correct TP level. I interpret "Lurker" comment that, the TP can't be attached to a prior booking regardless the point level. IMO, this is a little extreme. The only benefits we get is the reward space we booked.

I was able to attach the TP to an existing booking at the same category level. That was about 3 months ago. I do not know if this has changed, just as what "Lurker" stated.

Personally, I don't see a different interpretation.

Secondly, members cannot book a Points Advance Reservation for the use of a Travel package Award. They must be ordered and/or attached to the reservation at the time of booking."

In the first sentence, Lurker II says that a travel package award cannot be used for a Points Advance Reservation. Full Stop.

In the second sentence, Lurker II says "they." In continuity, "they" should mean Travel Package Award(s). The "s" is parenthetical as the first sentence uses Award singularly, while in the second sentence, "they" is referring to the plural. Nonetheless, They must be ordered (purchased) and/or attached (already purchased) to the reservation at the time of booking.

There is no mention of matching categories! Of course there would not be a need to mention it because a PA is excluded from using a TP (sentence 1) and only the category of TP which you have just purchased or had purchased (not attached, including conversions) can be attached to a reservation of the same category at the time of booking. (sentence 2)

How are you interpreting those two sentences? I read them as two well defined contiguous statements without ambiguity or contradiction.

If the Lurker has created a disconnect between "Travel Package award" and "they," that is not immediately apparent, then there is no continuity and any interpretation is lost.

Perhaps a Lurker can elaborate further and confirm or rephrase the statements for clarification.

James

My situation is that I made a PA booking prior to the category change (night before). I had an OC cert that I couldn't attach, and hadn't had it converted to an NC (TBH, Marriott should have done this automatically). I had it converted at a later date and then tried to attach it to my PA reservation that changed categories, and was denied.

I get that a TP needs to be attached at time of booking, but am also disappointed that Marriott won't allow in this scenario since they put the onus on us to convert the certificates before they could be used. Yes, I chose to wait longer to convert to extend the expiry date - that's on me. I didn't expect they would allow it, and was wondering if anyone was successful with it or not.

An agent just converted an old 5 night cat 8 to a 5 night cat 5 for me on the phone (a few weeks after expiration of the old one).

However, the refund in points came out to 30k. This seems incorrect to me... has anyone had success getting the point refund corrected?

Nevermind. After reading more I think I misunderstood the "refund value" from the previous thread.

Data Point: I had an OC 1-5 that was converted to a NC 1-4 by the UK CS phone number last September. At the time, the CS rep promised me the NCs could be upgraded and extended like the OCs. I called last week to extend my NC as I'd been promised, having followed the discussion on this thread and the original thread. I was told they couldn't extend it as the conversion was considered an extension. I explained my previous conversation and what I'd been told. I even asked if they could cancel my old partial certificate and give me a new one. They said no - all they could do was open a "case". I felt this was far more 'will not because it's against policy' than 'the system doesn't allow us to'.

About 10 days later and after me chasing them again, they have extended my partial certificate to 1 year ahead from today. They reiterated that this was a special concession because they had listened to my original conversation where I'd been misinformed, and that the conversion of OC to NC was considered an extension and that no further extensions were allowed. In fairness to the person I originally spoke to, it was last September when it seemed like Bonvoy Central hadn't fully worked out how to handle the OCs and their converted NC equivalents.

So I got what I wanted and was originally promised, but it took a fair amount of effort on my part to convince them to do it.

This was what I suspected and it was disputed greatly. I just hope or wish we all get some "exceptions" and get another 12-month new life.

Still need more DPs to see if this is mis-informed info, or the real policy now.

Enjoy your travel.

Clearly the new Marriott Lurker needs to take a class on doing his/her homework and stating facts.

Just got off a call < 15 mins ago to attach a NC6 package (converted from an OC9 in early Aug) to a points advance reservation I had made back in Feb. FWIW, the hotel jumped to a Cat 7 on March 5th and after hearing reports of not being able to attach certificates to hotels where the categories had changed, I was prepared to either pay points and keep the TP for another time or change my reservation to a different Cat 6 location. Recently, the property came back down to a Cat 6.and since I now have more clarity on my schedule, I went ahead and got the cert attached so I can buy my airfare.

So yes, TP Certs can indeed be attached to points advance reservations. They do not have to be ordered and attached at the same time.

Is it the same confirmation number from before? (Assuming you received an email confirmation from the points advance reservation or you took a screenshot of it)

Since the competence of the agent, the knowledge of the customer, the status of the customer, and the attitude of the customer and the agent could influence whether or not an extension is granted, we may not get a clear answer regarding Marriott's policy regarding them from sharing our results on FT. Still, some information is usually better than no information. Although I doubt Marriott will explain its policy regarding adding life to one's travel awards on the company's website, I am hopeful that one of the Lurker's may one day resolve this issue for us.

Greetings all. I am astonished to have learned today on the phone - from a rep who seemed to know what she was talking about, she told me it was a QP91 partial - that my travel package certificate is considered to have been converted from the old 8 to the new 5 on October 18 2018. I have no memory of doing this and no reason to have done it. I note that an earlier poster in the thread said that a "conversation" with a rep had been considered a "conversion," and managed to get the expiration date extended because of that misunderstanding. May I ask this knowledgeable and helpful crowd about the best way to try to get a similar extension? For example, does one get any kind of email notification when a certificate is "converted" and since I didn't get one, can I argue that "I didn't get the email so you couldn't/shouldn't have converted it last October 18"? I only made a reservation with it this past February, for St. Kitts Marriott this month, but now I can't go. And I'm horrified to think that the certificate expires October 18 2019 and I've wasted it. I am not sure but it seems if I cancel the reservation I don't get any points back, or not more than 5000? I'd love to get it extended to February 2020! Thanks for any advice, Judy PS I am Platinum level, in case that matters.

@JudyBlueEyes,
You should have received some email from Marriott ([email protected]) for something like below:

Cancelled Award Order Confirmation

• XXXXxxxx
• 7 Nights, Partial Package Category 9 Hotels
John Doe,
As requested, we have cancelled your reward order. Below is a summary of your cancellation information.
Sincerely,
• 7 Nights, Partial Package Category 9 Hotels
• XXXXxxxx
• Tuesday, xxxx, xxxx, 2018
• P990

If you previously had a TP attached to a reservation before 8/18/2018 and changed that reservation, then the TP was automatically cancelled and rep re-issued you the NC TP. This is considered "conversion" or "extension".

Some people have had success in persuading the Marriott Rep to "extend" it again in your case. I think you get a better chance since this TP was "converted" very early and people did not know what was going on. I think it is much harder to do the trick next year and still pretend not knowing the rules.

Good luck with it. Just call and be honest with the Marriott rep and tell them what you told us.

There should have been a refund of 30K in points since a NC5 is between categories. Some members were able to pay 30K to get a NC6. You should have received an email for the cancelled OC8 and another one for the NC5. If you didn't receive any points back or emails about the conversion it should help your argument that you should be allowed an extension. On the other hand, all old certificates that weren't converted would have expired on or about 8/17/19. Regardless of the reason that your certificate was converted early, if you display the same courtesy that you showed here, I wouldn't be surprised if someone lets you extend your certificate although it may be considered a one time courtesy.

Thanks so much for these responses. Searching for emails from [email protected], it seems I did get emails both last July 24 (when I got the travel package in the first place) and last October 18. It seems the former was a category 7 and the latter a category 5. I have no idea what happened in October but I didn't make a reservation then and I would have had no reason to change the category proactively.

Would my having made a reservation in February at a category 5 hotel have counted as "converting" the certificate and starting the final one year period on it? I'd AT LEAST like to get an extension to the anniversary of that February reservation date, but ideally longer if that's not being greedy.

If anyone has further advice on what arguments I can make, I'd love to hear them. I always say that I love this community! By the way, if anyone who posts to help me will be at the Chicago Seminar this year, I'll buy you a drink in person! :) Judy

JULY EMAIL

Reward Details

Description: 7 Night Partial Package Category 7 Hotels

Reward code: P910

Valid through: Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Total points redeemed: 105,000

Confirmed on: Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Description: Total points redeemed:

7 Night Partial Package Category 7 Hotels

Reward certificate number: XXXX2676

Total points redeemed: 105,000

OCTOBER EMAIL
Reward Details

• Description: PARTIAL PACKAGE - 7 NIGHTS CATEGORY 5
• Reward code: QP91
• Valid through: Friday, October 18, 2019
• Total points redeemed: 105,000
• Confirmed on: Thursday, October 18, 2018

Description:Total points redeemed:PARTIAL PACKAGE - 7 NIGHTS CATEGORY 5
Reward certificate number: XXXX9834Total points redeemed:105,000

@JudyBlueEyes

Something happened on 10/18/2018. The OC-7 TP was "converted" to the NC-5 TP. Both have point value of 105,000 points.

As to what triggered the "conversion", I highly doubt that Marriott would auto convert it, possible but less likely. Maybe something you forgot, just like your forgetting the two emails Marriott sent to you.

The Feb reservation would not back trigger the conversion. It happened prior to that.

You just have to call Marriott and hope to find a more sympathetic rep to help you. Otherwise, you get just more than one month to use it.

As an aside, I have read a number of postings like this, but I have never gotten such an e-mail from Marriott despite having two TPs (OC) that were converted to NC and later attached to reservations. I do get confirmations of reservations when I make (or cancel) them so I know they have my correct e-mail address, but never with this type of detail. I wonder why, and what else they're not sending me.

In my personal experience, I don't think the reps can extend to any other expiry date other than 1 year ahead of the day they make the extension. If they allow you an extension, it will be to September 2020 (assuming you request it and get a response this month).

#23 is only a DP. I do not think what Lurker said is even the official Marriott policy. It may be some internal guide line. As long as the booking system allows it, we may see more TPs get attached to existing reservations. With the limitation on # of point advance bookings on 9/14/2019, it makes no practical sense not allow us to attach TP to existing booking.

If I were Marriott, I'd want the guests to use the TPs as quickly as they can at the current point level. Or folks would cry for more "extension" again and again.

Do I have to call to book these 7 night travel packages or how do I book them online? I have a 7 night cat 1-4 as one of the new packages. I'm trying to book it but all I get is the option to do a "points advance" reservation. I don't see any option to use the 7 night cert. Yes, I am booking 7 nights at a 25k per night cat 4, and there is points availability the whole time at that 25k per night rate.

What do I do?

Bonvoy'd by agent
 

I checked the 2 certs in my account again and noticed that the rep had forcibly converted both my certs in Oct 2019, even though I asked only one cert to be converted at that time.

Working within Marriott's rules, we could have gotten our certs extended till Aug 2020, by converting old to new certs before they expired in Aug 2019.

Now, Marriott opened up a case to "investigate" whether to allow me to use my certs before Aug 2020, which I should have been allowed to do if the previous agent had not messed up.

The Bonvoy system transition was so chaotic and wasted everyone's time. There were months where we couldn't even use these certificates, so I'm surprised Marriott is doing everything it can to make sure these certs go unused.

I may be late to this discussion but it seems the new travel packages aren't as good value? As in the old packages after you pay for the nights it is basically 1:1 for miles, but now it is almost 2.

Most people here still hold the original TP issued before 8/18/2018. The new TP issued after that date does not have a lot of value. I do not know much about it. Some people say there is still some value.

We still need to use up those legacy TP before we move on to the new ones. Some people may jump ship to Hilton, as they stated. Particularly the old SPG folks.

You sure the agent forcibly converted your TP in Oct 2019? Or 2018?

I'm not sure about your 2nd statement. Marriott rule is that the TP can be "extended" once. Some say the OC to NC is considered the "conversion or extension". Some say the NC to NC is the "extension". There are DPs for both. It is still a mystery.