Online Cert Booking Not Working
 

In the past, I've always booked certificate redemptions by going through the process of booking a points reservation and then checking the certificate radio button prior to final booking. That option no longer appears for me, either on the website or in the app. After I struggled with it for a while, the helpful chat feature popped up, so I gave it a try. I told the Marriott employee (Edina) my problem, and she suggested I call the 877 number. I asked her if this was now the only method for redeeming certificates, and she said no, but it's an option. I said I'd rather do it online. She said, "I'm sorry. Do you have any other questions today?" I asked if the online booking feature would be fixed, and she responded, "it is working, so I don't know why you're having a problem. Do you have any other questions?" So after this less than helpful interaction, I'm unclear as to whether this is a global issue or just a problem with my account. Any other data points?

What type of certificate? You should be able to e.g. book free night credit card certificates online. You cannot book e.g. 7-night travel package certificates online ... you'll have to call to book these.

Are you sure Edina was actually a human being? Almost sounds like some AI based auto-responder trying to match against keywords. I have never tried online Chat. From your experience, if that is typical, I probably won't in the future either.

--Jon

Sorry, I should've specified. It is an annual choice free night for reaching 75 nights during 2019.

That didn't occur to me, but it's possible. I have used online chat before and have had better experiences, but maybe that was before the robots started taking over.

That's a known problem, here's the thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...edemption.html

Trying to use a 50k cert but it doesn't even give me the option to attach. How can Marriott IT be this bad?

Thank you. This makes me even more annoyed with Edina's assertion that the feature is working and her implication that it was operator error.

It is working, randomly. We booked a FN with 35K Chase cert, from the Cert itself.

The option to use the certs are available in the booking screen, but because of the recent reported glitch, I chose to go from the cert itself, because I also wanted to make sure the correct cert is being used (the Chase cert expires in first week of June while the AMEX cert expires in Dec).
I figured by going directly from the Cert itself, there would not be any chance for the system to use a different cert. It worked as expected. knock on wood!
Reservation does show This Reservation has eCert. Account has very little points in it anyway so no way for the system to deduct any pts. ;)

In my case, the problem is strictly with the 40K cert from the Choice Benefits. It is not offered as an option when booking a room that costs 40K pts. No issues applying my 35K Amex certs though.

You know, given the issues with the 40K certificate, I wonder if I can ask Marriott to just give me 40K points and take away the certificate. I won’t ever pick it again... wait; I probably won’t ever make Titanium again.

If my reservation says it has an e-certificate and no points needed, does that mean the certificate is correctly attached? Thanks!

Hi kgkg! Yes, what you're describing sounds like the Points were deducted and the eCertificate is attached to the reservation. When making a reservation at least 24 hours in advance, a “Redemption Award” will be added to the stay automatically, provided you have sufficient Points for the entire stay, and the Redemption Award will be activated upon check-in. In other words, the Points will automatically be deducted and the hotel will have the eCertificate on the reservation. I hope this helps!

Best regards,

Leanne
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International

Email: [email protected]

So.... is this issue fixed?

I still have a 40K reservation that supposedly has the certificate attached (according to Marriott CSR) that's showing as a points advance reservation on the website...

Do I need to cancel and rebook? Contact hotel to confirm the certificate was properly sent to them?

Really shouldn't be this difficult using the certificate that I earned...

No, the issue is not fixed. I just broke down and called to book my 75n cert and sure enough, 35k points were deducted from my account. More and more, I dread doing business with this company as I pretty much know something will go sideways and it will be on me to figure out how to fix it. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about a 75n cert next year.