Long Train Runnin

Is there really no way to know when the 5k points will post?

I have now completed 5 stays under this promo.

They have been posting along with my bonus welcome points.

Those 5k points will bump me over the line for a reward night I would like to book in ~30 days.

Kind of a bummer that it didn't just post with my third stay.

RobOnLI

I would not expect the 5K bonus to post until 4+ weeks *AFTER* the promo is over. They'll likely do it once after the promo has ended. And they usually wait several weeks to ensure all stays have posted. So, on/around mid November is when I'd expect the points.

-RM

escape4

I am wondering the same thing. Check-in on October 18th is eligible to this promo or not?

margarita girl

With SPG, this was always covered in the FAQ, so why don’t you check there? Oh wait, never mind. This is Marriott and in the spirit of obscurity, they never publishes FAQs. With SPG, the night of the 18th would not have counted. I presume the Lurkers are working on finding you an answer, but can’t find anyone at Marriott that knows.

escape4

Well, in fairness there is some kind of FAQ here:
https://help.marriott.com/s/article/Article-24777
The problem is that it's not crystal clear what happens for a stay Oct 18-19 unless I have reading comprehension challenges. I find that the wording of Hilton and Hyatt FAQs generally leave no doubt, but here I am less sure so they could certainly beef up their FAQ. The wording below seems to imply that a stay Oct 18-xx would count but I would still not bet my life on it:
"If you are registered prior to your stay, your stay is eligible and at least one night of your stay falls within the promotion period, it will count toward promotion credit."

It would be useful to get confirmation from a Lurker.

Herb687

That seems crystal clear to me.

Quote:

It would be useful to get confirmation from a Lurker.

Why? Do their postings on an IBB constitute "private letter rulings" that are binding on Marriott corporate?

yule_boy

Add me to the list of those waiting for the answer since I have a stay booked for Oct 18-19. It's a BRG rate so at least I'll get the 5k bonus points for that. An extra 2500 would be icing on the cake.

escape4

Great if it's crystal clear to you, but obviously there are some people here for whom it's not. Since they have not given any Q&A which such example like Hyatt and Hilton typically do to remove any shred of a doubt, Marriott could very well say the promo ends on October 18th therefore if you arrive at the hotel on October 18th, it is exactly when the promo is ending so it does not count because you are not in the "promo period".

And the second portion of your post does not warrant a response.

Herb687

Except the FAQ language you yourself posted makes it quite clear that it counts:
The promotion period ends on October 18. Not the 17th. If you check in on the 18th, that's one night within the promotion period.

What language would you suggest to make it any clearer than what is already in the FAQs that you posted?

I suppose if you really want to further complicate this with a hypothetical you could ask the question what happens if you check in for the night of the 18th at 00:05 on the 19th. But I don't think that's the scenario you're worried about. It would be entirely up to the whims of Marriott's (or perhaps one specific property's) IT programming anyway and no Lurker input here is going to be able to (accurately) clarify how their systems are programmed.

Heck, a quick skim of this forum leads one to suspect that even Marriott IT doesn't know how Marriott IT's systems are programmed...

It kind of does. Wasn't there an instance of a Lurker posting inaccurate information here within the past couple of years?

While Lurkers are great to have around, I don't think Marriott has given them the authority to bind Marriott by their opinions or interpretations here. If faced with conflicting language between what Bonvoy's rules/a specific Bonvoy promotion's T&Cs say and what a Lurker posts on an IBB, what do you think will ultimately be controlling at Marriott corporate?

So while you might not have liked the IRS private letter ruling analogy, I think it's fairly apt. There's nothing binding about interpretations posted here. They're not functionally equivalent to private letter rulings.

escape4

For sure your interpretation can easily be defended, but to answer your question, language similar to Hilton's Q&A would make it more clear, for example quoted from their latest promo:
"If you start a stay in the middle of the promotion period and check-out after September 7, 2020, you will not receive the bonus."

If they talked about check-in date and check-out date, that would be crystal clear to me. Instead Marriott refers to "promo period" without referring to check-in check-out... one could make the argument that the promo period ends on October 18th therefore the night of Oct 18-19 might not be within the promo period according to whoever wrote the promo details, heck I would not fall off my chair if one of their IT folks might take that interpretation even if it was not the original intent.

Regarding Lurkers, they don't always get things right but I would rather hear from them than not I guess.

Oxon Flyer

Except that the FAQ is not linked to the promotion homepage https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/promotion.mi?promotion=WB20 so most users won't know it exists at all.

Hardly a 'crystal clear' way of doing things, is it ?

ftrichard

I was about to chime in with my interpretation, as this seems to be a free-for-all, that I would *not* expect the night of the 18th-19th to count if you check in on 18th given this language.

But then I was thinking of an equivalent and - given that we're in September already - it's about time we welcomed the annual tradition of people asking whether the night of December 31 falls within 2020 or the new year of 2021 for the purposes of your eligible nights count. This question is reliably asked and answered every year on here and every other forum or discussion group. And the answer is that the night of December 31 will count in 2020.

So, applying the same logic (I know, I know), the night of the 18th should count in the promo period. Whether it does of course is anyone's guess and we all seem to be happy to keep guessing in the absence of a cut and dried statement on the matter.

MSPeconomist

I'm not "happy to keep guessing." T&Cs should be absolutely clear with no possibility of multiple different interpretations. All responsible employees should answer questions in a way that is consistent with the published T&Cs (or own up to their errors and make up for them by granting the points/nights/etc. if someone could have made a decision based on their mistake).

escape4

I agree with Herb687 and others that it's more likely than not that the night of Oct 18-19 will count, but I would not bet my life on it and the main point is that it's not that hard to write a Q&A that can leave no doubt whatsoever and avoid potential questions that can lead to some customers being disappointed or frustrated plus Marriott staff having to deal with such small issues which is not a great use of their time. Making a clear Q&A would be a welcome improvement.

yule_boy

My thoughts exactly.