Wow, this is a really helpful thread. I just received a $100 GC from Mypoints, so I'll keep all this in mind when using it. Thanks. tls

Points when using Gift Cards
 

Just completed a stay at the Renaissance near LAX. I paid for most of the room charges using a Marriott Gift Card. When I looked at my account I only got Marriott points based on the small amount I charged to credit card. Is this the norm?

This isn't right. You get the points charged to the room, no matter how you pay.

I used $500 plus of gift cards for meals and activities last month on an II getaway at Marriott's Harbour Lake (so the room was paid for already). I got all the points posted.

I hope you have your receipt. You can call Marriott and fax them the info - they are prompt about fixing these things (at least they have been for us!).

Has anyone received there GCs from the AMEX daily deals yet?

Is it a true Gift Card or is it a Travel Card. The Terms & Conditions differ for these. Travel Cards do not earn points on spend, while marriott branded gift cards do.

Posted by MC in the other thread "Marriott Gift Cards no longer coded as "Visa"

Originally Posted by Marriott Concierge
As far as standard earnings go, stays paid with gift cards are treated like all other stays. Paying with a gift card does not disqualify the stay from earning credit.

Regards,
Ira

What Ira does not spell out is whether there is a distinction between a gift card and a travel card and the earning of MR points.

There NEVER ime or of anyone else I know has been any difference with these. You don't lose your base points based upon the form of payment if you are paying the property directly. Marriott Travel cards are Marriott gift cards, Vacation cards are gift cards, etc.

Well, the backs of the cards say the T&C for Gift Cards [proper name, not generic descriptor] and for Travel (or Vacation) cards vary, so they are not the same.

The T&C for NEW Travel Cards say they do not accrue Marriott Rewards points for spend, but that is a change from when I received the Travel Card (at which time the T&C did not say that). I would hope Marriott does not apply the new (changed) T&C to cards issued before the change.

Buying rewards points with Marriott gift card
 

I was just wondering, can I buy points with Marriott gift card through their website, or over the phone? I am missing around 20k points for a reward stay I am looking forward to. I just bought some Marriott gift cards on the Discover America promotion. Anyone with experience? Any advice would be appreciated?
Thanks,

????
 

Any experience?
I have just received my giftcards from Discover America, and they cannot be used as Visa card anymore. Online chat told me, that they cannot be used online, so I sent an email, hoping to get an answer soon. I will call later Marriott Rewards to get confirmation or to see if it can be done over the phone.

Gift Card situation out of control
 

Here is an email I sent to the GC folks. The names have been removed per FT policy.

I want to express my extreme disappointment with my recent gift card experience and with the way it was handled by Marriott. As a Marriott Rewards Platinum Premier member I have extensive experience with the Marriott brand and have generally had good service in the past. That is what keeps me coming back. The past week has been what I hope is an exception rather than the new rule.

I ordered $3000 worth of gift cards on April 8th. I had planned to use them starting with the week of April 18th and since they came with a handling charge of $8.50, I assumed they would be delivered promptly as in the past. I did not receive them in time for my stay in Buffalo, NY and was forced to use my Visa card which had already been charged for the gift cards. I emailed Marriott to follow up and they sent them out on April 18th - 10 days after I had ordered and paid for express delivery.

My next stay was at the Residence Inn - Salinas, CA. I attempted to use the first of the $1000 gift cards to pay for my stay that ended April 30th. After several phone calls and about 20 minutes of processing I was handed a folio that showed a balance due of $1601 and no payments for my $800.50 bill and was told all was well. They said the gift card had been charged. I returned home to find over $3500 in pending charges on my Visa bill and was unable to check the balance of any of the gift cards I received.

I spent about an hour communicating with the hotel and with the gift card group of Marriott on Monday May 2. A representative from the gift card group took the card numbers and my name and number and promised to get back to me. I did not hear back from them. I spoke with XXX at the Residence Inn and was told that his GM (YYY) would contact me. I received a voice mail from YYY telling me she would be in all day. I returned the voice mail before lunch time in CA. and was told the she was not in. I left a voice mail but never heard back from YYY. This morning, I still did not have a resolution and $800 of charges had posted to my Visa with $1791 still pending. I am now told that the gift card may be fixed by the end of the week - a full month after I ordered it.

I have spent well over an hour and a half of my time following up on various facets of this disappointing experience and as far as I can tell I will be left with a Visa bill for this month that will include $2708 in charges for gift cards as well as over $1400 in charges that were meant to paid with the gift cards. There is a possibility that an additional $1791 in charges will be posted simply due to processing errors in trying to use the gift cards. This is an unacceptable financial burden for me. I do not have the time or the money to keep this run around going.

Please respond with a plan for resolving this situation this week.

I have been told they will fix it by the end of the week but I will believe it when I see it. I will follow up to tell you what the resolution is.

Not as bad an experience as you had but in my trip to Europe last month had ONLY 1 property out of 3 knowledgeable enough to know how to process the new styled cards.

Most hotels don't have a clue what these cards are. Essentially they are processed as a Visa card without the first digit (4). At least there is a lengthy delay in checkout for processing giftcards. Why doesn't Marriott just put them out as Visa cards? That would avoid so much confusion. I was unable to process my nearly 500$ balance on my Gift card at two recent stays and just gave up trying to use up that balance. It's really frustrating indeed, and will make me think twice about purchasing them again.

They *were* processed by Visa until a few weeks ago; using the cards was as simple as the FD rep swiping the card in their computer. No more.

Marriott has since turned over processing to Give-X, and it has been nothing but trouble since. Not a single property has been able to easily use my Marriott gift cards since the transition. Some muddle through a long and arduous process of phone calls and approval codes, while others just Give-Up.

I hope that someone in Marriott's corporate office is paying attention to this situation. It is beyond annoying.

That explains it then. I think we are owed compensation. Marriott can't just issue gift cards which are not useable. It's highly inappropriate (not to mention embarrassing when they are being declined)