I successfully used a $500 gift card at two DC properties last week. However, having read a previous thread that the cards were being processed differently and problems were occurring, I told reception the day before checkout that I would be paying with a gift card. Both times I left the card with the front desk, and told them they would have to go through their accounting department for an approval code. They added the credit balance to my folio that night. It took about an hour each time before they called back my room to come and collect an updated print out of my bill.

That said, on my first attempt at the front desk I was told that they would have to keep any overage as they would be unable to give me back the difference (either as a credit still on the card, or cash). I told them that was ridiculous and if they weren't able to process only the amount I owed, I would need to talk to the manager. It all worked out, but there is certainly some training needed.

I bought a bunch at a nice discount last year from the Discover America promo.
The trouble they cause me are in NO WAY worth the discount. What a PITA.

I have found a way to somewhat ease the pain, at least for me:

1. Use smaller denomination cards, and plan on only paying for MOST, but not all of your stay with the entire value of the GC.
2. At checkout, allow the front desk agent 5 or 10 minutes to try all his/her tricks to get the cards to process, and finally fail.
3. INSIST that they either a)call the balance hotline, or b)take your word for it that the card still holds its full value.
4. INSIST that they deduct the value of the GC from your folio, and work the problem out with their manager on their/the hotel's own sweet time. INSIST on an updated folio that shows, for example, that $100 went on your GC, and $17.95 went on your CC.

Couple of tips I learned during my last stay.

Gift cards payments are coded GE (if I remember correctly). I have no idea what this means. I assume it's a tender code in their system.

None of my cards swiped successfully. The front desk agent tried to type the numbers in manually. It didn't work at first, but then she realized that the key is that the expiration date field has to be left blank.

There is a way to for the agents now to check the value of the gift card on their system. At least that's a plus...

My Travelcard Experience
 

I bought a travelcard from last month's discover america promotion and went to use it at checkout early in the morning a few days ago. FD swiped card and told me it was processing...........a few minutes later it was still processing :( so I told FD there was a new system to handle these cards and was told they didn't know anything about that. I told them to try a code GE and they said no. That code is for gift certificates. They said I couldn't use the card. I told them to call the number on the back of the card and find out how to process the card. They called the number but the office was closed at 5 in the morning. Office hours are 9 am to 7 pm. So they told me they would charge my credit card. I said no. Told them I wanted to see manager but no manager until 7 am. So I told them to call back and verify that there was more than enough money on the card to cover my bill. They did this. Then I said to make a note of my card number and to talk to their GM or whoever and find out how to get the amount of my bill deducted from my card. I said that I would check my balance on the card in the early afternoon and if the card did not reflect that the charge was deducted I would be calling Marriott Custom Care. I then went on my way. Long story short my travel card had the balance deducted when I checked. Hopefully this will be straightened out by the time I go to use my card again at this property.

Apparently MI is not sending instructions to each property on how to handle these cards OR the properties are not training the FD people. Whichever, there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for this.:mad:

FYI - they are no longer processed as Visa cards

Looks like I won't be purchasing any more Marriott gift cards for anyone due to the changes and all of the trouble. Way to screw something up that was working :td:

FWIW, I have used my gift card 2 times since the change.

3 weeks ago they had to jump through hoops to get it done.

This past Saturday they just swiped the card and it only took a few seconds and my folio reflected Gift Card Redemption <amount>, Card # nnnnnnnnnnnnn, Balance: 999.99 Auth 999999

Perhaps the jumping through hoops is is a transition process while they bring automated process online. All-in-all I liked the fact that the folio provided the details and post-transaction balance.

I think another plus that was mentioned in another thread is that the 3% FX fee is no longer happening, so that would be a huge plus for those who choose to use the card outside the US. FWIW, I don't use GC outside the US and do not intend to in the future.

10% off promos will still get my business if checking out becomes a seamless process similar to what I experienced on Saturday. Time will tell. I am sure we will have more anecdotal evidence in the coming months. I know I have a lot left on my current card and will be using it again for a stay at the end of May, and for 3 stays in July. That should give me a good feel as to how they are handled.

If I experienced what the OP did, I would NOT be using the gift cards. I don't blame him for being (rightfully) mad at Marriott.

FWIW - if I were OP, besides getting all the financials sorted out, I would ask for some extra points for all the aggrevation, your time spent on phone, plus locking you out of some of your available credit.

Hopefully Marriott will get its act together soon, and it will be as easy as aaupgrade's most recent experience.

Cheers.

Update
 

Here is an update after speaking with the GM of the property.

It was not their fault, it was Marriott's fault. They are a franchisee and they did what they were supposed to do. They couldn't leave the account open and HAD to charge my CC as that is their company policy.

Marriott has funded the gift card and they will now credit my card and charge the gift card ( in other words they will fix it). I have yet to see this happen.

After much hemming and hawing, I was offered 5000 MR points as compensation which I accepted. She did not want to part with that. She also advised me to follow up with Marriott and share the information with her. I have yet to see them post.

Only response from Marriott so far is from the front line rep who I emailed saying he will kick it up the line and try and get something done.

I've always scratched my head when I hear comments like this.....and I always then ask the franchise company "well if this is how the system works and this is your policy how do you plan on making your guests happy??? it seems to me your policy could be considered a "guest displeaser" which will impact your Guest Scores and could eventually threaten your flag....thankfully it's never been a frequent conversation....

My guess on this (without knowing the specific details or the franchise company involved) is they didn't read the weekly memo's on the updated process and weren't fully prepared for it...but this is just a guess (Marriott sends out a weekly memo highlighting items everyone needs to be aware of and linking to the details, it even identifies who the item will impact (GM, Accounting, Sales etc))

I agree. It is not my policy to pay for a hotel stay twice...

What makes you think your company policy is important to me in any way, shape or form?

+1. IMO it doesn't matter whether it's franchise or not because as a customer I'm buying a Marriott product. A Marriott hotel ought to take Marriott money (GC) regardless of who owns the hotel.

Funny answer. So it's your company policy to steal?

Additional email submitted via Marriott.com

I have had an atrocious time trying to get a gift card transaction to work. I sent the following email on Tue to (gift card guy)

post #1 here


I have since been informed by the property GM that the card was activated and they will credit my Visa and charge the gift card. The gift card balances were, indeed available yesterday showing the appropriate balance after the stay was deducted. The credit to my Visa card however has NOT been processed. I have heard no response from the email from Marriott except for GC guy advising me he will forward it to his superiors. Since the property does not seem to be able to complete this transaction, I am asking for intervention from Corporate. Please make sure charges for the stay in question are removed from my Visa card. I have spent too much time following up on this already and I am at my wits end. I have been working on checking out of this hotel for six days!

Why don't you call visa and ask for a chargeback?