Here's my experience using gift cards in Europe since November this year
Marriott Playa Andaluza 0%
Marriott London West India Quay 0%
Marriott Munich +/- 2.5% over the exchange rate quoted on gifts.marriott.com
Marriott London Regents Park +/- 13% (insisted they had to charge the forex commission as if it was a cash payment in foreign currency - so ended up paying with my CC)
Marriott Stuttgart - refused gift card (stated they could not process them as they did not know how to access the new system)

How do you calculate the rate?

Really? How did you handle that?

you can google "xxx usd in eur" and it will give you the current rate. Then compare it to the rate they've applied to your gift card payment.

There was not much I could do as the gift cards tel number was not available (it was morning in Europe) and front desk was very uncooperative. will complain to Marriott about this and the abusive exchange rate issue at the property in London.

I know about that - but then you don't know how much they actually have charged you in US. You have to look up how much you have got left in your gift card in order to find out how much they charged your gift card.

Usually they will tell you this when they charge your gift card

I did it twice in Europe but they didn't tell me anything. In the US they have to manually check the balance and wrote it on the card for me.

I had the same issue in PRG this year. The guy in front of me also wanted to pay w/ a GC and they had no idea how to process it. Back in the US I complained to Marriott and they promised to send someone to train them; they also admitted that this hotel had not bee trained yet w/ the new process.

Has anyone tried to use these in china?

I tried to pay it once at CY Hamburg (Germany) and they looked shocked when I showed them the GC. They asked, 'what's that?'. I was shocked because they really ought to know what a GC is. Anyway I told them it's a Marriott gift card, then they said, 'We have no idea how to use it'. Then I said just treat it as a visa and they did. They swiped the card and it went through with no problem.

Those were the old days. Now it doesn't work that way (and the Gift Card cannot be used as a VISA since redemptions are no longer processed through the VISA system). There is a new process with a diffeent redemption system known as "Givex".

So, the suggestion to process it as a VISA will no longer work.

I think we used it in August.

used it yesterday at the Renaissance Ratchaprasong Bangkok........ although the lounge staff didn't know how to use it the front desk, with the Director of Rooms standing nearby, did without any problem and w/o forex fees

will be trying it again this weekend in Pattaya and next month in Khao Lak

Purchasing Ritz Carlton Gift card
 

Currently the Ritz Carlton gift cards seem like a great deal example $500.00 in a gift card = 100,000 reward points. Has any one experienced how this works?