Just give fd the cards for posting sometime during your stay. No delay that way. Charge a small balance to your cc on checkout.

Be careful when buying Marriott cards at stores. Most stores sell Marriott Travel Cards rather than Marriott Gift Cards. They are not the same, and travel cards have far more restrictive T&Cs than do the gift cards. Some hotels will enforce the restrictions such as requiring non-discounted rates, while others do not.

Very valid point.

I booked directly on Marriott.com (leisure rate) and then filed a LnF claim. Any idea for this type of direct but price matched booking? My reservation conf e-mail has this written within it ... "Travel agents: please note that this rate is commissionable." and the travel card terms and conditions state "Card cannot be applied to group, special corporate/negotiated, catering, associate or other discounted/noncommissionable rates."

So I was thinking of calling the hotel and speak with a FDM to get a confirmation if they are in a good/helpful spirit (Eden Roc Miami).

Maybe someone with experience / input on this can shed some light?

I like the previous suggestion to give them your card the night before, informing them you need to leave promptly the next day when you check out. Because the GC/TC is an accepted form of payment by Marriott policy, if any hotel - international or otherwise - gives you a hassle, the burden is *on them* to sort it out. It's not reasonable for them to expect you to stick around nor an excuse if they don't know how to process. In all cases, I suggest you log your card account # and PIN, and if the desk insists on a wait, you politely insist that they take your card #, figure it out in their own time, and contact you to confirm. If they refuse - still give them your card # and walk out - it's their problem. You provided valid payment, they refused.

I have yet to see someone report that they've actually had a different enforcement, despite the terms.

This simply means that affiliate commissions aren't paid on the rate, so cash back won't work. Gift/Travel cards are always a valid form of payment - separate issue from commissions.

I'm sick of hanging around when trying to use GCs. I've tried a few times to get them to apply them to my account sometime during my stay (when I've noticed the FD is quiet) but each time they've just told me to bring them at check-out instead. I'm assuming the staff members telling me this are banking on them not being the ones who will be on duty when I check out.

I like the idea of handing them over the day before and walking away. I may need to start doing this in a 'pre-emptive strike' sort of way as I've had 20-30 minute delays before which have started to squeeze cushions I'd built into onward travel plans.

Also the Gift Card/Travel Card distinction makes absolutely no sense to me. I've purchased what I believed to be GCs both from 3rd party online retailers and also directly from Marriott's site only to end up with Travel Cards (and only realizing this later). Sometimes I have only noticed while looking at the card itself while waiting in line to check out. I've never had one refused, but I certainly would put up a fight if they tried to.

Marriott also has 'vacation card' which sometimes through Delta. I was tempted by it because they give you a 10% discount, however I don't like the fact that they are not Gift Cards and have restrictions on it that no one can really explain to me what they are.

I think it takes almost the same time to process the old and the new GCs - at least in the US. With the old GCs, they type tons of things into their computer and then swipe the card and then type tons of things in again.

For the new one they don't seem to need to swipe the card, just type in tons of things.

Either way it's a waste of time - why can't they process them like CCs?

I still think you are overthinking. Unless the various types of cards have restrictions that are put into action, the restrictive terms really don't matter. I haven't seen anyone report being rejected - I've only seen people worried about it. And again, as far as processing goes, have xerox of your card made, and when you check out, if they need more than three minutes, tell them you need to go, to charge your card, and if they have problems, contact corporate because it's their problem. All problems solved!

im the same way, pay the day of checkin- not checkout.. though often they said pay when i check out then u would insist

Handing your gift card over to the FD the day before checkout and then walking away is not a great idea, IMHO.

At an Autograph Collection property, the FD didn't know how to process my gift card. My folio was approximately half the amount on my gift card.

When I returned home, and checked the balance on my gift card, it was ZERO. The FD was so clueless, that they didn't just take the exact amount, they took the full value of the card.

It took lots of phone calls to both the hotel and the Marriott Gift Card customer service desk to sort it out and reinstate the value remaining on my gift card.
NOT WORTH THE HASSLE.

But, Marriott did add a bonus $25 on my card for the inconvenience. :rolleyes:

You shouldn't give them the card - you should give them a copy of it (so they have the card number). What is the harm in this? If they charge too much, the bill from your stay will easily prove this.

Exactly!

One place I stay just asks me if I have any gift cards I plan to use so they can enter them at their leisure. It expedites matters. I usually leave a small amount to pay with a regular credit card, so that we don't get into having a positive balance on the invoice from the gift cards.

Keep track of the numbers on the cards you give them, or (in some cases) just give them the numbers (including the PIN).

I've experienced it, and others have reported on this forum they've had the same experience. It seems to be by properties, though.

In my case, it was the Gateway at Crystal City. I was staying on a non-commissionable rate, and the front desk would take a Gift Card, but not a Travel Card. The lady said they had been specifically instructed in this, and when I asked others I knew who had stayed there (at various times) they reported the same.

I had a Travel Card refused because I was using a AAA rate.

Maggie

You did nothing wrong. Any problems encountered depend entirely on the property and the FD employee processing the GC.

At the CY Toronto Downtown, the FD clerk had to call on the phone and punch in the GC information to get an authorization # before applying the value against my bill. But it only took 3 minutes.

At the CY Boston Downtown Tremont, the FD clerk swiped the gift cards exactly like a credit card and put in the amounts I asked to be applied. I had her apply TWO gift cards and ONE credit card, and the whole process took about a minute! She seemed to really know what she was doing.

Both of these transactions were with the newer gift cards and done within the last month.

Contrast that with 2011. In June 2011, I used a gift card (new type) at the Minneapolis Marriott West and the Hotel Minneapolis (Autograph Collection). I didn't have any problem at the Marriott, except that the gift card balance was never reduced by the amount I charged! I then used the card a few days later at the Hotel Minneapolis (for the remaining balance), and the FD clerk didn't have a clue what to do and had to get the manager, who was not available. That caused a major delay for me, and that's when I discovered from the manager that the Marriott had not properly processed the first gift card transaction. The manager finally fixed everything (it took some time) and I asked for a free suite upgrade on my next reservation at the hotel for the inconvenience, which he readily agreed to do.

Gift card question
 

I see there are some good gift card promos, I never used a hotel gift card before and I'm new to Marriott too.

So I just buy a gift card and use it at check-in or check-out to pay for my stay, right? The reservation says "Your reservation is guaranteed to your MasterCard". It means they are not going to charge my credit card before check-in, correct? I've seen hotels doing that even though the resevervation said no pre-pay. I actually was surprised the hotel did not require anything pre-paid on a promo rate. It's actually a Renaissance. If they charge my credit card, I would not be able to use my gift card(s). Then I would have $1.5k worth of gift cards unused :) Unless they refund the credit card.

Also, can I use multiple giftcards to pay for one stay?