I stayed at the Grovesnor House in London for two spells in a month for 4 days each spending in the region of 3,000 pounds.

The second spell was booked through Expedia. Apparently you are not credited with Marriot points if the stay is booked through a third party. On check in to the hotel however I had been advised that the points would be added to my account.

I wrote to customer services and got a completely rude reply which included a comment along the lines "these are the rules and we all have to abide by them".

I was more perturbed with the customer service than anything else. However, what a silly system to have. I enjoy the convenience of booking all of my travel requirements from one platfrom and certainly would not expect to penalised for this by the hotel. I am unaware of any other programs that operate this (certainly Starwoods do not) way.

It is sad as I am a worldwide traveller and Marriot simply will not be benfiting from my custom.

Starwood is actually more restrictive on receiving points when booking from a third-party tool than Marriott is. And Marriott will still recognize your elite status no matter the rate or how you received it. Starwood will only recognize your elite status if you purchase through their channels.

Whether you get points or not is dependent on the type of rate you had from the third party. If the rate you purchased through Expedia was a wholesaler rate, then you aren't going to get points from Marriott (or Starwood or most any other program.)

How do you get your MR number attached to your reservation made through a travel agent (wholesale rate) so as to get recognition (but not credit for the nights/points? It seems to me it would be an all or none thing - either your MR number is attached to the reservation or it isn't but maybe not?

I've been SPG plat for 8 years but only now status matched by marriott. I'm quite puzzled with marriott system.

1. Stayed at The Mayflower - marriott excecutive apartments for 2 nights, spent over $900. I was surprised it took a week to show up on the system, and it did not show up as an elite night stay, yet I got 914 points. Strange?

Am I eligible for the elite nights stay and also is the points right? If not who should I contact, the property or Customer service.

2. Today I"ll be staying at Ritz-carlton, will the stay be considered towards my elite nights, and will I still get 15 points per dollar spent?

3. Just found out that stays booked and paid through 3rd party still gets elite nights satus. Anything else different from *wood which I'm probably still unaware?

Get the reservation # from the travel agent and call Marriott Reservations. They can add your MR# to the reservation. Note you still may not get points or night credit depending on the rate type, but you should still get elite recognition.

1. I do believe that Marriott Executive apartments get fewer points per $ and fewer night credits per stay (something like 1 credit per 3 nights or so.)

2. You will not get any points, night credit or elite recognition at RCs. Marriott feels they sell themselves and don't need to be a part of the Marriott Rewards program to get people to stay. Though it is nice that Marriott does allow award stays at RCs and some of the best usage of points can be stays at RCs.

3. There are other program differences. One of the more notable is the Marriott Guarantee. If a Plat doesn't get the guaranteed elite service (bed type, arrival amenity, etc.) then the hotel has to give you cash right on the spot (upto $100 if you are staying at a FS property.) I also like that when a Plat uses the 48 hr room guarantee the rate the hotel has to charge is their regular corporate rate, not the highest rack rate that you would pay at a Starwood property.

That's the problem - there isn't a reservation #. And what's even stranger is that for our Wilea Beach nights (but not the Waikiki Beach nights) the package says I'm to receive a total of 500 MR points. Very strange.

Appreciate the help and apologies to the OP for the hijack.

Thanks hhoope! I signed up with MR because of their large number of props. I stay for about 100 nights a year in hotels, and thought I would like to try a new chain, but maintaining my *wood. But the more I know about MR, the less inclined for me extend my Plat. Here's some of the things I'm not used to:

1. RC is not included in MR.
2. Free internet is only for the American continent.
3. Points is not even for all their various brands.
4. No suite upgrades
5. It takes 75 nights for Plats, and even more for PP.

Oh well... May be next year should try Hyatt.

[QUOTE=hhoope01;14117340]Starwood is actually more restrictive on receiving points when booking from a third-party tool than Marriott is. And Marriott will still recognize your elite status no matter the rate or how you received it. Starwood will only recognize your elite status if you purchase through their channels.

Not in my experience. EAch time I have booked through a third party with Starwoods (and that is many times) I have received points.

You might want to peruse through the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...y-credits.html thread.

And I am puzzled - the above things are well documented both here on FT and within the Marriott rewards T&C's - if they were important to you, why would you even ask Marriott for a status match? But if, as you state, it is the number of properties that are most important, why so unhappy as that has not changed?

Several years ago I status matched to *wood - and did not even come close to re-qualifying. It is true you can get an upgrade - but it is not certain, only possible. IMO 4Points are incredibly inconsistent, and fewer and fewer Westin's have lounges...I don't stay in St Regis enough for the luxury brand to be a dealbreaker, and Sheraton certainly does not come close to matching FS Marriott on a consistent basis. I love Marriott, they have been good to me, and I insure I re-qualify there first each year.

In short, my experience is completely different than yours - because my needs and stay patterns are different. There is not a perfect program out there, and one should look at all aspects and their importance to them (and their family) before making a switch. So I would suggest the shortcoming in this case is not the Marriott Rewards program....but in what you want; which never existed in the Marriott program to begin with.

And you are correct - you should check out Hyatt. For your stated needs they would be almost perfect..............except there are so few of them!