Promotion failed. Based on posting date, not stay date?
 

Marriott automatically registered me for this gold challenge promotion:

It seemed like a good idea, so that's what I did: 7 nights (across 3 stays) at Marriott brand hotels, 1 at a Courtyard, 2 at a Renaissance, and finally June 28–30 at a Fairfield Inn. (All stays were paid.)

All stays except the last one moved the progress meter on the “Promotion Central” page as soon as they posted. But when that last stay posted (on July 5), it didn't get added to the entry for that promotion, which still says “Nights you've stayed: 10” in the “progress bar” display and “This one has ended - watch for new promotions.” (Also, I'm silver again.)

What did I do wrong? Is a Fairfield Inn by Marriott not a “Marriott®”? Are stay-based promotions dependent on posting dates, not actual stay dates? Or should I wait for some kind of promotion sweep separate from the stay posting, or call/email Marriott Rewards?

Why don't you try calling / emailing them? You stayed within the qualifying period...

Agree with the above. Make a call, you should have qualified.

I agree with what everyone else wrote. Contact Marriott Rewards and have them correct your promo info. Personally, I would call them, but I prefer to talk to someone when something goes wrong.

I might be missing something
 

but i dont see where you had 12 nights.

7 nights plus 3 nights (June 28, 29, 30) only equals 10...

Thanks for the advice! I'll email MR (because their phone center has been reportedly busy and this isn't urgent) and report back.

1 night at Marriott, 1 Courtyard, 3 Marriott, 2 Renaissance, 3 Marriott, 2 Fairfield Inn. (I've read about some brands not counting for some promotions or certificates, but I guess that's not what happened here.)

Now that i read it again...it makes perfect sense.

Sorry for the confusion. As the others suggested, I would call the MR line and see what is up.

good luck and keep us posted!

As others have noted, it's when the stay occurred, not when it posted. The question comes up a lot on the promos when folk have stays on the last night of the promo. From what I've heard MR is good about making sure things get sorted in that instance.

Cheers.

Marriott Rewards came through! Using the “Contact Us” form, I described the issue, and got this email message back the same day:

At the same time, my account was indeed upgraded to Gold level. (The status on the “Promotion Central” page didn't change, so the adjustment was applied to the account, not the promo.)

I'm very happy about how easy this was to fix. The Internet Correspondence Specialist pro-actively answering questions about the new account level and card was great (I didn't even ask about that in my email).

Thanks again to everyone upthread for the good advice!