thats the only way to Play It, usually with MR switching isnt needed since they dont have Status earned via Stays , its only via the # of Nights. But a # of their promos from tim eto time is stays based and hopping is needed to max it out

Do you have a link? I can only find the 15 stays for 15,000 points bonus on the Marriott site. Thanks.

Also sign up for the Springhill Suites promotion.

Here's how it works:

Complete two stays between August 15 - November 15, 2011 at any of the more than 280 SpringHill Suites hotels in the United States and Canada.
After your second paid stay, you'll automatically receive your 5,000 bonus points.

Why do threads re: fall Megabonus keep coming up instead of consolidating all questions under the original http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...megabonus.html ?

Edit: Thanks Bruce for consolidating them!

Deleted

Yes that should work. That's what I did for the last megabonus. I broke my 4 night stay into 2 stays of 1 night and 3 nights at two different hotels. I am arriving in the evening anyway. So I kept my bag unpacked, slept for the night, and checked out in the morning.

That's exactly why I hate stay based promotions. Why would you want to reward the 2 one night stays more than 1 three night stay?

It is called hotel hoping and a lot of people do it to maintain status with different chains. I can see why it is a hassle, but I fail to see how this is amoral.

I apologize for the confusion from my argument that Visa Signature =/= Visa. I don't know what I was smoking, but I was pretty sure I saw the megabonus said Visa Signature credit card was required. But appearantly, it only says Visa. Maybe I confused it with the Hilton's Visa Signature Instant Gold promotion. But I remember my first reaction after seeing the promotion was I don't want to use visa signature card.

Anyway, sorry for the confusion. It only says Visa, not Visa Signature.

Ah, I get why you were confused now. No biggie. We've all beenthere before :D

Maybe I missed something, but I cannot find any links or reference to sign up for the below. Was it targeted only?

Thanks.

I know the newer Gift Cards or Travel cards do not post as Visa. However, do the older Gift Cards say from a year or so ago still post as Visa as they used to? I am talking about the ones you could put a 4 in front of the string of numbers and it would post as Visa.

Fall Megabonus
 

I have choice for VISA, either 1 free night after two stays (maximum 2 free nights in cat 1-4), or 25,000 after 15 nights + 15,000 after next 5 nights, so $40 for 20 nights. However, I can't understand why anyone would want $40,000 points for 20 nights versus the free two nights. Perhaps I'm missing something or perhaps most never stay at cat 1-4's.. We use the Fairfield often with the kids... Second Q. do you think you could do, both the 4 stays and get 2 nights, and then do the 20 nights over the next three months? Otherwise, it would make more sense to use another brand after you maxed it out.

The main reasons are the 40K points don't expire and can be redeemed at high end properties.

Not on the same account, you can only get one megabonus. You could put 4 nights on your spouses account and then the next 20 nights on yours to get both though.

Payment required with Visa card
 

I signed up for the MegaBonus 2011 (2 stays = 1 free night; up to 2 free nights) and the terms and conditions are as follows:

"Registration is required. Marriott Rewards® members who register for this promotion by October 31, 2011, will earn one (1) free night award at a category 1-4 hotel after each second paid stay made between September 15, 2011, and January 15, 2012, at a participating Marriott property. Maximum two (2) free night awards earned with this promotion per member. Payment must be made using your Visa® card..."

I also have $1000 worth of Marriott gift cards (GC) that I had wanted to use. Can I SPLIT the bill between my Visa and GC and still consider it to be a "payment with my visa card"?

If so, is there a certain % that is required for the splitting or can I just charge $1 on the Visa and the rest on the gift cards?

Thanks in advance for your help and input.

why can't anyone help me with this?

As this promotion has not started I don't think anyone can answer this with any experience. The T's and C's are explicit that it's Visa so YMMV.

I primarily stay for business and see that I have a event promo, can I call the MR CS line and sign up for the fall megabonus, I can't find it under my promotions when I log into my MR account.

This question has been answered before........... previously GC's were coded as Visa so this wasn't a problem, however looks like Marriott GCs have now created a problem..... why, unknown, but others have tried splitting bills with success in the past so if it worked before should work again. If you're staying more then 1-night, as I'll be doing at several properties during this promo I plan to use Visa for 1-night and GC for other nights as an option.

I take it you made at least 2 reses, but what if MR ends up combining them into 1 and if you used the non-Visa GC as your last payment means then it could end up all being non-Visa, as usually happens with most chains when a person has consectutive reses

Playing it safe would be to switch Hotels every other night and closing the bill out to a VISA CC

Probably cause it's been discussed here many times:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...megabonus.html

I just switched to "earning miles" with United and registered for the United 30,000-mile fall bonus on Marriott stays. I can use my $5000 in Marriott Vacation Cards and not worry about leaving a dollar on VISA (and whether that will even work to get Megabonus credit). I just don't have the patience to deal with such restrictions.

Bruce

Yes. The SpringHill Suites Promotion appears to be targeted. Happily, I was targeted.

Alternate nights for credit
 

I have a 4 night stay coming up. I am paying out of pocket and looking into creating 4 -1 night reservations. I will be traveling with my wife so I'm considering alternating each night between us so we can get a combined 4 stays. Has anyone done this recently with success? Also how often do you get to stay in the the same room for the whole stay? Wife would not be happy with having to switch each day.

hey all.
 

hey all. I am new to FT, but not new to the rewards programs. In this instance if you have 2 confirmations in wife's name and 2 in your name that would be 2 reservations each, not 4 reservations for you. But, I am unsure if they will allow you to do this when making your reservation unless you make them separately with 1 night in between. Then you would have to move rooms within the same hotel (most likely). But, the reservations desk could tell you about the switching rooms when you make the reservation.

Got my Megabonus tied to my corporate Amex...
 

I was very disappointed when I found out about the megabonus for Q3 as we all know it sucks to say the least. The guys with the corporate Amex's get left in the cold. So I decided to shoot the MR dept an email and let them know how I felt and this is the response I got:

Dear Mr. Lester,

Thank you for contacting Marriott Rewards regarding the 2011 Fall Visa MegaBonus Promotion.

Our records show that your account is enrolled in the 2011 Fall Visa MegaBonus Promotion. The earning dates begin September 15, 2011, and end January 15, 2012. You have been selected to receive a bonus of 35,000 Marriott Rewards points when you stay a total of 20 Visa paid nights. You can receive an additional bonus of 15,000 Marriott Rewards points, up to a maximum bonus of 50,000 points, when you stay a total of 25 Visa paid nights.

However, as you are a valued Platinum Elite member, I would be happy to manually track this bonus offer for you while paying with your American Express.

I have documented your account; however, you will not be able to view your progress online. Approximately two weeks after the end of the promotion, around January 30, 2012, I will manually credit the bonus to your account.

Thank you for choosing Marriott.

Sincerely,

[removed name]
Internet Correspondence Specialist
Marriott Rewards Guest Services

Very nice of them and now I'll make my bonus! Just thought I'd share.

That's really nice to know. Thanks for sharing.

Is anyone else worried that if you change promos and the CS person is scoring your stays by hand, he/she might not allow stays where you paid only $2 to the visa? Or might it work the other way, where they will be even more generous? Or maybe it doesn't matter because it's all automated?

Another question: In theory, one could switch between earning miles and earning points and thus play both promos (megabonus and more miles), right? Of course, I realize that any given stay will only work for one or the other.

Yup.

Bruce

Keep checking my account every couple of days - still no Megabonus offer (or any promo offer) on my Promotion Central page. I'm set up to earn points, I'm starting to feel like the red headed stepchild here.:rolleyes:

I will have only an European Visa Electron Card for part time of this promotion.
Will it be a problem if I stay in a property which does not process cards by checking pin codes ?

Call them or send them an email. I didn't get the offer last time and they added it when I contacted them.

If I want to switch from earning miles in one stay to points in the very next stay, when is the right time to do the switch in my profile. The two stays are very close, so I can't wait till the miles post from the first stay.

At Hilton, it was the day you check out. Not sure about Marriott. the day you makes the reservation, the day you checks in, the day you checks out or a random day in between?

Thank you.

Misleading Marketing Material for Megabonus
 

Just received my Megabonus offer in the "snail" mail today (Earn 1 free night at a Cat 1-4 hotel after every second paid stay...). However, the mailer includes pictures and names of 4 Marriott properties with the words "start dreaming, start indulging, start unwinding, start discovering" which (in my opinion) would lead you to think you can use your free nights at these properties. However, I checked, and only one of the 4 properties featured in the mailer is a Cat 1-4 hotel (Beijing Marriott Hotel Northeast). Two of the 4 (JW Marriott Phuket and Courtyard Rome Central Park Italy) are Cat 6 properties, and the other one (Waikiki Edition) is not even a Marriott branded property anymore. Just my opinion, but I think the marketing materials should match what's actually being offered.

Try this (worked for me): go into your account preferences and reselect earning Marriott Rewards points. I did this and my MegaBonus magically appeared in my current promotions. Of course, with the "new and improved" website, that may not work...

Anyone have any stays posted yet where payment was made partly using a GC and a small balance on a VI? I just checked out today so it should be a couple of days for the moment of truth.

DH is checking out soon with corporate card (non visa), but going to try the incidentals on his personal visa. We shall see if this works.

I had tried that a few days ago to no avail. A phone call worked but the promo still doesn't show up in my acct.

FYI. If you earn miles, the miles promotion doesn't require using Visa credit card.

I NEVER got one for the last promo. I called at the tail end and they set me up with one. Still don't see it online but the bonus did post.

I have not seen anything on my account when I log in referring to the Fall Mega Bonus. When I go into my promotions I still see the last one (June thru August) ! Nothing on any part of the site ?