socrates

I've met Jeff a few times (years ago in Houston)...seems like a very nice guy but then I haven't been paying attention to CO/UA lately (but I did get my Silver packet today )

goingbananas

Well....That is Murphy's Law for me....

All my hotels that I frequent the most went up in CAT....JW HKG, SIN, SYD Circular Quay just to name a few....oh well...

KevinInRI

Did you ever find out the answer to question #2? I have a Chase Cat 1-5 certificate coming in April which I was planning on using at the Renaissance New Orleans hotel in August (which is going up to a Cat 6 from a Cat 5). Wondering if I could book the reservation now using points then switch it to the Cat 5 certificate after? Or would that not be possible given the new Cat 6 status? Wondering if I should pursue this with Marriott or see if Chase could possibly "advance" me the certificate before my renewal date.

libuser

yes you can

nacho

How certain are you? I'm thinking about using the points to book the nights and then put in the certs after Megabonus.

libuser

100% certain. Have done it before many times. cat4s are like points. As long as they fall within the category hotel they can be subbed for points.

KevinInRI

You've done it when there was a change in category too? I'm asking this because if I book it now, it will be 25,000 points (Cat 5 property). At the time I get the Chase certificate in April the same hotel will be a Cat 6 property (30,000 points). So I can make the reservation as a Cat 5 now and then sub the certificate when I get it even though the certificate is a Cat 5 certificate and the hotel will at that time be a Cat 6 property?

OU812

You should be able to switch to the Cert without a problem, however it will depend on who you get on the reservations line. Just tell them you want to use the Cert instead of points and they should make the switch no problem.

For any award stay where a hotel is moving up a Category, my advice is regardless of how you are paying for an awards stay (Cert or Points), check your MR account activity after your stay. I had a problem in VA Beach last year when I tried to use the Visa Category 1-5 cert at a hotel that recently moved to a Cat 6. The hotel cancelled my reservation using the Cert, then rebooked using points the day of my stay. 30K points were deducted from my MR account for the one night stay, the Cert was not redeposited as it had expired three days after my stay. A call to MR straightened it out, but only after I talked to a supervisor. The original call taker kept insisting the I had made the reservation for points the day of my stay!

Regards,

RIP...

VA1379

I just want to add another point to OU812's experience. Marriott has a record of every reservation and who made changes to it. It is not hard to find out that the hotel cancelled the original reservation.

You are allowed to call in and make an award reservation without the points or certificate. You only need to have the points/certificate a week before your arrival. For properties that are going up in award category, the date of the reservation determines the amount of points required, not when you attach a certificate to the award reservation (redeeming points transfers an electronic certificate to the hotel).

socrates

if you make a reservation today and a hotel is category X but at check-in the hotel is category Y you'll still be charged the number of points for a category X stay

socrates

just as an FYI - the hotels have no incentive to cancel a reservation and make a new one after their category changed...they receive the same amount of $$$ regardless of their category/number of points used to stay, when you see something as you describe it's a honest mistake on the hotel's part

Pingtung

As others have already mentioned, this is a huge devaluation for the certs earned via MegaBonus and the Visa Card. Category 4 hotels in any major US city was naturally going to be redeemed at high levels with the promo. Just take a look at how many hotels with "Downtown" in their name moved down a level (only 1, the Courtyard Edmonton Downtown), versus the number that went up a category (44 hotels) and it pretty much sums up the story.

KevinInRI

Just to double check, I did write to Marriott Rewards, and they surprisingly answered very quickly, and confirmed that I could do just that:

Dear Kevin,

Thank you for contacting Marriott Rewards.

If the reservation was booked before the category change, the category five certificate will be honored.

PointerBrother

Does anyone have any experience with booking multiple certificates? For instance, if I book 4 rewards nights and thus get the 5th one free, can I then replace with just 4 certs and still get the 5th night free?

hhoope01

Nope. The only time you will get the 5th night free is if you order the appropriate 5 night award.