Marriott Rewards Changes
 

I just found FlyerTalk a few days ago and love it. After reading some of the old threads, I questioned our sales rep at Barony Beach today about what changes were coming. He said they just received training on the new rewards this morning and they were good. Yea, another company who makes changes for the "benefit" of the consumer! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif Obviously, some of you have great connections and can find out a lot more so I wanted to share the information that the printed revisions are out there. Go get them!

Thanks for an active board.

Ask him what the "changes" are!



[This message has been edited by DOC 2 BE (edited 04-19-2001).]

I asked him and here is what he basically said. One thing to consider is that he is VERY new to Marriott and I probably know the "system" better than he does at this point. He said the changes would involve where you were travelling to and the number of points to get there would be on a sliding scale. He said that this will open up India and Asia routes. He gave me the impression that the old 713 will be gone after about a 2 month period and new rewards based on distance would be in their place. He couldn't remember how many points the maximum trip would require. He thought the top end was 250,000 points for Asia and India. As you can see, his understanding of the program is limited. I do have a call into our rep at another property and will post any info that he can provide. If he's willing to share, he has a firm understanding of the program.

I have a feeling that this isn't going to be good!!

Well, if they keep Asia at 200,000 then it might be a wash for that destination. My feeling is that Europe and the Carribean and South America would be worse, and to India, where you currently do not get the 80,000 needed, might also be as wash.

This is pure speculation, but it may not be that bad for those who wish to travel to Asia/India.

On the other hand, if it is 250,000 to Asia, then that would be less attractive than what is currently offered.

Finally, I notice that he has implied that there might be a period where one may be able to redeem awards under the "old" system. Awhile back, someone else posted such info.

Well, we will see soon enough!

Thanx, and keep us informed!

This reminds me of the last time changes were made, when I was told the 716 at 200,000 miles was NOT going to change.

Quess what the HURTZ award was reduced to a mere 25% discount from a full FREE 8 days for a full size.

I am getting a very queezy feeling in my stomach now.

Notice there was no mention of the airline tickets being included/excluded/changed?
Curious......

I'm still hanging in with 198,237 and waiting for this months credit card points to post.

Yikes!

-David

Okay, I talked to our other sales rep who has been with Marriott a long time and is a staight shooter. The rewards that are going to be taking the place of the 713 are going to be on a sliding scale based on the regional destination. He said that the rewards packages would start as low as 180,000 points up to 250,000 points. The high end destinations will give one the ability to get to destinations that are currently not covered under the program, ie. India. He did not say if the 7 night stay certificate at any Marriott would be affected. The big emphasis/change will be offering people the ability to get enough airline miles to go to farther destinations and making them utilize more Marriott points based on their destinations. He had not seen the actual literature yet. Obviously, there is literature out there because the other rep on the east coast was trained on it yesterday but he is too new to "fully" explain it.

FYI: This second rep suggested that we cash in on a 714 reward now, but I don't know if we can realistically use both of the 10 day certificates in the next 2 years due to the fact that we already have extensive travel plans in the next 2 years utilizing the MVC program. Has anyone ever used the 10 day? Easy or harder than the 7 day? Anyway, take his suggestion for what it's worth.

It appears that with this system, Marriott will now have more control over the # of air miles you receive, i.e.- the 713 allowed a week in Hawaii, lets say, and 60,000 miles x 2. Now if you are using the award for Hawaii (which I'm sure will fall at the 250,000 point end of the scale, an increase over the 200,000 previously) you will only be able to get 30,000 x 2 (on DL) or 35,000 x 2 on UA or AA. Ditto with the Caribbean locations. Wonder if the sliding point scale will also involve peak/off-peak differences as far as points required for hotel stays?
Waiting to see the actual changes.........

Flyerwife,

I'm not so sure that Marriott will have more control as long as the seven day certificate and the miles continue to be delinked. Under the current system, as you know one can ask for miles to go to Europe but then use the hotel certificate anywhere. So even if Hawaii falls on the 250,000 end of the spectrum, it would be presumably the same as the Europe end of the spectrum at 250,000 - if the awards stay delinked you'll still be able to get Europe's worth of miles (60,000 x 2) but use the hotel award in Hawaii.

Re: Doc 2 Be

I wonder if as you speculate Europe, Carribbean, and South America will actually require more points as you suggest they might, since if the purpose is to require more points for more distant destinations (Asia/India) they presumably need to maintain some stratification - so Europe should hopefully stay the same - or maybe go to 225,000. Under this same tehroy I don't think Hawaii will go to 250,000 but I guess we'll know soon.

Finally, as regards the 180,000 I spoke with a rep a couple of days ago (and didn't post since she seemd so tentative) but she suggested that the lower number of points would be for stays at a Courtyard or other lesser Marriott property.

Gatorboy

[This message has been edited by gatorboy (edited 04-20-2001).]

I'm glad I cashed in two 713 awards and several upgrade awards last month! Kind of depressing to go from half a million points to 50k, but better than getting ripped by the changes..

My question is will they still allow people to pay $20 to extend the validity of hotel certs? I have booked one of the ones I got, but don't think I'll be using the other one in time.. plan to extend it shortly...

Gatorboy,
If your theory is true then this would possibly work in our favor, as you could get the hotel award for the Courtyard or lesser hotel but the miles to, say, Asia or India which is 80,000 each. That would be great but somehow I think this is exactly the loophole Marriott is trying to close. More likely they will tie both together- you stay in Paris, you get points for Paris. This would appear to require much more stringent bookkeeping by Marriott then they do now, since you simply order the award and frankly they don't care which hotel you use. Now you would have to order reward before booking, then also make air arrangements...complicated.I think they realized people were getting 2 great deals in one, and now they are tightening.
When I ordered my 713 reward, I requested China (according to their rules, not excluded- only India excluded on DL). Well they got utterly confused, first never sending out the award, then telling me it was OK, then telling me DL doesn't fly to China, then telling me they do but its only 60,000 miles not 80,000 then finally settling on just saying "we only give 60,000 x 2 maximum- that's it."
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out but I really think there will be many more terms and conditions/ exclusions, etc. than previously attached to these awards. Wish someone could get their hands on this info.

I'm cashing in 200,000 points now!

The Marriott reps I've spoken with said you can extend the hotel certificate one year for a small fee (about $20) and you can combine spouse accounts to put toward one larger award (there were some postings that this was no longer allowable--as of today, it is).

These "changes" that are brewing will, almost certainly, NOT be for the better.