Hi all,

I've been staying at Starwood hotels and have enjoyed them a great deal so I haven't been to any Marriot's recently. My past experiences have been good. And it seems that my next business trip will require me to stay at a Marriot (I'm not sure which type yet).

Are there any promos for joining the rewards program right now? I'll be staying for over a month and I'd like to maximize my rewards

I was browsing through some of the threads and it seems that getting 'comped' is a pretty tough thing to do. Is there a special number to call for this? It seems like status won't make much of a difference if I'm at a CY but I'm not quite sure where I'll be right now so I want to research my options.

Thanks!

None for joining, but if you register for the promo on the Marriott web site and pay with Visa, you get double nights and double points 'til the end of March. If you're staying in March, that could make you Gold status with that many nights.



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Not sure where I'm going, but I'm gettting there fast.

Welcome to the Marriott Board, Billy! Civility and genuine helpfulness are the norm here and I think you will enjoy our place on FT.

I think you will find one of the big plusses about Marriott is the consistency thruout the properties. It has been my first choice of hotels for 15 plus years and rarely have I been disappointed.

If you're staying for a month at a Marriott property, you might want to try a Residence Inn. Having a refrigerator for soda and cream for your coffee, plus a coffee maker, dishwasher, stove, etc., may lower your food bill and make it seem like you are living in an apartment instead of at a hotel.

In many RIs, if you give the staff a shopping list of what you'd like from the grocery store, they will buy it for you and put the bill on you room tab.

I only have good things to say about Marriott properties -- according to my statement, I have stayed with them 125 nights in the past year.

billy, i heartily agree with paradocs. I have made Marriott my accomodation by choice and have been duly rewarded. Make sure that you have signed up for their HGA (honoured guest award) so that you can earn your many many points. I have over a few years, accumulated just under 2,000,000 points, and have had the pleasure of seeing many many amazing places in the world because of their points and bonuses.

good luck and enjoy

d

Make sure you are familiar with the terms and conditions on Marriott's web site. These are the t&c for earning MR points.

http://www.marriottrewards.com/rewar...ms/earning.asp

RI only earns you 5 pts per dollar. A full service Marriott earns you 10 pts per dollar. I'm sure if you are going to stay for a month or longer, you should probably be able to negotiate a refrigator and a decent "eligible" rate in the deal from the hotel.

Make sure you have your profile set to "earning points" (not "earning miles").

There's also a 3 stay to earn Silver elite status promo on the Marriott Rewards website: http://www.marriottrewards.com

The main (only?) benefit to Silver Elite is the 20% point bonus for eligible Marriott charges. It's worth doing. Normally you need 15 nights or something like that to get to Silver. The promo also gives you 2 free weekend nights. If your stay is prior to March 31, also register for the double stay credit and double point credit promo and make sure to check out and back in on Mar 31st if you need to (follow the t&c's of the promos to the letter.)

Also, make sure to verify with the hotel manager that your rate, if it's a specially negotiated rate, will earn points and will earn them for the entire stay and that you will get stay credit for the entire stay. I thought Marriott had a 30-day limit for stay credits and point earning, but I must be mistaken because I didn't see it in the t&c.

You might consider getting the Marriott Rewards Visa, which is free for the first year and use that card only to pay for eligible Marriott charges. I wouldn't use it for non-eligible charges unless you are close to a particular point threshold you need for an award. At 1 pt per dollar for non-Marriott charges, you are better off using almost any other card, especially the Starwood Amex card, where 1 pt is worth a lot more than one Marriott point. But at 3 per dollar combined with the 20% bonus for Silver status, etc, you can end up earning around 15 pts per dollar spent, until you make it the next level.

-David


[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 03-02-2002).]

[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 03-02-2002).]

A couple of add-ons to what LIH Prem said above:

The "double stays, double points" kicks in after your first stay paid for with a VISA card. If you indeed are going to have a long stay in March, it might be worthwhile to get the initial (qualifying) stay out of the way before you check in for the long stay, so that the long stay will be doubled. You could do that by adding a one-night stay at a Fairfield Inn, or by switching to a Marriott property for something you already have scheduled in another hotel.

Be sure to pay with a VISA card; the "double" promotion doesn't work with other forms of payment. And the "double" promotion ends 31 March.

You might also consider getting the Marriott VISA card immediately, since the card carries a complementary upgrade for Silver for the first year. That way you will get the 20% bonus, and if you use that particular VISA card to pay for your stay, you also get (as mentioned) 3 additional Marriott Rewards points per dollar spent.

(Edited to add) And if your trip is taking you outside the US where your charge will be in foreign currency, the Marriott VISA card only charges a 1% currency exchange fee rather than the more usual 3% charge - but that changes 1 April 2002, when they raise the currency conversion charge to 3% on the Marriott VISA, too.

[This message has been edited by Counsellor (edited 03-02-2002).]

Currently there's a promotion for Govt employees to sign up (not sure how many bonus points are awarded though...or how to do it...if you qualify then call the MR customer service # and they should be able to help you)

I agree with Counsellor---Get your 1 night stay in before you check-in for a month. Paying with a Visa is "Muy Importante". Otherwise, you won't receive double-double---I suggest you check out the rules. 30 nights doubled will leave you 15 nights from a P-6 kit, from then on.

Well, I'm kind of new to marriot to, and was wondering if anyone knew these off the top of their head:

1) In the post above (BERGDAVID), what is an "honoured guest award"?
2) I am planning on making a lot of stays at Courtyard this month - however, it looks like according to the T&Cs, that you don't get status bonus points there (I recently got the credit card and have Silver). Is this true? (I just find it hard to believe after HHONORS where your status is good EVERYWHERE.). AND, if that is true, does Courtyard count for the Double/Double promotion as well as the Free Weekend promotion?

Thanks for any answers!

"Honored Guest" and "Marriott Marquis" are names for old Marriott programs. The current program is "Marriott Rewards". There was also a "Courtyard Club" and probably several other program names that were all merged into Marriott Rewards.

-David


[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 03-02-2002).]

Thanks for the welcome and all the info (especially regarding the promos)! I'll be staying at a Springhill Suites which includes a minifridge and microwave among other amenities (sounds similar to the Residence Inn). I completely agree that during a longer stay, those amenities become a necessity.

Thanks again!

You do not get the 20% bonus for being Silver elite at Courtyard (or Residence Inn). You do get the double bonus promo for nights and points and free weekend offers.

Thanks for your responses everyone!