What to do with 1.5 Million Points
 

Unfortunate situation. Brother passed on and his wife now was 1.5Million miles.

What should she do with them. She has 4 children.

Thanks for creative ideas.

JT, I'm sorry to hear of your loss. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

But on the topic of the miles, it would really depend on what the family wanted to do. With that many points, they could surely put together their dream trip as a package deal.

Have you asked them where they'd like to go? Maybe we could start from there, coming up with novel and exciting itineraries for them in the part of the world they'd like to visit.

Is it possible to give points to other HHonors members? If so, I would like to put in my application! There are also ways you can donante points to organizations like the Make A Wish foundation, since points can be redeemed for Disney visits. I am saving mine to take my family there, only way we can afford to go. I would love to talk with whoever this might be if you are interested in giving some points to other HHonors members. THanks!

Marchdisney--let me see if I have this right? The person's brother just died, and you are begging for the widow with 4 children to give you (a total stranger) some of the points. I guess that's on the theory, wow--your husband died, and you got 1.5 million points, you're really lucky??

(Not only that, you are so oblivious that you are asking about donating to other HHONORS members, ignoring the fact that this is posted in the MARRIOTT forum.) Your post gets my award for the most crass, tasteless one I have seen.

Djlawman

Who is this guy? Djlawman said it all.

If this guy wasn't a complete pr***, some of us might be inclined to help him with cost-effective ideas for Orlando hotel stays and Disney tickets.

JT: With that high number of points, you could get several very nice travel packages that include enough frequent-flyer miles to get the airfare paid for as well the hotel. Having said that, there's no hurry to use the points. Marriott re-drew their award charts about a year ago and probably won't do another round of devaluation in the next year or two. (JMHO on that bit, but I only mention it because she probably has many other priorities to take care of before redeeming hotel awards.)

When the time is right, and you have an idea of what destinations we are talking about, this board is the place to come for good reviews of the hotels and advice on using the points.

Sorry about your loss. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

I'm really sorry to hear about your loss... As far as the points are concerned I would use them for a nice vacation with the kids to escape the "troubles"...

I know what I'm talking about since I lost my father 9 months ago and he was only in his mid-fifties...

Muerz

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Visit the Hyatt Review Website at http://www.hotelreview.de.vu

[This message has been edited by Muerz (edited 01-23-2003).]

My dad passed away in his fifties too. It's very sad. As per the original question, there's a lot of good you can do with 1.5 million points in Marriott.. I know that in my family's case, they were in no mood for a vacation after my father passed away, so it may all be moot.

I'm sure there are places that your family wanted to go. I'm going to Australia in a week and a lot of people I talk to say 'that's the one place they want to go once in their lifetime'.. or something similar. I'm sure there's something like that. With Marriot's wide breadth, I'm sure you can get there from here with 1.5 million points.

Good luck!

Sorry to hear about the loss. As others have mentioned, travel is probably not a priority for your sister-in-law at the moment.

But these Marriott points are valuable, and the good thing is that the points do not have an expiration date ( subject to change of course should Marriott change the rules).

When she finally decides to redeem the points, I would suggest redeeming for the larger travel packages which come with both a 7 day hotel certificate and FF miles.

If one plans very carefully, a single travel package can net at least $3000 of value between the airfare and hotel as well as helping one to get away to a nice destination.

She certainly has enough points to put together a nice trip when she and the kids are ready to do so.

Barry

Please forgive me for my reply last night...It was inappropriate. I have learned so much from reading these boards, and can't tell you how bad I feel about what was said in terms of giving points to a stranger. I do think the Make A Wish foundation is a good alternative for the miles, though. My thoughts and prayers are with you in you loss, Jt, and to other posters thank you for helping me see the error of my ways. I sincerely appreciate the information I have recieved from these boards, and admit I made a mistake in making those comments. Forgive me, please.

Marchdisney's earlier comments notwithstanding (and the mea culpa offered was admirable, MD)... Marriott is affiliated with the Children's Miracle Network (CMN), and they make it simple and easy to donate points, should anyone ever desire to do so. CMN uses donated points to cover the costs of hotel rooms for family members of children who are hospitalized far from their hometowns.

Marriott Rewards also is affiliated with Skymall, so points can be used for merchandise if another alternative to travel is desired.

Of course, the best usage from a cost-effectiveness standpoint would be to use them on travel, and that's been covered already, many of the locals here are great about recommendations, and i'llbe happy to offer mine as well. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'm with Pitflyer & Jerseyfinn on this one. After the grieving period, take some awesome vacations in memory of Dad.

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Play the travel game 3 vacations into the future!

Sorry to hear of your loss, my condolences are with you and your family.

Another option you may wish to consider is using the points to purchase merchandise (electronics, jewelry, sporting equipment, etc.)offered by the Rewards program.