Marriott did not replace the plat GC promo with the GC as the GC was always available...........

Did I say promo anywhere above when I was speaking of gift cheques? NO

Just because one thing was available before two thing else was eliminated does not mean that one thing did not replace two thing, especially if one thing falls into the same niche as two thing used to, which in this case gift cards does.

If a MR member wishes to "purchase" $$$, it used to be possible with EITHER gift cheques OR gift cards, but now that gift cheques have gone away, there is only one way to do it now, with gift cards, which means that gift cards have supplanted gift cheques.

There used to be a discount for Plat members to buy gift cheques, at 135,000 MR points for $1,000 in gift cheques. But now that gift cheques have gone away, there is no longer a discount for Plats. Additionally, in 2012, the cost of a $1,000 gift card for all MR members, including Plats, was 190,000 MR points, but in 2013, the cost is now 204,000 MR points.

but in your opinion this is/was not a promo?????????? and then you repeat the non-promo promo............

No, I did not say that, did I? Just because you call something a promo, does not mean it is a promo. By that definition, are room upgrades for Plats a promo? It was a Plat benefit which was discontinued, I never called it a promo, because it was not a promo, it was a Plat benefit.

No more E195, $1000 Gift Cards keep going up...
 

So the E195 went away (after years of threats as noted earlier) to be replaced by the $1000 Gift Card for 204k points. It just recently went up to 255k points. I'm really disgusted with what Marriott has done to devalue the points and loyalty.

As with United, Marriott is the least of many evils. They work for me and I'll stick with them for now, but my wife's and my days of points covering stays and gift cheques covering food/bev at resorts are done. :td:

(emphasis mine)

+1

As someone who has been a rabid Marriott aficionado for decades, this is the first devaluation that has me actually questioning my own loyalty. The ironic thing is, for me, that I just recently attained both LT status AND retired on disability. So, my opportunities for gaining status at another chain are now essentially moot.

New ways to use point?
 

I'm feeling a bit sad today. In the past, this was the week I traded in all my points for as many gift cheques as I could. I travel for business, so I'd use the cheques for food and beverages through the following year. It was such a nice benefit because I could dine on location without the worry of the additional cost.

I'm trying to decide if it is worth it to buy even $1K worth of gift cards at 255K points.

Now that the cheques are gone, what are you using your points on?

I use mine for stays. Do you not take vacations?

At this point, using them for anything other than stays and/or travel packages is sadly, foolish...

I'm with ya! Have contemplated using them for gift cards, but was never able to let myself.. Travel packages are the only way to go at this time..

Just horrible value. Just issue travel package with 120K AA mile component and the miles itself are worth more than $1K.