thanks for the feedback :)

I am also fearing a devaluation of the travel package :(

Which will be a double whammy when the points increase since the hotels within the categories will certainly continue their upward march...

Its going to be a big one this March due to the merger, folks.

You may be correct, but given they've already been pretty generous with the SPG folks (trying to keep them in house rather than losing them to a competitor), I'm thinking the "big" deval won't be until 2018. They will want to hook both sides by keeping everyone as "happy" as possible. Once they have you hooked, then they will reel you in. :o

Fixed that one for you.

Higher point requirements, combined with higher categories, have significantly
diminished the value of these packages in the last few years.

I'm thinking they'll devalue the "Marriott" side of the house in 2017 getting it ready for a combined 2018 whammy. SPG loyalists will probably use at SPG properties to the very end, then find there is no other place to really go when a major player got eliminated.

I much fear trouble with the fuselage Frederick...

Looking to redeem my 7 night certificate at one of the resorts in SE Asia. Ideally, I'd like to have 2 rooms, one for 3 nights and the other for 4 since I'm traveling with friends. All would be during the same period of time. I know I can't book it that way, but is there any sense in trying the hotel as a plat and seeing if they'll accommodate? There's plenty of award avail for my dates.

It can't hurt to try. But I don't think I've ever heard of any hotel going for that.

I think the way the certs are processed, Marriott will only reimburse them for one room per cert (and then only for the nights stayed in that one room.) So basically you would be asking the hotel to give you a "free" room (i.e. one they won't get any recompense from.) That isn't something most hotels are going to be keen toward. :o

Right, except presumably they could "oversell" his room for the subsequent nights. This could actually result in a higher occupancy rate which at least with SPG drives the reimbursement amount. Still, agree it's a longshot.

I have no idea what this post means. Can you explain?

I assume being able to get the 5 night package and not being a timeshare owner as they are only available if you are one.

Don't know about "method".

If I want to book a travel package and only have 120k points in my account can I use 150k points from a friends account to make it to 270k, keeping in mind that I have already bought 50k points from Marriott this year and had another 50k transferred from family member directly in my account as per the maximum transfer limit.

Technically, I think you are only supposed to be able to pull more than the 50K (when ordering an award) once per year. But it is possible they will still let you do it again. In the past, they have played fairly "loose" with the rules around transferring points between accounts. So they might still do it.

I'd call in and ask them. Note you don't have to mention that you've done it once already this year. If they've tracked it and tell you no because of that, fine. But if they didn't track it or don't realize and let you transfer the points for the award. Great. ^

A question which came up regarding this: is it possible to buy 30.000 spg points and transfer it 1:3 to Marriott, even when the user reached the buying limit with MR?

My guess is yes because the programs are still separate, although linked.

Cheers.