I did call in the middle of the night within the past couple months and did not have an issue. The clerk seemed very much on the ball. The weird thing, though, was the cert I was calling about was set to expire in a couple days but it had already been extended. I had not already called, so that seemed odd. I apologized for wasting the woman's time and she said she was thrilled to get the call, as it could get pretty lonely late at night.

I noticed this as well, except mine says "P820 PARTIAL PKG-CAT 1-5 - 55,000 Points." What does the 55,000 Points mean? I'm assuming I can still upgrade the cert to a Cat 8 with an additional 90,000 points, correct? Also, the hotel we're looking at staying at (Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club) has standard rooms available for 240,000 points for a week and a 1 Bedroom Villa available for 275,000. Can I add nightly upgrade certificates along with the TP 7 night cert?

Thanks!

That's the surrender value if you just can't use the cert at all and ask for a refund. Otherwise, it's still upgradeable for Cat 6+ use.

Is that an increase in the surrender value? I'd thought it was 45k points, for some reason. I usually value even four nights in a Cat 4/5 at over 45k, but 55k is getting mighty close to breakeven, since it's usually a stretch for us to even get four nights away...

It must have increased recently, it was lower last year. I hope this isn't an indication that the total package price will go up.

Newbie - Travel Package with Teens
 

I'm a newbie looking to redeem some points I've been saving up for a Marriott Hotel + Air travel package to Europe. I'm assuming there would be availability to get a double queen bed room at most hotels to bring my two teens along on the trip and then augment the miles that I'd need to fly? Anything else special to take into consideration in redeeming a Travel package for 4 instead of 2?

Thanks!

I am not a expert by any means but we did not find a lot of hotel in London or Paris that had double queens. I actually do not remember one that did. The problem if you are using the
7 night cert it will usually be for the lowest category at the hotel. The basic category is usually one bed but you can pay to upgrade to a bigger room. We found it cheaper to just get another room for our older kids.

You will want to find the hotel first to make sure that there are rooms for 4 available on points before you get a package.

Be aware many hotels in Europe actually charge extra for a room with more than 1 bed and usually when you get a room with two beds they are single beds.

Best to check the properties you are interested in.

Very few hotels allow occupancy for 4. Out of all the hotels in London, I believe only one Marriott had two queens, which was county Hall

How about other countries? Are there any Marriott with 2 queens (except County Hall in London) in Europe? Just wondering.

Here is a short list from my research:
Courtyard Amsterdam Airport - 2 queens
one of the Dublin Hotels had 2 doubles
Marriott's Village d'lle-de-France - 2 bedroom townhouse

Your really need to put in a country, 2 adults/2kids and use points. Make sure you put in a week (7nights) for the time frame you want to go. It might come up with
a day here or there but you need to find a property that has all seven nights.

Just start looking.

When redeeming a Travel Package, does the name and address both have to match the airline program? Or is it only name that's checked?

How long does it take miles to post to British Airways when booking a Air + Travel package with BA as the airline partner?

Takes about 2-3 days from my experience.