I have a 7 night cert, category 1-5, extended once. Was planning to upgrade to category 7 with 60K points and use it for a 7 night stay in Honolulu at Marriott Courtyard.

With the possibility of being able to use it at an SPG hotel instead, do I need to wait and not attach it to a reservation until after Aug. 1 in order to preserve that possibility of using it at an SPG hotel?

Or can I attach it to the Courtyard reservation now to make sure I have something in hand, and then call after Aug. 1 to change it to an SPG hotel? Once you attach it to a res., can you change it to a different res.?

Shouldn't be a problem provided that it's done before the CY's reservation cancel deadline. Then again we don't yet what will happen to TP certs after August.

Looks like the numbwr I called was 1800 450 4442

It was my first MR call so might have called the wrong # :) I prefer to email over calling :)

Too bad TPs require calling

I have a 7 nights reservation booked with points but would like to do the travel package to take advantage of airline miles. The problem is that the hotel that I have the reservation on is not available for point booking during the dates. How easy is it for the Marriott representative to do the travel package without loosing the reservation? I want to take advantage of travel package airline transfer but also don't want to lose the reservation at the property. Has somebody done similar things?

So I don't have to worry about losing the reservation?

What to do with a Marriott 7 nights Package Certificate...?
 

So I used 90K SPG pts for a 7-night Marriott Cert. along with airline miles. But now the issue is, 7 nights in one hotel is quite difficult to do! Has anyone used a 7-nights Marriott Cert. but stayed shorter (checked out earlier than the booked 7 nights)? Any repercussions or penalties if I check out earlier? Any one has experiences with these 7 nights but want to use it for a shorter stay? Thanks!

No issues checking out early.
You know that some people don't even bother to check out anymore ... (they just leave and presume someone will come take care of the room and realize they are gone)

Or just make the reservation for the number of nights you need.

That's good to know! Thanks for the helpful feedback! No really, some people just leave the rooms?! What if improper charges get billed w/o them knowing it.

Yes, during my time I was often asked to check rooms to see if guests had indeed check out.

The hotel being booked wouldn't have any issues with say 5 nights even though I'm using a 7-night cert.? I assume no in your experience then. Thanks for the helpful feedback!

There will be no issue. The Marriott agent will attached the cert for any reservation that is <= 7 nights.