Jul 30, 2016, 4:21 pm
Last edit by: Slickw
LINK TO CHART
Legacy to New Travel Package Conversion (effective August 2019)
A Marriott supervisor can currently convert your legacy travel package into the new category mapping. If you hold a Category 6, 8, or Tier 1-3 legacy certificate, it's ideal to downgrade your certificate before converting so that points don't potentially get lost in the process.
The codes for the new partial packages are:
New Cat 1-4: QP83
New Cat 5: QP91
New Cat 6: QP99
New Cat 7:
The legacy certificates map to the new certificates as such:
Cat 1-5 => Cat 1-4
Cat 6 => Cat 1-4
Cat 7 => Cat 5
Cat 8 => Cat 5
Cat 9 => Cat 6
Tier 1-3 => Cat 6
Tier 4-5 => Cat 7
==================================================
If you are unsure where you will use your 7 night stay, when you request the package, just ask for a category 1-5 hotel. That way you are out of the least number of points. If later, you decide to book for a higher level category, then you can do so and pay the difference the travel package points. If you can't use your certificate within the year, then as close to the one year anniversary (without going over!) call to extend the certificate for one more year. That's as long as they will typically allow, one extension. There is an option to expedite the mileage delivery to within three business days (sometimes faster) for $15. There are reports that this fee may be waived for platinum members.
Effective April 1 2017 re: Southwest & the companion pass:
"Purchased points, points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, and e-Rewards, e-Miles, Valued Opinions and Diners Club, points earned from Rapid Rewards program enrollment, tier bonuses, flight bonuses, and partner bonuses (excluding points bonuses earned on the Rapid Rewards Credit Cards from Chase) do not count toward Companion Pass."
************
Can I book SPG properties with my Marriott Travel Package? As of 9/1/2018 apparently not. see https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30155836-post6529.html
Legacy to New Travel Package Conversion (effective August 2019)
A Marriott supervisor can currently convert your legacy travel package into the new category mapping. If you hold a Category 6, 8, or Tier 1-3 legacy certificate, it's ideal to downgrade your certificate before converting so that points don't potentially get lost in the process.
The codes for the new partial packages are:
New Cat 1-4: QP83
New Cat 5: QP91
New Cat 6: QP99
New Cat 7:
Originally Posted by Marriott Rewards Insider
Members who purchased a Category 6, Category 8 or Tier 1-3 certificate prior to 8/18 are able to request a one-time exchange for a Travel Package one category lower. This process will cancel your current Travel Package, reissue a Travel Package one category lower and result in a refund of 30,000 points to your account. To submit a request, follow these steps:
Source: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...es-update.html
- Select “Packages - Deals” from the “Topic” drop down menu
- Submit your request
Source: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...es-update.html
The legacy certificates map to the new certificates as such:
Cat 1-5 => Cat 1-4
Cat 6 => Cat 1-4
Cat 7 => Cat 5
Cat 8 => Cat 5
Cat 9 => Cat 6
Tier 1-3 => Cat 6
Tier 4-5 => Cat 7
==================================================
If you are unsure where you will use your 7 night stay, when you request the package, just ask for a category 1-5 hotel. That way you are out of the least number of points. If later, you decide to book for a higher level category, then you can do so and pay the difference the travel package points. If you can't use your certificate within the year, then as close to the one year anniversary (without going over!) call to extend the certificate for one more year. That's as long as they will typically allow, one extension. There is an option to expedite the mileage delivery to within three business days (sometimes faster) for $15. There are reports that this fee may be waived for platinum members.
Effective April 1 2017 re: Southwest & the companion pass:
"Purchased points, points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, and e-Rewards, e-Miles, Valued Opinions and Diners Club, points earned from Rapid Rewards program enrollment, tier bonuses, flight bonuses, and partner bonuses (excluding points bonuses earned on the Rapid Rewards Credit Cards from Chase) do not count toward Companion Pass."
************
Can I book SPG properties with my Marriott Travel Package? As of 9/1/2018 apparently not. see https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30155836-post6529.html
Marriott Travel Packages
Aug 5, 2018, 12:09 pm
#4696
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: IL
Posts: 270
Keep digging.
Aug 5, 2018, 12:16 pm
#4697
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis
Posts: 52,133
Aug 5, 2018, 1:20 pm
#4698
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: IL
Posts: 270
Aug17 person buys Cat9 package, good for set of X hotels
Aug18 Marriott, without advanced notice, converts floaters to points equivalent 7 night certs (45k in this case)
Transformed cert now is good at 2% of X hotels, the day after purchase.
Not bait and switch.
Gotcha.
Lets get some more clear predictions in writing on what Marriott *will* do, so people can come back and eat crow.
Aug 5, 2018, 1:30 pm
#4699
Join Date: May 2002
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, United Silver, Marriott Titanium Elite
Posts: 2,276
Indeed, that was never inferred, but a reasonable expectation based on past history is that a small amount of hotels will exit and others enter your certificate coverage, with advanced notice for possible redemption prior to the change, within the limited 1 year cert validity period. But never would ALL exit (effectively jump a Category or three) as would hotels in your Cat9 cert in this example. Especially without advanced notice. That is bait and switch to a T.
Keep digging.
Keep digging.
Out of curiosity, is your point that Marriott will not treat existing 5-night and 7-night e-certificates as points-based beginning August 18?
Or is your point just that Marriott should not do so?
If it's the latter, do you honestly expect Marriott to elevate the value of 5-night and 7-night e-certificates so that, for example, a current Cat 9 certificate can grab 60,000-point Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and Luxury Collection properties, just because some Marriott Hotels are going from 45,000 points to 60,000 points?
Even those of us who disagree on what will happen probably agree that Marriott should have published a Travel Packages FAQ and Travel Package terms & conditions long ago — at least back in April when the new program was announced.
Last edited by Horace; Aug 5, 2018 at 2:17 pm
Aug 5, 2018, 2:12 pm
#4700
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: IL
Posts: 270
zozepelin,
Out of curiosity, is your point that Marriott will not treat existing 5-night and 7-night e-certifcates as points-based beginning August 18?
Or is your point just that Marriott should not do so?
If it's the latter, do you honestly expect Marriott to elevate the value of 5-night and 7-night e-certifiates so that, for example, a current Cat 9 certificate can grab 60,000-point Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and Luxury Collection properties, just because some Marriott Hotels are going from 45,000 points to 60,000 points?
Even those of use who disagree on what will happen probably agree that Marriott should have published a Travel Packages FAQ and Travel Package terms & conditions long ago — at least back in April when the new program was announced.
Out of curiosity, is your point that Marriott will not treat existing 5-night and 7-night e-certifcates as points-based beginning August 18?
Or is your point just that Marriott should not do so?
If it's the latter, do you honestly expect Marriott to elevate the value of 5-night and 7-night e-certifiates so that, for example, a current Cat 9 certificate can grab 60,000-point Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and Luxury Collection properties, just because some Marriott Hotels are going from 45,000 points to 60,000 points?
Even those of use who disagree on what will happen probably agree that Marriott should have published a Travel Packages FAQ and Travel Package terms & conditions long ago — at least back in April when the new program was announced.
I am speaking entirely on what they *will* do, as that is the matter at hand. This based on the constraints they placed upon themselves with the deadline, new category set, IT/CS burden of integration, lack of communication on TP, etc. There are a fair amount of people reading this thread with various levels of TP knowledge that are trying to make decisions, so I just want to make sure they're not being led astray, on either end of the windfall to surrender spectrum. It's also slightly enjoyable as a puzzle with clues left for interpretation with the potential for risk/reward.
That said, your proposal, along with several other unpopular ones, are infact reasonable *if* Marriott had provided those details in advance and gave people a reasonable amount of time to take actions knowing what was going to happen - similar to a yearly category update. But there is a hard stop with the upcoming Cat reformatting, as the existing certs wouldn't function at that point (unless they just carryover cert cat), such that the window for reasonable advanced notice has closed.
In my opinion, what they *should* have done is obviously first communicate and then make modified certs which cover the majority of the hotels in the cat originally purchased, with the goal to have minimal impact on the cert holder in terms of hotels available and constraints (7 nights in a row). Now with the mapping gaps and the peak pricing, things get complicated quickly, but error on the side of the customer since they didn't initiate the change. This way people could attach, detach, upgrade, downgrade, and purchase in an informed manner.
Marriott's behavior has been strange on this topic. I don't like the lack of transparency, but will wait for the final decision to evaluate their actions, as it may have been reasonable depending on how they decide to go.
Aug 5, 2018, 2:53 pm
#4701
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kan@da
Programs: Anything with sweet spots
Posts: 1,790
The Marmots have been very cagey about the travel package certificates, and I don't like it 
Aug 5, 2018, 3:04 pm
#4702
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 546
The mistake Marriott made was to massively devalue the TPs at the same time they implement this merger of the programs. When they created the award chart, obviously they didn't take into account its impact on TPs, because historically there aren't that many TPs outstanding at any given time. However, because of the sudden massive devaluation, there's a rush to buy the current TPs. My conservative guess is that the number of TPs outstanding right now is perhaps 5-10 times greater than the average historical number.
Aug 5, 2018, 3:21 pm
#4703
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: PHX, ICN
Programs: OZ Diamond Plus, Marriott Gold
Posts: 502
A 7-night Category 8 Hotel (40,000-points-per-night) e-certificate would be a 7-night 40,000-points-per-night e-certificate.
A 7-night Category 9 Hotel (45,000-points-per-night) e-certificate would be a 7-night 45,000-points-per-night e-certificate.
Yes, there are not hotels exactly at these levels beginning August 18.
Beginning August 18, if a member calls Marriott to attach such an e-certificate to a 7-night reservation, the rep would make the appropriate adjustment, whether that means refunding points or using additional points. This can happen today too. The functionality is already in the system.
Examples:
— 7-night, 45,000-points-per-night Hotel e-certificate for a 7-night, 50,000 points-per-night Hotel. 30,000 additional points (6 x 5,000, reflecting 5th night free) would come out of the account.
— 7-night, 45,000-points-per-night Hotel e-certificate for a 7-night, 35,000 points-per-night Hotel. 60,000 points (6 x 10,000, reflecting 5th night free) would be put back into the account.
— 7-night, 35,000-points-per-night Hotel e-certificate for a 7-night, 35,000 points-per-night Hotel. There would be no additional points, and no refund of points.
Ignore the Category numbers, old and new. Concentrate on the points, and it all works.
For some hotels, the new point levels will not be advantageous because there's a big increase coming — but that's a separate issue that also applies to members who just have point balances in their accounts, not unattached e-certificates. In such cases, if the stay is within 11 or 12 months and the points reservation can be made now, it's advisable to do so.
That's what I expect. Again, we'll all know the real plan soon enough.
A 7-night Category 9 Hotel (45,000-points-per-night) e-certificate would be a 7-night 45,000-points-per-night e-certificate.
Yes, there are not hotels exactly at these levels beginning August 18.
Beginning August 18, if a member calls Marriott to attach such an e-certificate to a 7-night reservation, the rep would make the appropriate adjustment, whether that means refunding points or using additional points. This can happen today too. The functionality is already in the system.
Examples:
— 7-night, 45,000-points-per-night Hotel e-certificate for a 7-night, 50,000 points-per-night Hotel. 30,000 additional points (6 x 5,000, reflecting 5th night free) would come out of the account.
— 7-night, 45,000-points-per-night Hotel e-certificate for a 7-night, 35,000 points-per-night Hotel. 60,000 points (6 x 10,000, reflecting 5th night free) would be put back into the account.
— 7-night, 35,000-points-per-night Hotel e-certificate for a 7-night, 35,000 points-per-night Hotel. There would be no additional points, and no refund of points.
Ignore the Category numbers, old and new. Concentrate on the points, and it all works.
For some hotels, the new point levels will not be advantageous because there's a big increase coming — but that's a separate issue that also applies to members who just have point balances in their accounts, not unattached e-certificates. In such cases, if the stay is within 11 or 12 months and the points reservation can be made now, it's advisable to do so.
That's what I expect. Again, we'll all know the real plan soon enough.
Your plan relies on full knowledge and understanding of the program by front line CSRs. Who have tremendous turnover, receive unequal training (no matter what the manuals say), aren't given a massive amount of leeway for decision-making currently, and aside from housekeepers are probably lowest on the totem-pole in the minds of corporate management when it comes to trust in making large discretionary decisions.
I can't see Marriott's decision being "oh just let the CSRs figure out when extra points are to be awarded for redemptions; surely they'll get this right." And given that even a cursory read of this thread shows that CSRs will give myriad answers regarding redeeming/attaching TPs *NOW*, when TPs have been a standard award option for years, I don't know why you'd want that to be the plan. On top of that, it includes a medium-difficulty IT solution*. For that much trouble, they could just do something simpler. And if you're saying that the CSRs wouldn't refund points but the system would be programmed to automatically refund points differences on a cert-by-cert, hotel-by-hotel basis, then there are so many easier solutions than this that would be far more appealing to a corporation trying to create a consistent and simple solution that I cannot see why this would be the answer.
*In my non-programmer mind, "easy" IT would be cancel and refund for points, easy/medium-level would be cancel + issue new 1-4 certs and Xpoints above current Cat 5, medium would be your "map current certs to new cert levels and provide guidance to CSRs, and high level would be full cert mapping to new categories. I could easily be wrong.
Aug 5, 2018, 6:00 pm
#4704
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: SPG Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, IHG Gold Ambassador, Marriott Gold
Posts: 519
Yesterday someone mentioned on here that they’ve been told TP were no longer sold but CSR managed to get them one. Has anyone else experienced that or have people been able to redeem them this weekend?
Aug 5, 2018, 6:34 pm
#4705
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 6
I made a booking for the SpringHill Suites Springdale Zion National Park with my category 7 certificate for June 2019 right before my travel certificate expires in July 2019. I have no intention of keeping this booking. The plan is simply to attach the certificate to a hotel that is jumping from a Cat 7 under the current regime (requiring 35k MR points per night) to a Category 6 under the new regime (requiring 50k MR points), Then at some point in the future my plan is to cancel the reservation in hopes that Marriott will either (a) Reimburse 300K MR points (50K x 6 nights + 1 free) if they cancel floaters in exchange for points appreciating that my booking was equivalent to 50K points per night OR (b) issue a new regime Cat 6 certificate for 7 nights hotel stay. My worst case scenario is that Marriott issues me a Cat 5 certificate, or 35K points per night reimbursement, when I unattach my reservation in the future and i forfeit my upside. Is anyone else pursuing this arbitrage strategy? Any thoughts?
Aug 5, 2018, 6:35 pm
#4706
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 432
I just downgraded my certificates today so I think they might still be selling the TPs.
Aug 5, 2018, 7:02 pm
#4707
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 736
This has gotten increasingly painful. Yesterday I was trying to upgrade a certificate one category then I got put on hold for 1hr 20min and the person still had not come back so I hung up. Today the person went away for 30min to come back to tell me "the system is down right now and to try calling back later." So brutal.
Aug 5, 2018, 7:21 pm
#4708
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: UA-1K, MM, Hilton-Diamond, Marriott-Titanium
Posts: 4,431
Nobody KNOWS anything. Everyone is guessing, no matter what they say. We will not find out until August 18 who has guessed right and who has guessed wrong. Everyone is free to state their opinions of course and fhey are just that, opinions.
Personally I am looking forward to August 18 so we will have some certainty in this thread,
Personally I am looking forward to August 18 so we will have some certainty in this thread,
Aug 5, 2018, 7:32 pm
#4709
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: IL
Posts: 270
I made a booking for the SpringHill Suites Springdale Zion National Park with my category 7 certificate for June 2019 right before my travel certificate expires in July 2019. I have no intention of keeping this booking. The plan is simply to attach the certificate to a hotel that is jumping from a Cat 7 under the current regime (requiring 35k MR points per night) to a Category 6 under the new regime (requiring 50k MR points), Then at some point in the future my plan is to cancel the reservation in hopes that Marriott will either (a) Reimburse 300K MR points (50K x 6 nights + 1 free) if they cancel floaters in exchange for points appreciating that my booking was equivalent to 50K points per night OR (b) issue a new regime Cat 6 certificate for 7 nights hotel stay. My worst case scenario is that Marriott issues me a Cat 5 certificate, or 35K points per night reimbursement, when I unattach my reservation in the future and i forfeit my upside. Is anyone else pursuing this arbitrage strategy? Any thoughts?
1) They could treat detachers as some hybrid cert (points based, perhaps based on old cat) or a cert that does't cover peak dates. I'm speculating they won't do this because its a real niche case and not worth the IT/CS headache in the middle of the merger.
2) Hard to imagine they force you to cancel at the surrender rate if you are within cancellation policy.
3) Have to believe they will allow detachers to be refunded for full points (e.g. 150k for OC5) because that would start a flurry of reservation modifications to 'maximize' their stays.
4) OC7->NC6 is one of the better ratios under this theory. Most others don't have availability. Best ratio is the OC9->NC8 with Domes of Elounda. Too much risk for me as I wouldn't want to make the actual stay, but huge upside if detachers become new TPs, as you'd potentially have access to peak NC8 hotels, after peak prices go into effect and they presumably they open availability in 2019.
5) If they do a modified cert conversion for floaters, then detaching will likely result in the same. Hope for points refund for floaters.
Aug 5, 2018, 7:36 pm
#4710
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 465
I made a booking for the SpringHill Suites Springdale Zion National Park with my category 7 certificate for June 2019 right before my travel certificate expires in July 2019. I have no intention of keeping this booking. The plan is simply to attach the certificate to a hotel that is jumping from a Cat 7 under the current regime (requiring 35k MR points per night) to a Category 6 under the new regime (requiring 50k MR points), Then at some point in the future my plan is to cancel the reservation in hopes that Marriott will either (a) Reimburse 300K MR points (50K x 6 nights + 1 free) if they cancel floaters in exchange for points appreciating that my booking was equivalent to 50K points per night OR (b) issue a new regime Cat 6 certificate for 7 nights hotel stay. My worst case scenario is that Marriott issues me a Cat 5 certificate, or 35K points per night reimbursement, when I unattach my reservation in the future and i forfeit my upside. Is anyone else pursuing this arbitrage strategy? Any thoughts?