In Bali spent wonderful seven night at the Marriott Autograph Collection Legen Stone. If you have the correct status, the breakfast buffet is one of the best I have seen and stuffed myself at :)

I know this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find the answer. I plan to transfer the points for travel package with UA. However, I really don't have a need for the 7-day cert. My brother, however, can use it. I also would like to use the 7-days toward elite status. I know if I use it, I would get the nights. I also know I could just go to a local hotel and check in, and then get the nights. However, I really would like my brother to have it.

Is there any way to accomplish both of those (keep the night credit while letting him check in the room)? If I lived near a hotel he wanted to use, it would work, but we don't really.

I did this for a friend and made sure with the hotel that I could put both names on the reservation (mine had to be on the reservation).... they allowed him to check in and there were no issues. I didn't arrive there til the 3rd day for my own reservation.

Your results may vary depending on the property....

No Problem
 

I do this all the time. My friends like it because they get treated well since I am a Platinum Elite and I like it because I get those elite nights. Just add your friend to the reservation. Call the hotel and tell them your friend is going to check in before you do. No problems and, as I said, I have done this many times.

Those certs are completely transferrable. No issue at all with others using them.

Thanks jjmoore and icydog. Wouldn't he need to show a credit card upon check-in anyway? If so, would it be just to hold the room or for incidentals? I'm platinum elite as well, and since this would likely be a courtyard, etc. near disney, I'm hoping they would at least get an upgrade for some more room.

I wonder if anyone has tried this, and had the hotel refuse to let them use the cert or check in to the hotel.

I would think if I call the hotel ahead of time and make sure they will let him check-in with me not there, it would be fine. Once he's in, I can't imagine there being an issue. Hotels typically leave you alone until they slip the bill under your door. If he can just leave his credit card at the desk for room charges, that's fine. I just don't want them going back and saying they won't take the cert and charge the entire bill to his card. If they weren't a few states away, I would have a backup plan.

Am I overcomplicating this?

You're over complicating this. Book the room in your name. Call the hotel and add him to the reservation. Advise the hotel that he'll be checking in instead of you. Call back a few days before travel to make sure your friend is on the reservation.

He will get any upgrades perks you would have gotten. Again, when speaking to the hotel request those perks be given to your guest.

Make sure your friend uses his own credit card for incidentals.

Nice. I'm glad I can keep the 7 nights of elite credit without just burning the cert at a local marriott and heading home. Thanks a bunch for the clarification.

I tried to transfer a MegaBonus certs reservation to my friend but denied. Does that mean we can transfer the travel package certs but not megabonus certs...

This is also why I don't plan to transfer it. I am going to keep it in my name and my reservation, and then just add him to the reservation. If I transfer it, I lose the night credit.

I believe you have to have your name on the reservation, but you can call the hotel and have your friend's name put on the reservation too... that should solve it.

I have never tried to use a certificate of any type solely in a friend's name... but have had no issue adding a name to a reservation that is in my name. Worth a try... and let the forum know if it works out.

I think the terms of the Megabonus certs have specifically said in the past that they are non-transferable (although I've stayed without my husband on them, twice, by having him add me to the reservation as mentioned above).

Regular hotel awards can be made in others' names.

I posted a similar question in another thread, but this is really a better place for it ... I'm planning to use a bunch of points for a fly and stay package, but I'm not going to order the package until January, because I want to use the airline miles with southwest for the companion pass. Could I book a 7-night stay for next August now with points, and then replace that reservation with the 7-night package cert in January? Essentially, I'd be applying the package to a reservation I've already made. Will that work?

Thanks for any input!

Are you afraid you'll lose the reservation if you wait till January to book it? I think your scheme will work but you'll need to get a manager to do the switch for you. I've have had Reward Managers, or supervisors, do wonders for me. They did much, much trickier things for me than this without a hitch. I wouldn't worry. You'll be fine.

I booked my reservation saying that I would use awards. The points are not deducted from your account until it is close to your travel date.

My transaction went something like this:
Jun 2015 - reserved rooms for Mid-Jan
Dec 2015 - points were deducted
Jan 2016 - I called in saying I want to redeem a vacation packed and use it for my Mid-Jan trip. My points was refunded from the reservation and my vacation package redeemed with travel points going to SW and the 7 nights applied to my Mid-Jan reservation.

Since August is so far away, you should be able to just redeem the package on Jan 2017 and call in to apply your 7 nights to your reservation.

Yes. One of the benefits Marriott's program has over some of their competitors is that Marriott will allow you to make a reservation before you have the points in your account.

And as stated, once you do order the award and have the hotel cert, you can call MR and they will apply the cert to your already existing award reservation.

Yes. One of the reasons I'm loyal to Marriott. They work with you as opposed to against you like so many. They are flexible, understand the "grey" areas and strive to make their guests happy.

Need advice - Should I redeem a travel package
 

I have enough points to redeem for a Category 9 hotel + 132,000 United miles which would need 390,000 points. We normally stay 3-5 nights at a destination so a 7-night stay is probably not going to happen for us. We have a stay a 5 night stay in Hong Kong coming up at the JW and was thinking of redeeming the travel cert. there. Points wise the booking would cost me 160,000 points for 5 nights, the 5th night being free.

390,000 - 160,000 = 230,000 points for 132,000 miles


My goal is to get the miles as I value those much more then hotel points.

I know in the end this is my decision but I think 1.x:1 is pretty good redemption for the airline miles.

Why not redeem at Cat 8 (40k per night x 4 = 160k) and save yourself a few points? Or is the 132,000 miles tied to Cat 9?

The hotel is tied to the Cat. 9. If I redeem for a lower value then I wouldn't be able to redeem for that hotel.

Something in your arithmetic is a bit off. If the hotel is Cat 9 your cost to book 5 nights on points (with 5th night free) is 180k, not 160k. If it's 160k then the hotel must be Cat 8, which reduces the cost of the TP to 360k.

Either way, the answer to your question is "It depends". If you value the airline miles highly enough to cover the lost value of two nights of hotel points you're not using, go for it. But definitely think about ways you could meaningfully extend your trip to get value from all 7 nights.

Agree with this.

And depending on your desire for hotels, you could spend even less points by going with a lower category hotel (i.e. CY). But that all depends on what you want out of your stay and how you value the different benefits from the different hotels.

It might depend on whether I had a good 1-week Marriott need coming up in the next year or so.

If I did, I might redeem 180k here and do the Travel Package on the next stay. (This assumes you will continue to earn more Marriott points in the future, which seems like a reasonable assumption for a Plat with 390k points.)

Otherwise, I'd probably redeem the 390k here. And I'd then set about trying to extend the trip by two days, because HK is awesome and totally worth it. @:-)

It also might linger in the back of my mind that the Travel Packages will change in 2018 with SPG members integrated into MR. Not that they *should* change...just that Marriott could use the merger as cover to devalue.

nevermind

If I have a 7-night cert for Cat 1-5 and later want to stay at a Cat 7 property, is the amount of points needed to upgrade the difference between Cat 5 to Cat 7? If not, how do I find out the points needed to upgrade?

Yes

So if a Cat 5 is 25k/night and Cat 7 is 35k, then for 7 nights I would just have to redeem an extra 70k?

The answer is right in the Wiki.

People on the SPG Forum are going crazy over the Travel Packages. I surely hope Marriott does not devalue this come next year....

Can these certificates be used to book a room for someone else? Like if I wanted to gift one as a wedding/honeymoon present?

Also, how "firm" is the extension? Has anyone found Marriott reluctant to extend for 1 year?

Use Marriott 7 night cert @ SPG properties???
 

Earlier this year I cashed in Marriott points for a Cat 9 seven night travel package.

Any idea if the seven night cert is now redeemable at an SPG property?

I have a seven night cert, but only Silver status. My wife has Gold. We are looking at Paris or Rome and would like the free Gold status breakfast for a week. Can I transfer my seven night cert to her account so we get her benefits? Thanks

No. The programs are separate until 2018.

Cheers.

Hi
Has anyone seen any info on whether a Travel Package Cert. from Marriott can be used at a SPG ?

The answer is no. Right now the ONLY connection between the programs is that your elite status will be matched and you can transfer points between them. Awards from one program have no meaning with the other program.

Close - you need an extra 60k as there is the 5th night free benefit.

An interesting point of speculation though, if you pick up a cert next year (or extend a cert next year) and want to use it in 2018 after, presumably, SPG hotels have been integrated.

Are vacation clubs included as part of the packages? Am eyeing the Kauai vacation club property.

Yes, they are included. MVCI properties are all assigned a category level just like hotel properties. Unfortunately availability at vacation club properties is very limited at best. So you may have a hard time finding a MVCI property with 7 nights of availability.

--Jon

Yeah, that's a big presumably. They could decide to postpone integration into 2019, or they could start integration in 2018 but takes years to finish it, tiny step by tiny step.

Keep in mind there was no word of Marriott-SPG linking, or the points transfer ratio, until the day it became suddenly available. So kinda hard to tell what notice they will give for anything else in this expected program merger coming up.