Do we know if what you suggested is still possible? I made 2 reservations for old Cat. 6 hotels as a backup plan for my Cat. 6 certificate, but I didn't attach the certificate. I was thinking I would be able to attach it later, the same way that historically we've been able to attach Cat. 1-5 free nights to a hotel that moves to a higher category as long as the original reservation was made before the category change. Over the weekend, I realized the general consensus seemed to be that this would only work for TPs if the certificate was already attached, but maybe we don't know for certain?

This is why I chose to write my post in a past tense. So, yes, I am fully aware of what the issue is. BTW: Believing is not knowing.

Regarding the guest name: it would have been possible to book all rooms for Michelle and/or her boyfriend and agree to add the names of the people actually checking in at a later date. You will need to give a name to make a reservation but not when you attach a certificate to an existing reservation.
Michelle and her boyfriend may be able to make alternative use of their certificates. I realize that they won't be able to use them at the desired property.

I agree there are two things going on, but they are very much interrelated, as they have the same root cause and in the end have the same effect.

Conversely, if the new program had 14 categories, same as the old, I would presume hotels and TP cats would be left unchanged - because the annual announced category changes already occurred in March, with one month advanced notice. It is because the category set was shrunk, that both TP categories and hotel categories needed to aligned to the new set (as MR decided to remap TP certs instead of alternatives).

We bought a certificate that allowed us to book a set of X hotels. After the hotel and category certificate changes, we are generally left with either ~70% of X set or ~99% (sorry T5 owners). Some change is X set should be expected to change, as one year certificate expiry should expect one shift of ~10% during the yearly announced category changes that are announced in advance based on past prescient.

The Cats that mapped directly (5->4, 7->5) retained 99% of hotels in set X, effectively no devaluation. Those that split categorizes also split distribution. The majority of those tweeners actually decreased in cost (~70% of Cat6 and Cat8 rounded down 5k to their new Cat), which is the opposite of devaluation as the average cost went down, but still leaves a good chunk or set X in a higher Cat that isn't usable with the converted certs. Cat9 hotels on the whole went up 5k (40k->45k) not because of a devaluation, but because they weren't going to drop +20% (45k->35k) to the next lower category. The 'devaluation' of hotel cost is a bit of a misnomer, because costs either dropped or stayed the same (except Cat9 had to go up due to fit).

Hotel category changes were announced, but certificate changes were not. The net impact could come from any combination of cert cat changes and/or hotel changes, but it needed to be announced in advance and give people time to act according.

I apologize to belabor the point, but I think it is important to articulate what everyone lost and why.

According to the CSR I talked to it will be possible after Sep 18th (end of freeze period for old TP certs).

That would be nice, though it's still problematic the the price of some of those previously made reservations has increased, in some cases radically. I have a London booking w/out certificate that jumped from 45K to 60K per night.

Why would you assume they would replace it with something of greater value (new Category 5 vs. old Category 6)?

I get your point. In the past if you made a booking before a redemption price hike, the old redemption rate would still apply. For some reason, MR's front-end system would display the new hotel category and points required for the stay. However, CSRs would still be able to see that this was a "legacy" reservation and hence the old point redemption rates would apply. Therefore, you could still stay for the old amount of points.

This "glitch" also led to the consequence that if you cancelled a reservation you would get an email that claimed that the new required amount in points was refunded to your account. However, just the former required amount of points was returned (which was the correct outcome).

You're out of luck looks like.

https://insiders.marriottrewards.com/thread/55447

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd be careful here. Technically, every reward point redemption required a "certificate". Hotels would then use these electronic certificates to receive reimbursement from MR HQ. So certificate doesn't necessarily equal "travel package certificate". I'd hang on and see how it will play out after the TP cert freeze is over.

Also note that the CSR says "certificate not ordered" this is different from "certificate not attached".

Fair enough. I was aware of the use of past tense, but the use of "later" left me with the perhaps incorrect impression that you were referring to adding the certificate on or after 8/18. It is without question that it was possible to attach an old cat 6 certificate to an old cat 6 hotel. Regardless, of what could have been done before, MPG is no longer offering good options for them.

"In order to avoid any such unwanted occurrence one could have reserved the room(s) at the property in question and then attach the certificates later."

I read the more detailed posts by the same women. I used the word "believe" because I only read her interpretation of the interactions with Marriott. Although I believe her story is creditable, I don't know how closely it reflects what actually happened.

At the time Marriott was selling the Cat 1-5 certificates, they never informed anyone that after Aug 18 those certificates could no longer be used for category 5 hotels. Isn't that a problem?

What did you buy?

Fingers crossed that this remains the case and I can attach at 45K later (but I don't think it is). I have 2 rooms at the Park Lane next summer. One has an attached legacy Cat 9 certificate, the other requires a certificate. I have an old Cat 1-5 (now Cat 1-4) unattached certificate. I can see three possible outcomes when the dust settles. In order of my preference:

1. They allow me to upgrade my certificate to the old Cat 9 for 120K points and I attach it to the booking. Pretty sure this is extremely unlikely, unless they get slammed so badly on this issue that they bend over backwards to be nice.
2. They allow me to pay for the reservation at the old rate of 45K per night (total of 270K points). I think this is very fair, as I don't remember seeing any announcement that the rates would increase on bookings made prior to August 18. In the past when there were category changes they gave you a window in which to book at the old rates. I'll still have to come up with a use for the new Cat 1-4, but I'll live.
3. They do not allow me to upgrade my Cat 1-4 certificate AND they insist that I pay for the second reservation at the new rate (60K per night for a total of 360K), BUT they do refund points for downgrading certificates. If this happens and I stick with the Park Lane, I'll have a certificate I have no real use for, and I'll have to pay for the second room at the higher rate. I don't want to do that, as I probably would not pay 360K to stay at the Park Lane (that's why I stopped staying at the London Edition). I could use the certificate at another (cheaper) London hotel, but that would mean that our family was staying at two different hotels that are 9 tube stops apart. I could also cancel my Park Lane bookings and do two rooms at a new Cat 4, using both certificates. This option will only be satisfactory if they are willing to refund the point difference between an old Cat 9 and a new Cat 1-4 (or I'll be overpaying by 90K points).
4. They do not allow me to upgrade my Cat 1-4 certificate AND they insist that I pay for the second reservation at the new rate AND they refuse to refund points if I downgrade my old Cat 9 to a new Cat 1-4. This last scenario is the one that will leave me super salty, as it forces me to overpay in order to keep my family together.

The only prediction I got right was that the schadenfreude from the "I'm so smart, you got screwed" crowd has been loud and sustained. :) But just to be clear, since some people still seem to argue that no one lost value and that everyone angry is a "gamer", I have a small and easy issue.

I upgraded 1 TP to a Cat 6 for a reservation I legitimately needed. However, we had to change plans a week ago, and I cancelled, getting the cert back. Now that cert is worth the same as my old, cheaper Cat 5s. Technically, Marriott can say "hey, you lost no value because whenever we arbitrarily decide that Cat 4 is in peak season next year, we'll raise the prices to charge you 30K/nt, just like the old Cat 6! That way, you're actually getting a bargain with your old Cat 5s! Lucky you!"

They can say that, but it doesn't *feel* good to me as a long-time customer and former Marriott employee. It feels like I got screwed out of 30K points. Other people may want more; I would be happy to just get those 30K back to spend at a Marriott next year. I neither gamed their system (I earn my points through stays and CCs) nor gambled on some windfall (I purchased 2 more Cat 1-5s, which we will use; I never expected a "cash out" of points). But I feel this is just another painful move in this merger that isn't making me any happier.