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 20, 2018, 10:43 am
#5911
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 706
Question for those who have upgraded a travel cert before the programs merged. I upgraded a cert from a cat 6 to a cat 9 on Friday, and then booked a cat 9 property all in the same transaction with customer service.
I expected the cost of the upgrade to be the difference between the cat 9 and and cat 6 package, which was 90K points. However, I ended up with 120K points deducted. My account shows the cat 6 certificate was cancelled and I was refunded 75K points, and then a new cat 9 "partial" certificate was issued for 195K. My assumption here is that the 75K is the point value of the certificate if one were to get it refunded as points instead of using it to book a cat 6 stay. I also assume this was the wrong method to upgrade the cert given I've never heard before that upgrading would cost more than the difference between the two packages.
Any thoughts from those who have experience with upgrading under the old packages?
I expected the cost of the upgrade to be the difference between the cat 9 and and cat 6 package, which was 90K points. However, I ended up with 120K points deducted. My account shows the cat 6 certificate was cancelled and I was refunded 75K points, and then a new cat 9 "partial" certificate was issued for 195K. My assumption here is that the 75K is the point value of the certificate if one were to get it refunded as points instead of using it to book a cat 6 stay. I also assume this was the wrong method to upgrade the cert given I've never heard before that upgrading would cost more than the difference between the two packages.
Any thoughts from those who have experience with upgrading under the old packages?
Aug 20, 2018, 10:47 am
#5912
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: SPG Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, IHG Gold Ambassador, Marriott Gold
Posts: 519
Marriott was very coy and pretended they weren’t sure what’s going to happen (based on interviews/Q&As with travel bloggers).
It’s inconceivable they didn’t know a final conversion chart on August 17 if it was announced early on August 18.
Few people would complsin if the mapping was fair or generous but announcing N-3 category mapping a day after the fact is an absolute travesty.
At worst, people expected N-2 mapping, e.g. 8->6. Pretty much all of Cat 8 hotels I’ve looked at (dozen or so), went from 8 to 6 so it was a fair expectation that’s how TPs would work.
(Not even to mention all the times CSRs told me and others that mapping would be the same, e.g. 8 to 8).
I say we give Marriott this week to change their mind and then FT army should come up with some template letters to appropriate authorities — something that lays out arguments in a clear & concise manner without too much emotion.
Aug 20, 2018, 11:06 am
#5913
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 706
With a stroke of luck I upgraded my 1-5 to 9 at the end of July. I attached that to Elounda with the thinking is the worst case scenario is I would get 7 nights at an amazing hotel. I'm slightly disappointed the 9 doesn't get to 7 in the new mapping but that was always a pipedream anyway. It's mostly disappointing that it doesn't get to 7 off-peak since it's "up to 60k" and a 7 off peak is 60k. It seems weird to have the credit card certificates points based but the travel package 100% category based, even when they mention the max points in their FT chart/post.
I genuinely feel for everyone who was screwed. My initial strategy was to upgrade my 1-5 to a category 6 and I would have been deeply disappointed. I also almost bought points out of pocket to upgrade to Ritz 1-3 - I would have been disappointed at that too.
Even though I 'won' with this, I still am leary about continuing my loyalty with Marriott. The vibe in the Hyatt's has been much more endearing, and if I'm not getting free breakfast anymore anyway I see no downside. Good luck to everyone, I hope that they allow people to buy up or at the very least refund points. And I hope they allow certificate time/length extensions as sometimes plans change.
I genuinely feel for everyone who was screwed. My initial strategy was to upgrade my 1-5 to a category 6 and I would have been deeply disappointed. I also almost bought points out of pocket to upgrade to Ritz 1-3 - I would have been disappointed at that too.
Even though I 'won' with this, I still am leary about continuing my loyalty with Marriott. The vibe in the Hyatt's has been much more endearing, and if I'm not getting free breakfast anymore anyway I see no downside. Good luck to everyone, I hope that they allow people to buy up or at the very least refund points. And I hope they allow certificate time/length extensions as sometimes plans change.
Aug 20, 2018, 11:06 am
#5914
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hold it down for The Bay, reppin' Oakland
Programs: Lowly UA silver, Marriott Ambassador/Tit4Lyf, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,763
Based on absolutely nothing but my own logic and intuition, I expect that they will ultimately allow upgrades of these certificates. So long as they hold the line and require people to pay at the new rates, they lose NOTHING by allowing us to buy up to a higher certificate. The net impact of doing this would be that people would book and pay (in points) for rooms at the rate that they are offering them. It is a way to generate a little bit of good will at no cost to Marriott.
Aug 20, 2018, 11:17 am
#5915
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Oregon, USA
Programs: Hilton Honors
Posts: 162
Regardless of what hotels will now be available or not be available for those who upgraded to the unlucky 3 cats, it doesn't address the fact that Marriott knew full well you were giving them 30,000 points needlessly - and they willingly took those points. They can try to obfuscate and shell game this fact all they want (and it looks like they will) but this is still a simple case of a company knowingly taking your points and giving nothing of increased value in return. They took your lunch money. But they're the biggest kid on the block now, so I don't think it bothers them much.
Aug 20, 2018, 11:20 am
#5916
Join Date: May 2002
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, United Silver, Marriott Titanium Elite
Posts: 2,276
Based on absolutely nothing but my own logic and intuition, I expect that they will ultimately allow upgrades of these certificates. So long as they hold the line and require people to pay at the new rates, they lose NOTHING by allowing us to buy up to a higher certificate. The net impact of doing this would be that people would book and pay (in points) for rooms at the rate that they are offering them. It is a way to generate a little bit of good will at no cost to Marriott.
I also think Marriott will ultimately allow these certificates' expiration dates to be extended, despite what one of the Lurkers posted on August 18. As with upgrades, it's good customer service and it's good for Marriott because some members will then wait until redemption points "costs" increase in 2019. The functionality is in Marriott's system, so it comes down to policy, not capability.
When I ordered my travel package in July, I specifically asked about extending the expiration date of hotel part because I would not be using it until September 2019. I was told, yes, they do this regularly. It's a routine thing that I'll be able to do.
Aug 20, 2018, 11:24 am
#5917
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kan@da
Programs: Anything with sweet spots
Posts: 1,790
I can see it from both sides. If you were gambling and lost oh well, that's the game you played. If you're buying a travel package to use and overpaid by 30,000 points, were told incorrect information by a CSR (I was explicitly told I could extend the package if needed so if I can't extend two certificates by a couple months I'm kinda screwed) and received zero communication from Marriott I think you have every right to be pissed. If nothing else this has made me start looking into the other hotel loyalty problems. I haven't done a deep dive, but Hiltons diamond status match looks interesting: https://statusmatch.hiltonhonors.com/
Aug 20, 2018, 11:26 am
#5918
Join Date: May 2014
Location: DEN
Posts: 256
For reference of the chase free night category 1-5, in my profile this is what after the update shows "
"Premier Visa Anniv. 1 Free Nt up to 25,000 Points"
"Premier Visa Anniv. 1 Free Nt up to 25,000 Points"
Aug 20, 2018, 11:30 am
#5919
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 48
True, for those who already held certificates there wasn't any choice since we didn't get any info which is why I'll be livid if I can't extend two by a couple months. Also truly ridiculous that they continued to see packages up to the last minute with no official word on who they would work (and it many reported cased incorrect information from the CSRs). Are customers now expected to ready travel blogs or forums before redeeming points?
Aug 20, 2018, 11:31 am
#5920
Join Date: Jan 2008
Programs: AA Exec Platinum; Marriott Titanium Elite; Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 57
Aug 20, 2018, 11:32 am
#5921
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: IL
Posts: 270
I tallied the hotels based on old and new category values, and looked at the distribution. I stole shamelessly from the spreadsheet created by a Reddit user, then added the formulas. Original data comes from the https://points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change web page.
I have been caught with my hand in the cookie jar a bit, as I included all properties (including SPG), and it should really be Marriott + Ritz only. So I've updated and provide those numbers below with an example.
Old Cat6 had 600 hotels. Those were distributed to new categories 10 @ 3, 464 @ 4, 125 @ 5 and 1 @ 6. The converted cert category of 4 would then cover 474 of the original hotels (sum hotels in Cat4 and below coming from old Cat5), or 79% (474 / 600). For Cat8, that is 69%, and Cat9 76%. The n-1 and n+1 was meant to show how if they rounded down/up the converted category, what the coverage would be. If the rounded up Cat6, 8, 9, and T1 then there would be little to complain about beyond the poor communication, because the hotels you can buy before and after are the same.
So in terms of coverage, the biggest losers in order are Cat8, Cat9, Cat6, T3 (ignoring T5). It is easy to get caught up in the overpayment of 30k for the same cert, but getting those 20-30% hotels back is much costlier than that (if they allowed upgrading converted certs, which they supposedly won't).
I have been caught with my hand in the cookie jar a bit, as I included all properties (including SPG), and it should really be Marriott + Ritz only. So I've updated and provide those numbers below with an example.
Old Cat6 had 600 hotels. Those were distributed to new categories 10 @ 3, 464 @ 4, 125 @ 5 and 1 @ 6. The converted cert category of 4 would then cover 474 of the original hotels (sum hotels in Cat4 and below coming from old Cat5), or 79% (474 / 600). For Cat8, that is 69%, and Cat9 76%. The n-1 and n+1 was meant to show how if they rounded down/up the converted category, what the coverage would be. If the rounded up Cat6, 8, 9, and T1 then there would be little to complain about beyond the poor communication, because the hotels you can buy before and after are the same.
So in terms of coverage, the biggest losers in order are Cat8, Cat9, Cat6, T3 (ignoring T5). It is easy to get caught up in the overpayment of 30k for the same cert, but getting those 20-30% hotels back is much costlier than that (if they allowed upgrading converted certs, which they supposedly won't).
Aug 20, 2018, 11:32 am
#5922
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 28
I could have upgraded from Cat 1-5 to either Tier 1-3 or Tier 4-5. However, upgrading to Tier 4-5 would require me to cancel a reservation. I would have gladly done so had I known the conversion chart at the time but here we are.
Aug 20, 2018, 11:38 am
#5923
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: Former UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 576
Oops! How did that happen. I can't believe I have read almost 6000 posts on this thread.
Aug 20, 2018, 11:39 am
#5924
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 3,062
Sorry if I'm behind the curve here, but am I able to reserve a new Cat 4 hotel now, without attaching my five night Cat 1-4 TP cert (formerly Cat 1-5) until Sept. 18th or do I have to sweat it out and hope award rooms remain available?
If the answer is no, can I reserve the room now with points I still have available in my account, then call after 9/18 and switch the "payment" method to the TP cert?
If the answer is no, can I reserve the room now with points I still have available in my account, then call after 9/18 and switch the "payment" method to the TP cert?
Aug 20, 2018, 11:42 am
#5925
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: Former UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 576
I can see it from both sides. If you were gambling and lost oh well, that's the game you played. If you're buying a travel package to use and overpaid by 30,000 points, were told incorrect information by a CSR (I was explicitly told I could extend the package if needed so if I can't extend two certificates by a couple months I'm kinda screwed) and received zero communication from Marriott I think you have every right to be pissed. If nothing else this has made me start looking into the other hotel loyalty problems. I haven't done a deep dive, but Hiltons diamond status match looks interesting: https://statusmatch.hiltonhonors.com/