How did you accomplish this? Any advice on what to say, did you talk to a supervisor, etc?

I have a category 8 certificate attached to a reservation next week. I need to cancel the reservation but keep the certificate (as a floater cert) for a future stay. I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with Marriott this morning, and they told me that if I canceled the reservation the cert would convert to 135K points, which is ridiculous. I even talked to a supervisor, but had no luck with keeping the certificate if I cancel. I'm planning to call back later this week when I have a couple of hours to spare, but any advise would be appreciated.

One time downgrade of 1 category with refund of 30K OR one time upgrade of 1 category for cost of 30K is the only FAIR solution for not releasing the new category map and having CSRs giving false info to consumers looking for information during the redemption process up to EOD 8/18.

After having a CSR cancel a certificate when all I wanted to do was change the date on the reservation it was attached to, I detached a certificate before cancelling the next time. Although I have no idea what will work now, asking to detach the certificate while insisting that you don't want to cancel either the reservation or the certificate MIGHT work.

Plus many customers (such as myself) were never emailed and couldn't book for SPG properties pre 18/8...

I had to explain the CSR that previously i just wanted to cancel my reservation NOT the certificate and still my certificate (cat 1-5) got cancelled and converted to points. She told me that their system is right now hard coded as anyone who has their legacy certificates attached to the reservations before 8/18 will try to cancel the reservation, system will automatically convert it into points. So she apologized first for the previous CSR and then issued me a new shiny Cat 1-4 certificate (QP83) expiring 8/21/19. She also told me since this certificate is generated via new system i can attach n detach it as many times as i can no issues. I have it floating tho no need to book anything right now just wana see how things end up first.

Something very fishy about the whole blogger and insider.marriottsreward.com announcement on the travel package handling. Was just looking at Lucky's OMAT RSS feed and guess what is missing now, though you can still find the post on the web page. Seems like someone may not be ready to hang on their post or they have been told something by Marriott.

I had to challenge a supervisor that if indeed the blackout continues, they should report the post for clarification to customers who believe this to be official statements. As soon as I said this, it was further escalated and I was told a "new memo" referencing the insider marriottsreward post had been distributed late yesterday and agents are to direct people to the form.

Don't buy it for those of us just wanting to cancel to get the points for different bookings.

What a clusterf*ck.

I sent off my request for a 30 000 point refund earlier today via the web form that was mentioned here an on insider.marriott.com , and look what I just got back as a response.

It looks like someone panicked after the inbox flooded and no one had told them about this, so they got their message aligned. Obviously nothing seems to have tangibly happened on the ground yet, and essentially they're saying "We need to ask someone to explain this to us, so please give us 5-10 days to hunt them down".

Since at least one other poster said the code was QP80, I just wanted to confirm the code. If Cat 1-4 is QP83 and Cat 6 is QP99, I can at least guess what the other categories code as.

Really? Show us some examples / DPs that the refund is swiftly implemented...

So far, NO ONE has received the refunds or even promised the refunds would be coming when people went thru the steps outlined in the "official instructions".

The customers received several types of canned emails that fall into the following types -
a) There would be no refund. The unattached cert has no value because it is not attached before the lock down.
b) This is not something our dept can handle. Please contact Reservation dept.
c) We currently have some technical difficulties and cannot process your request. Please contact us later. (without any recognition about a refund would be forthcoming.

Just how anyone can claim "they did implement them swiftly" when Marriott does not even bother to inform their own employees from the front line reps to the supervisors / managers, including those handling the Plat desk, about a refund is forthcoming?

Lip Service does NOT count. I gather even you would agree on that.

Would you kindly find us the "Official Releases" on the TP policies on Marriott site?

Marriott has NOT published any information regarding the TP on its own web site per your standard, from the beginning till this moment. Marriott deliberately to choose the "non official" channels that are as weird as it could be - via blogs and FTs, using SPG social media team members no less, to "communicate" to its customers.

You said you dont accept such? Fine. Just how WHERE you can find your "official" information you feel you can trust?
If you have the source, why dont you provide the community a service by pointing us the website(s) where we can read them?

Exactly.

But Marriott has not been willingly to do that, as late as the morning of August 20th - the internal leak of the FAQs that have not put out in the morning, tells the chilling story. Marriott wants to fleece the customers and get away from it.

Thanks to the public outcry by those of us who would not take the abuse lying down, Marriott then changed course, but still determined to make it as difficult as possible with one clear goal in mind - to make it as difficult as possible, because the initial goal is to create the maximum breakage so to eliminate the maximum liability with the least possible cost.

Once you make the guess, would you kindly share with us?

We have QP80 as a Partial 1-4 from a Partial OC6 (that is on my confirmation email), a QP99 that is an upgraded NC6 from the OC8 (but I do not know whether it is a Partial or a cert never has been touched)

Is the QP83 NC1-4 from a never touched OC5? and the NC6 QP99 from a never touched OC8?

What I am trying to figure out is, there seem to have some distinctions just like the old TP, on the codes for a new redemption versus a Partial cert,

Did you get a QP80 as your new Partial Cat 4 as well?
What is the points value in your confirmation email said? since yours was the 45K OC5 variety. Mine says 75K but same QP80.

The old system was symmetric. A Cat 1-5 package was T830 and the partial was P830. A Cat 6 was T870 and the partial was P870. A Cat 7 was T910 and a partial was T910. ….

If the new partials work the same way and the Cat 1-4 is QP83 and the Cat 6 is QP99, my guess is the Cat 5 would be QP91 and the Cat 7 would be QP108. If the new Cat 1-4 is QP80, I don't believe MPG would use fractions to designate intervals, but considering how difficult the company has made some things - who knows?

Knowing the codes prevented some, but not all, of the potential agent errors when changing categories.

Yes and No.

Read back on others experiences you should get a good idea on how to approach this.

Crimsona lost it with points coming back. Took him many calls and finally succeeded in getting a NC back.

Learn from the potential risks / perils that may happen in this process from several cases people have posted here, and prepare on how to deal with it.

I would talk to a supervisor to explain your intention CLEARLY, as to what you want to do.

Ask the supervisor if it is still possible to detach the cert. That you do NOT want the cancellation of the cert, i.e. not the point refund (but the system may still do it though). That you want the detached cert to be converted to the corresponding New Cat 5 cert so you can make new arrangement.

Imperative - talk to a supervisor and make sure s/he understands fully your intention before proceeding the actual process.

Mine say Partial Package - 7 Nights Cat 1-4
Rewards code: QP83
Total points redeemed: 45K