Yes, I did exactly what was on the blogs when that department was on the dropdown - someone was saying it has been removed but I haven't checked myself. My first attempts were met with confusion and those took 1-2 days to receive and then my successful attempt took 8 days from submission to be completed.

Correct, it has been removed. They now have a reservation for managing points which seemed like the best option so I contacted them.

I'd imagine if they're willing to give full refunds already then you getting the 30k points is just a matter of time.

I don't think anyone is being overly negative, I think we're all just trying to caution that people really think it through before dropping a big chunk of miles to upgrade to a certificate which gives you (comparatively) the lowest miles savings of any other certificate. Keep in mind you'll only be able to apply an NC7 to future category 8 hotels through the beginning of 2019...after then it will be usable at a smaller set of properties (only Cat 7). I'd also not be so sure you can get an extension....this is officially no longer permitted. Gone are the days when we'll be able to upgrade, downgrade and extend certificates at will.

While I suspect Marriott will relent and allow some limited flexibility on certificates issued prior to the consolidation, I don't think they will allow the same flexibility long term. To me that means I need to be very sure I can use whatever cert I get issued.

same boat as you. have two cat 9 certs that are attached (to the JW in Cancun). Would love to know if there are any sweet spots that I should be looking into. I'm trying to catch up but it seems like information overload now :(

I like this analysis and it varies on Category, for example comparing NC5/6/7 travel packages vs trading the package in for it's value and using points you get:
NC4 = 45k trade in vs 150k for 7 nights redemption = 105k saving
NC5 = 105k trade in vs 210k for 7 nights redemption = 105k saving
NC6 = 165k trade in vs 300k for 7 nights redemption = 135k saving
NC7 = 315k trade in vs 360k for 7 nights redemption = 45k saving

Sweet spot is NC6 by that maths, although you also have to consider the flexibility you get from points and 5th night free as a 5 night stay.

I'm holding 5 x NC5's. Ideally I'd upgrade to NC6 at the old rates but if thats not possible I think I'll be trading in for the points.

Well, I can handle such situations. Thanks to SPG luxury, I have enough points (300k+) to burn again anyway.

What I want to emphasize is that if Marriott offers upgrade/downgrade opportunities to legacy TP holders, they must be fair. They also must give those opportunities for Cert 9 and Tier 1-3 holders so that they can upgrade theirs to NC7.

This is precisely how I'm looking at things. I feel fortunate to have two NC6's (converted from OC9's) but am struggling a bit. Lots of options in the new Cat 6 but only a few that are really inspiring and I'm not confident I'll find a way to use them both in the next 12 months. Really hoping Marriott allows extensions at some point.

I am SO sad....
I was forced to pre-book a trip but now my plans changed and I want to move the date up by 1 week.
But since the hotel went up in category.... i'd have to fork out the difference.

you can't upgrade your cert though? Unless I'm wrong here...

You're not wrong. However, CSRs seem to be giving out more misinformation. I was told the following about changing anything related to my cert-attached reservation:

"If you modify your stay dates after 18 August, you will be subject to the new Free Night Award Chart point values. Extending your stay or shifting your stay dates will result in a recalculation of points required for your reservation."

When I pointed out that this didn't make sense given the no upgrade policy (which they mentioned earlier in the conversation) and asked how that would be possible if I couldn't upgrade my cert, I got the following response:

"The answers we are finding are don't speak specific to your individual circumstances. While we can't make promises, if and when you do need to change your dates, please connect with us and we can try to work with the hotel for the best solution."

What the official policy or options will be after the 18th seem to be anyone's guess. The CSRs definitely don't know what the final word is.

The code for my 5 night Old Category 6 (which I'm hoping to upgrade to a New Category 5) is P570.

Old Cat 7 is P610. Guess +/- 40 per category, OC5 may be P530....

Lurker who had a great stay planned until this whole merger nonsense happened. I wanted to run a few details past you guys since you all seem to be the most knowledgeable about the packages. We have a stay booked at the Maui Residence Inn over spring break that I booked with points advance. I bought a OC5 with 120k SW points with the intention of upgrading to a OC8 once I earned the points form my Marriott Biz in another month or so. Under the old setup I would have paid 360K, pretty much tapping my points out. The hotel ended up going from a OC8 to a NC6. But now not being able to use the cert at all is messing things up. If I took the 45k refund I could cover 5 nights which is better than nothing but certainly not as good as the 7 nights I had planned.

TL;DR: *if* they decided to be nice and allow upgrades in the future, would I pay the difference on the new points chart between categories--60k? Or would it be the difference in what I paid already (270k) to current package price (390K) for a total of 120k?