I do believe that UA miles still has an on-going bonus for the TP awards.

And they do sometimes still have those awards for some of the other airlines. I think that late last year there was an AA bonus that included TP awards. So if you can wait and it won't hurt anything, go ahead and wait (just in case.)

I wouldn't expect one to come around as I agree with you it does look like more of the airline miles transfer bonuses do exclude the TP awards. But it is possible.

OP you might also be referring to the 50% bonus US Airways would run every Spring. With the US/AA merge, that's likely gone. :(

Aeroplan currently has a 25k bonus with 100k transfer, and I see no restrictions on travel packages.

American had one last Dec with a 20% bonus...worked well when I got a TP. If you can, wait until your airline offers a bonus.

Did you ever find a nice property? My wife and I are in the same boat right now.

And am I correct that I can book a category 1-5 now, then extend the expiration an additional year one year from now?

Yes, you can extend the travel package. It will extend for one year from when you call in, so call in close to your original expiration date. I extended mine twice and for 65K MRP's upgraded from a Cat. 5 to a Cat. 8.

Can you use the 7 night cert for a shorter duration with 2 rooms (eg. 2 rooms x 3 nights)?

Probably not! All nights should be consecutive in one property. You can use less than 7 nights (remaining will be forfeited).

I just did it but it wasn't an easy job. It took the supervisor and the Rewards advisor almost an hour to get the two packages extended to 2016. But in the end, since I got the two Cat 8 weeks extended, I'm a happy camper!

No. Each room will require an award cert to be attached. The TP award comes with only one cert. Thus you can only get one room and can only be used for a single stay.

Now it is possible to spread the 7 nights out if you have a longer stay. For example if you had a 10 night stay, but nights 4, 5 and 7 only had cash availability with no awards. You could pay cash for nights 4,5, and 7 while using the 7 night award for nights 1-3, 6, 8-10. The caveat is that the award is consumed during a single stay for a single room.

In the distant past, Marriott used to have some "sampler" awards for certain regions (Europe, Hawaii, and I think Florida). Those were 7 night awards, but you actually received 3 award certs (two 2-night certs and one 3 night cert). But unfortunately, Marriott no longer offers that award type.

Just wondering if there is any better bang for the buck award redemption out there (Marriott or any other hotel chain) than the 270,000pt redemption for 132,000 United Airlines miles + 7 night stay in up to Cat 5??

yes I too would like to know. Seems I will feel like " wasting" a seven day cert on a Courtyard in Bali. cash rate is $120.

Best Cat 5's in my mind are Residence Inn hotels... I used a couple of them last year in Colorado to facilitate skiing in Aspen.

If you are a Marriott Timshare owner, you can get 5 day travel package for cat 1-5 for 235K points with the same 132K United miles. That's the best you can do unless a bonus comes along. There was a 25K bonus last fall on UA point transfers (so I got 157K UA miles), and sometimes there is a 50% bonus. Rare, but it happens. Remember you don't have to use the hotel in conjunction with the flights - you can use the hotel anywhere. And I would find saving 7*$120++ worthwhile when combined with the Airline miles.

Billy

Duly noted.... thank you.

Maybe it's time to look for that time share in Vail. :)