not really as several times a year UA ups the transfer by 20-25k bonuses so you missed out on an extra 40-50,000 miles.

Judging by this the answer is no, but has anyone ever done 3 nights each for 2 rooms in the same hotel?

I've never heard of anyone talking a GM into this. Basically, the hotel would be giving a you a "free" room as Marriott will only reimburse them for one room. So I doubt you would find too many (i.e. any) GMs willing to do this.

The technical term is actually "speaking to AP", since incorrect answers, factual omissions and outright lies are the usual standards of service.

I did try something a little different than this a few months back and was shot down. I wanted to split the seven nights into four and three. Example: Stay Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed and come back from Sat-Sun-Mon because I needed to be elsewhere midweek. Both Marriott and the specific hotel's GM said no.

For sure. And look at it this way.

These point & miles schemes purposely contain more carve-outs, gotcha's, limitations and restrictions that a full time MBA couldn't keep straight. And since the programs are profit draining cost centers reluctantly maintained for competition's sake, the front line people that run it aren't the best paid or brightest...

Where did you use your 7 night travel package nights
 

Does anyone else struggle using these? Im curious where everyone is redeeming these.
The award categories constantly go up and I find these almost impossible to use at any 1-5 or even 6 hotels. Im sitting on 2 1-5 7 night certs and only have 50K points so cant upgrade them to much.

Anyone have any suggestions of a property where this would be a good value and also be a place to vacation for a week at a cat 1-6?
I like tropical climates and beaches but also historical sites and dining if the location can warrant 7 nights.




Cert 1-Redeemed at Seoul Ren for a friend when it was cat 5
Cert 2-Redeemed at JW Costa Rica
Cert 3-TBD cat 1-5
Cert 4 TBD cat 1-5

I just used one for a 7 night stay in Aruba (for this coming May). I think I can handle that for 7 straight nights. ;)

In the past, I have used one for a NYC Times Square stay (actually 2 TP awards), a London visit, a stay in Ft. Lauderdale (the Harbor Beach Marriott is a very nice resort), a nice visit to Kauai (no island hopping for me as I don't want to waste a day with moving) and the Victoria, BC Marriott. And yes, I do believe these are all above Cat. 6 properties (but well worth a 7 night stay.)

In using Marriott's website, there is one Cat. 3 Resort property in the US, the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort near Chicago. There are 2 Cat. 2 resorts in Malaysia that might be nice. I've been to KL 5 or 6 times and have really enjoyed Malaysia, but didn't try out any of the resort properties.

There is 1 Cat. 4 resort in the US, the World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine Resort in FL. There are 2 Cat. 4 resorts in Thailand and while I haven't been there myself, a number of folks here rave about them. The Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino is a Cat. 5 resort.

There are some Cat. 6 resorts spread out in Europe and in the US (3 of which are in FL.)

Have you ever used one in a non-resort property/location that you could also suggest? OP prefers tropical climates and beaches, but I'm curious about other options, since in the Marriott world, resort is a dirty word.

The NYC and Victoria hotels weren't considered to be "resorts" by Marriott.

The thing with TP awards is the 7 night stay. What I'd focus on is to look for areas you could see yourself enjoying for 7 nights and then look there for the best Marriott to fit your needs.

For example, there are a few different Marriott's of many different category levels in the Chattanooga, TN area. I'd have no problems finding neat stuff to do for 7 nights there. Visit the aquarium, Rock City, Ruby Falls, Chatt. Choo Choo, Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park. There is some great white water rafting nearby. Take a day trip down to Atlanta, etc.

Instead of finding the most luxurious Marriott and then figure out if I can find things to do for 7 nights, do it the other way around. Look for the areas you want and then see if you can find a Cat. 6 or less Marriott close by (and more times than not, I have been able to.)

Cat 7 - Redeemed at JW Marriott Orlando
Cat 7 - Redeemed at JW Marriott Orlando

(Yes, I had two rooms)

I don't stay anywhere for 7 nights. Therefore, I really dislike that this award is only for one hotel. I've done the travel package twice:

- Amsterdam Marriott - traveled outside Amsterdam several days and spent one night elsewhere while keeping the hotel

- JW Marriott, Shanghai - beautiful hotel, but again, 7 nights is too long for me. We stayed 5 nights.

Find a smaller city with ample day trip options. Someone mentioned Chattanooga, TN. Williamsburg, VA is another. Charlottesville, VA. Greenville, SC. Madison, WI. Mobile, AL. Toledo, OH.

Just stayed there 12/26 to 1/02 on TP. Great value when rooms were $900+/night.

Also did a TP for FS NY East Side years back when it was a Cat 7 or 8 and higher ADRs.

I think part of my problem is 2 fold:
1.) I am value obsessed. I hate using award nights for low cost hotels. Also it would bother me to use on of these on a cat 2 for this reason.
2.) If I take a week off I am usually leaving the country and when I do that like SanDiego1K I tend to stay in places no longer than 5 days

Even when we went to Costa Rica we only stayed 6 nights which was a stretch!

I was eyeing the JW Beijing. Its a cat 5, would usually run 150-200/night.

Also like the cat 6 Destin Fairfield inn because it is wide open on awards on holiday weekends and I live in Bama so we usually go down to the beach at least once for a 3-4 day weekend. I think I usually spend $200/night. Downside is no ocean front rooms here.