FlyerTalk Forums - Marriott Travel Packages

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)

- Marriott | Rewards (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards-427/)

- - Marriott Travel Packages (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/1403715-marriott-travel-packages.html)

Use Marriott 7 night cert @ SPG properties???

Earlier this year I cashed in Marriott points for a Cat 9 seven night travel package.

Any idea if the seven night cert is now redeemable at an SPG property?

I have a seven night cert, but only Silver status. My wife has Gold. We are looking at Paris or Rome and would like the free Gold status breakfast for a week. Can I transfer my seven night cert to her account so we get her benefits? Thanks

No. The programs are separate until 2018.

Cheers.

Hi
Has anyone seen any info on whether a Travel Package Cert. from Marriott can be used at a SPG ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HMPS (Post 27257828)

Hi
Has anyone seen any info on whether a Travel Package Cert. from Marriott can be used at a SPG ?

The answer is no. Right now the ONLY connection between the programs is that your elite status will be matched and you can transfer points between them. Awards from one program have no meaning with the other program.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveInLA (Post 27255488)

So if a Cat 5 is 25k/night and Cat 7 is 35k, then for 7 nights I would just have to redeem an extra 70k?

Close - you need an extra 60k as there is the 5th night free benefit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HMPS (Post 27257828)

Hi
Has anyone seen any info on whether a Travel Package Cert. from Marriott can be used at a SPG ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hhoope01 (Post 27257895)

An interesting point of speculation though, if you pick up a cert next year (or extend a cert next year) and want to use it in 2018 after, presumably, SPG hotels have been integrated.

Are vacation clubs included as part of the packages? Am eyeing the Kauai vacation club property.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZBigFam (Post 27260467)

Are vacation clubs included as part of the packages? Am eyeing the Kauai vacation club property.

Yes, they are included. MVCI properties are all assigned a category level just like hotel properties. Unfortunately availability at vacation club properties is very limited at best. So you may have a hard time finding a MVCI property with 7 nights of availability.

--Jon

Quote:

Originally Posted by farnorthtrader (Post 27258244)

An interesting point of speculation though, if you pick up a cert next year (or extend a cert next year) and want to use it in 2018 after, presumably, SPG hotels have been integrated.

Yeah, that's a big presumably. They could decide to postpone integration into 2019, or they could start integration in 2018 but takes years to finish it, tiny step by tiny step.

Keep in mind there was no word of Marriott-SPG linking, or the points transfer ratio, until the day it became suddenly available. So kinda hard to tell what notice they will give for anything else in this expected program merger coming up.

Possible to cancel hotel portion to get some points back?

If I want to cancel the hotel potion of the travel package but keep the miles then does anyone know how many points you get back on your account?

You can't cancel the hotel portion to get points back. If you cancel the hotel stay, you just get the certificate back for the hotel stay and still have to use it for another stay before it expires.

Quote:

Originally Posted by raghu455 (Post 27263458)

If I want to cancel the hotel potion of the travel package but keep the miles then does anyone know how many points you get back on your account?

Yes, you can get points back and need to call MR to do so, but the amount is very small. Here's a post from back in 2008 when there were only 7 categories:

Quote:

Originally Posted by hhoope01 (Post 9432334)

Just got off the phone with the MR rep. And it looks like Delta3MM is correct.

What Marriott has done is changed from a set standard 45/50/55K return value for the various Cat. hotels to a variable amount of return value. The amount one gets back from returned hotel cert is based on the number of airline miles transferred with the package.

Basically, a TP with 120K airline miles will result in the following return values based on the hotel award category:

Cat. 1-5 : 10K points
Cat. 6 : 25K points
Cat. 7 : 40K points

If one purchased a TP with 50K airline miles then the following would be the return values:

Cat. 1-5 : 40K points
Cat. 6 : 55K points
Cat. 7 : 75K points.

I didn't ask what all the return values would be, but it looks like the more miles the TP version you order, the less the return value for the hotel cert.

Of course with all of this, there is no change to the initial point cost of a TP award. The only thing that has changed is that points received from returning the hotel cert is now based on the type of TP award ordered.

One more point is that if you ordered a TP award last year (like I did a couple of times) then the old return values still apply to those. These new numbers are applicable to TP awards ordered this year on forward.

It looks like these values were post the major changes as noted in hhoope01's post above. As you can see the amounts are quite paltry.

I would recommend calling MR to verify with them, and if you do then please post the values here. Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaupgrade (Post 27264086)

As you can see the amounts are quite paltry.

And there is a very good reason for this. :)

If someone doesn't want the hotel cert, there is already an award structure for miles transfers. If you want a "travel package" award, there is a different award structure. Trying to make a TP award into just a miles transfer award by returning the hotel cert will result in a cost more closely aligned to the miles transfer award structure.

Has anyone confirmed this more recently. I contacted MR and they advised me that the certs could not be turned back into points at all. I didn't go anywhere beyond the first level, so they may have just been making it up, but it does match everything else I have read.