Upgrading using a certificate?
 

Hi,

So I bought one of those daily getaways Marriott Certificates and used it to book a room.

I then wanted to upgrade the room to something better (Suite). I wanted to pay the cash difference for the upgrade but was told I am not able to do so until I arrive on the property. Is this a standard thing? I find it odd that I can't pay the cash difference as I thought now the program is Cash + Points?

Input much appreciated.
~Shrek

Welcome to the Marriott Marketing Machine (MMM for short.) :)

Basically, Cash+Points for Marriott is different than for all the other hotel chains. Marriott does NOT really allow for combining points and cash in a night stay. All it means is that if you have a 10 night stay and want to use points for some of the nights and use cash for the other nights, you can now do so under a single reservation. It does NOT have anything to do with off-setting some of the cost of a night with points while paying for the rest of that night's rate with cash.

With that said, on award reservations only, if a hotel has upgradable rooms and is willing to list them, you can get a reservation for an upgraded room using their "upgrade" certs (or cash). You will normally see this on beach resorts that have "Ocean View", "Garden View", and/or "Ocean Front" type rooms. You might see those upgraded rooms using the online reservation tool when looking for award rooms. You can also sometimes see them at some of Marriott's suite properties like RIs or TPSes.

Thanks! I just find it incredibly odd that the Hotel told me I could upgrade when I arrived, but not before. That just smells like a scam to jack the price up last minute since I cannot know what demand is until the day I arrive.

Note that other hotel chains have similar rules as well. I know that with Starwood, you can use points/cash for a lot of things but only at the hotel once you get there. So it isn't just a Marriott thing.

I used an award booking at the end of my business stay at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas. Checking in, they pushed an upgrade on me for a view of the Bellagio fountains for $30/nite which I took. So it worked on my award nights as well. Since I had two separate reservations numbers I managed to wiggle two days of free breakfasts for two out of them also. They argued, but gave it to me anyway.