dovergator

I recently completed a trip to Portland, Oregon in an effort to capitalize on a Marriott New Member Bonus + MegaBonus for two free nights.

I called nearly every Staples en route to Portland and only one location had Marriott gift cards. When I arrived at that Staples, none of the gift cards would activate.

Has anyone else noticed Staples pulling the Marriott gift cards from their shelves?

joshua362

No sorry, I don't but am interested in learning what card or process you use to maximize MR points by using a gift card for payment instead of a MR visa. Thanks

Tanic

Looks like Marriott gift cards vanished from stores just before Christmas. Discussion in this thread.

sdsearch

And it's all stores, not just Staples. I used to buy them at Ralphs (Kroger) stores to trigger 40c off gas or 4x Fuel Points on gift cards promos, but they've disappeared from there too. And, according to the lastest posts in the above thread, they've been pulled from all non-Marriott channels.

It's so annoying, because Marriott is the only gift card that i could buy zillions of at retail promos and have near-immediate use for most of them. That isn't the case with remaining cards (which other than Southwest, which I never fly except on points, aren't travel related).

Sweetvibes

In Canada certain pharmacys still carry them...

dovergator

@joshua362 - Essentially you used to be able to use a Chase Ink Bold credit card and purchase Marriott GCs at Staples and earn 5x UR points with your CC. You then could book rooms through the Chase UR portal and earn an additional shopping portal bonus. Finally you pay with your GCs at check out and earn the normal MR points.

@Tanic - Thanks for the heads up. Clearly the Staples that I went to didn't get the message to pull them from the shelves.

@sdsearch - Completely agree. Those Marriott gift cards were a great use and easy to generate tons of points with as well!

SkiAdcock

I forgot I had a couple of Marriott gift cards from 2 years ago (found them in a drawer). Do they expire?

Cheers.

FlyerTalker683455

they don't. but if they did they can be re-activated. else you would be entitled to a full refund.

anchor79

I remember seeing it recently at a Staples in Socal, just one staples but forgot what store it was.

If you have Marriott CC you earn same amount of points.

sggolf

Check to see if you have a legacy card which has to be handled special at hotel or whether you need to request a replacement.

https://gifts.marriott.com/images/cw...eplacement.pdf

I tried to use one and the check out person did not know how to re-issue.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for that.

Looks like one of the 2 cards is a Legacy Card, as it starts w/ 48227. I had wondered about that one because along with the account number on the back it also said Renewal Date 12/2012, which is what prompted the question of do they have expiration dates.

The other card has an account # that has a PIN where you have to scratch off the covering to get the PIN #. It doesn't start w/ any of the #s listed in the link, so I'm assuming it's ok.

AFAIK, both were bought at a retail outlet & not from Marriott, as they were attached to a paper card/holder with T&Cs, & card holder on front says 'card has no value until activated by cashier'. They were given to me as thanks for some work I did for someone.

Cheers.

SkiAdcock

I faxed in the form along with a copy/image of the card cut up per the form's instructions yesterday. Picked standard shipping which said a 3-4 week turnaround, as I didn't want expedited shipping fees deducted from the card. I received an email this morning saying I'd get the card by Tuesday. Well done them! And sggolf, thank you for providing the heads up on the Legacy card issue.

Cheers.

lingzhou

I found them in staples at austin, texas

ussie44

I recently tried to use a gift card I'd had hanging around for a couple of years. I hadn't remembered the expiry date (2012) on the back of the card. The front desk clerk punched a few keys and told me the card had expired and I needed to contact Marriott for a replacement. I went up to my room and called the number on the back of the card - the gift card department. I was told cards no longer expire - if the front desk didn't know how to process it, they should call the same number and "we'll walk her through the system". Went back to the front desk, the clerk called the number and the charge went through.

I used up the balance on the card at two other properties and let the front desk know they could call the number on the back of the card for info if necessary. They did and - no problem - all the charges were successful.

For anyone else with old gift cards with expiry dates, just ask the front desk to call the number on the card.

SkyTeam777

Are these available at any office supply store any more?