Maybe a silly question here.

I'm new to Marriott, and I'm currently gold elite for 2016, at 54 nights.

How do you get cert's?

There are a couple ways to get them. If you get/keep the Marriott Visa credit card, you get a category 1-5 cert every year.

You can also get them as part of promotions, usually called Mega Bonus. Look under promotions on your account at Marriott.com to view the terms for the current version.

I think there is another way to get a category 1-4 cert, but not sure. I haven't received one of those.

I'm pleasantly surprised at how constructive the discussion in this thread has been. Based on the subject line and the first paragraph in the OP I thought it was going to be another carp-fest about how Cat 1-5 certs are "worthless". Certainly it's difficult in the U.S. to find a Cat 5 property anymore in a touristy location-- either downtown in a major city or near a resort. Even the Courtyards and Fairfields in these places frequently have inflated to Cat 6, Cat 7, or higher. But this doesn't make the Cat-5 certs worthless; it just makes them worth less than before. They still have value. We've just got to think differently about where to find it.

The past few years I've been using a lot of my certs when visiting family who live in the suburbs outside a major city. Downtown everything is Cat 7 or higher, but decently far out in the 'burbs where they live it's mostly Cat 5 or lower. Weekend rates are low enough that I'll usually opt to pay the cash rate, but midweek rates occasionally climb to $150, $200, more. Sure, I could use points, but these are also good opportunities for certs.

OP, may be able to check your company policies too if for any reason any of your work travel takes you to locations that are 1-5 category.

My company has a policy that if you stay with friends, family, or use points for a hotel that we are credited with $75 per night that can be redeemed through a gift or gift card - can't take cash for some reason but still an awesome gesture. If your company doesn't offer this, check with your boss if they would allow you to expense something personally in return for not charging a hotel night.

It also comes in handy if someone has a late night arrival & doesn't live near the airport. I know a FTer who does that, as well as doing it when there's an early morning departure

I did that a few years ago when ORD shut down for 2-1/2 days due to blizzard & I was stuck in LA. At the time LAX Ren was a Cat 4, so used certs for 2-night midweek stay there when room rate was $279.

Cheers

Used one at the Courtyard St. Denis Paris a few weeks ago, a little bit out of central Paris but would have cost about $175 for the night IIRC.

Good to know, and thanks for the update.

Dank0014's employer is smart for offering such a deal, but $75 strikes me as cheapskatish. Also, I bet the reason for the no-cash rule is because then the IRS would call it Taxable Income. When the NBA reimbursed referees for F/J tickets who flew Eco & pocketed the difference, the refs were prosecuted for tax evasion!
http://www.canoe.ca/BasketballArchive/jul11_nba.html

Compiled this data for another thread but here is a general breakdown of Marriott properties and the reward levels for the US. There ought to be a few places people could find in this list (Actually more properties in the 1-5 tier than above) (doesn't include any US property that doesn't take points ever or the 80 properties that are sold out for redemption for tonight


USA 3603 Hotels
Category 1 (143)
Category 2 (542)
Category 3 (908)
Category 4 (621)
Category 5 (519)

Category 6 (328)
Category 7 (305)
Category 8 (161)
Category 9 (35)
Tier 1 (1)
Tier 2 (8)
Tier 3 (16)
Tier 4 (10)
Tier 5 (6)

That's not entirely true. While it is atypical for Marriott to allow, I convinced them to let me "cash in" the certificate for 25,000 points which I then applied toward an award stay at a category 6 hotel. I wanted to make the reservation for a same-day stay, and explained the situation (that category 6 was the lowest in the market) and asked nicely...the agent responded well to it.

AM13

I think you've got it exactly right. I get a little annoyed that some of my favorite CAT 5 properties are not 6s and 7s but if I can get on average $200 with of value for the Cert that's more than twice what you pay for the card so -- aside from the other benefits of the card -- it's a good deal.

if no 5 or 4 near you -SELF DOWN GRADE can use in a 3 -better than not using at all

Since you're from New England, have you ever been to Lebanon, NH? That's where Dartmouth is located and it's a beautiful setting with a number of good restaurants. There's a cat 5 Residence Inn in Lebanon.