Lucky me looks like I will be going to the Super Bowl or at least I have acquired the rights to two tickets. Of course even months and months in advance the only thing I have found is a Courtyard 30 minutes outside of the city and they are quoting a special event cancellation policy. The policy states,

You may cancel your reservation for no charge until January 12, 2019 (21 day[s] before arrival).
Please note that your prepayment for this special rate is non-refundable.

Now my question is that the reservation states it will charge me the full amount 24 hours after booking, so doe the 2nd statement above apply to this prepayment? I called the 800 number and she assured me that I can cancel up to 21 days in advance and get a full refund, but I would love to be reassured by others that I am not getting locked into this.

I would maybe suggest getting something in writing from the property directly. This way you are covered.

Bingo ! An ounce of prevention.

I'm not so sure what the agent told you squares up with what the conditions state.

- your prepayment is non-refundable = once you pay us, you will not see your money again
- you may cancel your reservation for no charge = you can cancel and we won't charge you any additional amount that we otherwise might have

Can't agree more and hence the reason I cancelled within the one day. Also I did call the actual hotel and the guy that answered was useless and the reviews on the internet say this specific location is not known for their customer service. Not worth the risk.

I think you made the right move. I would call up Marriott corporate just for the curiosity factor to get their take on that wording.

I called corporate after I got nowhere with the actual location and she even did not seem to know what to say and hence the reason I turned here. Sad that the wording is so confusing. Love corporate America.

I know you said that in your OP, but it sounded like she didn't really know what she was talking about. Ask for a supervisor and quiz them where on the website they have that in writing (not that it matters now.)