The above example still requires you have 185K miles before you order the award. Don't forget, you can buy 18K points for $180 dollars (or 37K points for $360 if you're nice to MR people). So you could do this even if you only have 148K miles! If you just had 188K miles you could buy 47K miles toward the 235K award for $470 (again assuming they're nice and let you buy 20%) and then you'd get 120K airline miles and 7 night cat 1-5 stay for just 188K MR points plus $470. Then you'd have a year to decide if you want to return the certificate for the 45K miles or just use it. Really, you're buying airline miles at $0.01 per mile - a price most people would agree is acceptable. I do this all the time when my MR reward account is low. I sometimes "time" the purchase when I pass the 188K point barrier.

Also, the wording of "up to" so many miles is there becasue there are two classes of airlines, some of which transfer lower miles (mostly major international airlines), all this is explained in the MR web site. But the US majors: AA, DL and UA all transfer 50, 70 or 120K miles exactly.

Billy

Thanks, Chris

I am trying to break the 2MM mark with AA to get permanent platinum status (concerned that this perk might disappear). These hotel/miles combos might just work for me, but I will probably need two of them.

Will this work? I order two rewards (083) now and the miles (240,000) are deposited immediately. Then, next spring I use one reward to book a hotel. A year from now, I request that the second reward be extended for a year, and book again the following year.

Another question: If I select a cat 5 hotel and then need a cat 6 or 7, can I return the reward for a new one at the higher rate (costing more points, of course)?

If all of this is explained somewhere on the MR website, a link would be fine.

Thanks very much.

SeAAttle

I actually was going to do this same thing to get the 240000 AA miles immediately which added to miles already in my account would fly my wife and I down to Australia in F for free.

We would also then get to enjoy two weeks in paradise with the two 7-night certs..

--Dudleydog73

SeAAttle,

If you would like the miles to go to American Airlines, they should post within 1 week. As to your question about a category change, it works the same. You will need to return the hotel portion and have it issued in a higher category for higher points.

If you have any other questions about this, please feel free to ask. It is always a please to help!

Chris

Thanks. Within a week will be fine. Do I also have this correct:

I am trying to obtain the AA miles as soon as possible but want to use the hotel portions of the two awards in the future. Have tried to find more information about expiration of hotel certificates on MarriottRewards. Perhaps you can point me to the info.

Thanks again.

SeAAttle

Hotel certificates are good for 1 year from the date of issue - they also can be issued in someone else's name. You can call, get authorization and re-issue the certificate for another year's validity. This would likely not be possible if they CHANGE the rule that allows this or CHANGE the award structure which they have done twice since the program started many years ago.

Also, although Chris indicated that certificates for cat 1-5 hotels can be re-issued for higher hotel classes this is NOT the information that I received by calling and asking. Then again I've never really had to do this, but I wanted to know if I could. Clearly Chris's declairation has more weight than simply my single experience, but I issue caution here.

MR seems to make up rules as they go - so anything that's not written down somewhere - and this is not - you need to be careful about it.

Billy

My ?? for Chris after reading his & Delta 3MM's posts:
To get such a cert re-issued for a higher category, can one do it for just the few thousand extra point difference as if it had been issued that way in the first place, OR must one take a loss by redepositing & starting fresh?

I am considering a stay at Marriott Paris & some of my dates are open, so I may be willing to trade 35K DL + 30K NW for someone's Cat. 7 cert.

Brendan,

It is always recommended that you order the correct package according to where you plan to stay. If however, you need to change plans (and therefore the category) you will be charged the difference between the two packages.

For example, let's say you order a 080 (for 50,000 miles and a 1-5 category hotel) for 165,000 points.

The next category up for the same amount of miles is 180,000 points. Therefore, you would need to pay 20,000 more points to have the hotel portion issued in the higher category.

Thanks,

Chris

By "good for 1 year", do you mean that the reservation using the certificate must be made within one year or does the hotel stay actually have to take place within one year?

For example, I order the certificate now, make the reservation in winter 2005 for hotel stay in winter 2006.

or

I order the certificate now and must complete the hotel stay within one year.


I know I can extend the certificate but I am thinking of ordering two certificates. I may be pushing the limits.

Since the cert is applied upon check-in, I would surmise check-in must be within 1 year of the procurement of the cert, without extension. IMO, if possible, delaying issuance of the cert as long as possible would be beneficial, as long as the ff miles, as part of the travel package, aren't immediately required to book award travel. When I reserve award stays, I always telll the system I have a cert, so it won't "procure" one for me automatically. I then procure the cert a few days prior to the actual stay. That way, if something goes wrong in the interim, undoing the transaction is quite easy.

Hope that helps. I'm sure Chris will correct me, if necessary

Pat