The stay anytime awards historicaly have some extra thrown in along with the stay-such as free breakfast.
But this is not what we are discussing here-it is that some hotels are in VIOLATION of the t&cs of the Marriott Rewards program and that Marriott is not standing up for Marriotts best customers once again.
Instead they are working hard to further devaluate he program by increasing the number of points needes for a stay anytime award.
And who would like to guess how long it takes for the stay anytime award to become the norm and the regular awards to become the"saver"awards-just like the airlines did.

I haven't read the detailed T&C's, so you may very well be right. I simply reacted because I know there are a lot of properties out there that refuse to accept any awards. Even a mundane property like the Residence Inn Salinas - next to a highway in Central California - accept no awards of any kind on Sunday nights. I did a paid stay there in January: the place was empty. There was no logical reason for them to not accept awards. (They accept Standard Awards for both their standard units and the 2-bedroom units the other six nights of the week.)

My take, speaking purely from a "fairness to the member" perspective: Stay Anytimes should at least be valid on whatever the basic unit type is at RI, MVCI, Marriott Suites, and TPS. In most cases that's a studio or a 1-bedroom suite. They do publish Standard Awards for all of these room types - including the 2-bedrooms - so it's not too farfetched to expect the ability to book a 1-bedroom as a Stay Anytime.

Ideally, I'd say that anything that has a Standard Award published should be bookable as a Stay Anytime, but I sort of understand on the 2-bedroom suites. A lot of RI's have very few of them (although MVCI's seem to have more).

[QUOTE=Michigan Czar;7551934]If you read the T&C on the back of the cheque, it does say to turn them in at check-in. But I doubt a property would hold your feet to the fire on that condition.

George,

Thanks, I never knew. I have used them plenty of times and never had an issue no matter when I turned them in.

Jim

I've had a lot of properties say "Hang on to those until checkout" whenever I try to hand over any type of cert - PP, BB, SS, EEO, gift card, Marriott cheque, whatever.

Sometimes I will visit the front desk the night before my checkout and offer the certs then. I explain that I don't want to deal with it the morning of checkout. I pick a time when they aren't busy - and I make sure everything posts correctly. The front desk has always been willing to handle it then.

I get the sense that they sometimes have difficulty posting certain types of certs before any charges have posted to the bill. For example, the EEO's and PP's that require a 2-night stay - I get the sense that they can't issue the credit and hand you a copy of a folio showing a negative amount. They need the nights to post first, then they credit the appropriate amount back. Not sure if it's a system thing or a policy thing.

I have been able to turn in Premium Pounds, Bonus Bucks, and gift certificates at check in and get a negative balance posted to my account. Of course, some properties prefer that you turn them in at checkout so they avoid the problems that may occur if you change your reservation after check in.

for those who have ordered these.

You get 20 $50 cheques? and do they have your name on them, or could you give them to family/friends?

thanks

Yes, when I got mine, I got 20 - $50 cheques and they don't have names on them, so you can gift them out.

thanks MDXman

One more question came to mind...

do they expire?

marriott gift checks value on ebay?
 

I've been watching gift checks on ebay. They almost always go for the full value, someone just sold $400 worth of marriott gift checks for $400. Why would anyone pay the full price?

In the past, I've paid full price on ebay, since I've had a paypal coupon or rebate, which discounted the price. There is no sense letting a coupon go to waste.

[QUOTE=GeorgeBurdell;7557842]Actually, on my cheques the terms and conditions state:
"3. If a registered guest, charge goods and services to the room and present this Cheque at the front desk at check-out."

However it also states that you can establish credit by presenting a form of payment at the time of check-in which may include the cheques.

So it seems that you can present them at either time.

I just received mine and they have a 1 year expiration from when the points are deducted.

I am looking at getting these for my honeymoon, just because the soon-to-be Mrs. WIbornFIB loves Spa treatments. How long does it take to recieve these checks? I have about 6 weeks before we leave and obviously I want to make sure I get them ontime. Thanks.

Less than a week and in my case they sent them FEDEX.