SPG sent me the same love letter. I was upset at ebay for giving up my info to a 3rd party, especially when I wasn't breaking any laws, just the 3rd party's T&C.
Regardless, I didn't sell my SPG50 on ebay again, so I guess SPG got what they wanted...

this would bother me too.. I can understand when law enforcement subpoena's this stuff but not when some random company calls looking for it

the Airlines did it with those who were selling Miles to Tkt Brokers, or UPs or free tkts. Once word got out it stopped some from wanting to buy anything least they be caught and be forced to pay Full Y or whatever. The sellers had their accts frozen or wiped out.

Now Im sure there are still people doing everything that the T&Cs say one cant , only they are doing so in a much more careful way. Just as the Programs Im sure will be the bidder at times on these things in order to catch the seller.

If a person doesnt do anything against what the T&Cs are then no probs, if they do then after all they took a chance and lost.

Its not up to us to decide what the T&Cs should be or not be.

If I rent a car say in LA and want to drive to Texas but the contract says I can drive in CA,NV,or AZ Only well if Im in an accident I can tell my CC all I want to they wont cover the costs of repair or for the stolen car, since I breached the T&Cs of the contract, true they wont cancel my CC. But they will say you breached the contract and you lost your CDW coverage.

If a BB says it cant be purchased or sold, then thats that, I agree it doesnt make sense but thats not what counts in the end.

ebay's T&C give them the right to disclose personal info in such situations:As with Marriott, if someone isn't comfortable with ebay's rules, don't play.

Yes, I agree with Dave M; however beware if you give BB, PP, points, miles, awards, coupons of any sort (hotel or airline) away as the person you give them to may end up selling them on eBay. One reason I don't give this kind of stuff away or accept it. I do gift awards to friends, but it is always in conjunction with a stay/flight of my own.

When you sign for the BB, PP, or if you use your points or miles for an award, then that is traceable back to you. If someone else sells a cert that was originally issued to you and gets busted by Marriott (or other hotel or airline), then there is no due course here, you are the one who the cert/award was issued and are guilty in the eyes of the hotels/airlines.

It sxxx, but that's the way it is. While I am not at all happy with Marriott and the way they are treating their customers right now, I do not think that I should stoop to their level and lie and cheat.

Not true, if you owned it you could sell it (for miles and hotel points)..

Excellent point. Bad choice of words on my part. Previous post corrected.

Sorry, but this view is way way off base.

If you really like the idea of award rooms being always available when standard rooms are available then switch and stay with SPG, otherwise, hold your temper as it really should not be aimed at MR which has been quite straightforward as to how their program operates.

Very, very good point. Thanks for the advice, but I only give things to those I trust or if the T and C says they can be gifted and I trust the giftee.

Maybe the IRS can take lessons from Marriott. That's where we are headed anyway.

A couple of points:

(1) Ebay does not respect your privacy and gladly provides your personal info (for buyers, sellers, bidders) to hotels and airlines, and probably other companies. I don't even think ebay even requires a subpoena as the info is provided under a ridiculous broad interpretation of the "VERO program"

(2) If the award does not say "illegal to sell" then I don't see how Marriott or SPG can threaten you with anything. However, my guess is that the bonus bucks and SPG 50s are awarded through the respective point programs, and the terms of those programs clearly prohibit sale or barter of awards (which would include these items). They also might have a fraud claim to the extent you fail to disclose to the buyer that the item is void and worthless if sold though the buyer would have a better claim.

As for the morality of selling these items, well, just ask everyone who uses coupon connnection But seriously every program from foodstamps to miles that has tried to prohibit people from transferring coupons for cash has failed. It is 100% predictable that people will sell something they don't value to someone who does value it - the law of economics.

I do find it quite entertaining that SPG and Marriott (like Delta and AA) would waste time and resources tracking down each of these sellers. But not as pathetic as all the music companies trying to sue teenagers for illegal downloads

My hunch is that Marriott counts lots of these PP's and BB's go unredeemed when companies are giving them away to their employees or part of incentive programs.

When Marriott sells these directly to companies or individuals who then resell them the redemption rate goes a lot higher and thus they want to discourage this kind of behavior.

Just another example of how we are duped into thinking that points, coupons and awards are some sort of earned "currency" with real value as stated or computed.

It's as if your employee paid you in some sort of manner that was restricted so you couldn't pay your bills with it or having to jump through time consuming hoops first.

Lets face it, they give these out with enough restrictions and gotcha's to avoid having them all redeemed and having to complete their obligation when they issued the "deal". Otherwise, why would they care who gets the economic benefit?

After a week of travel and being away from my house and family, the last thing I need is discounts on more hotel rooms.

When a company creates a reward program, they have the right to dictate the terms and conditions of that program including any penalties for its misuse. It's their program afterall.

I am sometimes amazed at how some people feel "entitled" to manipulate and violate terms and conditions of these programs, then feel genuinely outraged when the owner of the program takes action.

I disagree with you and agree with others that Marriott is not living up to stay anytime. This is posted on their site, this means to me if a standard room is available, even if it is the last one I can get it with stay anytime.

What are "Stay Anytime" rewards?

For 50% more Marriott Rewards points, Stay Anytime rewards allow you to override blackout dates and hotel capacity controls to get the last room available for your free stay.

This is part of the reason it is now called stay anytime if we decide to let you!