For some reason, I do not remember selecting the denomination. The problem with the higher denomonation is they do not give back change. So even if I had a choice for $1000 cheque, I would not have chosen that option.

Since you have 2 "cheques", you will have 42 coupons to process. My guess is that the regular $50 ones will probably take about 6 minutes to process, and the two PPs will take another 2-3 minutes since they have to look up the exchange rate.

Something is off here - the CS agent on the Marriott Plat line told me it was
(1) cheque that was worth $1000.

And I do not have to worry about change because my bill will be more than $1K.

I've redeemed the discount deal twice in just over 2 years and both times it was 20- $50 certificates. Maybe they've changed it, but you may want to call another CS agent.