I searched this forum and read other threads on the E195 award - a $1000 Gift Cheque for 135,000 points . . . need more help with this please!

We want to stay at the Grand Residences (vacation club) in Lake Tahoe for one week during ski season. There are no awards available to redeem for this property in Tahoe using just MR points. Rates for a one bedroom villa are normally around $170 per night.

First, are these Marriott cheques valid for use at MGVC properties?

Second, I can book a one bedroom villa for $119 per night using the Marriott Elite special promotional rate of 33% off. Reading the T & C for using the cheque, I am not certain--- can I use the cheque to pay for our room that week? It is not a travel industry, convention, advance purchase rate, but is the Elite promotion a "public" rate that will allow payment of my room with the cheque?

1) The T&C's on the back of my cheque says "valid at .....and Marriott Vacation Club International locations." The only place listed as NOT valid is Execustay and Executive Apartment properties.

2) I have never had the cheques NOT accepted on any rate - including reward stays (to pay for incidentals), BB, PB, and EEO stays.

Thank you Chuckles for the response!

Amicus - have you ordered the cheques yet? if not, a heads up - you do not get (1) $1K certificate - you get 20 $50 certs! It doesn't matter of course (they all spend ) but I was quite surprised when I got mine....

I actually preferred it - it ended up my trip was not quite as expensive as I had thought - so I actually had a few left over.

And I agree with Chuckles - I have used them on just about every sort of rate there is with no problem.

One other important thing to note - you do not get change back when you use cheques. So, if your bill is $75, you probably are better off just using one $50 cheque, and using cash/plastic for the remaining $25. If you use two, you will end up paying $100(because you do not get the $25 in change back).

Knowing that this is not a strategy for everyone but after spending some time thinking about the upcoming "enhancements" to MR and the slowing economy i am seriously considering ordering gift cheques instead of travel packages.

While the 0,74 cent face value per point (1.000$/135.000 points) might look shabby in the first place it isnt that bad if taking a closer look. Those spent 1.000 $ will generate at least 15.000 MR points (FS Hotels, Plat. Member) plus any applicable stay/night promo bonus Marriott might offer as incentive during recession year 2009. Also one should not forget that those paid nights do count as "night credit" and therefore will help to qualify/requalify for a higher status/lifetime status without spending additional $$$ to accomplish that goal.

I still consider the cheques to be a poor redemption value because:

(1) It is possible to stay at properties for under $100/night on the weekends and earn stay credit towards elite status.
(2) The travel packages, although not as lucrative now, still allow one to earn miles towards lifetime platinum and gold status on AA.

The cheques are great if you need to book stays which requires a lot of points or properties not readily available for points redemption. For example, 25000 points equal to $185.18 under the cheque exchange rate. So if the room + tax is less than that, one is better off with the cheque. You get all the benefits of a paid stay as well as being able to book pretty much anytime.

I order the $1000 cheques and spend half right away to avoid possibly having them expired. Keep the other half around for about a year to pay for those emergency personal trips. Works well.

With the latest enhancements, I think this award becomes more valuable. I am looking at a stay later this year and the checks are actually a better deal than using points. Not only do I end using less points (net, i.e. including points for stay), but I would also get the 5 nights count towards elite status.

There is real value if using the cheques for ancillary services. Stayed in Curacao this summer and paid for 100% of my SCUBA at the on-site dive shop. Didn't matter if the true redemption value was $.74 or not - free is free.

If you're Plat:
US$1,000/(135,000-1,000*15) points = US$0.00833

if you use the Mar Visa (5 pp$)
US$1,000/(135,000-1,000*[15-5]) points = US$0.00800


and if it helps you get another 15,000 in MegaBonus then
US$1,000/(135,000-1,000*[15-5]-15,000) points = US$0.0091