[MR] Category Changes 2013--A CATEGORY 9 [Deadline 5/15/13]

Ritz travel packages

Do you know if this change will impact any Ritz properties?
Still planning to redeem a travel package for a Ritz stay.
Wondering how late I could wait to book.

TIA

There were definite Ritz properties in the list. Go to the link of the insider and then click on the "list" link. You can search the list by name.

Whew - Just booked a hotel/award travel last week at the Marriott London County Hall for September for a week. Glad I did!!! Between that and a stay in Bristol, used up all my points.

I stopped trying to accumulate MRP a while back as the value just isn't there anymore. Now I focus on miles. Seems a better value.

FractionalTraveler said:

Looking at the latest changes, some of MVCI properties were upgraded to CAT 8. That's 280K for a week if and only if it ever becomes available for use with MR points.

Click to expand...

Category 6
30k*6(1 night free) plus 7nights*10k/night to upgrade = 250k
Category 8
40k*6(1 night free) plus 7nights*10k/night to upgrade = 310k

Saintsfanfl said:

Reward points that were not worth near the hype are are now worth even less.

Click to expand...

that is the problem with any point-based system whether it is rewards points or DC points. I wont be surprised when they announce a similar change for DC points. resale weeks rock!!!

I spoke with a MRP rep this morning and he said the points required for the travel packages haven't changed. The only impact would be if the hotel you want to stay at was raised to a higher category it would cost more points.

mjm1 said:

Thanks for your posts. I was wondering if we might see a change this year. We are planning to use our points for a travel package for 2014. I will have to review this info and possibly make some changes.

Does anyone know if these changes impact the travel packages, especially the 5 night package for owners?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Changes to Marriott Rewards Program

Marriott sent me an email today saying that they are changing the Marriott Rewards Program. Here's the statment:

"On May 16, 2013, Marriott Rewards® will be changing which hotels are in which categories as part of our regular review of all our hotels' categories. Additionally, there will be a new Category 9, requiring 45,000 points per night for a redemption stay."

I spent almost 30 years building my account to over 900,000 points as of two years ago (there were a few redemptions along the way, including a week in London, but about two years ago the total reached 900,000).

When they changed the system about two years ago (depreciating the points again), I made reservations for a week's stay for January 2012 & 2013 at the Wailea Beach in Maui. 210,000 points covered each week. Well, not exactly. This year they charged us $30 a day for a resort fee (I asked if they would waive the fee if I promised not to use the pool or gym; nope). You would think the points would cover the full stay, and that we wouldn't be gyped by an additional fee that really should be considered part of the cost for the room. [The cost for food also increased over the prior year]. So even though the points required were the same for the last two years, a new $30 fee was added this year that really should have been covered by the points. By the way, the resort fee is shown on the Marriott Websit in tiny print so I suspect many customers don't see it until they get to the hotel.

Now Marriott is probably going to bump the Maui hotel up to a higher level (I've managed to up our points to 600,000, after deducting for the last two trips), and my points lose their value once more. At 45,000 a night a week's stay would be 315,000 points (assuming there isn't a weekly rate). And I'll bet we have to pay a resort fee again next year ($50???)

Now anyone thinking of buying vacation points in the timeshare program, should give some thought to how Marriott keeps devaluing the rewards points. I suspect the same thing will happen to the vacation points. Buyer beware!

I haven't posted here in a long time so you know I'm irritated.

FractionalTraveler said:

Yes! This is another example of why over the years trading for MR points makes less and less sense.

I still remember when 125K MR points got you a full week at a nice MVCI property. Looking at the latest changes, some of MVCI properties were upgraded to CAT 8. That's 280K for a week if and only if it ever becomes available for use with MR points.

Another good reason to consider buying resale weeks!

Click to expand...

Not to show my age, but when I purchased my Royal Palms week, the 110k MR points could be redeemed for 1 week at any Marriott property worldwide, plus 2 roundtrip coach airline tickets, plus 1 week Hertz Car rental. Although I still get the same 110k for that week, I can now get about 3-4 nights in a Courtyard with the dreaded Bistro breakfast.

Hmmmmm......

Looks like I'm going to have to start looking at planning a trip to Europe earlier than I had hoped. Starting late April should be a good time to hit Italy for few weeks weeks and a couple more in England, just to hydrate our skin. I'm not going to let 2009 happen again...

Superchief said:

Not to show my age, but when I purchased my Royal Palms week, the 110k MR points could be redeemed for 1 week at any Marriott property worldwide, plus 2 roundtrip coach airline tickets, plus 1 week Hertz Car rental. Although I still get the same 110k for that week, I can now get about 3-4 nights in a Courtyard with the dreaded Bistro breakfast.

Click to expand...

It was these type of unilateral actions by Marriott that caused me to sell my 4 Marriott Weeks. For example one of the big selling points for Monarch is that you can exchange your Week for Rewards points every year. But if the points get devalued year after year this benefit becomes somewhat meaningless.

George

Superchief said:

Not to show my age, but when I purchased my Royal Palms week, the 110k MR points could be redeemed for 1 week at any Marriott property worldwide, plus 2 roundtrip coach airline tickets, plus 1 week Hertz Car rental. Although I still get the same 110k for that week, I can now get about 3-4 nights in a Courtyard with the dreaded Bistro breakfast.

Click to expand...

I remember those days very well. We bought Sabal Palms in 1987 and it was one of the best financial moves we ever made because of the 110K MR points we traded for every year. (BTW, the annual maintenance fee in the early days was something like $325-$350.) Do you remember the year back then that they even added a 3 or 4 day cruise to the 110K award package? That did not last long, however.

QUOTE=Saintsfanfl;1423349]

There are many credit cards that offer actual cash back and/or earn much higher reward rates so the Marriott CC is a poor financial choice for anything but Marriott expenditures.

[/QUOTE]

MOXJO7282 said:

I've thought this for a few years now. I used to put everything on my MAR Visa but now for gas, groceries and drug stores I use Amex Clear Blue for 5% cash back and anything else other than Marriott goes on my United Chase.

Click to expand...

I also decided to switch from Marriott Rewards Visa to AMEX cash back. Since last fall I've used the Marriott card only where AMEX is not accepted. Too bad for Marriott ... we used that card to pay for everything -- the kids college tuition/room/board/ the whole works! ... now I may keep it only for the free night, but with this devaluation I may just stop using it completely. I'll need an another card in addition to AMEX, but, for us, there are better choices than Marriott.

Bump - Approaching Deadline 5/15/13

There are only a few weeks left to book Marriott Rewards Points stays prior to the 2013 category changes. From the Upcoming Changes to the Marriott Rewards Program FAQ at marriott.com (bolding mine):

... Book now for the best value
All redemption reservations booked on or before May 15 for stays after May 16 will be honored at the point price at which they were booked. If you have not ordered your certificate prior to May 15, you will need to call Guest Services and request the lower priced certificate before your stay.
As always, you may book redemption reservations up to 50 weeks in advance of your stay, even before having the required points in your account – although the points must be earned prior to your stay. For example, on May 1, 2013, you are able to book your hotel redemption stay as far out as April 16, 2014. Our newest booking tool, Cash + Points, can be used to redeem for stays as well. ...

Click to expand...

Question.

If I book a hotel via MRP prior to the category change date of 5/16, but at a later point need to move my reservation dates, will Marriott still accept the certificate for the previous category?

Example:

-Book 7 nights before May 16th via MRP package at Kauai Beach Club (Cat 6) for April 2014.
-Modify reservation after May 16th category change to a later check in date at KBC (now Cat 7).

Will they still accept my 7 night Cat 6 cert, since it was initially made and linked to my hotel prior to the category change?

I think I read this was a tip/trick which worked in past, but couldn't locate the post when searching a second time.

Thanks!

If anyone has a category 1-4 cert to use in the SF bay area prior to the increased award levels, I highly recommend the Renaissance Club Sport in Walnut Creek. It is located accross the street from the Pleasant Hill BART station and about 30 minutes to Napa Valley. You have access to a great health club and I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. The only downside is parking fee, but we only rented a car for a few days and used BART to go to SF. It is increasing from cat 4 to 5, which I still consider to be a fair value.

pedersenkl said:

Question.

If I book a hotel via MRP prior to the category change date of 5/16, but at a later point need to move my reservation dates, will Marriott still accept the certificate for the previous category?

Example:

-Book 7 nights before May 16th via MRP package at Kauai Beach Club (Cat 6) for April 2014.
-Modify reservation after May 16th category change to a later check in date at KBC (now Cat 7).

Will they still accept my 7 night Cat 6 cert, since it was initially made and linked to my hotel prior to the category change?

I think I read this was a tip/trick which worked in past, but couldn't locate the post when searching a second time.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

No, they will not honor the lower category if you need to change the reservation. That's the same as rates carrying through on changes. You can cancel the reservation (within the cancelation window) and get your points or certificate back. But, you won't be able to change it. The hotel will be a category 7 for all new reservations and changes after May 16.

You would have the option of using additional points to up your cert to a cat 7.

Bump - 5/15/13 deadline is a week away.

(Note the thread has been re-titled to include deadline date.)