5 night Rewards Pkg for MVCI owners

Can someone point me to a location to get information on this package.

You won't find it on the regular Marriott Rewards page, but you will find it on your Vacation Club owners account under the Marriott Rewards section. You have to log onto www.marriottvacationclub.com to see it.

I logged into my MVCI account and poked around checking several links to Marriott Rewards but the only 5 night package I see is for the Carribbean. Can you give some additional direction?

Login in and go to the link for Program Enhancements under Marriott Rewards.
You will see detail on the 5-night travel packages.

Got it. Thanks

rthib said:

Login in and go to the link for Program Enhancements under Marriott Rewards.
You will see detail on the 5-night travel packages.

Click to expand...

That's it. On the home page for owners on the right hand navigation window it is under Marriott Rewards and is the 4th link for Program Enhancements.

Note that there is a catch if you pick this package. Actually the 5th night is not free but costs you 10,000 points at cat. 6 & 7 and 20,000 at cat 8.

Example:

Hotel portion: 5 cat.6 nights = 120,000 points
Air: 120,000 miles = 120,000 miles (1:1 convertion rate)
Total: 240,000 points
Cost of 5 night package = 250,000 points (10,000 points surcharge)

Hotel portion: 5 cat.8 nights = 160,000 points
Air: 120,000 miles = 120,000 miles (1:1 convertion rate)
Total: 280,000 points
Cost of 5 night package = 300,000 points (20,000 points surcharge)

That's the true "enhancement" that the program had for MVCI owners.

After the big 2009 devaluation and with AA no longer participating in the program, the trade-for-points option is dead IMO. Time to sell. It was good while it lasted.

That "surcharge" is illusory and the packages are still a great bargain if you want FF miles and a hotel stay. Why? Because there is no way to get a one-for-one conversion rate on FF miles for points without getting one of the packages.

Using your category 6 example, if the components were ordered separately:

Hotel portion: 5 nights for category 6 = 120,000 points
Air: 120,000 miles = 310,000 points

The total cost of the two parts would be 430,000 points, much more than the cost of the package, which would be 250,000 points.

Thus, whether it makes sense to trade the use of a timeshare for Marriott Rewards points depends on the individual and his/her vacation goals.

5 night travel pkge

dave,

thanks for your clear explanation of the redemption of points for a 5 night travel package!

Dave M said:

That "surcharge" is illusory and the packages are still a great bargain if you want FF miles and a hotel stay. Why? Because there is no way to get a one-for-one conversion rate on FF miles for points without getting one of the packages.

Using your category 6 example, if the components were ordered separately:

Hotel portion: 5 nights for category 6 = 120,000 points
Air: 120,000 miles = 310,000 points

The total cost of the two parts would be 430,000 points, much more than the cost of the package, which would be 250,000 points.

Thus, whether it makes sense to trade the use of a timeshare for Marriott Rewards points depends on the individual and his/her vacation goals.

Click to expand...

I did not say that this package is not a good deal. In fact, I have just converted all my points into 2 of them. However, the surcharge is not illusory but real and I have not read a valid explanation why the 5th night is not actually free for MVCI owners.

I'm just comparing the 5-night and 7-night packages here. Buying FF miles and hotel by separate has always been out of the question.

Does anyone know if there is a place on the Marriott website where you can see all hotels in a certain category.

Carlsbadguy said:

Does anyone know if there is a place on the Marriott website where you can see all hotels in a certain category.

Click to expand...

Try this link

http://www.marriott.com/search/default.mi

scroll down to Hotel Reward Category and click on the category of interest.

If this doesn't work, I found it by clicking on "advanced search" on the main find a hotel page. Good luck.

Susan

You might find this link easier to use ... just put in the category number and there they are:

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/pointsGridPopUpPropertyList.mi

Brian

In addition to being easier to use, Brian's link shows hotels for a given category on a single page arranged by state and country.

pwrshift said:

You might find this link easier to use ... just put in the category number and there they are:

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/pointsGridPopUpPropertyList.mi

Brian

Click to expand...

GREAT link, Brian, thanks! I had no idea this page existed - Marriott.com has so many pages off in the wild blue yonder.

5-nt packages at RC properties?

Hello, do you know if Marriott offers 5-night travel packages for Ritz Carlton stays?
There are 7-nt packages on the Marriott website but I didn't see RC listed in the 5-nt reward chart.
Is it worth it to redeem extra points for RC travel packages?

I know I want to order a 5-night package, but worry if I don't do it before year end, the points required might go up. Does anyone have any thoughts on if this might happen?

Have they ever raised the points for the 5-night packages?

Also, when does Marriott announce the hotels that will be reassigned to a new category (either up or down)?

aka Julie said:

I know I want to order a 5-night package, but worry if I don't do it before year end, the points required might go up. Does anyone have any thoughts on if this might happen?

Have they ever raised the points for the 5-night packages?

Also, when does Marriott announce the hotels that will be reassigned to a new category (either up or down)?

Click to expand...

The last time the point costs increased was the same time they introduced the 5 night packages. I think this was back in early 2010. Marriott has a tendency to anounce their reward program changes early in the year (first quarter).

No-one knows for sure when they'll change the MRP system again; hopefully not for a long time.

I am chuffed - I just purchased a 5 night cat 8 (ouch!) travel package (you have to arrange this through Owner Services, not Marriott rewards). I've booked my hubbie and self into Grande Flora Hotel in Rome early Sept next year plus managed BA FF seats for 30,000 airmiles for us both (£54 taxes). Economy seats but only 2.5 hr flight from UK so not worth Business mileage.

Just costed out this trip in UK sterling - cost of hotel and flights would be nearly £2000! That's without breakfast but we'll get that as hubbie Platinum plus hopefully will get room upgrade which makes it even more attractive.

Have always wanted to see Rome so v. happy. I love Marriott rewards; as said many times here before if used properly they are still great value IMO.

pwrshift said:

You might find this link easier to use ... just put in the category number and there they are:

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/pointsGridPopUpPropertyList.mi

Brian

Click to expand...

When I click this link I get a message saying I don't have access even though I'm logged in in a different tab. Can you explain how to navigate to it from the marriott rewards home page?

Never mind I found it.

cwtkm3 said:

No-one knows for sure when they'll change the MRP system again; hopefully not for a long time.

I am chuffed - I just purchased a 5 night cat 8 (ouch!) travel package (you have to arrange this through Owner Services, not Marriott rewards). I've booked my hubbie and self into Grande Flora Hotel in Rome early Sept next year plus managed BA FF seats for 30,000 airmiles for us both (£54 taxes). Economy seats but only 2.5 hr flight from UK so not worth Business mileage.

Just costed out this trip in UK sterling - cost of hotel and flights would be nearly £2000! That's without breakfast but we'll get that as hubbie Platinum plus hopefully will get room upgrade which makes it even more attractive.

Have always wanted to see Rome so v. happy. I love Marriott rewards; as said many times here before if used properly they are still great value IMO.

Click to expand...

I'm envious. I love Rome, we've stayed at the Grand Flora twice this year. An absolutely lovely hotel, one of my favourites. When we were there in April we had booked a standard room and were upgraded to a suite as my wife is platinum plus. In September we booked a suite and were upgraded to a junior and it was fantastic. Breakfast was complimentary due to pp and it was served on the rooftop terrace, there are few places better to enjoy breakfast. The major sights such as the Trevi Fountain, Colleseum, Pantheon etc are within walking distance from the hotel however in September you may want to take the bus, it's just too hot.

Given the upcoming changes in the Marriott Rewards points, we decided it was finally time to use our points for a getaway. Now that I am starting to navigate the mechanics of the process have a few questions I was hoping some of you could answer.

We are looking to head international (either direction) to a destination neither my wife or I have been to, which eliminates such standards as Paris, London, Tokyo, and Rome. We also wanted to pick somewhere we would not hit otherwise (like a cruise port city). However, one limitation I hadn't previously taken into account was the idea that we find a place with a centrally located Marriott (want a walkable/metro type destination, no rental cars). Based on my search of Marriott hotels, we are starting to lean towards Prague and/or Budapest, so wanted to see if anyone had experience with the Marriotts there, or had suggestions for another destination. (Can anyone also confirm whether you can split the hotel certificate between two hotels?)

Finally, I was hoping someone could suggest which airlines are the most reasonable for international travel from the US when using mileage points (i.e., roundtrip to Europe is 100,000 vs 120,000, etc.)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/information you can offer!

I would suggest trying over at flyertalk (http://www/flyertalk.com) and asking on the Marriott board.
It is the TUG of Frequent Flyers.
Much larger group of Marriott Hotel folks and they can tell you the good and bad.

Aviator621 said:

Given the upcoming changes in the Marriott Rewards points, we decided it was finally time to use our points for a getaway. Now that I am starting to navigate the mechanics of the process have a few questions I was hoping some of you could answer.

We are looking to head international (either direction) to a destination neither my wife or I have been to, which eliminates such standards as Paris, London, Tokyo, and Rome. We also wanted to pick somewhere we would not hit otherwise (like a cruise port city). However, one limitation I hadn't previously taken into account was the idea that we find a place with a centrally located Marriott (want a walkable/metro type destination, no rental cars). Based on my search of Marriott hotels, we are starting to lean towards Prague and/or Budapest, so wanted to see if anyone had experience with the Marriotts there, or had suggestions for another destination. (Can anyone also confirm whether you can split the hotel certificate between two hotels?)

Finally, I was hoping someone could suggest which airlines are the most reasonable for international travel from the US when using mileage points (i.e., roundtrip to Europe is 100,000 vs 120,000, etc.)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/information you can offer!

Click to expand...

You cannot split the certificate. It must be 5 days at one hotel.

I've been to Prague and stayed at the Marriott while there. Prague is very walkable, and the walk from the Marriott to the main sightseeing area (the central square) is quite easy.

The issue you might run into in Prague is whether there would be 5 days worth of sightseeing there. Assuming night 1 is just your night to crash after a long travel day, this means you'd have 4 days of sightseeing. This will of course depend on your pace and interests, but I suspect you'd be able to see the sights of Prague in about 2 busy full days (or 3 if you go at a slower pace). After that, you may be looking for a day trip or two. There are several options. I can't remember the name of it right now (my travel books are at home), but my wife and I took a side trip to a nearby Nazi internment camp. We haven't visited any of the former camps in Germany or Poland, so this was an interesting (although depressing) excursion. We did not rent a car - we paid for a local bus tour.

If you've got the points to burn, I'd go for it. There is plenty to see, and we enjoyed our time in Prague. (We actually arrived in Prague after a riverboat cruise. Riverboat cruises in Europe are not cheap, but they are quite nice.)

From Prague, you can connect to other Eastern European cities by train relatively easily. We did not do that, however, since it was the last stop on our trip.

Our main airline in American. I used AA miles to book our return flight from Prague to the USA. BA flies from Prague to London, and then we connected to an AA flight from Heathrow to the USA. That would have worked well if the BA flight had arrived on time... I find making connections in Heathrow a pain in the a... We had to literally run to get to our AA flight before they closed down boarding.