Airline Tickets with Marriott Destination Points

So did anyone else get an email today announcing that you can now purchase your airline tickets using Marriott Destination Club Points?

Anyone out there in TUG land analyze this to determine if this is a good (valued) use of Destination Points or not?

This may (or may not) be a limited offer to Premier Plus members. I am Premier Plus and received this offer.






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I haven't received it yet, but did receive an email about their updated App. Haven't used it yet.

With the continuing devaluation of the rewards points, I can't imagine using points to purchase a flight is the best value. But, that may depend on the circumstances. We still plan to cash in points for a 5 night and airfare travel package. That seems to be the best value from everything I have read here on TUG.

That said, it will be interesting to see what people find once they play with the option a bit.

mjm1 said:

I haven't received it yet, but did receive an email about their updated App. Haven't used it yet.

With the continuing devaluation of the rewards points, I can't imagine using points to purchase a flight is the best value. But, that may depend on the circumstances. We still plan to cash in points for a 5 night and airfare travel package. That seems to be the best value from everything I have read here on TUG.

That said, it will be interesting to see what people find once they play with the option a bit.

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The OP was referring to using DC points for airline flights, not Marriott Reward Points. I haven't seen the e-mail yet either, but I suspect that it will not be a cost saving measure as compared to the cost of the DC points. It may work well for some where they have a very low MF pp cost. Like a platinum 3BR Surfwatch or MMC OF Platinum 2BR. The MF per point is very low, potentially making the cost of an airline ticket very low. For the rest with MFs in the $0.40 to $0.50 pp, I don't suspect it will be a great deal.

mjm1 said:

With the continuing devaluation of the rewards points, I can't imagine using points to purchase a flight is the best value.

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The new option is for Vacation Club (Destination) Points, not Marriott Rewards Points.

The email note provided a link to www.marriottvacationclub.com to "learn more." After going around in circles on the owner site, I finally found something in the same area as the Explorer Collection options in the "Plan and Book My Vacation" part of the website:


I could not find any charts or conversion factor on the website.

If the buying power of the Destination Points is a fair exchange, this could be a good option. I just hope it won't be like some of the Explorer Collection options, where 1,000 points might give you a $200 hotel room.

Thanks for clarifying. My misread. It will be interesting to see how it works out

I'm premiere plus also and this is part of the email I received.

New: Use Vacation Club Points for Airfare

The next time Exchange Program Members use Vacation Club Points to book a relaxing stay at a Marriott Vacation Club resort, an exciting Ocean Explorer cruise or a romantic City Explorer getaway, why not add on airfare? Now with just one phone call, Members can use Vacation Club Points to book their resort stay, cruise or guided group tour and airplane tickets!

In addition to greater convenience, here are a few of the benefits of using Vacation Club Points for airfare:

Apply as few as 500 Vacation Club Points toward one-way or roundtrip plane tickets.
Choose from coach, business and first-class seats on select major domestic carriers and international airlines.
Use a combination of Vacation Club Points and cash to purchase airfare, plus earn loyalty miles if you have a frequent-flier account with the airline you book.
Take advantage of last seat availability with no blackout dates.
Plan ahead and lock in current airfare prices.
If you'd like to use your Vacation Club Points toward airfare for your next vacation, log-on to www.my-vacationclub.com for information or call Owner Services at 888-682-4862.

Airfare is non-refundable. Vacation Club Points will be forfeited if flight is missed or cancelled by Member. Certain airlines allow changes to reservations but change fees and fare differences may apply. Fla. Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST368127.

I haven't explored this any further.

One of my pet peeves is an announcement like this that sounds potentially very good, but with absolutely no details allowing me to determine whether it is a good value. I do not want to have to call to learn about something like this. I tend to assume that with no details provided, it is a very expensive use of DC points.

I have never seen an option like this that's a good or even equal trade when you look at the exchange option vs paying cash. Sometimes an option like this makes sense if the exchange value is reasonable AND you have no other use for your points/timeshare.

In the past we've done three cruise exchanges. None have been cheaper or equal to just paying cash. All were exercised because we really wanted to take a cruise and had to do something with the timeshares. Some will find themselves $$ ahead by renting their timeshare week and using that cash to pay for what they want (rental cars, hotel rooms, cruises, airline tickets et....). I'm to lazy to make the effort and deal with renting.

The word yesterday (at a DC point seminar) was that 500 DC points will get you a $150.00 credit toward airfare on "most airlines", but not Southwest.
Mike

And if this is anything like HGVC, you have to use a specific travel company. I would assume the price per ticket is greater than booking on-line through the airlines, too.

suenmike32 said:

The word yesterday (at a DC point seminar) was that 500 DC points will get you a $150.00 credit toward airfare on "most airlines", but not Southwest.
Mike

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Marriott Vacation Club Points for Airfare

OK, everybody, I've done it (I think) and here is the scoop:

1. You don't have to be a premier member.
2. Approximately $150 per 500 points is correct.
3. I don't think the air prices are any worse (and may even be a little better) than buying direct from the airline sites.
4. What they don't tell you - - here is my experience:

I have 2000 MVC points that I need to use by the end of the year. I called to buy 2 tickets from DCA to FLL. First, you get switched around until you get to the right person, who is actually an airline rep, not a Marriott person. Now, the USair tickets from the USAir site were $300 each. I was told that I could use 1500 points and pay $149.50 for the tickets. When I asked why I couldn't use the whole 2000 points and pay nothing, I was told that you can only use points in 500-point increments, and that the "value" of your points can't exceed the value of the tickets. In other words, because the value of my 2000 points ($600) was more than the actual price of the tickets (which I still dont' know, but assume to be less than $600), I couldn't use all 2000 points. In the end, the rep talked to some supervisor and they let me use the 2000 points and pay nothing because I was "so close" to value.

This all happened on Friday, April 5, and I have not yet seen the promised e-mail with all of the details of my reservation - - if I have one.

This is not an auspicious beginning for this new program.

Welcome to TUG, Erickblue, and thanks for posting your experience. Every little bit of info related to Marriott's DC offerings is a welcome addition.

An additional bit of info to add is that you cannot get travel insurance on the tickets purchased through points though you could probably with a 3rd party. They also told me that you could not cancel. Once the tickets are purchased, you cannot cancel and get your points back.

using points for air fares

Hi, I see that from march 13 the new points can be used for air fares. The link says that you have to call to make the reservations but it is a number in the states.
Has anyone used points for airfares? Is it cheaper/the same as paying direct? Is this option open to people in the UK?
Thanks
Heather

Per the Marriott Q&A page:
Q: Can residents of countries outside the United States book airfare through this program?
A: Only residents of the United States (including Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands), Canada and Mexico are able to book airfare through this program at this time.

Erickblue said:

OK, everybody, I've done it (I think) and here is the scoop:

1. You don't have to be a premier member.
2. Approximately $150 per 500 points is correct.
3. I don't think the air prices are any worse (and may even be a little better) than buying direct from the airline sites.
4. What they don't tell you - - here is my experience:

I have 2000 MVC points that I need to use by the end of the year. I called to buy 2 tickets from DCA to FLL. First, you get switched around until you get to the right person, who is actually an airline rep, not a Marriott person. Now, the USair tickets from the USAir site were $300 each. I was told that I could use 1500 points and pay $149.50 for the tickets. When I asked why I couldn't use the whole 2000 points and pay nothing, I was told that you can only use points in 500-point increments, and that the "value" of your points can't exceed the value of the tickets. In other words, because the value of my 2000 points ($600) was more than the actual price of the tickets (which I still dont' know, but assume to be less than $600), I couldn't use all 2000 points. In the end, the rep talked to some supervisor and they let me use the 2000 points and pay nothing because I was "so close" to value.

This all happened on Friday, April 5, and I have not yet seen the promised e-mail with all of the details of my reservation - - if I have one.

This is not an auspicious beginning for this new program.

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If you're going to lose the points anyway, then it's at least a way to get some value. Otherwise based on our MF's we'd be paying $720 (value per point of MF) for those $600 tickets. So this isn't something I'd plan on doing but is an option if the points are going to expire before they can be used for accommodations.

I used this feature a couple of months ago when I had 1600 2013 destination points that I wouldn't be able to use (the result of a Thanksgiving waiting list that didn't come through). I used 1500 points and saved about $500 on tickets that would have cost almost $1400. I think it came out to slightly more than the $150 per 500 miles others have reported. IMHO, a good use of points that would otherwise have expired.