Marriott Rewards / American Airlines Bonus - Oct '15

from an email today:

Need miles for your next vacation? We've teamed up with Marriott Rewards to bring you an exclusive offer. Through October 31, 2015, convert your Marriott Rewards points into American Airlines AAdvantage miles and earn a 20% bonus.

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from the aa.com promotion page:

AAdvantage® Bonus Mile Offer Terms and Conditions
To qualify for this AAdvantage® bonus mile offer, member must initiate the AAdvantage mileage conversions with the Marriott Rewards® program between 12:00 am Central time October 1, 2015 and 11:59 pm Central time October 31, 2015 (the "Promotion Period"), and be in good standing AAdvantage Program and the Marriott Rewards Program. Members can convert multiple times during the Promotion Period.

To earn the 20% conversion bonus, member must convert points from the Marriott Rewards program. This offer is non-transferable and non-reversible.

Bonus miles will be posted by American Airlines to the qualifying AAdvantage member's account within 7 business days after the initial conversion activity has been posted by Marriott Rewards. Bonus miles earned in this promotion do not count toward elite status qualification. American Airlines, AAdvantage, the Flight Symbol logo and AAdvantage Million Miler are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. ...

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Interesting...is it a 1 for 1 points exchange, and if so does this now make it 1.2 for 1? I'd consider doing this...

Any idea if the bonus applies to travel packages? 140,000 MRPs for 50,000 AA miles is not a swell deal for me.

jimf41 said:

Any idea if the bonus applies to travel packages? 140,000 MRPs for 50,000 AA miles is not a swell deal for me.

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For the past couple of years at least, it has applied to the travel packages.

I was wondering the same thing about vacation packages.

If you click that link in Post #1 and then click on "Convert Now - Travel Packages" you'll see this: "You’ll receive 10% more MileagePlus miles when you redeem for a Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air Package, up to 12,000 more miles" and other information.

At that same link click on "Convert Now - Airline Rewards" for info related to Miles only.

Fasttr said:

For the past couple of years at least, it has applied to the travel packages.

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Did it ever apply to AA travel packages, or only U.S. Airways? They have applied to U.S. Air travel packages in the past, but not to AA when I last did that about 5 years ago. Would be interesting to see which approach they take after the merger.

SueDonJ said:

If you click that link in Post #1 and then click on "Convert Now - Travel Packages" you'll see this: "You’ll receive 10% more MileagePlus miles when you redeem for a Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air Package, up to 12,000 more miles" and other information.

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That link takes you to the travel packages for Rewards Plus which is United Ailines only and not a limited time special.

BocaBoy said:

Did it ever apply to AA travel packages, or only U.S. Airways? They have applied to U.S. Air travel packages in the past, but not to AA when I last did that about 5 years ago. Would be interesting to see which approach they take after the merger.

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I did one last year during this AA promotion and got the bonus miles. I recall pulling the trigger based on a post by another TUGger who did it a year prior.

I can't find anything in the official AA or Marriott promo that says so, but all of the Points experts are also touting that it applies to the travel packages.

http://loyaltylobby.com/2015/10/04/...s-october-1-31-2015-travel-packages-included/

http://thepointsguy.com/2015/10/marriott-rewards-aa-miles/

I've been doing this for over two years with Marriott Reward Points I've been depositing them into my United Airlines Mileage Plus account and saving 20% on the points

BocaBoy said:

That link takes you to the travel packages for Rewards Plus which is United Ailines only and not a limited time special.

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You're right; I read that "Convert Now - Travel Packages" page incorrectly. If you scroll down on it, though, all of the different Travel Packages are listed and American Airlines is TP#1.

The T&C's are on the aa.com page linked here again. When you scroll down it mentions "Travel Packages" - I've never done one of these bonus miles things but it seems to be saying that the miles portion of a TP will get the 20% bonus?

AA had the same promotion last year...i got a 5 day TP and the 20% bonus was applied to the AAdvanatage Miles the same time the miles were credited to my account. As I recall, the miles were credited very quickly.

This is a reminder to those who have the habit that I had of ordering Cat. 6 certificates. On an earlier thread this year someone mentioned ordering Cat. 1-4 certificates. I had always try gestimating where I wanted to go with the Certificate. Sometimes I'd have to upgrade. Now It's my opinion if I don't already have a plan to just order the lowest category with the highest mileage added. I can always upgrade when plans are made.

P.s. I used to order Cat. 5 certificates and write raving reviews of the resorts. In the long run I think this was a mistake. The Cat. 5 resorts had increased demand and, hence, were upgraded to 6's and 7's.

I just ordered a Cat 1-5 TP for 120K AA miles. Not as good as the annual US Air 50% bonus. But, I'll take it.

Quilter said:

This is a reminder to those who have the habit that I had of ordering Cat. 6 certificates. On an earlier thread this year someone mentioned ordering Cat. 1-4 certificates. I had always try gestimating where I wanted to go with the Certificate. Sometimes I'd have to upgrade. Now It's my opinion if I don't already have a plan to just order the lowest category with the highest mileage added. I can always upgrade when plans are made.

P.s. I used to order Cat. 5 certificates and write raving reviews of the resorts. In the long run I think this was a mistake. The Cat. 5 resorts had increased demand and, hence, were upgraded to 6's and 7's.

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The lowest category TP is 1-5, but I agree. We always get the lowest TP and upgrade it.

Mr. Vker and others, how do you upgrade a Hotel Category 1-5 travel certificate if staying in a Category 6 or up? What is the amount of points needed? Does this come out the same as redeeming the Travel Package for a Cat 6 or 7 or 8 hotel from the start? Just wondering. Thanks.

Luvtoride said:

Mr. Vker and others, how do you upgrade a Hotel Category 1-5 travel certificate if staying in a Category 6 or up? What is the amount of points needed? Does this come out the same as redeeming the Travel Package for a Cat 6 or 7 or 8 hotel from the start? Just wondering. Thanks.

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In my most recent experience, I just called Marriott Rewards.
I explained that I had an MR travel package with a 5 night partial package category 1-5
(I had used the flight part previously)
and said that I wanted to use this for booking a category 7 hotel.
They just charged my account the difference between category 5 and category 7.

I am interested in a MRP Travel Package to take advantage of this. The 20% AA bonus is good, given most of my miles are in AA now. I expect the days of the 50% bonus for US Airways conversion are likely gone, given the merger.

What I'm not sure I understand yet is how Marriott handles the upgrade for hotel. Do they charge you the difference in TP MRPs, or do they handle based on the hotel certificate separately?

For example.

7 Day TP for Cat 1-5 Hotel and 120k AA Miles = 270k MRPs
7 Day TP for Cat 8 Hotel and 120k AA Miles = 360k MRPs

If I purchase the Cat 1-5 TP now at 270k and later decide I want to use for Cat 8 hotel, does Marriott ask me for the additional 90k MRP pts based on the TP difference? OR do they charge me based on a separate hotel certificate increase, which is likely much higher?

SueDonJ said:

from an email today:


from the aa.com promotion page:

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This article http://thepointsguy.com/2015/09/september-2015-monthly-valuations/ compares the value of MR points to AA miles. The article valued MR points as worth .7 cents per point and AA miles as being worth 1.7 cents per mile. Depending on the conversion ratio from MR points to AA miles, this could make converting to AA miles a value added proposition for MR points.

While I haven't done the math, this promotion for a 20% bonus adds further value to that proposition IMHO.

hangloose said:

I am interested in a MRP Travel Package to take advantage of this. The 20% AA bonus is good, given most of my miles are in AA now. I expect the days of the 50% bonus for US Airways conversion are likely gone, given the merger.

What I'm not sure I understand yet is how Marriott handles the upgrade for hotel. Do they charge you the difference in TP MRPs, or do they handle based on the hotel certificate separately?

For example.

7 Day TP for Cat 1-5 Hotel and 120k AA Miles = 270k MRPs
7 Day TP for Cat 8 Hotel and 120k AA Miles = 360k MRPs

If I purchase the Cat 1-5 TP now at 270k and later decide I want to use for Cat 8 hotel, does Marriott ask me for the additional 90k MRP pts based on the TP difference? OR do they charge me based on a separate hotel certificate increase, which is likely much higher?

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Your example is correct....they charge you the difference in the package levels.

Earlier in this thread I mentioned getting a Cat. 1-4 (was corrected, it's a 1-5, thanks Mr. Vker.)

I logged in to mine and Dh's MR accounts. Found that the last TP I ordered in June were messed up. I had gotten 1 for me from my account and one for hubby. The UA miles that were attached to hubby's package went into my UA account. Reps will repeatedly tell you airline miles have to go into the FF account of the same name for the MR account that ordered the certificate. In this case it didn't. His account had my UA FF no., and 2 others. He never got his 132K miles. Called MR today. Rep could see problem and was working on it when the call was dropped. I called back but there were no notes yet from rep so no one could transfer me. I decided to wait until her notes were registered so I could get her extension and find out where she got with UA rep. I now have her extension and can call tomorrow (oh, I guess that's today).

All this to say, keep a watch on your MR accounts.

Another recent problem with MR. . .and this one is involved. I'll try to make it clear.

I had a Cat. 6 cert. in my account and hubby had one in his. I called and made reservations at Renaissance in Tuscany for 2 rooms. One in my name. One in his. That way we get the platinum amenities on both rooms.

Had to call to change dates on reservations. Had to call again to change dates. When I called the 3rd time the rep cancelled the reservation in hubby's name and remade a new one in mine so now both in my name since I actually had 2 Cat. 6 certs. in my account. When she was done and told me I told her this would be a problem when we arrived at the hotel and both would be in my name. I was paying for our daughter's room and wanted her to have any platinum benefits offered. The rep said just tell them when you check in and they can fix it. My mistake, I won't do that again.

Got to hotel and the next morning there was an issue going in to breakfast. Only people in my room were to get free breakfast. I went to desk to sort it out. Told them we had certificate in hubby's account and we were both platinum. Following so far?

The people at desk said they would try and we would talk later. I went back to breakfast. Later they said they couldn't use hubby's certificate on room with my name on reservation. They even tried connecting me to MR in Europe (Cork). No help there. I know I've changed MR's no. on reservations at the front desk of other properties. Why was this so hard?

All through the 6 days I would have a chat with the front desk. We ended up agreeing that I would get back to the States, call MR from home and they could fix it. The next to the final blow was on the day of check out the woman at desk said they could only see 1 certificate available. I assured her I had 2 in my account. She pushed back that she could only see one. They agreed to let me go on the trust they would get another certificate to satisfy the room charge.

We left and headed to next stop on trip. Along the way my phone rings with no. from the hotel. Front desk clerk. She was sorry but the credit card that was on file was no longer working. Oh bother, I had closed that account and if they had told me while I was at the hotel I would have used internet access and found my other Marriott Visa no. You would think if your account has a Visa on file and also a backup the hotel could just use the backup if the first one doesn't work. As it was we sent a text home to BIL to look it up in the cupboard. When I call the hotel I talk with GM. He knew nothing of the matter. I told him I had to give him a valid cc no. for our recent stay. His English was limited. I was sitting on sofa with husband and my daughter was right at my shoulder. The call was painfully hysterical as I tried to give him numbers, I would say 1 and then he would say 1, 2.. .2. My daughter couldn't help herself and busted out laughing. I tried to control myself but we infect each other at the most inappropriate times. Then he wanted my email address. d as in dog, e as in edward, and so on. He repeats it back to me with his own version of d as in ---, e as in ---. More laughter. I shhhed her and apologized. Told GM my daughter was teasing me. He laughed. He promises he will send an email about our conversation.

Put that aside and enjoy the rest of the trip.

Get home call MR to sort it out. Find out the hotel has already taken the 2 certs. from my account. I try to explain and they say there's nothing they can do. I email GM and say I found they got 2 certs. and credit card and hoped that satisfied the charges from their hotel. I also say that if his front desk had simply cancelled the one reservation and remade it in hubby's name all the certificate problem would have quickly been settled. Asked him to respond to verify it was. About a week later I get call from GM. He says he has tried to email me many times but they've all been returned undeliverable. I ask if he can repeat the e-addy he was using but that got lost in the language barrier. (Must be that f as in family that messed him up). He assures me we are all square. No mention of the breakfasts.

Now back to MR. My hubby's account is a mess. During the changing of dates, canceling reservation, resubmitting points the Cat. 6 says it's for 5 nights but only has a 25,000 pt. value. This is what caused an issued when I was on the phone with Cork. Anyone who has dealt with these calls knows they can extend to more than an hour while reps try to sort things out. One MR is a pain. The kind that doesn't want to go any further than the basic of help. The next was excellent. He cleans it up. We upgrade 6 to 7. I tell him I have a meeting to go to and he says he will contact GM at my next stay (I'm here now) to change reservation from me to hubby. That he will take care of it when we're off the phone.

Wow, what an ordeal to deal with while on vacation. So what's the Moral of the story ? Seems as if the language barrier dealing with the local property was he biggest issue. Could the prior changes been handled by Marriott Reservations in the US? I know, they can still screw up, but at least language doesn't become an issue. I know we've had issues with things as simple as using my wife's credit card at a Marriott with the reservation in my name and not getting the points credited to our account without a Lot of hassle afterwards. I guess the moral is play by the rules and try to not make changes. Thanks for the warning before I order our AA Marriott travel package.
Just an FYI, I was advised by a Marriott Sales rep to always order a Cat 6 certificate when buying a package,without a specific destination decided. It will more likely be the correct category in most major locations at full service Marriott hotels.

Luvtoride said:

Wow, what an ordeal to deal with while on vacation. So what's the Moral of the story ? Seems as if the language barrier dealing with the local property was he biggest issue. Could the prior changes been handled by Marriott Reservations in the US? I know, they can still screw up, but at least language doesn't become an issue. I know we've had issues with things as simple as using my wife's credit card at a Marriott with the reservation in my name and not getting the points credited to our account without a Lot of hassle afterwards. I guess the moral is play by the rules and try to not make changes. Thanks for the warning before I order our AA Marriott travel package.
Just an FYI, I was advised by a Marriott Sales rep to always order a Cat 6 certificate when buying a package,without a specific destination decided. It will more likely be the correct category in most major locations at full service Marriott hotels.

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Moral of story? Have patience each step of the way. I got to know all the front desk people very well and assured them each step of the way that the reservations HAD been in 2 names but somewhere along the line a Marriott rep cancelled out hubby's name and put in mine.

Once I was home and calling MR I could find the date it happened because they keep a computer record of notes from the rep. MR even has a record of the rep I talked to. In the end both certificates were pulled from my account and the GM never made a peep about the breakfast issue. Truthfully, it was such a lot of trouble for something so petty as free breakfast for 1 in a party of 3 staying in 2 rooms. As I said, we're both Platinum so it was going happen anyway with the simple change of a name on the reservation. The GM could have okay'd the cancelation of the one reservation and remaking it in another name. I'm stumped why the front desk didn't think of that.

As far as playing by the rules and not making changes. . .there was never an attempt to not play by the rules. And changes. . .talk to the Army about that. We planned to visit in October and I made reservation. Daughter said her new hubby may be deployed in October so we gladly changed it to September (better weather). I overlapped the (2) 5 night certificates on the weekend so it would be the 2 of us on Wed/Thurs, all 4 of us Fri/Sat/Sun, back to the 2 of us Mon/Tues. Then we found SIL was being sent to a different country for our planned weekend together which caused another change to have her arrive a day before us and leave a day before we did so she could meet him when he returned from his trip. Then the Army changed his trip again so he wouldn't be returning for a couple weeks. It made it possible for our daughter to stay with us the extra night and travel to our next destination and then on to her place. We've been told that's the way it goes with the military.

The new MIL was hurt that we were going to be the ones to visit in September. Yet she had made no plans or reservations. I didn't find this out until after I made our reservations. I told her it was fine with me if our trips happened simultaneously because I had no expectations. It would have been nice to share the trip with SIL but I was primarily going to see my daughter, her new place and share some Italy with her. After all his schedule changes it ended up that he wasn't around much of September.

When you get the hotel certificate, does it expire? I always have a very hard time finding good redemption value for the hotel certificates, so I would be hesitant to do this if they expire, unless I had a specific redemption in mind.

Quilter,

You can't blame it on the Army. If they wanted you to have a MIL or DW they would have issued one.:hysterical:

We ran into similar problems with my youngest son. We were never able to get his family to one of our TS trips until after he retired. We tried once and came close, reserving a week at Sable Palms, but his orders changed 9 days before checkin and we wound up just giving the week away to a friend in Florida.