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Travel package MVC reservation

Oscar923

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Has anyone successfully made a reservation after the merger using a travel package hotel certificate at any MVC resorts that requires a point upgrade? I have an old category 7 certificate that I want to use at either Grande Vista or Harbour Lake. Both are new category 5. To reserve a two bedroom unit, it used to be that a point upgrade of 10,000 per night is required. Just wondering if that is still allowed post merger and if anyone has been able to make a reservation like that? I called and spent 45 minutes talking to a CSR. And she said the system was down and she couldn’t see my certificate. It was a quite frustrating experience.
Thanks in advance.
 

SMB1

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I bought a few old cat 5 & 6 certs thinking I would upgrade them when I wanted to use them. Both mapped over to new cat 4. I have been told by a number of reps that one can no longer upgrade certs. A few have said they cannot be upgraded yet... So I'm hoping that in time we will be able to upgrade. We are traveling to Nashville in April. There are no cat 4 hotels anywhere near downtown and no subway system. Cabs, uber, shuttles will be quite expensive over a 5 night stay staying at hotel near the airport or Opryland.

I really have no use for cat 4 five night certs. My frustration with this whole thing is the secrecy of what would become of the certs post-merger. Had I (and everyone) known I would have done things differently. Very frustrated with Marriott.
 

BocaBoy

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I bought a few old cat 5 & 6 certs thinking I would upgrade them when I wanted to use them. Both mapped over to new cat 4. I have been told by a number of reps that one can no longer upgrade certs. A few have said they cannot be upgraded yet... So I'm hoping that in time we will be able to upgrade. We are traveling to Nashville in April. There are no cat 4 hotels anywhere near downtown and no subway system. Cabs, uber, shuttles will be quite expensive over a 5 night stay staying at hotel near the airport or Opryland.

I really have no use for cat 4 five night certs. My frustration with this whole thing is the secrecy of what would become of the certs post-merger. Had I (and everyone) known I would have done things differently. Very frustrated with Marriott.
Everyone knew when they bought these certificates in anticipation of the merger that the rules were not yet set. So it is hard for me to have much sympathy when one's speculation turns out to be incorrect. I do think that Marriott should have made the rules clear earlier, but that is a separate issue in my opinion. Also, I believe people will be able to upgrade these certificates once the dust settles.
 

SMB1

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Everyone knew when they bought these certificates in anticipation of the merger that the rules were not yet set. So it is hard for me to have much sympathy when one's speculation turns out to be incorrect. I do think that Marriott should have made the rules clear earlier, but that is a separate issue in my opinion. Also, I believe people will be able to upgrade these certificates once the dust settles.

Thanks, but I'm not looking for your sympathy, BocaBoy. I knew the rules weren't set. I gambled that cat 6 would map to new cat 5. It didn't pan out. Not complaining about that. Just thought if it didn't I'd upgrade it at the more expensive new points requirement. That's what I thought the gamble was... new point vs old point requirement.

My point is we shouldn't have had to speculate. Why the secrecy? If Marriott announced how the certs would map and that we would no longer be able to upgrade, downgrade, extend, etc. we could have planned accordingly. It's not like they didn't know how the rules would change. It was no secret on my part. I wasn't being sneaky. I spoke with a number of reps prior to the merger, explaining what I wanted to do, and trying to determine my best options. They didn't know any more than I did, but all of them said if it doesn't work out you will have to upgrade at the new requirements. Marriott even kept their employees in the dark. For what purpose? Their lack of transparency is certainly suspect.
 

kds4

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I bought a few old cat 5 & 6 certs thinking I would upgrade them when I wanted to use them. Both mapped over to new cat 4. I have been told by a number of reps that one can no longer upgrade certs. A few have said they cannot be upgraded yet... So I'm hoping that in time we will be able to upgrade. We are traveling to Nashville in April. There are no cat 4 hotels anywhere near downtown and no subway system. Cabs, uber, shuttles will be quite expensive over a 5 night stay staying at hotel near the airport or Opryland.

I really have no use for cat 4 five night certs. My frustration with this whole thing is the secrecy of what would become of the certs post-merger. Had I (and everyone) known I would have done things differently. Very frustrated with Marriott.

Hopefully, you took Marriott up on their offer to 'cash-in' your OC6 travel packages for the 15k MRP refund per package (for a 5 night TP) or 30k MRP refund per package (for a 7 night TP) to have them reissued as NC1-4 accommodation certificates. This has been discussed elsewhere here and extensively on FlyerTalk. It was a hassle and took (too) many phone calls, but I eventually was able to cash in 4 OC6 packages of my own. Good luck.
 
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TXTortoise

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I'm sitting on four OC6 five-night packages. I've read that they will allow a one-year extension from the time of the request. Do I need to be getting these converted to a new 1-4 certs, with 15K back, now?

I would prefer to put it off as long as possible as I don't expect to be able to use them all anytime soon, and will most likely have to upgrade them for my targeted hotels.
 

SMB1

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Hopefully, you took Marriott up on their offer to 'cash-in' your OC6 travel packages for the 15k MRP refund per package (for a 5 night TP) or 30k MRP refund per package (for a 7 night TP) to have them reissued as NC1-4 accommodation certificates. This has been discussed elsewhere here and extensively on FlyerTalk. It was a hassle and took (too) many phone calls, but I eventually was able to cash in 4 OC6 packages of my own. Good luck.

I'm sitting on four OC6 five-night packages. I've read that they will allow a one-year extension from the time of the request. Do I need to be getting these converted to a new 1-4 certs, with 15K back, now?

I would prefer to put it off as long as possible as I don't expect to be able to use them all anytime soon, and will most likely have to upgrade them for my targeted hotels.

Oh please, don't get me going on that one. I did ask for the 15,000 points returned for two cat 6 TPs, and received them fairly painlessly, for which I was grateful. But I didn't feel like they were doing me a favor, rather that they were doing the right thing. But at no time was I told that this, a few weeks after "purchasing" the TPs, would be the only opportunity to extend the certificates. I didn't ask for the expiration date to change. I only asked for the points back when they told me I couldn't upgrade.
 
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Fasttr

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I'm sitting on four OC6 five-night packages. I've read that they will allow a one-year extension from the time of the request. Do I need to be getting these converted to a new 1-4 certs, with 15K back, now?

I would prefer to put it off as long as possible as I don't expect to be able to use them all anytime soon, and will most likely have to upgrade them for my targeted hotels.
Best to wait as close to the end of your current deadline before extending/converting, especially if you do not currently have any usage plans.
 

BocaBoy

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My point is we shouldn't have had to speculate. Why the secrecy? If Marriott announced how the certs would map and that we would no longer be able to upgrade, downgrade, extend, etc. we could have planned accordingly. It's not like they didn't know how the rules would change. It was no secret on my part. I wasn't being sneaky. I spoke with a number of reps prior to the merger, explaining what I wanted to do, and trying to determine my best options. They didn't know any more than I did, but all of them said if it doesn't work out you will have to upgrade at the new requirements. Marriott even kept their employees in the dark. For what purpose? Their lack of transparency is certainly suspect.
I honestly don't think Marriott knew how the travel package rules would change. I believe they had some system issues to solve. With this whole major merger of MR and SPG I have actually been rather impressed by how transparent Marriott has been. And I still believe that people will soon be able to upgrade their travel package certificates.
 

1Kflyerguy

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I see on Flyertalk that many are predicting January for being able to upgrade pre-merger TP certificates. That said, at least two people claim to been able to upgrade pre-merger certificates already.. seems like it may be a matter of who you get when you call in.
 

jksung5295

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Has anyone successfully made a reservation after the merger using a travel package hotel certificate at any MVC resorts that requires a point upgrade? I have an old category 7 certificate that I want to use at either Grande Vista or Harbour Lake. Both are new category 5. To reserve a two bedroom unit, it used to be that a point upgrade of 10,000 per night is required. Just wondering if that is still allowed post merger and if anyone has been able to make a reservation like that? I called and spent 45 minutes talking to a CSR. And she said the system was down and she couldn’t see my certificate. It was a quite frustrating experience.
Thanks in advance.

This is definitely possible I was able to book 1BR Grand Vista with new Category 5 certificate with 5000 points per night upgrade for a total of 140000 Marriott points. The key is you need to find the right agent. Some agents will say it is reserved but don’t believe them until the correct number of points are taken out of your account and on the website it doesn’t show “please make sure you have enough points to complete the reservation” on the reservation details page. You MUST not speak to reservation but to Marriott Rewards department cannot help you and they may tell you it’s done but it’s not.
 

Saintsfanfl

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This is definitely possible I was able to book 1BR Grand Vista with new Category 5 certificate with 5000 points per night upgrade for a total of 140000 Marriott points. The key is you need to find the right agent. Some agents will say it is reserved but don’t believe them until the correct number of points are taken out of your account and on the website it doesn’t show “please make sure you have enough points to complete the reservation” on the reservation details page. You MUST not speak to reservation but to Marriott Rewards department cannot help you and they may tell you it’s done but it’s not.

What about the finality of the reservation if no upgrade is needed? I’ve never used a travel package certificate before. Last night I had a rep manually convert three OC1-5 to NC1-4 and attach them to three existing reservations. The conversion consisted of taking a 10,000 point debit and credit for each conversion. The reservation shows 10,000 points for each room instead of the previous 100,000. The weird thing is that it still shows that I can order certificates for the room at the normal full freight. I think it is ok because it does show that the travel package certificate is attached.

Does anyone know if this is normal?

As a side note I didn’t realize the expiration extension would be 1 year from the current day or I probably would have waited. I was already 45 minutes into the call and I am 99% sure I will use all three rooms so it’s not a big deal. The optimum method would be to wait until either needed use or right before the expiration.
 
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pwrshift

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I have two Category 9 seven night certificates I got in packages with airline miles early last year to stay in London County Hall and Paris Champs hotels for a week each. Unfortunately had to cancel the reservations due to illness and still have them. However I called today about another matter but asked about the use of those Cat 9 certificates and was told they are Cat. 6 now and I'd need to use more points to get those hotels on the new system.

Has anyone else had that problem?

Brian.
 

dioxide45

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I have two Category 9 seven night certificates I got in packages with airline miles early last year to stay in London County Hall and Paris Champs hotels for a week each. Unfortunately had to cancel the reservations due to illness and still have them. However I called today about another matter but asked about the use of those Cat 9 certificates and was told they are Cat. 6 now and I'd need to use more points to get those hotels on the new system.

Has anyone else had that problem?

Brian.
Unfortunately, this is how Marriott mapped the hotel certificates.

https://onemileatatime.com/marriott-travel-package-mapping/
 

SMB1

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I bought a few old cat 5 & 6 certs thinking I would upgrade them when I wanted to use them. Both mapped over to new cat 4. I have been told by a number of reps that one can no longer upgrade certs. A few have said they cannot be upgraded yet... So I'm hoping that in time we will be able to upgrade. We are traveling to Nashville in April. There are no cat 4 hotels anywhere near downtown and no subway system. Cabs, uber, shuttles will be quite expensive over a 5 night stay staying at hotel near the airport or Opryland.

I really have no use for cat 4 five night certs. My frustration with this whole thing is the secrecy of what would become of the certs post-merger. Had I (and everyone) known I would have done things differently. Very frustrated with Marriott.

Okay. So in this post I vented about my frustration with Marriott and the fact that reps were telling me they no longer will upgrade certificates. I don't know what changed, the policy, the education of the reps, or if it is just that things are settling down after the merger, but, I will now gladly say that they can be upgraded. It is probably still a work in progress. In the past few days, I've spoken with 2 reps who still said they cannot be upgraded, one that told me he could but when he spoke with his boss came back and said this particular certificate could not be changed (??). But, after some advice from Safti, I finally spoke with a rep who upgraded the cert painlessly and was pleasant as could be.
 

dima

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We should get the names and extension numbers for the reps who know how to upgrade old category certificate to new category.
Today I spent some time with no luck upgrading OC6 to New category 7. Does anyone know how many points are required for this kind of upgrade?
 

jtp1947

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Cat 7 does not exist yet for possible upgrade. Should be any day now.
 

jtp1947

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For Travel Packages?
 

Oscar923

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Has anyone successfully made a reservation after the merger using a travel package hotel certificate at any MVC resorts that requires a point upgrade? I have an old category 7 certificate that I want to use at either Grande Vista or Harbour Lake. Both are new category 5. To reserve a two bedroom unit, it used to be that a point upgrade of 10,000 per night is required. Just wondering if that is still allowed post merger and if anyone has been able to make a reservation like that? I called and spent 45 minutes talking to a CSR. And she said the system was down and she couldn’t see my certificate. It was a quite frustrating experience.
Thanks in advance.

Just want to provide an update: After two previous calls to Marriott with each lasting more than 45 minutes, I spent another 1 hour and 20 minutes (!!) yesterday on the phone, and this time the reservation finally appeared to be correct. I used my old cat 7 certificate and made a reservation for 5 nights at Harbour Lake 2-bedroom. I checked Marriott.com to see availability before I made the call.
Two CSR's helped me to convert the old cat 7 certificate to a new cat 5 certificate. Another CSR helped make the reservation and deducted 50,000 points. Right now the point balance of my Marriott Rewards account seems to be correct (the use of the certificate plus 50,000 point upgrade) and I have a 5-night reservation at Harbour Lake with confirmation number. It was such a big hassle, but at least now I got my reservation.
By the way, when I checked the availability of Category 5 MVC Orlando resorts in late June, only Harbour Lake was available for a 5-night redemption. Neither Grande Vista nor Lakeshore was available for redemption for the dates I wanted. Excited to be taking my kids to Orlando (their first trip to Orlando and WDW).
 
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Steve Fatula

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My experience was the opposite, I guess I am lucky. It took maybe 5 minutes to upgrade a pre merger certificate to a higher level and re-issue with a later expiration date, and, not upgrade but merely re-issue a second pre merger one. It was really simple. Called the platinum line.
 

jeepie

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My experience was the opposite, I guess I am lucky. It took maybe 5 minutes to upgrade a pre merger certificate to a higher level and re-issue with a later expiration date, and, not upgrade but merely re-issue a second pre merger one. It was really simple. Called the platinum line.
That’s very encouraging! Out of curiosity, which number did you call (I’m Chairman’s Club, and Platinum Premier, and rather disappointed in the spotty quality of knowledge and service recently)?. And, did you have to feed the rep specific package numbers, or what? Cheers.
 

Steve Fatula

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I called 800-399-4229, last 3 times I have called that number, got help immediately, no hold times, answered with Platinum greeting. Maybe ymmv?
 

villager3388

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Ok. It took the new package and 50,000 points to upgrade but did you get a refund of points when they assigned the new package. I have 2 old cat 6 and 1 cat 8 that will become 2 new 4 and 1 new 5. I hope to upgrade the new 5 to a 6 but am unclear on the point difference. Also will the new 6 be able to reserve a 6 at high times on the calendar, probably Hawaii in Jan. of 2020.
 

Oscar923

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My experience was the opposite, I guess I am lucky. It took maybe 5 minutes to upgrade a pre merger certificate to a higher level and re-issue with a later expiration date, and, not upgrade but merely re-issue a second pre merger one. It was really simple. Called the platinum line.
I am a lowly "Gold" member only, and I called the "regular" Marriott Rewards number. The reps gave me the impression that they were not familiar with the travel package hotel certificate. Anyway after three trials, I was able to make a reservation with point upgrades.
The conversion from old cert to a new cert was the easy part of the call. The reservation with the point upgrades took much longer to get done.
 
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