Last Chance! Book Hotel Awards Now Before The Starwood-Marriott Merger!

Shame about the Boscolo Venezia/Grand Hotel Dei Dogi Venice. Was a fantastic hotel when I just went there and so close to the ghetto. Hopefully I’ll finish my TR one day…

I have found some hotels showing no point redemption availability passed December. I am trying to book 5 day award at Marriott Ko Olina but nothing. It’s going up on August 1 but called Marriott and Hotel and they didn’t know when property will add more dates. Any suggestions?

I have a 7 night certificate category 1 to 5 from an air and hotel package that has already been extended for a year. It expires in December 2018. What are my best options for using it?

HI Dan, previously you weren’t sure that we would be able to book now and get rate adjustment, want info changed your mind?

I requested my husbands SPG points to be transferred to my account two weeks ago so that I could use the miles to get some hotel stays and maximize my points. I still haven’t gotten them and when I called and spoke to a supervisor they told me they don’t guarantee that I’ll get them before the merger!

thank you dan for that wonderful post but I don’t have enough points now this second for the reservation in the Maldives for 7 nights can I book it now and pay with my points /apply my certificate later? I m working on upgrading my 7 night cert to 150k more points to climb 5 categories but don’t have it now

Dan, I have 510K Marriott. Expect 30,000 more but not until mid-late August.
Goal: 5-7 nights at S. Regis Maldives in January 2020.
What do you recommend?
A) Tier 4-5 Miles+Nights for 490K (yields 77K UA).
B) Tier 1-3 Miles+Nights for 420K (yields 132 UA)
C) No Miles+Nights…just book 5-7 Nights “straight up” (60K/night, 5th night free)
D) Something else?

Thanks, as always.

What about the free nights you will be getting with the merger? Don’t you get one free night for each card that you have (separate from the fifth night free). How will that impact booking it now? Thanks

Anyway of prebooking Marriott hotel with SPG points?

I’ve seen a lot of analysis on whether to keep the SPG card or get Marriott card (some keeping both)… Dan, what are your thoughts? With the new program, what card gets you the most bang for your buck?

I went to book the JW Marriott Cannes for next year before it goes up in price, but I got a message that it is non-refundable one day after booking. What does this mean? What is the penalty for canceling?

according to CDC website there is Zika in Maldives anyone have any additional info. on this?

Looking to stay 5 nights in late Aug at a current Cat 6 (going from 30k to 50k) which is moving down to Cat 5 (25k up to 30k).Is it worth going for the 7 night 270k package to get the UA miles and use 5 night stay and throw away the 2 extra nights on the cert? With 5th night free, the stay would cost 120k either way.

how do i combine my points with my wifes spg points before the merger?

Thanks for the heads up Dan.

I have a few rooms booked for a couple of nights in a Category 3 Sheraton starting August first. Right now its is 7,000 points per room but based on your chart it seems like after the merger on the first the cost per room would be less.

Should I wait until the morning of the first and then cancel and rebook? Would I get all my SPG points back at the original rate and then be able to book at the cheaper rate?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Hi Dan : I just reached 90K Starwood points. I am going to buy the 270K Marriott travel/Aircertificate before Aug 1st. Do you still think they will be “generous” to convert back to points for Hotel portion?

I am going on my honeymoon in August, and would love to stay at the Vana Belle or W Koh Samui at the Aug- Jan rate (assuming it kicks in before the 15th), but I do not have enough points to book at the current points rate. Would a cancelable cash booking be convertible to a 60k points booking?

Thanks!

So if i am not planning on using hotel stay yet is it better to make a hotel reservation just to get back more points when i cancel( with my travel package hotel air deal)or it doesnt matter?

Marriott Point Advance comes in very handy for me. Its one of the great Marriott features. It’s especially useful to lock in low rates and availability for next year… I also think it solves some of the dilemmas expressed in these comment. Unless I’m missing something. Dan, do we know if the Point Advance feature remains in the new merged program?

Slightly off topic-Until when do I earn SPG points on my credit cards? Any spending until August 1 regardless of when my statement posts?

Dan will it be able to book the private ocean houses in the meldavis that usually go for 110k +

Any recommendations for an in Maui the ritz the Sheraton or the westin? Thanks

If you want to try to stay at St. Regis Bora Bora or Maldives, do you recommend buying a 7 night package, or trying to find 5 nights to stay and just use your points?

Hi Dan,

Thanks again for this! Quick q- if I want to book a stay at the St. Regis Maldives, like you suggest, but don’t have 270k SPG points (I only have 90k SPG), can I reserve it by paying in cash and then get a refund in August by using points? While putting up that much cash is less than ideal, I’d certainly like to lock this in. Is there any other way to go about this?

Thanks!

I’m trying to wrap my head around all this information! If we want to redeem at a Marriott hotel but only have SPG points, do you suggest transferring points before the merger.
anyone willing to charge me an hourly rate to help me redeem some points most efficiently ? Not kidding.

I have a tier 1-3 travel certificate. I would like to use it at the st. Regis bal harbour. Do I book it now or do I wait

Dan — using your S. Regis Maldives as an example, how do you know they will treat an all suites booking (which right now requires 270k Marriott) as a standard category 7 at the 60k points, and assuming you do, will they adjust down to the 60 if i book at the suites rate now? Thanks!

Does anyone know what will happen to the category 8 Wailea Beach Resort Maui? Should I book now or after August 1? Thanks

Do you think it will be before August 16th?

Hi Dan I want to stay at the S. Regis Bal Harbour, on August 19 do you know if I will be able to call in for a points reimbursement by then or it may still be to early

will the option to transfer spg points to airlines also be changed after the marge?

You recommended booking now before the merger. However if I cancel stays after the merger and get points credit back to my account at what rate will they be credited? Here is the example: St Regis Bal Harbor books now at 140,000 for 5 nights. That is the equivalent of 420,000 Marriot points at the time of the merger( 3 for 1). The hotel will be a 55,000 per night or 220,000 for a 5 night stay in August. First of all will Marriot credit me back 200,000 points or will they use the new 2 for one rate to calculate my credit? That would only be 60,000 points( figuring the 140,000 SPG points to be only 280,000 Marriot points). The 2nd more important question is if I cancel the reservation how many points will be credited back to my account 420,000 or 220,000. It might be a significant loss of points to book early

on Marriotts website it says: August 18 One program goes live. is the date of the changes?

I am current Marriott Rewards member, can I use those points to book now at St Regis or do i need to wait?

Anyone have trouble getting through to marriot hotel+air line?

I upgraded my 5 night cert to cat 6 to book 5 nights at residence inn surfside last week of sept. I just noticed that this hotel will become cheaper ( category 4) on aug 18th and now im wondering if I should cancel the reservation and downgrade the cert back to a cat 5 and rebook next week. what you recommend I do?

Im sitting on 600000+ Marriott points. Any ideas what my best options are? Thanx for any suggestions

But must wait until after the 18th to book with free night certificate if hotel is changing from cat 6 to cat 5?

I have a category 5 Marriott certificate from my Marriott chase anniversary; will I still be able to book any combined category 5 with it?

Hi,
If I already have the vouchers (3 x Tier 1-3 certificates) does it matter if I book now or later? Thanks!

Just called and they said there system was down for the day, anyone have any luck recently?

Any recommendation what a should book with a 7 night 1-5 cert or just leave it alone? Not looking to stay anywhere.

I have enough points for a Cat 9 or Tier 1-3 Certificate, but can’t travel until Sept 2019, so not bookable now. Which category should I leave it floating or attach it to a reservation I will for sure not be taking. If so, where should I attach it?

Can you just make the reservation and redeem the points at a later point in time?

Hi Dan,
I have read all these posts many many times but I ask, whats the worst case scenario if I have now a 7 nights + united miles at category 8 and have no hotel plans yet (I do like a great hotel), and I have enough points to upgrade the package to category 9, should I leave it as is (cat 8) or should I upgrade now to 9?
Please respond, thanks so much!

Does anybody know what’s going to happen with the Ritz free night certificate

I wanted to book at Marriott’s Club Son Antem with my Category 6 certificate but when I put in the dates online to check reward availability it states, “We’re sorry. This property is not taking redemption bookings at this time. You can either book a cash reservation or search for another property.” I think too many people booked in anticipation.

I called MR to upgrade my cat 1-5 certificate to a category 8. This requires 90K; I only have 89K. The agent put me on hold and then came back to say the system was down, but she said she would start the process. She said she wrote a note to finish the job tonight when system is back up and would gift me the 1K I’m missing (I was prepared to buy 1K over the phone). When I look at my account now, the cat 1-5 cert actually got cancelled and I got 45K points back. An email confirms the cancellation. From an older FrequentMiler post, I see this is how upgrades work; 45K refund and then get charged 75K/105K/135K/etc. But since the rep wasn’t able complete the upgrade part, if she doesn’t complete the job tonight and I have to call another agent, will they be able to give me the cat 8 package (minus airline miles) when I only have 135K in my account?

Hi Dan, we are having difficulty in combining my spouse spg points because our address are not the same. Any workaround in combining?

Take what I write below with a grain of salt because I’m just relaying info during a highly speculative and confusing situation. I’m just trying to share my experience.

Just spoke with the Australian Marriott Dept. located in Malaysia (called via Skype, +61-282-98-5250) open 8pm-8am Eastern. No wait time and 2 of the 3 reps seemed on the ball. I had tried going through USA channels and reps didn’t know what a travel package was.

First I bought 1 Cat 1-5 package and assigned it to a trip I will be taking at Marriott Villas at Doral (cat 5, moving up to cat 7, currently requires 10k pts extra per night upgrade, not sure if that will be required once a cat 7). Went with Alaska miles.

Next I called back and bought a Cat 9 and left unattached because I won’t be able to fit in the schedule until Sept 2019. First agent told me I should only buy up to Cat 7 because that will be the highest category in the new program–he tried telling me I’d be able to use it anywhere soon. He was vaguely familiar with the latest update regarding the 1 month freeze on travel certificates.

I called back to get a different agent, again no wait time, and again went with Alaska. They wouldn’t let me deposit the miles into my wife’s account (is this a rule?) so it may eventually cost me $200 to transfer at Alaska award redemption time as I’m looking for Cathay Business. Agent told me if I don’t use the certificate it will automatically be cancelled by “the system” after the merger. He said he was sharing info from a report he was given 2 days ago regarding unattached certificates. He said they have asked upper management for clarification on what happens if someone cancels an award booking–would it become an instant refund or would changes be allowed–no answer yet.

He gave me the following refund amounts for unattached certificates. He again said automatic cancellation, not if you voluntarily turned it in.

Cat 1-5: 45k pts
Cat 6: 75k
Cat 7: 105k
Cat 8: 135k
Cat 9: 165k
Tier 1-3: 195k
Tier 4-5: 315k

I called back one more time and asked another rep. who stated that the system will cancel anything not attached to a reservation, but then said anything attached can be rebooked to similar category as if a free agent.

I realize that not all agents are “in the know” and this is a situation full of speculation. But now I’m scared about my unattached Cat 9 cert. I’m definitely going to attach it to something far out in the schedule (Aug 2019) and hope they’ll extend to Sept 2019 for redemption.

Good luck to everyone!

The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca is currently cat 7 35k spg per night. Will it be going on sale from Aug to Feb like other cat 7’s (st regis maldives)?

I have a 7 night cat 1-5 no plans for now on using. Should I make a future reservation for any cat 5 and could always change later? or whats best option?
Thanks

Dan I have 130k spg points and looking to book a package to st Regis Maldives I’m a little confused on the best way to arraigned for air travel. What’s my best option

Dan I currently have 130k spg points would that be enough for me to book st Regis Maldives under the current rates. What would be the best way to set up airfair. Thanks a ton

Im a little confused by all of this. Can someone help??? I am trying to redeem a 7 night voucher in Cuba in December. Marriott has no hotels there. They also said that I can not book the SPG hotel there, using the voucher. Am I missing something? Did I miss a step?

Does anyone know what rate you will pay if you book a Marriott that is going up after 8/18 on “points advance”? rate at time of booking or new rate?

Per Starwood Lurker over on FT there will NO ability to downgrade or upgrade the current TPs after 8/18. Hope y’all are happy with the TPs you bought and have a use for them. I didn’t get greedy and have uses for the ones I got and am happy.

I am very confused by this statment “In other words if you spend 35K Starpoints now for a SPG category 7 hotel, you will be able to call in August to have it adjusted to just 60K Marriott points. As all Starpoints will be tripled, that will mean you’ll get a refund of 45K Marriott points per night!
Can someone explain?

Dan, if I only have enough points to book the place I want at the Aug. 18 rate, can I book today using cash and points, then get refunded the cash after the new rates set in?

anyone having any luck getting SPG to adjust the points when the cpst went down? Iv’e spoke with 2 reps today & neither of them could do it. My first stay is for tomorrow.
Thanks