Marriott Redemption Stories

Mik3

New Member
Does anyone had cool redemption stories to share. Or how they generally search for point redemption values.

I have been hoarding my Marriott points and have not been able to find great redemption deals.

Most of the time, I find really poor redemption values around 0.5 cents per point, nothing close to the 0.9 cents per point value that I am aiming for, and use cash instead...
 

asc8u

Level 2 Member
If you want to do any Marriott category 8 redemptions, you'd better book them soon before they jump from 60k points to 85k
(and going up to 100k during peak, whatever that's going to mean).

You'll typically get the highest redemption values at the very high end or low end hotels. Or during peak season, like holidays,
or sporting events nearby.

I haven't gone yet, but I have 2 reservations upcoming later this year: Ritz Kyoto for 60k per night (paid rates are $775/day on
my dates) and I just booked 5 nights at Ritz Bachelor Gulch over Christmas: 240k for 5 nights. Paid rate is $10k for 5 nights-
which is crazy as I'd never pay that, but this is why if you're ever going to go to one of these places and have a stash of points,
now is the time to use them.

We've never been to Kyoto or skiing in Colorado, so it should be a real treat.
 

Josh F

Level 2 Member
Charity Forum Mod
Redeemed points for a Flight & Hotel Package - 120K Southwest Points, so earned a companion pass, and a 7 Night Stay at the JW Marriott Cancun. Generally, I find redemptions in the neighborhood of 0.7 cpp. Redeeming for 5 night stays is one good option since the 5th night is free. I often try to save up points to do that with either Marriott or Hilton.

EDIT: You can't earn a companion pass this way anymore and the Flight & Hotel Package pricing is way higher than it used to be
 

asc8u

Level 2 Member
Yeah that is stupid of them. I'm closing my SPG/Marriott cards when it comes time for renewal.
I still can get value out of the "free" night certificates for the moment, but if the peak/off peak is done poorly
then that maybe the final straw for me.

It's cheap of them because the way they have the categories priced right now -
35K gets you category 5 at standard but not peak.
And 35k doesn't get let you get off peak category 6 hotels because those are 40k.
So it's only going to be one big devaluation when it hits - but we'll have to see how
extensive the peak pricing is put into place. Should be fun...
 

Mik3

New Member
Thanks asc8u, I'm going to look into booking / holding some hotels before the devaluation.

I had a poor time with their "free" night reward certificates. i had 2 certificates, one from spg and one from marriott, and their system applied a certificate that was expiring at a later date... so i ended up losing a "free" night... customer service hasn't been helpful.

this merge has been all downhill for me...

but hoping to find some hidden gems...
 

asc8u

Level 2 Member
Thanks asc8u, I'm going to look into booking / holding some hotels before the devaluation.

I had a poor time with their "free" night reward certificates. i had 2 certificates, one from spg and one from marriott, and their system applied a certificate that was expiring at a later date... so i ended up losing a "free" night... customer service hasn't been helpful.

this merge has been all downhill for me...

but hoping to find some hidden gems...
thanks for the warning about having multiple certificates - i'll be getting a couple certificates later this year and will
sure to pay attention to that. Horrible that they would mess that up and not correct that situation.
 

HanoiIG

Silver Member
Weird situation. So often redemptions seem not worth the cost, so I pay cash(credit of course). I see Hampton Inns going for 50 or 60 K for a less than $200 room. today I booked Marriott Inner Harbor in Baltimore for 35K points but the starting cash rate was $469!!??? What's up with that? Am I missing something?
 

asc8u

Level 2 Member
Weird situation. So often redemptions seem not worth the cost, so I pay cash(credit of course). I see Hampton Inns going for 50 or 60 K for a less than $200 room. today I booked Marriott Inner Harbor in Baltimore for 35K points but the starting cash rate was $469!!??? What's up with that? Am I missing something?
a $200/night Hampton going for 50k Hilton points isn't unusual since that's 0.4 cents/point.
that's pretty common for Hilton.

the Marriott property has a redemption for 1.3 cents/point which is high for Marriott.
usually the only time I see those are during peak season. there maybe some event going
on locally which is driving the hotel price higher than usual or you're booking at a popular
travel time.

i booked a Marriott in Cambridge, MA during 2020 graduation weekend and it's even higher
at 1.6 cents/point.

check other dates for that property and you'll probably find other dates with much lower cash prices.
don't forget that Marriott has already warned us that they'll be adding peak (and off peak) pricing to
award stays next year, so enjoy the savings while you can.
 

HanoiIG

Silver Member
a $200/night Hampton going for 50k Hilton points isn't unusual since that's 0.4 cents/point.
that's pretty common for Hilton.

the Marriott property has a redemption for 1.3 cents/point which is high for Marriott.
usually the only time I see those are during peak season. there maybe some event going
on locally which is driving the hotel price higher than usual or you're booking at a popular
travel time.

i booked a Marriott in Cambridge, MA during 2020 graduation weekend and it's even higher
at 1.6 cents/point.

check other dates for that property and you'll probably find other dates with much lower cash prices.
don't forget that Marriott has already warned us that they'll be adding peak (and off peak) pricing to
award stays next year, so enjoy the savings while you can.
I go where I go when I go. This trip is for a Dodgers game. There are no Accor (our brand of choice) so I tried IHG, Hilton and Marriott and this is what I found. I have little experience with brands other than Accor but have points from credit cards. I guess I could have checked out Chase or Amex point redemption but saving them for a big airfare or several.
 

HanoiIG

Silver Member
Question. So to get 1.3 cents/point you divide price by points. So the higher you get the better, right? The hotel in question is Category 5 so ranges from 30K to 40K depending. TPG, who everyone tells me is a shill for cards and isn't to be trusted, values Marriott at .008 or .009. NOt sure but it looked to me like I only spend 469 for really nice hotels in really good cities, like Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok and Singapore.

My points/miles are skewed towards premium airfare awards as my status with Accor plus relationships with several of their properties always get me upgrades and special treatment plus points are always worth the same amount. Still, a free hotel is still nice.
 

asc8u

Level 2 Member
Question. So to get 1.3 cents/point you divide price by points. So the higher you get the better, right? The hotel in question is Category 5 so ranges from 30K to 40K depending. TPG, who everyone tells me is a shill for cards and isn't to be trusted, values Marriott at .008 or .009. NOt sure but it looked to me like I only spend 469 for really nice hotels in really good cities, like Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok and Singapore.

My points/miles are skewed towards premium airfare awards as my status with Accor plus relationships with several of their properties always get me upgrades and special treatment plus points are always worth the same amount. Still, a free hotel is still nice.
Yes higher cents per point means you're getting more value for your points.
TPG being a "shill" doesn't mean all their info is incorrect. 0.8 cents per point for Marriott points is a typical redemption when I run my numbers.
But again, it depends on the situation - sometimes you can get much higher value. So I always run the numbers to see if using points is a good
deal. If the cents per point is lower than my personal threshold for that point type, then I won't redeem with points; I'll use cash or figure
something else out. That's another reason why it's helpful to have different types of points - better odds that you'll find a good redemption
with at least one of them.
 

kirsten

New Member
The best way to get some redemption, I think, is to go on a free journey. You don't need anything except some staff for camping and tickets to your destination point. At least, it is claimed so at https://coloradowinterinfo.com/free-camping/, I've not tried yet, but it seems to be a great adventure. And for little money :)
 
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