Hi Folks,
It looks like I'm going to be about 1k of spend short of Ambassador this year and looking for some creative ways to bump up the spend. A couple of questions:
If I prepay some of my confirmed travel for next year will that count towards this years spend?
Any other creative ways to bridge the spend hurdle?
Best response for certain! In some cases, it could be ONE night with in room service or a restaurant and you certainly would be over the top anotherconsultant Prepay would certainly not throw you over the top - some hotels don't take the $$ immediately and it only counts when you check in so future you are out of luck me thinks.
I would say you don’t get credit for the spend until you complete the stay. I prepaid a rate several months in advance of a stay, but the spend $$$ didn’t show immediately when I paid for it. It showed up later after I stayed.
The Marriott Terms & Conditions state that “qualifying charges incurred during a stay” are eligible for earning opportunities.
Qualifying charges are further broken down into: food & beverages, spa, and golf outings (when managed by the property), plus qualifying rates, which includes Advanced Purchase (prepaid) rates. So it seems like the stay must actually be taken before they count!
Eat and drink in the hotel as much as possible, and charge it to your room.
You won't get any credit before you've completed the stay. As well as what other people have mentioned above there is the possibility that you don't turn up for your prepaid stay, the cost of which then becomes a Non-Qualifying Charge. These charges include "late cancellation fee or no-show fees for not checking in for guaranteed reservations even if the reservations were paid in full."
Treat yourself to a two night stay in either a Ritz Carlton or a St. Regis and that should throw you over the top.