Didn't Order your Reward certificate before the merge we will double the points required

Discussion created by hallchr on Aug 20, 2018
Latest reply on Sep 29, 2018 by o0o0o0o0o0o...points!

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I take back all if what I have saif about how well this merger went!!

I noticed yesterday that my reservation ( on points ) for Aruba had gone from 760,000 to 1,440,000 points!!!!

Its a glitch I hear you say, "it will be worked out" " "you have 1o days before your arrival to order the certificate"

But No!!

A quick email to Marriott was met with this reply....

Hello Mr. Hall,

Thank you for contacting Marriott customer care.

I appears that you did not order the certificate for your stay. Since it was not ordered then the new categories apply with the new amounts.

There is no way we will be able to override this.

Please let me know if you still wish to keep or cancel your reservation. We appreciate your loyalty and wish you a wonderful day.

Regards,

This is daylight robbery!!

communitymanager insiders_community

Outcomes

79 Replies

globaltreker Aug 20, 2018 8:02 AM
Sorry to hear that , I have an unused CAT5 certificate that will suffer same fate with the new category changes. Regrettably, this information (forthcoming hotel category changes and devaluation) has been communicated for the last 6 months on over 10 media outlets on the Internet so not something unexpected from the integration. It was also discussed here on this site as well.

What were your expectations? to give all certificate holders legacy pricing without devaluation on now legacy non-existent hotel categories into the future without a cut-off date?

I'm afraid these were limited time offers that expired on 8/18/18. It had been well communicated throughout the world.

I recommend at this point trying to optimize your stay in Aruba using those 1,440,000 points as soon as possible to secure your rewards reservation.
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- hallchr @ globaltreker on Aug 20, 2018 10:36 AM
  I have a confirmed reservation made in May 2018 for 760k points, with the statement " e certificate must be sent to the hotel before check in " so they cant just arbitrarily double the points required
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  - globaltreker @ hallchr on Aug 25, 2018 5:11 PM
    I'm guessing you didn't have those points when you made the reservation. If you did, they would have been deducted from your account immediately and there would not have been any issue. Anyways, hope you this resolved and back to vacation planning mode which is much more fun than worrying about where to stay.
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    - felixf @ globaltreker on Aug 29, 2018 9:42 AM
      I'm having the same issue, 5 night stay went from 120.000 to 140.000. I did have the points in my account when I made the reservation and the confirmation mail included a certificate for the 120.000 points. Still it now shows as needing to purchase additional certificate... Contacted Marriott, hope they will sort it out.
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    - hallchr @ globaltreker on Aug 29, 2018 8:35 AM
      Its all sorted thanks!
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- hallchr @ globaltreker on Aug 20, 2018 10:41 AM
  I suppose a question I must asy you, is, Why would they taking bookings on points if they had not published the rates to be charged?,
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  - globaltreker @ hallchr on Aug 25, 2018 5:17 PM
    Ask Marriott that question. My only guess is that they incorrectly assumed folks would head their warnings to book and confirm points reservations ahead of the devaluation and integration date. Obviously, many didn't so now it has to be cleaned up.
    
    I personally love when the points get devalued. My Marriott stock goes up quite a bit and what ever the new rates are, I don't care because I have already hedged my bets by playing on both sides of the house.
    
    Good luck
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halfwayaroundtheworld Aug 20, 2018 9:29 AM
This is outrageous. I have several reservations using points that were made prior to Aug 18 that will suffer the same fate. I can not find anywhere that Marriott stated that we have to order the certificates before Aug 18, only to make the reservation before Aug 18 to lock in the rate. I never thought that a company like Marriott would do something like this. I guess I am wrong.
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- hallchr @ halfwayaroundtheworld on Aug 20, 2018 10:27 AM
  I was told as long as the reservation was made prior to the 18th August it would be valid, how can they now double the points needed
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  - hallchr @ hallchr on Aug 20, 2018 10:32 AM
    so what they are looking for is the equivalent of nearly a lifetime platinum earnings for 8 nights....
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hallchr Aug 20, 2018 3:38 PM
Update++++++++++= its under investgation
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- boulderlaw @ hallchr on Aug 20, 2018 6:20 PM
  Same boat on a res that would go from 180,000 to 240,000. Please keep us updated. This would be like changing the cash rate on a reservation prior to paying. Unconscionable.
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- arizonatag @ hallchr on Aug 20, 2018 3:58 PM
  That is great. Wow, what a snafu. I hope it all works out for you. Cheers!
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  - hallchr @ arizonatag on Aug 20, 2018 4:28 PM
    Myself and several others who have contacted me have said they are in the same position, so we shall see what happens
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    - globaltreker @ hallchr on Aug 20, 2018 5:48 PM
      Hope they budge in your favor.
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- gjodieg @ hallchr on Aug 26, 2018 5:14 PM
  we've had the same happen with ours. I've ended up cancelling one of my bookings due to not having anywhere near enough points to even think about staying where we were going to.
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pluto77 Aug 20, 2018 5:33 PM
If you made the reservation, especially months ago, I don’t see how they could do a bait and switch on you. I’m sure this will (must) get worked out in your favor. Hopefully you have the original reservation email with the points amount, or a screen shot to back you up.

It is unfortunate that Marriott (as it certainly appears) chose to get rid of all of the many wonderful, knowledgeable and helpful customer service reps in favor of outsourcing to some company who’s employees are utterly clueless, and at a time (during a huge merge) when C/S SME’s are critical to satisfying positive customer service outcomes. The arrogance of that decision is baffling. Hang in there, remain calm and don’t give up.
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bayareawolf Aug 20, 2018 5:44 PM
Similar situation, albeit lower point totals in play. I had a two rooms booked and I tried to do a point transfer from a relative to cover the reservation. The stay is in October in Anaheim. It was 135k per room, so 270k for the pair. After much time on hold, and getting supervisor involved, they said my reservation is not unit October so there is time and to call back after the merger of programs....they were having problems accessing things on their end.
Well, when I opened the reservation today, it is now 150k per room, or 300k for the pair. They assured me over the phone that I would be ok because the reservation was made prior to the merger, that so long as I did not alter it, I would be fine. Wrong. This is a 30k bump. I will state my case, but in the end, I am not confident it will be honored at the lower point totals.
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coupons Aug 20, 2018 6:32 PM
Thank you so much I had reservation on hold waiting to add points for 5 nite at hotel went up to 50,000 per nite so it will cost me an additional 20,000 pts (we did not opt for certificate); thought MRs were locked in b/c we had the reservation
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- hallchr @ coupons on Aug 21, 2018 4:23 AM
  Locked in, and guaranteed by a credit card....
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nipper Aug 21, 2018 9:20 AM
Did you have the number of points required when you made the reservation ? Did they take that number of points out ?
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- hallchr @ nipper on Aug 21, 2018 4:22 PM
  No, I booked 12 months in advance as it was a special occasion, but as always they specify " you must have the points 10 days before check in" I have on many occasions booked 11 months in advance then accumulated the points over the next few months then send them the certificate.
  
  What I cant work out is.... Why would they take bookings in May 2018 for a booking in April 2019.. if they did not know how many points it was likely to require. I have a screen shot stating 760,000 points ( which by the way I have reached this week ) from a week ago...now it shows 1,440,000
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- boulderlaw @ nipper on Aug 21, 2018 6:17 PM
  In my case, I had the points but half were in my SPG account. But the questions are irrelevant. Marriott took a reservation, at a particular price. If this were a cash rate and they tried to change the price prior to check-in the problem would be obvious. It should be no less obvious a problem when the price is quoted in points—in fact the problem is worse because the people who will suffer the most are those who generate the most revenue for Marriott by earning all those points. This must be corrected.
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teammoney Aug 21, 2018 7:09 PM
If the booking was made with points and the points were deducted from our accounts already are we good? I'm assuming the posters here selected to option to charge when they have enough points?
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jayerene Aug 21, 2018 8:37 PM
I'm in a similar situation as well. I booked a reservation in May for an October stay for 320,000 points. I am in the process of earning the points, and should have them by September. Didn't order the certificate because I am still earning the points. And I did not read anything prior to the merger that states that the consequence of not ordering a certificate would be increasing the points required. Now the reservation says I need 400,000 points. I want Marriott to honor the points required according to the original confirmation. Imagine making a standard reservation, and the rate increases because you did not prepay "to lock in" the rate! I locked in the 320,000 points required in the same way that a customer who reserves with a currency rate--with a confirmation.
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coupons Aug 21, 2018 11:54 PM
Jayerene-totally agree
I didn't attach the points b/c we thought we were taking a big trip and wans't sure what we would need so my 5 nite stay which was 45,000 per nite (5th free) went to 50,000 per nite
it isn't terrible but really annoying
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- hallchr @ coupons on Aug 22, 2018 4:22 AM
  I was told I would hear back today so will keep you informed
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  - o0o0o0o0o0o...points! @ hallchr on Aug 22, 2018 4:41 AM
    If you have confirmation emails, you should be fine (whenever it is all sorted out)... however, if you made several 11th hour reservations on old points, but didn't get confirmation emails, like several folks I know, who knows! Also, I had a free night cert (one night) attached to a reservation, and was attaching a 7-night cert to a separate reservation. The rep apparently unattached the one night cert and attached it to the 7-night reservation! Put me on hold, and call got disconnected. I had to call back and wait on hold for another 15 min, and the systems were down (this was just before - and according to some reps during - the cutover to the new program), had to call back again on hold for 25 more min, and that rep reattached the certs correctly (after her offices systems were previously down for about 20 min). She also said it wasn't possible to attach a 1-night cert to a 7-night reservation. I told her I have the email confirmation of the "impossible" ready to email her if she couldn't fix it!
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ikegawataro Aug 22, 2018 9:37 AM
Same boat. My 240k point stay is now 408k points. This seems like a miss on Marriott's part. I've now talked to three customer support reps and was told conflicting stories - one telling me this was intended and that an email was sent out to those in this situation informing them to attach their points before the merger - I call BS as I never received this email. Another told me that this was a mistake and that they are trying to rectify but they won't be able to until the first week of September (also seems fishy...)

If this was "known" then Marriott would have had this information in their pre-merger info (it's a pretty big deal) and the other point sites etc would've covered this in their "things to do before the merger articles". I have a feeling Marriott did not intend for this to happen and there is confusion internally at the lower levels over whether this was "part of the merge" or "a mistake". Sadly, their system doesn't seem to support them rectifying it manually right now.

Hope we all end up with positive resolutions and minimal pain getting there.
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- hallchr @ ikegawataro on Aug 22, 2018 12:46 PM
  I spoke to the "Elite" team today for over an hour and finally the answer I was given after being out on hold multiple times whilst discussions were taking place was "Hold Fire it will be sorted" I never had an email either, which they managed to confirm... so I think they might have to take it on the chin and accept this was an error. As I pointed out and they could see I was a few thousand sort of the 760k I needed, I would have just bought some to issue the certificate if that was going to be a problem. The Lady was very sympathetic and spoke to her managers and then passed me on to some else who seemed to be quite informed. She also pointed out that this had affected "quite a few" but to give it a couple of weeks.... early September, she also had dealt with a few similar cases but did agree 760k to 1.4M was a ridiculous jump.
  
  She also agreed that we did have a "Contract" ie I get 10 nights at their hotel if I give then 760k points, this was reinforced and backed up by my credit card as a guarantee of the booking.
  
  Hope this helps
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  - daswift @ hallchr on Aug 23, 2018 9:44 AM
    Happen to have the name of who you talked to? Having the same issue for a stay next week, and the supervisor I spoke to said there is nothing they can do. Seems ridiculous.
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hallchr Aug 22, 2018 6:42 AM
Just had a call from MR and they are still investigating this issue, but they were quite sympathetic..
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wannabeplatinumpremier Aug 22, 2018 12:48 PM
They haven’t responded to me yet after over 2 days. Imagine they are swamped with issues/complaints. I don’t see how they can’t honor our reservations. It would be crazy not too. Hate to say it cuz I have been a loyal member to the program but I will leave for another program and take my employees with me out of spite if they don’t. I mean we reserved prior to the change according to the rules and now they want to jack our points rate up by crazy amounts after we locked in a reservation.
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wannabeplatinumpremier Aug 22, 2018 8:48 PM
Have they replied? I still haven’t heard back. I already have flights booked and friends meeting me at destination. Cash rate is absurd so not sure what I’ll do if they don’t honor my reservation. Worst part is I had the extra 8k points in my chase account but didn’t bother transferring because I knew I would earn them well before my stay. This didn’t even cross my mind as being an issue. I have the points in my account now. Finger crossed for good outcome.
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- hallchr @ wannabeplatinumpremier on Aug 23, 2018 4:26 AM
  Not yest.. since my reservation is next april, I have also spend 8k on flights from the UK and booked a stop over in JFK, but they keep saying " it will be sorted" in a few weeks
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boulderlaw Aug 23, 2018 12:22 PM
I just spoke to customer service. After a long hold the agent confirmed that they would issue the certificate at the original rate. But, they cannot issue any certificates right now so I need call back closer to the date of arrival.
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- wannabeplatinumpremier @ boulderlaw on Aug 23, 2018 1:18 PM
  Nice. Hopefully this is consistent as it should be. My faith is restored.
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- hallchr @ boulderlaw on Aug 23, 2018 5:56 PM
  great news... similar to what they said to me "Dont worry give it a few weeks....."
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halfwayaroundtheworld Aug 23, 2018 6:20 PM
I’d like to give an update regarding this. I finally contacted the platinum line today, I didn’t do it earlier because I had been so busy and I figure I wait for a few days while they sort things out on their end. I’m sure it has been so stressful for them too with the massive changes that are going on. They took care of them for me right away, I was on hold for quite a bit while they tried to figure out how to fix it, but the lady was very very helpful. I didn’t mind the wait either because I know they are still trying to get accustomed to all the new stuff.
The points difference for my reservations wasn’t massive, unlike hallchr’s. That is a lot of points! I would be so anxious too if I was in your position. But hopefully my experience will soothe your worries. I’m quite sure Marriott will do the right thing and honor your reservation at the original rate.
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- hallchr @ halfwayaroundtheworld on Aug 23, 2018 6:39 PM
  I think we are getting there!! nice that these things are getting resolved, I am sure this is just a SNAFU as everyone I have spoken to at MR said "Oh... thats odd!" then go a bit defensive when they realise the amount of points involved! at least the have dropped the line " an email was sent to you about this " approach because they now realsie I certainly did'nt get one, I will give it a week then chase it up, I do have an open case number so a status update should be easy
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iverge Aug 24, 2018 12:03 AM
I have an upcoming reservation in a couple of weeks and my rate went up by 10K points. I know it's not too much but that's not the point. Marriott needs to honour reservations that were confirmed at previous point levels. I haven't bothered to call in just yet I'll give them another week to sort things out. I'll update this thread hope others do as well.
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- hallchr @ iverge on Aug 24, 2018 4:38 AM
  They seem to be working on it...
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iverge Aug 25, 2018 12:08 AM
I noticed this on FT in response to someone reaching out to Customer Care about their points reservation going up after 8/18:

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to Marriott Customer Care 0820.

Please accept my apologies for any confusion on your reservation for JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa for XXXX confirmation number XXXXX. As long as there are no changes to the reservation you will be able to use the same amount of points that was originally quoted for the reservation. At this time there is nothing you would need to do the point certificate will be automatically ordered for you

Safe travels,
Ozell Sterling

Marriott Customer Care
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- hallchr @ iverge on Aug 25, 2018 4:46 PM
  I have been promised answers on Monday.... but my reservation is still showing 1,440,000.... maybe it will miraculously drop back to 760,000
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  - globaltreker @ hallchr on Aug 25, 2018 5:37 PM
    I hope you get a chance to go to Curacao or Bonaire if you are staying 10 days in Aruba. Curacao has some great dive spots and the sport fishing is great. Rent a boat. I usually plan to leave the island days when cruise ship traffic is heavy.
    
    You can check ship traffic here: Aruba Ports Authority
    
    After 10 days, I'm sure you will have named some of your favorite iguanas on the Island.
    
    Enjoy.
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    - hallchr @ globaltreker on Aug 29, 2018 8:37 AM
      Thanks will keep you informed!
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  - coupons @ hallchr on Aug 26, 2018 1:49 AM
    Hi there; I had a similar issue involving much fewer points; I got this amazing rep Roy from San Antonio; my res. was for 180,000 pts and showed 200,000 needed; long story short he booked the original res and refunded the 20,000 pts; what he did say and this is the key so I am bolding this info many people book reservations but did not have enough points at the time and Marriott has to honor them; I mentioned insiders and someone was being charged double the points; he said that should not be; I wish you the best; I think your problem will be resolved in your favor
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globaltreker Aug 26, 2018 11:17 AM
I think Marriott is overly generous by allowing its customers to secure reward redemption Inventory before they actually have the necessary points required to fund the reservation. I see it as equivalent to providing a promissory note until satisfied.

The reality is that there is no guarantee the customer will secure those points by the time needed to fund the reservation. This is why many customers just make random reservations into the future at no cost or commitment from them. If they change their minds or don't fulfill their commitment to attain the required certificate they just cancel the reservation without any hesitation. Some who don't cancel the reservation in time get automatically charged for 1 nights stay as a cancellation penalty and then complain to Marriott and their credit card companies of being victimized.

I don't blame the customer for gaming the system or abusing the generous benefits. It is certainly Marriott's responsibility for providing this capability and maintaining it. Hey, here is an idea. Maybe Marriott should charge customers who don't have the points for the reservation a fee to hold the reservation for them. The longer the hold, the more the cost of the fee. Airlines do this already. I would love that as an investor. I think I will bring this up on our next investor conference call.

But this practice is also very not fair to other customers who do have the points and want to secure the reservation immediately but cant find the reward redemption inventory availability because others have tied it up with promissory notes. This practice may also artificially inflates the paying customer's nightly rate because of demand side economics.

Ethically, this thread seems exceedingly disingenuous to be claiming to be victimized by the integration when Marriott has allowed the customer (via a benefit) to book a reward redemption reservation with a promise to pay in the future.

Well its certainly Marriott's responsibility to clean this up now so it is what it is but I would certainly encourage the establishment to review its policies and recommend sunsetting this benefit in the future. While I say that, I'm not certain the establishment would have any appetite in the near term to making additional cuts to what its customers would perceive as another devaluation of value.

The integration has been widely viewed as successful in many respects starting with the investor community, hospitality industry analysts, business community, and to the general population of MR membership (110 million strong).

I'm optimistic that these microscopic concerns will be cleaned up manually in due time as customers get closer to having to fulfill their promissory notes.
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- wannabeplatinumpremier @ globaltreker on Aug 26, 2018 11:18 AM
  I don’t see the logic in your post. When you reserve a cash rate you don’t pay up front. Why should points be treated any differently?
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  - o0o0o0o0o0o...points! @ wannabeplatinumpremier on Aug 26, 2018 12:24 PM
    It was different for SPG, and other chains. And, it is still different for the SPG legacy brands - you need the points up front.
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  - globaltreker @ wannabeplatinumpremier on Aug 26, 2018 3:37 PM
    Easy..... Cash rate is always available until hotel is sold out. Reward redemption inventory is limited by property, season, room types, and views!
    
    Also, not all cash rates types are created equal and available all the time. For example, advanced purchase discounted rates are also limited as well as some other discounted rates such as M11, E0P, AAA, etc.
    
    Many new rates also require cash deposits and I'm in favor of more of this. Another example, JW Marco Island now requires non-refundable cash deposits during High Winter Months, July 4th, Christmas, New Year's, etc.
    
    This is a sign of things to come because of the reservation abuses.
    
    Not fair folks get something for nothing in return and abuse the system. That's the formula for change.
    
    These folks are Dark Insiders.....
    
    Marriott should kill this benefit if it sees too many folks abusing or gaming the system to the detriment of the greater 110M customers and Investors.
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  - hallchr @ wannabeplatinumpremier on Aug 28, 2018 5:28 PM
    I agree, the reservations are guaranteed with a credit card and if 10 days before you are due to check in you get contacted to either buy points or change the reservation, it enables people like me who earn about 750k points per year to plan and book holidays well in advance. Marriott are currently hold 37 reservations for me in the next 6 months, all for cash, all guaranteed with a credit card... I never pay in advance. This particular booking was for a specific room in a specific hotel ok it cost me 760k points for 10 days including the 2 free ones and that was guaranteed by me 11 months in advance... I'm happy, the Hotel are thrilled whats the problem.
    
    I assume some people might abuse the system but people abuse Credit cards, I am currently in a Marriott where someone only yesterday checked out, paid their bill then disputed the bill with the Credit Company
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    - globaltreker @ hallchr on Aug 28, 2018 8:52 PM
      Im OK with it as long as you pay for that privledge.
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wetravel2 Aug 27, 2018 12:14 AM
I got a bit stressed as i booked my trip for the JW Cancun back in July. However I had plenty of points so this does not seem to be any issue. Hope it all gets worked out for anyone who fell into the snafu
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chcummings Aug 27, 2018 6:43 AM
Can someone confirm if the reservation says "
This reservation has e-certificate(s).
Does that mean the e-certificates have already been ordered and sent? This is what I'm seeing on my two reservations. One was for points and one was from the Marriott Personal credit card cert.

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- o0o0o0o0o0o...points! @ chcummings on Aug 27, 2018 8:41 AM
  Yes (or, at least they will be when it's time to send them to the hotel probably around 5 days before your arrival date), otherwise if the reservation hasn't been satisfied, it looks like this:
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  - lordoggsbury @ o0o0o0o0o0o...points! on Aug 28, 2018 4:17 PM
    The issue, in my case, is that an October reservation made in June with points I already HAD, has gone from "has e-certificates" with the pre-8/18 Level to suddenly appearing in my Merged Profile as "Order e-certificates" with the new (higher) Points Level shown with the same reservation number. Have time to let it shake out, but still annoying.
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iverge Aug 27, 2018 11:49 AM
MARRIOTT CONFIRMS IT WON'T INCREASE PRICES FOR STAYS BOOKED WITH POINTS ADVANCE!

“We are honoring the lower rates members booked for stays before August 18, even if they do not have a certificate attached to the reservation. We apologize for any confusion.”

Read more here:

Marriott Confirms No Increases for Stays Booked With Points Advance
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- gjodieg @ iverge on Aug 27, 2018 2:50 PM
  Will these automatically revert to the original points? I've booked the Essex House at 45,000 which is now showing as 60,000 per night.
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  - iverge @ gjodieg on Aug 27, 2018 11:51 PM
    No, it will not happen automatically. You will need to call and explain that the reservation was made prior to Aug. 18. The agent will be able to adjust the number of points required.
    
    Unless you are travelling soon I'd wait a week until hopefully the wait times to get an agent on the phone will come down.
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  - o0o0o0o0o0o...points! @ gjodieg on Aug 28, 2018 6:01 AM
    No, either the points required will be adjusted, or they will deposit the points difference for you. If you have almost the amount of points, and would have it with the points difference they give you AND you want to 'finalize' it, they may do all of that on the phone.
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  - bejacob @ gjodieg on Aug 28, 2018 8:23 AM
    The system is configured to show the current "value" of the reservation in points, not the number of points you used to book the reservation.
    
    When the price (in points) goes up, the reservation shows the new value, but Marriott does not deduct any additional points as long as the booking was finalized and the points taken from your account. Here's the kicker. If you try to cancel and rebook, you will only get back your original points used, but then have to pay at the higher points cost when you rebook.
    
    So, to answer your question, "no, the system will not automatically revert to the original points." It will continue to show 60k per night despite the fact that the stay only cost you 45k per night.
    
    This happens every time Marriott increases the points needed for a particular property.
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- globaltreker @ iverge on Aug 27, 2018 3:56 PM
  I hope this news is accurate. I typically don't rely on independent media outlets for such policy clarifications unless they come straight from Marriott.
  The referenced media outlet did not post the source (name of Marriott Representative) which confirmed the policy.
  
  Regardless, Marriott should clarify this information itself on their website. It would go along way to demonstrating that they are not the Evil empire many Dark Insiders portray them as.
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bitting Aug 27, 2018 5:03 PM
#Called rewards number today after following this thread. Several months ago we booked 2 stays for September using points, 3 days at the St. Ermin’s Hotel in London and 6 days at the Domes of Elounda in Crete. We had not yet requested the e-certificates. Had I not called, our Greece stay would have cost us 90K points additional to our original booking. It took an hour on the phone to work through this and the first rep I spoke with had to bump up my call. Since we have made no changes to our reservations they adjusted our account to reflect only the original charge. If you made reservations before August 18 and are using e-certificates don’t assume they will automatically be adjusted! #Redemption
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hallchr Aug 28, 2018 9:00 AM
All Sorted... Long convoluted conversations but account was adjusted to reflect new rate and e Certificate sent to hotel....
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- nipper @ hallchr on Aug 28, 2018 9:12 AM
  Congrats, glad it worked out.
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  - hallchr @ nipper on Aug 28, 2018 9:23 AM
    Thank you!
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- brightlybob @ hallchr on Aug 29, 2018 8:59 AM
  Yes, great to hear that and I’ve no doubt this will be a valuable and reassuring place for others seeking an answer.
  
  Well done on your perseverance, you’ve made out like a bandit on that redemption!
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beachbabesuze Aug 29, 2018 9:43 AM
I had multiple reservations before the Aug 18 merger with e-certificates---nothing changed on my end except for the one I changed on my own. One of my hotel stays for Dec 2018 (the Mansion in Savannah) required LESS points after the merger due to the category change. I cancelled my original reservation and rebooked with less points. My other reservation for Key West Oct 2018 remained the way I booked it---if I want to change it now it will cost me more points Both of my reservations show that the e-certificates are on file already
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verysuiteboy Aug 30, 2018 4:18 PM
Latest status update from Marriott says

Points Advance Reservations: In some instances, Points Advance Reservations made prior to August 18 under the old award chart, incorrectly converted to the new award chart category (costing more points). Please contact us to have your reservation adjusted.
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- o0o0o0o0o0o...points! @ verysuiteboy on Aug 31, 2018 9:19 PM
  So, I can tell you that is just a statement on a web page - it can be spun to sound like anything that suits the rep on the phone's answer. Many of the reps either 1) don't even know about the page, and/or 2) didn't know the page was updated. So, this is a luck of the draw situation on the rep and/or supervisor you get. I called a couple days ago, was told the reservations wouldn't be updated but when I was ready to apply points, the reservations would be honored; similar story reported to others. As of yesterday, new info clear as mud on the status page... or so you would think...
  
  Just called again, based on the status update - 1st rep did not have a clue about the status update, she said if it it existed, she'd get the points adjusted. Long hold... tried to repeat that if the points weren't attached to a reservation, members would have to pay new point values. Pointed her to the status page, she said she'd transfer me to a supervisor, but the supervisor would probably say the same thing. Long hold... supervisor said the same thing, and was quite belligerent in her tone. Made sure to quote "In some instances..." and made sure to inform me that I didn't fall under one of those instances. I asked her to define "Points Advance Reservation" for me, and she read the "...reservations made by "March 5" blurb, which they just need to remove, because I don't know anyone on the planet who saw the "March 5th points advance reservations" blurb prior to 18 August! Anyway, got into the mode of "OK, this person just doesn't get it", and I let her continue to tell me off and direct me to websites to read, until I got off the phone after a 52-min call. Both the rep and supervisor hunkered down that Marriott would not be honoring old points rate reservations where the points were not attached prior to 18 August, because attaching the points counts as a change to the reservation, thus making it a "new program" reservation. "If that were the case, anyone could have made reservations without points expecting them to be honored, and there's no way Marriott would allow that."
  
  It's going to be a "keep pluggin' away until you get the right rep on the line, or bust" situation...
  This is going to be fun...
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  - verysuiteboy @ o0o0o0o0o0o...points! on Aug 31, 2018 9:31 PM
    The rules are one thing. Execution of the rules are another.
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    - o0o0o0o0o0o...points! @ verysuiteboy on Aug 31, 2018 10:32 PM
      3rd (or 4th) call (I lost track), but after the YMMV method, issue resolved... Yeesh!
      So, if anyone needs to get their reservations adjusted, as annoying as it may be, keep pluggin' at it until you get someone that is as persistent as you! Ask for "Loyalty Care" also, as they seem to be the ones that need to handle this - regular reps (according to them) cannot adjust the reservations.
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iverge Sep 5, 2018 11:13 PM
UPDATE

My reservation which starts in 6 days didn't automatically deduct the required points (system says e-certificates will be auto ordered 7 days prior). I called and spoke to a reservation agent who redeemed the award at current pricing then she manually added the points difference to my account. So I am "whole".
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hallchr Sep 21, 2018 1:31 PM
Interestingly enough... when I reached my required 760,000 points and contacted MR, they check my reservation and they said it was showing 1,300,000 whereas my reservation was showing 1,440,000 anyway handover my 760,000 points and the eCert was dispatched, all I need is for my SPG Amex points to be added then I can book the Maldives!!
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- brightlybob @ hallchr on Sep 21, 2018 5:34 PM
  Well good luck on the AMEX points. I’m still awaiting AMEX points from beginning August and Septembers are now also 2 weeks overdue...
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boulderlaw Sep 28, 2018 6:58 PM
It took two calls to CS and an email, but my reservation has been honored:

"Thank you for kindly reaching out to Marriott Customer Care
Thank you for your patience
As you are aware, the amount of points needed for your reservation increased after the combining of the loyalty program. In order to honor your original amount of 180,000 points, I needed to add 60,000 points to your account to cover the difference. In your account activity, you will see 60,000 points added to your account, and then 240,000 removed.

Again I apologize that it has taken so long to get this done for you"
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- brightlybob @ boulderlaw on Sep 29, 2018 12:49 AM
  It’s good to hear these problems are at last being resolved, but it is taking some time!
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  - o0o0o0o0o0o...points! @ brightlybob on Sep 30, 2018 10:04 AM
    Those added points from 'mishandled' reservations are also counting toward LT status (or at least they were), so this is yet another method to pad up your LT points...
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Didn't Order your Reward certificate before the merge we will double the points required

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