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Background
Last summer, many of us bought Marriott travel packages before it was too late. Prior to the Marriott/SPG merger, travel packages were a great deal. As a reminder, a Marriott Travel Package is a way to use Marriott points to purchase a travel bundle: a set number of airline miles plus a 7 night Marriott stay certificate. In the old program, it often made sense to purchase a travel package even if you were only interested in the airline miles. At the time, you could return the stay certificate for a modest number of Marriott points and you would end up with a pretty terrific exchange rate from Marriott points to airline miles.
For the purpose of this post, let’s call the pre-merger program Marriott Rewards, and the post-merger program Marriott Bonvoy. That way, we can refer to the old travel packages as Marriott Rewards packages, and the post-merger packages as Bonvoy packages.
In the months leading up to the Marriott SPG merger, some of us speculated that the value of the Marriott Rewards stay certificates would increase. We knew that old program categories were impossible to map one to one to new program categories, so there was potential for big wins. I personally wrote maybe a half dozen posts speculating on what would happen and suggesting which category hotel packages were the best bets for big wins.
When the new Marriott Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy travel package mappings were announced, we were bitterly disappointed. Not only didn’t we win big, but many certificate holders seemed to lose. If you had bought a a Category 6, 8, Ritz Tier 1-3 package, you had made a bad bet since those packages mapped to the same Bonvoy categories as the one-level-cheaper Rewards categories. For example, both category 1-5 and category 6 Marriott Rewards stay certificates became Bonvoy category 1-4 certificates. 
Fortunately, Marriott stepped back from that initial position and allowed Rewards category 6, 8, and Ritz Tier 1-3 certificate holders to request a one time 30K points refund (if you haven’t requested the refund, don’t forget to do so). This brought their net cost down to the next lower level. So we ended up with a fair mapping where most certificate owners come out even when comparing point values in the Marriott Rewards program to point values in the Bonvoy program at standard rates (as opposed to peak or off-peak rates):
As you can see above, those who bought category 1-5 Marriott Rewards packages can still use their certificates for hotels priced standard at 25K, just as they could before. And, once peak pricing kicks in, it will be possible to use those same certificates during peak pricing dates. So, arguably, the package has increased in value slightly. The same is true for Marriott Rewards category 7 packages. Category 9 comes out slightly ahead even compared to standard rates since category 9 was previously good for only up to 45K points per night, but it’s now good for 50K points per night hotels. Ritz Tier 4-5 package owners didn’t fair as well since the old package covered stays up to 70K points per night whereas the Bonvoy equivalent covers stays worth only 60K points per night at standard rates. If you book during peak pricing, though, you’ll come out even.
Regarding Attached Certificates
No advantage to keeping it attached
If you’ve attached your stay certificate to an award stay, but you plan to cancel or reschedule that stay, then I believe that there’s no advantage to keeping the certificate attached. We previously speculated that attaching certificates to hotels which have subsequently been assigned to higher categories might make those certificates more valuable. We’ve since learned that that’s not the case. For example, if you used a Marriott Rewards category 9 certificate (45K per night) to book a hotel which is now category 8 (85K per night), you won’t get an upgraded certificate if you cancel or reschedule your stay.
Similarly, I don’t think you’ll be able to simply reschedule the stay without it getting re-priced. I haven’t tried this option though, so it at least has a chance of working.
Canceling results in old certificate
I’ve personally cancelled two reservations that were made with Marriott Rewards Category 9 certificates. In one case (described here) I called to cancel the reservation. Initially, the old category 9 certificate was returned to my account, along with its original expiration date. In that case, I needed a certificate with a new expiry date, so I asked the phone agent to update it to a Bonvoy certificate. Once he did so, I had a new expiration date that was a year out.
Later, I cancelled my second reservation online. Again, I simply got back the Marriott Rewards Category 9 certificate with the old expiry date. I haven’t yet asked to convert this one to a Bonvoy certificate. As things stand right now, my certificate will expire on July 26th:
Expiring soon. What to do.
If you bought a Marriott Rewards travel package last summer and you haven’t yet used, converted, or refunded the stay certificate, then your certificate will soon expire. Here are your options:
Convert to a Bonvoy stay certificate
Advantages: Extend expiration date by a year
Disadvantages: Can no longer refund for points. May be only a one time extension.
A simple way to extend the expiration date of your certificate is to call Bonvoy to ask them to convert the certificate from an old Rewards certificate to a new Bonvoy certificate. If you’re super lucky you’ll get an agent who understands what that means and how to do it.
The downside is that new certificates have more restrictions. Specifically, they’re no longer worth much if you want to cancel and get points back. If I recall correctly, I think Marriott said at some point that you’ll only get a token 10K points back for any category Bonvoy stay certificates. With the old certificates, refunds start at 45K and go up from there by 30K points per category.
We also don’t know if Marriott will allow Bonvoy certificate expiration dates to be extended. Marriott Rewards agents used to readily allow this simply by calling in the request, even though it technically wasn’t allowed. Will Bonvoy agents do the same? We don’t yet know.
Refund for points
Advantages: Points have far fewer restrictions and no expiration dates (as long as you maintain regular activity in your account)
Disadvantages: A seven night stay certificate, if used properly, is significantly more valuable than the number of points returned. Plus it may be nearly impossible to find a Bonvoy agent who knows how to refund the points.
This will not work with a new style Bonvoy stay certificate, but if you have an old-style Marriott Rewards stay certificate, you should be able to request a points refund according to the chart above. For example, if you refund a category 9 certificate, you should get 165,000 points back. If you wanted to use those points at a Bonvoy category 6 hotel (50K per night), you’d only be able to stay 3 nights. However, if you used them at a category 5 hotel (35K points per night), you’d be able to stay 5 nights thanks to Marriott’s 5th Night Free awards. Plus, you’d have 25K points left over which is almost enough for a 6th night. In short, points are much more flexible, but also less valuable than an ideal use of a stay certificate.
In my case, I’m leaning towards seeking a refund for my last unused certificate right before it expires, but I’m hoping that I’ll realize a good use for it before then.
Set a reminder
If you haven’t yet decided what to do about your stay certificate, I recommend setting an automated reminder for a few weeks before it expires. I considered adding a reminder to my calendar for this purpose, but I know from experience that I often ignore those calendar reminders. A better solution, I think, for those who use Gmail is to send yourself an email and then snooze it.
1) Send yourself a reminder email. You might even want to include a link to this post within the email.
2) Open the email and click the little clock icon. Select Snooze until.. Pick date & time.
3) Pick a date for the email to re-appear with plenty of time before your certificate expires:
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For new Bonvoy certificates, how does the expiration date work:
Do you need to BOOK the stay before the expiration date?
Or do you need to COMPLETE the stay before the expiration date?
I am sure you have to stay by then.
I’m catching up on my reading so a bit late here. And, unfortunately, this post came out after we were #Bonvoyed. I called Marriott to extend my husband’s 5 night certificate. (Yes, we are Vacation Club owners.) I did not know the cert would have to be reissued. Agent said no problem & new expiration date will be a year from your call (April 12). Within an hour, the certificate was gone, an additional 220,000 Bonvoy points were taken out of the account and there were 2 $20 charges on his Bonvoy Amex. (Who knows why the $40 was charged but the first rep I talked with could see it.)
I made my first phone call on April 13. There have been multiple emails, a Twitter posting & a DM and we still don’t have any of the missing points, certificates or money back. Marriott reps have admitted it was their mistake, it’s been escalated to a “higher level customer service team” and every communique says it will be resolved in 3-5 days.
So beware…and be careful.
I bought an old 7 night Rewards package and attached it to the Domes of Elounda for mid July, 2019. I will not be able to go in July. If I cancel, I will receive only 165,000 points and the hotel now costs 85k per night?! Is there anyway to extend the stay?
I can’t promise this will work, but you can try this:
1. Book an award stay in the future when you can go.
2. Call Marriott and ask them to switch your certificate from the current stay to the new one
3. Call again and again until you find someone who is both willing and able to make it happen
Evidently the certificate was never attached and I had to cancel the reservation at Domes of Elounda when I discovered the cancellation period was 30 days and I was slightly within it. Is there any way to use it for anything other than a current Category 6 property? The old MR certificate expires August 17.
Hi – so I have an old unattached Cat. 1-5 certificate. If I were to use it today (June 13 2019), I can only book up to a Cat. 4 hotel, correct? I cannot use it for a Cat 5 hotel right? Thanks.
Correct. Old cat 5 hotels became new cat 4s.
[…] Marriott travel packages expiring soon. What to do. […]
Cashing it out for points, IMHO, should be the absolute last resort.
Compare the refund “cost” of the hotel portion of the package to a 7 night points stay, remembering to adjust for 5th night free. Or even compare to the cost of a 5-night stay. Your certificate beats out that cost every time.
For example, let’s say you have a cat 1 – 5 cert, which can be refunded for 45k points. If you can find a 2-night or longer stay where you can use that cert, you have already beat the cost of the cert by at least 5k points. 3 nights, and you win by 30k points, 4 or 5 nights? You win by 55k points.
It’s trivial to do the math for the other category certificates.
Overall, the old travel packages were terrific deals, and that really had nothing to do with the program merger. Some people gambled on these packages, but nobody lost anything at the end of day once Marriott decided to allow people to claim the difference in the package cost for the old categories that were merged into lower categories. Even better if you transferred your miles to United and got the 25% rewards+ bonus.
-David
Thanks for the reminder here. I set remiders to use the cert
What about those certificate come with Ritz Credit Card? Can we extend them? Convert them?
I was able to extend the certificate once and these can be used in properties requiring 60k points or less.
I’m also trying find out if I can extend my cert. I bought a cat 8 cert in July and linked it to a property. When I knew for sure I couldn’t go, I called at the end of Dec and got a new cat 5 and 30K. The new cert has an expiration date of Dec 2019, but I might not be able to use it by then. I will likely also need to extend it. Looks like no datapoints on this.
Can you give a 7 day cert to a family member to use? are they transferrable? can you just add them to the res and let them check in? if not I may be Bonvoyed because I have too many that expire soon and 30k if I were able to get it compared to a 7 night stay would make me feel Bonvoyed from both ends.
I don’t think you can transfer to anyone else. You have to book these under your own name.
Should have added to original post, had to call in (number Greg posted), took 30+ minutes for rep to figure it out and process the refund.
@Lynn: Do you mean you canceled an old category 6 certificate and received 75k points in total?
Yes, that is what I did.
Just received a point refund 2 weeks ago, including 30,000 “extra” points for a cat. 6.
Perfect timing. For those of us with the 5 night marriott rewards certificate, any idea how many points we would get as a refund (cat 1-5)?
I don’t know
I have already extended one cat 1-4 7 night cert already. What’s the probability that we can extend it for another year? Was that even possible Pre Bonvoy?
Pre-Bonvoy, yes it was possible. I don’t know about post-Bonvoy
Thanx for this post. I remember Marriott having a webpage setup at the time all the speculation was happening, to request for the 30k Marriott Rewards Point refund (there was even drop down menu open seem for the refund if I recall correctly), which I submitted. I just looked at my Marriott account and do not see any refund.
Anyone recall this webpage points refund option? Or have received the refund from submitting the webpage request?
Same. Submitted long ago and no refund or movement on it.
I think you’d need to call or try submitting it again.
These were the instructions from Marriott:
…members who purchased a Category 6, Category 8 or Tier 1-3 certificate prior to 8/18 are able to request a one-time exchange for a package one category lower. To submit a request, contact us at https://www.marriott.com/marriott/contact.mi Select “packages – deals” from the drop down menu.
Note that the drop-down menu item is actually: Managing Accounts/Points Inquiries/Packages and Deals
YMMV, but I submitted a request at that link two days ago and received the below response this morning:
“Thank you for contacting Marriott Bonvoy in regards to exchanging your travel package.
Please give us a call at 1-800-535-4028 and our Customer Care Team will be happy to assist you with this matter.
We appreciate your loyalty to Marriott Bonvoy and look forward to hosting your next stay with us. If you need assistance booking your next stay, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 1-888-625-4988.”
Here is the official statement from Marriott:
https://insiders.marriott.com/blogs/exclusive-news/2018/08/20/travel-packages-update
Good luck!
Hi Greg, so what happens if I already attached a category 8 certificate to a reservation? Will I still be able to request for the 30K points refund?
Probably not if you attached it to a pre-merger category 8 hotel, but you could always give it a try. What’s the worst that can happen? Just kidding: the worst is really bad. They could give you 30K after detaching the cert and then they’ll be unable to re-attach it if they changed it to the new format.
Join the discussion…Greg, I seem to remember talk of the certificates being extended by a year when you requested the 30k refund for the different package costs. Do you know if this is/was true? Could be another way of extending whilst maintaining the flexibility / benefits of the old certificates.
I think that only happens if they issue the new style certificate
I submitted a request at that link and they responded next business day saying it had been completed.
Almost too quick – I purposefully started the request a month before my package expired, thinking this might take a few weeks to sort out. The expiration date was extended one year, so I almost wish I had waited a few more weeks.