Marriott Rewards backtracks on its changes to Travel Packages

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This will hopefully be our last mention of Marriott Travel Packages for a while.

The excellent news is that Marriott has decided to compensate people who were most affected by the changes to Travel Packages last weekend.

The full story is in this article, but to summarise – Marriott had not told people in advance of the merger of SPG and Marriott Rewards what would happen to unused Travel Package certificates. When they revealed the answer, many people found themselves in a position which they could have improved with some advance notice.

The news is that anyone who has a Category 6, Category 8 or Tier 1-3 Travel Package can request a 30,000 points refund to reflect the fact that they would have got the same benefits from buying a cheaper Category 5, Category 7 or Category 9 certificate.

The refund is not automatic – you need to contact Marriott Rewards via the website and request it.

Marriott has also re-opened booking for Travel Package certificates so you don’t need to wait until 18th September to use them, as was previously announced.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (December 2021)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card usually comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

American Express Marriott Bonvoy credit card

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points sign-up bonus and 15 elite night credits Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card? It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status. We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

You can also earn American Express Membership Rewards points with American Express Gold (20,000 bonus points), the American Express Rewards Credit Card (5,000 bonus points) and – for small business owners – American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus points) and Business Platinum (40,000 bonus points).

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

H says:

22 Aug22 August 09:21

OT: Have Hilton DoubleTree in KL booked for 4 nights using points. I need a late checkout since flight is not till 6.30PM. Emailed the hotel but they can’t confirm late checkout will be available. I could change the booking to 5 nights since the 5th night is free on points but could the hotel and or Hilton charge me for leaving a day early? Or any other issues with this? Thanks
- Rash says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 09:43
  
  Email the duty manager, may get more feedback KULDT_DutyManager@hilton.com
- Lee says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 09:51
  
  Just leave on the 5th night without check out will do
- Leo says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 10:37
  
  Do you really need a late check out for a 6.30pm flight? If you have lounge access won’t they let you just use it after check out? I’ve done this before at Hiltons. Saying that I was diamond and now just Gold. Was hoping to do this in the KL Hilton later this year.
- Genghis says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 10:41
  
  Last year they let us stay in room till 4pm IIRC then we spent a couple of hours or so in the lounge before heading off to the airport.
  - H says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 14:55
    
    Thanks all. I emailed KULDT,DoubleTree@hilton.com before and they just said book another night. Have lounge at the airport but only Hilton Gold.
Nelson says:

22 Aug22 August 09:29

O/T but ba related. are the ba miles redemption with partners (latam, quantas etc.) Refundable? What about tax element?
- Rob says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 09:33
  
  Same rules for everyone, £35 cancellation fee and all miles back. Only Iberia has separate rules for partners.
MrK says:

22 Aug22 August 09:32

Reason being is that it was never officially announced and apparently only some NatWest users have the ability to redeem Reward appoints for Avios and others don’t.

It’s supposedly only in trial and going away soon and so no mention has officially been made on this site. However I’ve been gladly making use of it for the past few months so I’m not too sure how valid the above claim is.
- Rob says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 09:33
  
  Full marks 🙂
  - Stu N says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 17:17
    
    I’ve been very happily doing this too, shame if it goes away. Buying Avios at approx 0.8p works for me.
Lee says:

22 Aug22 August 09:53

OT – AMEX SPG card points
Has anyone got their August statement points transferred to SPG/Marriott yet? Mine was left Amex SPG account on 10th Aug. Thanks
- Darren says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 10:18
  
  My Amex SPG acc still has the points, no transfer to Starriott yet.
- Stuart says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 13:23
  
  My August points are still missing from SPG having left Amex on 7th August.
  - Lee says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 14:20
    
    Thanks Stuart, I contacted Amex and told there is nothing they can do.
RTS says:

22 Aug22 August 10:42

My travel cert still shows at cat 1 – 5… wonder if i can use it to book a cat 5 SPG hotel now?….
- Tom H says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 19:59
  
  +1
Andi F says:

22 Aug22 August 11:08

Is it a co-incidence that Lufthansa have launched a ‘fly together sale’ too? 40% off in business and 50% in First if flying together. 50% doesn’t sound as good as 2 for 1 but their headline offer from Shanghai is £3499 and Beijing £3999 for two people in First. Not direct of course but I understand it to be a better first class experience for a possibly cheaper price (it is FROM £3499, although I was able to get this price on a dummy booking).
Hsergio10 says:

22 Aug22 August 11:13

OT: Received an email from AMEX on which I can pay Netflix and Spotify with MR points on monthly basis , using a Membership Rewards auto redeem scheme
- mr dee says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 11:15
  
  Is it at a better rate than 0.4p for statement credit?
- Alan says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 21:36
  
  Interesting – no such email for me. What’s the exchange rate like?
  - Rob says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 21:39
    
    0.45p per point
Redhroogar says:

22 Aug22 August 11:16

Re:2for1 1st deals : do you both earn status and points on these? Sorry if this is a question easily answered by a bit of research myself????
- Rob says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 11:20
  
  Yes