Back in February I wrote about Marriott’s annual hotel category re-organization. Fortunately, only 18% of hotels are affected and in my opinion they seem to hit the more random hotels and not too many aspirational property. The greatest impact are the category 5 hotels that are moving up to a category 6. For those properties, the free night certificate earned from the Marriott credit card will no longer be an option.These changes take place tomorrow, March 25, 2016, so make sure to make any reward reservations NOW for hotels going up a category. You can see a list of all the hotels changing categories here.
Now, Marriott Cash + Point redemption options were supposed to be loaded into the system TODAY. However, I do not see that option yet available. Hopefully they will be available today so you can book a cash + point reservation at todays rate. You can learn more about cash + points here.
You can even make speculative reservations since Marriott doesn’t require you to have the points in your account at the time of booking. You just need to have the points when you show up at the hotel. Any changes after today will result in the new category price.
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Another item you may be aware of but didn’t mention, the new Marriott Rewards Member rates. If any readers have reservations already, they should look to rebook their reservation now to see if Marriott Rewards Member rates are available. I just did that on an upcoming trip and saved $23 with a few clicks and 2 minutes of time.
I’m disappointed at the number of hotels for which the Marriott certificate is no longer valid. At this point the annual free night is no longer worth the annual fee. I won’t be renewing my card this time.
@Lindy – I agree that the number of hotels have declined significantly. With that being said, I am still always able to get value out of my free night. For example, I just used it at a hotel that would have cost me $130/night + tax. Only having to pay $85 for the free night certificate saved me some money.