Marriott Fails to Refund Unused Certificates as Promised
Update 3/10/22: PDX Deals Guy and some others are reporting that points have started hitting their account for the unused certificates today. Be sure to check your account if you were waiting for one.
Marriott is getting rid of its award chart and will be transitioning to flexible points redemption rates. Marriott also ended its travel packages before the dynamic pricing goes into effect.
But after ending travel packages, the company said that it it would cancel and refund outstanding certificates. “If your Travel Package Award remains unattached after February 28, 2022, the hotel portion of your Travel Package Award will be automatically canceled and refunded in full to your Marriott Bonvoy Account in Points on March 1, 2022,” the announcement said.
The refund was supposed to work like this:
- If you bought a category 1-4 certificate and 110K miles for 330K Marriott points you will get a refund of 210K Marriott points after 2/28 if you don’t use your hotel certificate.
- Category 5 certificate and 110K miles for 390K Marriott points: Refund of 280K Marriott points after 2/28 if you don’t use your hotel certificate.
- Category 6 certificate and 110K miles for 510K Marriott points: Refund of 420K Marriott points after 2/28 if you don’t use your hotel certificate.
- Category 7 certificate and 110K miles for 570K Marriott points: Refund of 490K Marriott points after 2/28 if you don’t use your hotel certificate.
- Category 8 certificate and 110K miles for 750K Marriott points: Refund of 700K Marriott points after 2/28 if you don’t use your hotel certificate.
But the reality is this:
@MarriottBonvoy did not deposit points for unused travel certs as they said they would. They changed the cert into a different kind of cert and left the same short expiration on it. This is not what Marriott spokesman and reps said would happen. #ExpectationsMet pic.twitter.com/V8jHH4A1Wb
— Richard Kerr (@KerrPoints) March 3, 2022
Marriott has not deposited points for unused travel certificates as promised. Instead, these certificates in Marriott Bonvoy accounts have changed into a different type, but with the same expiration date. And Richard is not the only one with this issue. This is happening across the board for everyone who has unused certificates in their accounts.
Conclusion
It has only been a couple of days since the points were supposed to be refunded, so it’s possible that this is just a delay due to IT issues. We have reached out to Marriott for an explanation and will update this article if we get a response.
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I was told they’re having IT issues with the refunds… who knows if it’s true.
Well color me surprised…NOT! Sadly, this is what I’ve come to expect from Marriott. They’re the American Airlines of hotels.
As you suggest, wait and see what ultimately happens. But, based on the one member’s feedback, his certificate was not refunded but exchanged for a different type of certificate. But, if this *is* the ultimate result, why does anyone participate in these sham loyalty programs? Everyone being on notice, one gets what one deserves.
Bonvoyed again!