In the past, I have redeemed for 4 x Marriott 5 Night Packages for Category 1-5 hotels, documented my experiences and then went on to explain why you should never redeem for anything more than a Category 1-5 Package.
In order to help out my fellow PointsNerd readers, I showed you how to actually redeem for the 5-Night Package yourselves though many readers reported difficulty in actually securing the package.
During this go around, I had a LOT of difficulties in trying to secure the package myself but ended up being successful.
Head Meet Brick Wall
Try as I might, every call into Marriott Vacation, Marriott Rewards, and Marriott International Locations resulted in “I’m sorry Mr. Loh, the 5-Night Package is for Marriott Vacation Club Members Only”.
Knowing that I had had success in securing 4 packages in the not too distant past, I wasn’t going to give up after a few 40 Marriott representatives said no.
Over the course of about a month, I called into Marriott about 40+ times and each resulted in a denial of my request.
About to Give Up
Two days ago, I transferred some additional SPG points to Marriott in order to purchase the 7-Night Packages because it didn’t seem like I was going to be successful in getting the 5-Night.
I had actually called at around 10:30 PM that same night to try once more and to accept the 7-Night package if I was unsuccessful. Luckily the office was closed at that time.
Luck Of The Draw
Yesterday, I called into Marriott and managed to wrangle myself another 3 x 5-Night Package from Marriott!
I told myself that I would try one more time before I gave up and it paid off.
The Process
Now, I can’t guarantee that this method will work for you but I’ll talk you through what I did in the hopes that you can recreate the success.
- Called into the Marriott Vacation Club line at 1-866-814-6901
- Pressed 2 at the prompt
- Pressed 0 a bunch of times until the interactive voice recording dumped me to the Reservations Team
- I explained to the reservations team that I was looking to purchase another Marriott Travel Package and was transferred to the Marriott Rewards Team. I’m not sure if this helped or if it just sends me to the same team that you would get if you called directly.
- I explained to the Marriott Rewards Representative that I was looking to purchase another Travel Package and he advised that it was only for Marriott Vacation Club Members. I asked him if that was a new policy and he said that it wasn’t new and was at least a year old. I then told him that I had previously been successful in getting the package and asked if he could try to put it through. He tried and was successful.
Need Some SPG Points?
If you need some additional points to purchase the Marriott Travel Package, look no further than the two American Express SPG Cards, the Personal and the Business. Both are on a promotion currently until October 18, 2017. The normal offer is 20,000 SPG points but the promotion has boosted it to 25,000, a significant increase!
Given that SPG transfer to Marriott at a 1:3 ratio, that’s 75,000 Marriott Points for every card you get!
- American Express SPG Personal – 20,000 SPG Points after $1,500 spend – $120 Annual Fee
- American Expres SPG Business – 20,000 SPG Points after $1,500 spend – $150 Annual Fee
Conclusion
Getting the 5-Night Package is proving to be more and more difficult but not impossible if you keep trying. The fact that the package can be purchased without being a Marriott Vacation Club Member confirms without a doubt that Marriott’s system does not expressly forbid the purchase but rather, the representative is the gatekeeper. If you can find a rep that is willing to try, you will be successful in your quest to secure the 5-Night Package.
As I purchased 3 packages, I saved myself 105,000 Marriott or 35,000 SPG points! Once the transaction was completed, I promptly transferred out my Marriott Points back to my SPG account.
