Canceling Marriott Bonvoy Awards Could Cost You A Fortune

Wonder if for a worst case scenario like not being able to reach on the first day to due to flight delay or even someone testing positive for covid right before the trip if it's possible to do a remote "check in" to the room without yet being present.

I lost sleep back in December right before a trip to Marriott Wailea Maui for 5 nights that had a 60 day cancellation period and cash punishment for not making it was 9k! Fortunately we did make it on expected day!

But if they overbook and have to walk us to a different hotel, we get a pantry item.

Firstly, that policy is just insane. However, with Marriott, it is clear that the traveling public are the product not the customer; franchisees/property owners are the customer.

Secondly, in the case of late arrivals because of flight delays, etc., can't you just call ahead and ask to be checked in anyway? While I've never had this happen on a reward stay, I can think of several times I expected to arrive late at night but flight delays/cancelations pushed my arrival to early the next morning. I've never had any problem calling the hotel and asking them to keep the night in my booking so I can get in the room as soon as I arrive (i.e., before normal check-in). If you are happy to pay for the night, it shouldn't actually matter if you're late, right?

"St. Regis Aspen is encouraging people to buy travel insurance in pre-stay emails."

I seriously doubt that this would be an easy sell to travel insurance. Are you sure they'd cover a charge that was made after the stay? They always want scores of documentation including the booking confirmation..which would have only had a points value when you made it.

There are a few posts on the Marriott Bonvoy Facebook group which call out some travel insurance companies which would pay the cash no-show or cancellation fees in case of trip disruption on an award redemption. This is usually for non-Covid related cases (e.g flight delay). Would be interested to know of specific examples of this type of coverage.

We have a friend traveling to the Maldives later this year during a peak time on an award ticket and the cancellation fee is similar to that outlined above in the article. He inquired into the “99% of fees” with the hotel, which said that the fees would be based on the rate paid on arrival, not at booking. So for a “free” 7 day stay (600,000 points), his downside is potentially $25k or $3500 or more per night. That’s a lot of risk.

If your saying non covid cases only covered by insurance, then what about no shows due to covid, no way to cover that risk?

This is just outrageous. Especially when Marriott and other companies tout customer-friendly change and cancellation policies because of COVID.

An award stay is paid with points. The reasonable penalty for cancellation is points. You ask why cash? Remember, Marriott "makes a market" in points with both members AND PROPERTY OWNERS. So, it is because the property receives more from cash relative to what Marriott would reimburse the property for the points.

I'm not sure this policy would survive the strict scrutiny of some state consumer protection laws. Especially with a consumer-friendly state attorney general. This strikes me as difficult for them to legally defend. Especially if they return your points and never disclose what amount of cash is 99% of the rate.

Does anyone have experience with this issue outside the US? I fully expect US hotels to charge every imaginable fee or other money grabbing scheme but have others found this to be common outside the US?

Frankly I have always been baffled by these types of cancellation policies.

For starters, I doubt that they would be enforceable if challenged in court. The cancellation fee is often not specifically disclosed and sometimes depends on the applicable rate on the date of arrival (not date of booking as in the example in the article). For this to be legal it seems the reservation confirmation would need to state something like "The nightly rate for this stay is $ XXX per night. Cancel 60 days prior to avoid penalty equal to full amount due. If and only if you check in on the scheduled date of arrival you will have the option to exchange YYY Marriott Bonvoy points in order to reduce the nightly rate to $0."

Second, as much as hotels may have a logic to recoup some of the missed compensation paid to them by Bonvoy, it does not justify a cancellation penalty this high:
- The compensation paid Bonvoy would typically not have been 99% of the paid rate, and in many cases would have been much lower.
- While I appreciate that no-shows can significantly affect occupancy rate and therefore diminish the compensation paid by Bonvoy for any guests staying using points, this is a feature of the contractual relationship between Bonvoy and the hotel, rather than a "damage" recoverable from no-showing guests.

I guess the only scenario where this policy could be advantageous to guests is where they cancel or no-show for a trip due to a circumstance covered by travel insurance. In this case it could be preferable to get insurance to cover the cash penalty (and get the points refunded for a future trip), rather than having to argue with the insurer over the value of the forfeited points.

Use a prepaid Visa when making reservation, or use an older inactive credit card. It always works for me. No liability when cancelling.

"At many Marriott Bonvoy properties, if you cancel your points booking within the cancelation deadline..." should read 'OUTSIDE the cancellation deadline', unless I'm reading it wrong. The whole sentence sounds awkward.

I've also run into this with the St Regis Deer Valley. The safest thing is to make the reservation with a $50 prepaid Visa card so that in the event that something happens, the hotel can't gouge you. It is an insane policy, as it is entirely unreasonable to charge you more than you would have paid to actually use your stay.

Funny how alll these bloggers still love bonvoy when they have such unfriendly consumer policy’s.

Not just Marriott to watch out for. Canceling a stay at the Hyatt in Bug Sur after the deadline will cost you the full room rate for one night ($2,000+). I opted not to make a speculative booking for that reason. I can maybe understand this policy if you cancel one or two days before, but heir window was like two weeks. During the pandemic, any number of things can happen that would interrupt your plans.

4111 1111 1111 1111

There’s your new credit card number when making one of these reservations. Any expiration date will work.

At least it used to work.

Between the devaluation/dynamic pricing and this onerous cancellation policy, this feels like Season 2 of “Surprise, you’ve been Bonvoyed!”.

Someone in the other thread mentioned Costco travel. That might be spot-on. Or just go with Hyatt. They seem to offer the best hotel loyalty program.

The way the reservation system works, it only checks if the card number is in a valid format, not that it is valid.

Just so happens that the Visa test card number (4111 1111 1111 1111) passes this test.

🙂

Every article promoting a Bonvoy credit card should come with a disclaimer linking to all the bad stories about Bonvoy.

Especially risky when traveling on an award ticket, assuming that it’s booked through a US airline and operated by a different carrier.

If there are any flight disruptions the operating carrier will tell your friends to contact the ticket issuing airline for rebooking and vice-versa.
Been there…done that…wasn’t funny.

In a legal standpoint, the cancellation policy is very vague. ‘99% of your room charge for your entire reservation’

In law we would ask ourself:
-What room charge and how would this amount be determined? Technically the form of currency was points?
-What constitutes ‘room charge’. The Bon Voy terms and conditions do not have a definition of ‘Room Charge’.

I recently booked at the W Verbier and was told post-booking that this was the policy. Since I never agreed to the policy when booking the reservation, they cannot amend the policy without my approval. Thus, I would have been entitled to a full refund should they had charged me.

With these 2 factors, this could be disputed with your credit card company as you did not agree to an amount for ‘room charge’ so it was unauthorized.

Yeah, while the practice is disgusting and not hospitable, which is counter to the ethos of a hotel, I'd think it could easily be avoided by using the Bonvoy App to check-in remotely.

The hotel could then show Bonvoy that the room was occupied and thus get their usual reimbursement and the traveller could take screenshots of the app saying they're checked-in as proof that they were not a "no show."

Anyone have data points on doing that?

I've recently experienced this a the W Reserva Conchal. Same story as many - I received an email after-the-fact with a ridiculous penalty should I fail to not arrive as planned (on top of a 60 day cancelation deadline because it was the hotel's high season).

I pushed back on this, and the hotel couldn't really give me a good answer as to why they wouldn't just accept the points I had booked with if I wasn't able to make it (even though I had every intention of travelling as planned) They indicated I'd need to talk to Marriott about this....so I did. Of course, that also went nowhere. The agent offered many apologies and "understood what I was saying" but couldn't provide any justification for allowing this practice. Apparently my complaint was going to be noted/escalated, but I never heard anything further - big surprise.

This is so crazy. Especially because if you get walked from a hotel because it's oversold, they will give you nothing. I honestly don't know how they can live with this. I'd say that if you know it's about to happen because your flight is cancelled, try checking in on the app or call the hotel to have them checking you in directly.
And def use a bogus credit card number during reservation...

@Ben do you have any high-level contacts at Marriott? If so, have you discussed this issue with them and what has their feedback been?

Are you able to do an online check in?

If the full amount cant be charged on card used for reservation, I would imagine Marriott will send a paper bill to your home which if left unpaid will eventually go to a collection agency and then eventually ruin your credit.

I’m sure they didn’t inform you via email, but reminded you. I’ll bet it’s in the terms you agreed to when booking.

I’m sure they didn’t inform you via email, but reminded you. I’ll bet it’s in the terms you agreed to when booking.

Any chance that if the hotel sells out and you show up you will be told "sorry, your reservation was made with invalid card and therefore has been canceled"?

I have found that the Marriott Resorts operate totally separately from Marriott Bonvoy, and I have found them to be difficult, not accomodating, and entirely unlike Marriott. Somehow, though they carry the name of Marriott, they are entirely separate, and get away with standards of conduct far below Marriott’s very high standards. So disappointing.

No. Here's the exact terms from Marriott.com for the booking (made entirely with points):

"Please note that we will assess a fee if you must cancel after this deadline. If you have made a prepayment, we will retain all or part of your prepayment. If not, we will charge your credit card. This fee equals 99 percent of your room charge for your entire reservation"

Email received afterwards stating that I'd be charged $1000/night....

I would imagine that the consumer protection laws in Switzerland are stricter than they are in the US. Generally hotels in Europe aren't able to screw customers quite as directly as they are in the United States.

Wow, this blows up fast.

Now if someone who actually got charged these cancellation fees could please share their story. I'm sure the PA AG who is on a hot streak against Bonvoy would love to hear about this. Maybe after resort fees, we start hunting down 30 day cancellation policies.

use a visa gift card,
use a credit card with a very low limit, like $200.

That’s what I am thinking. Unless you provide a real name but fake address but the collection agency might still track you down.

They aren't going to be able to report to a credit bureau for two reasons. One, they don't have my social security number. Two, I don't have a line of credit with them (and the hotel is not a credit issuing entity anyway). Their only recourse would be to take you to court for the amount they claim that you owe.

I suppose, but it's never happened to me. I think as long as you have a valid card upon check in you'd be OK, but it could be a risk...

I have a reservation at the Mauna Kea Autograph Collection in Hawaii and The policy says: "14 day cancelation period. Please note that we will assess a fee if canceled after this period.". So what is _a_fee_. There is NOTHING defined. Is it a hundred dollars, a milliin dollars or 10 million? I can not imagine this would be enforceable in a court of law. How can you enter a contract that leaves you open to in theory unlimited loss?

Instead of canceling the reservation even up to less than 48 hours. I change the reservation to a later date. Then cancel the reservation.

I cancelled a one night point redemption stay with a Marriott Resort in Palm Springs California last year. A few weeks later I get my credit card bill and it has a $400+ charge for the room. It didn't make sense to me why they'd do that (when I used points and cancelled within the allowed timeframe.) I had to call the hotel a few times and finally the charges were reversed. After reading this article it now makes a little more sense what and why this happened,

This also seems to be the policy at some Hilton's. In Chicago there are hotels near the convention center that will charge a fee of 1 night in cash for the 'going rate' if you cancel a points reservation inside of 30 days.

For all those suggesting the use of a bogus credit card number, remember two things:

1. Marriott can cancel your bonvoy account if you do that, it's right in the tos.
2. In many states, not making good on a hotel bill is the same as passing a bad check. And in the amount being discussed here, it would be a felony.

I suppose they can also re-sell a room as available inventory if someone couldn't show up and forfeited the punishing cash. This could be if the first guest had a 5 night booking, after being no show on the first night whole reservation becomes considered cancelled and then from night #2 onwards room could be re-added to available inventory.

So its a double win for the hotel, screwing the first customer who had award booking and then the amount paid by the new guest (or reimbursement for award booking).

I thought the hotel will charge you cash for one night only for NO SHOW.
Please verify.

Excellent if it works.
Never try.

I think all the go-around solutions and legal opinion to avoid paying totally unjustified fees outlined here would come to nought if Bonvoy continues to play dirty and simply cancels your Bonvoy account.
Could be a blessing in disguise as, really, who wants to continue dealing with a bunch of shysters?

Same policy at Hyaty.

its a scam to sell you trip “insurance”

I call BS on most of that.
If something like this ever went to court Marriott would probably loose.

Doubt it would work without actually showing up - it’s like checking in online for a flight and not making it.

Another reason to dump the last of my remaining Marriott points...

I am a disabled person and I like to book a room for the night before I plan to arrive, so when we arrive early in the morning the next day my room is ready and I can get into my bed to stretch out. My body can’t sit on a 5 hour flight and then sit around waiting for my room to be ready at 3-4 o’ clock.

If they did not let me , they would have a discrimination case. I would be very upset.

Whats the policy for no show?

Can anyone clarify that. Is the writer trying to say after the cancelation deadline? Within makes no sense. It's either before or after.

Does the author mean cancel AFTER the cancelation period? Saying canceling within seems incorrect and misleading.

Why has not more attention been given to this? Marriott hotel owners hope you cancel to benefit them.

For the entire god damn stay buddy! Went to Grand Wailea Maui last month on award stay for 280k points and had I not been able to make it for the 5 night stay where cash rate was over $1600 a night, would have been charged for 8 to 9k for the automatic cancellation!

I’ve noticed that Marriott has increased the number of points you need for each night of using you points. And now the BS with paying huge cash cancellation fees. This is my solution I’m using up all my points and when I finish using up all my points I will cancel my Chase Bonvoy card. there are many alternatives that maximize the users economic benefit for the use of a credit card. I have been a Marriott customer for more than 35 years before there were Marriott points and I received benefits from American Express. J.P. Morgan Chase has better benefits with its array of credit cards with excellent Chase services.

The property wouldn't want to waste time on any of that.

They just run your credit card, if it declines your reservation is cancelled.

Might work — I did a 2 night mattress run in December—checked in and out on app, never entered hotel. It all worked—points and elite nights posted and I was charged correctly (this was a cash stay). But I wonder if it is dependent upon the hotel having the in app key as a working option. Not all hotels have that so stopping at front desk is necessary to complete check in?

that's not even on the same scale as what Lucky is talking about here...

With all I've read about Marriot and their branded Chase Bonvoy credit card, I wouldn't have anything to do with this outfit.

I am a Bonvoy member. I made a reservation without using my points. I travel for work and had to change my reservation. I cancelled the reservation a week in advance of my stay and they charged me the full amount, over $900. Tried to resolve several times to no avail, they refused to refund my money. Marriots were my preferred hotels, not anymore.

Just call your cc company and ask for a charge back. Much easier than dealing with hotel.

Many Hyatt properties have the same policy. So be on the lookout there as well

For everyone saying use an old Visa gift card or generate a false credit card number - your reservation is not guaranteed. If the hotel is oversold, your reservation is the first to get canceled without compensation. The hotel does not have to "walk" you or find you alternative accommodations.

Absolute BS. you never received any services. It's not like walking out on a restaurant after you ate.
And it wasn't mentioned at the time of booking. An email afterward is meaningless. An email could be sent to the wrong address. An email could be undelivered.

I have run into this policy with Hilton's doubletree brand. Terrible experience. Overall now I think the Doubletree brand s****. Anyway the story: I was flying in and staying one night in Santa Monica at Doubletree on points before going on to my next stop. When I flew in, I was unexpected met by my brother at the airport and he wanted me to come stay with him, after stopping at the beach. We drove to the Doubletree and I went in and asked if I could cancel without penalty (I intended to stay if I 'had' to). Staff at front desk consulted with others and then told me that there would be no cost and I would even get my points back.

Great I say and left. Of course you can guess it didn't work that way. I got charged a cash price at rack rate. I was charged the max price for the night, over DOUBLE what I could on same day, walked up and gotten a room.

After I got my credit card statement, I called and emailed and went round and round. Kept getting passed from one person to another. Although it seemed like I would get them to perhaps fix it or compromise in some way, in the end I was just passed from one person to another. In hindsight, I think they were just trying to wear me out or waiting out the credit card dispute window.

Eventually, I did dispute with the credit card company, but was denied due to the fact that the credit card had recent shortened the dispute window by 10 days. I had waited to near the end of what I thought was the dispute window before charging it back. I wanted to give the hotel a chance, because I thought that was the right and/or polite thing to do.

The way the hotel treated me when I contacted them and followed up felt so egregious that I now refuse to stay at any Doubletree.

As for credit cards, now I generally give a merchant just 1 day to fix an issue and then ask for a refund with credit card. Rarely need to do this, but after never getting my money back from the situation above I just don't take the risk.

"So yeah, when you see the 99% penalty policy in rate rules when looking for a points booking, it’s every bit as bad as it sounds. Take note and plan accordingly."

I plan not to book at any hotel with this policy.

I work for a Marriott property. If this card was noticed the reservation would be cancelled immediately. Also there are many properties that will 'test' cards on sold out nights. If it doesn't work, they will cancel the reservation due to lack of a valid card guaranteeing the reservation past 6 p.m.

As a Bonvoy Ambassador told me recently, you really "have to read the fine print" -- and that's sad, because reading the fine print shouldn't be part of enjoying hospitality. yet it's the Marriott way.

I have stayed at hotels with remote check-in where the app-based key is not enabled/does not work until you actually reach the property and re-check-in with the front desk.

Grand cayman Westin. Had a December holiday booked few years back. Just lost my sister and was dealing with work issues. Didn't feel like going and called to cancel my points reservation. They offered to only charge me half the going rate 11,000 cash and return points. After talking to my family we decided togo and was a trip much needed.

I have been hoarding my Bonvoy hotel points for 15 years so my spouse and I can go on a once in a lifetime European trip this Fall for 3 weeks. I was just about to book my hotels. I have over 1.2 million points and now after reading this article, I don't want to risk booking any hotels within the Marriot brand hotels. It would be such a blow to our income if we had to cancel and pay 99% of what the hotel cost is. I am beyond pissed off! I appreciate this information and I am cutting up my f&cking Marriott Bonvoy credit card!!! Absolute SCAMMERS!!!!!

I sent this article to 60 Minutes. The public needs to know what Marriott is doing.

I am dealing with this issue right now. I want to book a Marriott resort in the Caribbean. I am not willing to lose $5K+ if something goes wrong. Ben, do you know of any insurance companies that work with point bookings?

mARRIOTT DESERT BREEZES CANCELLED MY DECEMBER WEEK, WITH AN EMAIL AND NO EXPLANATION. i ASKED FOR POINTS, NO, i ASKED FOR ANOTHER WEEK, nO, ALL THEY WOULD GIVE ME IS A CHANCE TO TOOK AT ANOTHER RESORT WHICH WOULD CHARGE ME A $100.00 BOOKING FEE. The adjacent marriott hotel however stayed open. would this be a recind on their contract.?

As a life-long hotelier, I’m pretty sure that the author’s guess on the reason for this is correct. I also think this policy and practice sucks. Airlines don’t even do this. BTW, the CRS usually only does the check digit routine on the CC, but more hotels are doing an zero authorization a few days before arrival. Using a fake or former CC might get you a cancelled rez.

Yes I was just told by St Regis Aspen that if the one person in my family did not check in to all 3 rooms we had on points we would be charged for the non checked rooms even though our flights were cancelled. Flight cancellation does not waive payment of the unused rooms at $3000 per night per room for a 6 night stay or $36,000 for the unused 2 rooms.

I found this post because I have a points stay during ski season in Colorado, and one of the hotels mentioned in this post will charge a high cancellation fee ($2,000+/night). I called the hotel to confirm and learned the fee only applies to cancellations - not modifications! If you re-book a points stay before check-in, you don't pay any fee, just the difference in points for the new dates. YMMV but you should inquire what the penalty is, if any, for modifying dates vs completely canceling the reservation

What about no shows because of sudden health issues (accidents, or sudden hospitilizations) or flight delays/cancellations or global events like weather or man made

There is no trip insurance that will cover you for penalties They only cover you for cash outlay used to book the vacation not cash penalties after the fact

That is exactly how things appear to me. They will cover "prepaid" costs. This charge for cancelling is not a "prepaid" cost.

Except for the fact that insurance won't cover these costs, sure.