Earlier today you may have seen stories from OMaaT & Sam Chui that Marriott Air & Travel packages would be bookable under the current rates until August 3rd. Both sites have since issued corrections, this was due to incorrect information sent out by Marriott’s Dubai team. A lot of readers had sent me e-mails regarding this asking me to cover it and I suspect they won’t all see the corrections issued. On August 18th the air & travel packages will still be bookable, but under the new much more expensive rates.
Marriott still hasn’t confirmed how existing packages will be treated. As part of the initial statement they said (keep in mind that August 4th date is incorrect):
We encourage members with existing travel package certificates to book before August 4. After that date, those certificates will go dormant due to the new systems we have created to bring the loyalty programs together. Members should be rest assured though that we are working on a solution and will let them know as and when we have more information to share.
The optimists will say they haven’t told us as they plan to be generous and don’t want to create a rush on travel packages. The pessimists will say they haven’t told us yet because they plan to massively devalue the existing certificates. My personal opinion is that they will create a list of properties the certificates currently work on and that list will stay the same even after August 18th. I certainty hope I’m wrong and they decide to provide outsized value.
