Free night e-certificates are almost worthless now.
Aug 23, 2021
Prior to 2020/Covid, I could always use my Marriott free night e-certificates (an annual reward from my Marriott/now-Bonvoy Visa credit card) at any Marriott Hotel category 5 and below, which certainly offset the $85 fee I have had to pay for that card every year. However, the "new" policy for Bonvoy free-night e-certificates is they can only be used at hotels with points availability and nightly rates at 25,000 or below - or you can't use the free night at all (even at a Category 2 Fairfield Inn!). As a result, I've been sitting on 3 COVID-era Bonvoy e-certificates, two of which expire in January 2022 and the third of which expires in May 2022. With these new cheapskate restrictions, I either can't get the free night any day of the year in some places (Rapid City, SD properties cleverly set their point minimums above 30,000 year-round even in the off-season, when their room rates occasionally drop below $50 a night ) or I have to waste the free night certificate at a hotel offering 8500-12,500 point rates per night, with room rates often below $85. I wish I could convert each of my Bonvoy "free night" e-certificates into their so-called 25,000 point values, because they're so worthless as annual free-night rewards that they no longer offset the $85 fee I have to pay for having the Bonvoy credit card. Naturally, I'm going to shut down my Bonvoy credit card before my next anniversary (and $85 fee) comes around --with yet another now-worthless "free night" certificate that comes with it.
Marriott Status: Gold
Lifetime Status: No Lifetime Status
Hotel: n/a