Tomorrow the 2015 Marriott Rewards category changes will become effective. While the overwhelming majority (75%) of hotels changing category are moving up one category, some hotel properties are going down a category which will result in fewer Marriott Rewards points needed to make an award booking. Today, I am focusing on the few positive changes.
While the difference in points required for an decrease of one category is not that big (a Marriott hotel going down a category is a difference of 5,000 points), those most affected are Marriott Rewards members holding free night stay certificates that can be used at a Category 1-4 hotel or Category 1-5 hotel each year.
If you are holding one of these free night stay certificates, you might be interested in a list I put together of Marriott Rewards properties moving down to Category 4 or Category 5.
Marriott Hotels Moving Down from Category 6 to 5:
- Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel
- JW Marriott Bogota
- Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino
- JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity
- Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel
- The Castle, Autograph Collection
- Fairfield Inn Orlando Near Universal Orlando Resort
- Renaissance Moscow Hotel Monarch Centre
- Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel
- Fairfield Inn Fort Walton Beach-West Destin
Marriott Hotels Moving Down from Category 5 to 4:
- Sochi Marriott Krasnaya Polyana Ski Resort
- Renaissance Minsk Hotel
- Courtyard Cologne
- Courtyard Seoul Pangyo
- Spa do Vinho Hotel & Spa, Autograph Collection
- Residence Inn Halifax Downtown
- Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel
- Courtyard Sunnyvale Mountain View
- Residence Inn Santa Fe
- Courtyard Palm Beach Jupiter
- Residence Inn Orlando Airport
- Residence Inn Chattanooga Near Hamilton Place
- Little Rock Marriott
- Fairfield Inn Bozeman
- Residence Inn Omaha Aksarben Village
- Fairfield Inn Syosset Long Island
- Fairfield Inn Erie
- Pittsburgh Marriott North
- Residence Inn Champaign
- Courtyard San Marcos
- Fairfield Inn Wytheville
- SpringHill Suites San Angelo
While the Marriott Rewards category changes are mostly bad news, the Marriott properties listed above can now be booked with free night certificates making them one of the few bright spots for Marriott Rewards members.
