Reader Question: Marriott App Award Booking Issues – Weird Fees & Point Requirements?

Several readers have messaged us with points and cash requirements that the Marriott Bonvoy app is returning to award stays.

Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.

You can access Marriott Bonvoy here.

READ MORE: Marriott Bonvoy Rate & Bonus Points Offers

One of the messages:

Something new I’m noticing on Bonvoy redemption bookings. Many hotel searches in Malaysia and Indonesia for next year are showing a cash amount in addition to the points (not for cash upgrades – just regular redemptions).

The amount is displayed on booking screen but then disappears in the reservation confirmation. I’ll send examples…

I’ve also observed that the terms and conditions on the booking say tax is included in redemption but there may be service charge….

This is disturbing not only as a potential new cost of redemption, but because by not displaying the charge on the confirmation or in the reservation details, it’s hard to make decisions about redemption vs cash charge at a future date.

Examples From Reader:

Sheraton Petaling Jaya

Aloft Kuala Lumpur

Four Points Surabaya

I experienced similar issues with the app last week when I was trying to book an award using one of the certs I have. The pricing on the app didn’t make any sense.

The solution was to use the website. The award was priced correctly; I applied the cert + 6,000 extra points and threw in a Suite Night Award that later cleared. Unfortunately, my plans changed, and I had to cancel this stay.

Thanks – website worked fine – rebooking there to be safe.

Jeeze you’d think Marriott would have at least one person to the office who could fix that issue

The reader was also able to get the correct pricing on the Marriott website.

Conclusion

There are often issues with Marriott’s app. I tend to look at what hotels might be available but then make the actual booking on their website. It is easier to compare different prices and options this way.

Some of the prices that the reader was quoted look very close to what these hotels get reimbursed for the award night by Marriott ($15 to $25 is base compensation).

There must be misprogramming at Marriott’s end of what is displayed on the app if customers were shown these when making point bookings.