If you have not been living under a rock, you know that Marriott Bonvoy introduced a new Category 8 for hotel redemptions on March 5th. Overnight, many awards dramatically rose in price.
We knew this was coming for several months, which gave all of us…myself included…plenty of time to prepare. Practically, the best hotels in the Marriott collection rose from 60,000 points or 30,000 + $250/night to 85,000 points or 42,500 + $450/night. Many others rose in price (you can review the full list here).
And I sat there and let it go. Deliberately, of course. It’s not like I forgot. But a few days after the “devaluation” I find myself experiencing pangs of regret and a dull sense of remorse.
I had my eye on one redemption: the St. Regis Bora Bora. I’ve wanted to take my wife Heidi to Tahiti for years and this seemed like an excellent time to lock in a far better rate than is available now. I could have even made a reservation without all the points and with no strings attached except the refundable deposit. There was also award space on Air Tahiti Nui, a product I want to review for the blog. I could have flown United in the other direction or even tried French Bee.
So good pricing on hotel and award space on carriers I want to review. What exactly was the problem?
My wife didn’t want to go. Well, not exactly. Few people are going to turn down a trip to Tahiti. But she was very clear that I need to take her to Israel and Scotland before Tahiti. While I explained to her the relative value and that our points would mean limited out-of-pocket expense, she just reasoned that there were other places we wanted to first and that I hate beaches.
She’s right. Mostly. My skin cannot tolerate laying out in the sun, though I love the beauty of beaches. And truthfully, I’d much rather spend time in Scotland or Israel than Tahiti. I live 30 minutes from the beach and there’s some truth to the recent musings of Brian of The Gate that if we want luxury, however we define it, we should tailor our home accordingly.
The Remorse
But I’m just feeling like I missed out on something big today. That’s the feeling we always have after a devaluation, isn’t it? I really shouldn’t feel bad because Lucky just published a rather negative review for the St. Regis Bora Bora anyway. The Conrad appears to be a much better choice.
So is anyone else feeling a bit remorseful over this? I really need to let it go…
image: Marriott
that link at the end…
I hate you /s
Let it go
Hi, just came from there spend 5 nights at st Regis bora bora and 3 at Hilton moorea. It’s awsome one of a kind trip, that negative review are just neat picking, no one cares about negative things he mentioned when u spend 48000 points per night there. (Scotland and Israel are great too)…. have couple more redemptions bora bora booked for September/October (about 10k in value each).
You’re not helping me John! 😉
To be fair, keeping the wife happy is more than worth the 100k points you would have saved by booking that before March vs now.
Happy wife happy life.
I hear you brother.
I think there’s a Disney princess song that applies…the title is…”Let it Go”
You saw my link!
Lucky at OMAAT just posted a review of the St. Regis Bora Bora and had less than stellar things to say about it. Check that out and you won’t be feeling so much regret
Hi Sam, I even mentioned Lucky’s review in my post. It does make me feel a bit better.
Don’t feel bad. For those of us who DID book before the devaluation, Marriott nevertheless raised the number of points we will need when we actually pay for our pre-booked reservations. So, you did not lose anything by not booking before the change.
Hi Matthew – Great article. I appreciate the personal touch. You made the right call, hands down. We have the option to travel all over the globe, and the luxury of using points and miles to help us do it. It’s far more important to be on the same page as your bride. First things first.
We write about points-and-miles stuff every day and think about it almost every hour. So it seems really important. But St Regis Bora Bora will still be there when you and Heidi are ready for it. Or, maybe you’ll continue to choose somewhere else later, even after Scotland and Israel. We can’t let these relatively trivial externalities that we write about and study for hours on end override the more important things in life.
And if you want to quantify it – today a 5-night stay at SR BB is 340k points instead of 240k – 100k extra points. What do we value Marriott points at now? 0.7 cpp? So, $700 difference. Is that worth the marital capital you’d spend and the risk that one or both of you wouldn’t fully enjoy the bucket-list trip to BB because you had a disagreement about it? Not a chance.
Great choice. No regrets. Thanks for sharing. And enjoy Scotland and Israel – we look forward to reading about those trips! ~Craig
Craig, I very much appreciate your kind words of encouragement. Thank you.
Why feel regret about this? Actually you dodged a bullet: you managed to avoid wasting hard earned points going to this over-hyped, over-rated, super expensive, culturally barren wasteland. What did you miss: some nice scenery , but if that’s what you want there’s just as good, if not better, to be had in other places, at a fraction of the cost.
At least Tahiti has fragments of culture, as opposed to The Maldives. Why people choose to go to the latter, paying a massive premium in the process, is beyond comprehension. Even more bizarrely, some people make repeat visits.
Spend your points in places of real interest/quality.
I’ve heard of buyer’s remorse, but what is this?
Rule #1: the wife is always right.
Rule #2: when in doubt, refer to rule #1.
The reality is, if she really didn’t want to go, neither one of you would have enjoyed yourselves as much as you should have. Avoiding that disappointment is worth the extra 100k points you might have to spend later. At least that’s how I see it.
BTW, Mainz really is lovely. Thanks for the inspiration.
Glad you liked it! Hope you were able to get a couple of ducks today!
Well Lucky me !
I am a Marriott restaurant server who qualified for the Q.C.C.
(over 25 years employment )
I actually got an employee rate in Tahiti , then got an over water bungalow in Bora Bora complimentary for 3 nights.
Gotta count my blessings!
“accoridngly” Meow? Can I be your grammarly??? <3
That’s criminal.