According to the Rep: “There Is No Such Thing as Marriott Moments”

Well, it has been a while since I have had one of these! Part of that is because the travel companies I normally contact know their stuff. But, thanks to having to speak with 7 Marriott reps today (without a successful conclusion – thanks to their system maintenance), I have heard some new things!

According to the Rep: “There Is No Such Thing as Marriott Moments”

Marriott Moments and SPG Moments

Link: Marriott Moments

I actually spoke to two different Marriott reps today that told me similar things. So, obviously, Marriott still has a way to go teaching their customer-facing reps about parts of the program that exist now – forget about what is to come with the SPG program! 🙂

The Back Story

SPG Moments are some of my all-time favorite uses for SPG points, thanks to their extreme value in certain areas that present exclusive opportunities. They have been around for a while and they were a part of the SPG program that many had worried would disappear under the new Marriott program.

I spoke with a Marriott Rewards VP about a year and a half ago and asked what would be happening with them. He said they would continue and would be like their Marriott Experiences. Well, they have rebranded to be Marriott Moments and many of the auctions/packages mirror what you see on SPG – in fact, you could even play between the two for a good value.

So, Marriott Moments is the Marriott version of SPG Moments in offering special packages that may or may not include hotels (and even flights) as a part of specific experiences or access. It has been around for a while now.

According to the Rep

So, I was speaking with reps today to try and book a Marriott Moments package, thanks to their Marriott Rewards site being down for maintenance (and may be down for more than just today). Most of them kept passing me around and twice steered me to the Marriott Moments team. The problem is that team can only book experiences that require payments that are not points.

That is something that could be confusing – Marriott Moments include both packages you pay for with cash/card and packages you redeem points for.

Except I was told by the Marriott rep, “Sir, I have never heard of anything called Marriott Moments. There is no such thing as Marriott Moments.”

The Truth

Ummmm, what??? I am used to having to sometimes explain nuances of the programs to reps. I mean, that is kind of what we do when try to find the best deals, use parts of programs that may be more obscure.

But, I never thought a customer service rep of a rewards program would not know about a part of that program itself – a fairly obvious part of the program.

Yes, there is such a think as Marriott Moments and they are fabulous! 🙂

The rep placed me on hold and went to find out about it after I said that Marriott Moments was a thing. When she returned, she just said, “We can’t help you with that at this number.” 🙂

So, if you try to book a Marriott Moments package with points while their system is down (tip: don’t try it because no one can), just know that you may need to provide a bit of information to some Marriott reps who seem to think that Marriott Moments is not a thing!