Reply To: Marriott Bonvoy eGiftCard

[Pangolin]

Remember that with the gift card you don’t get the 6x points on the purchase with the Bonvoy Amex, like you would if using it on a cash stay. I think using it with the Chase Card does work (bonus points trigger) but that’s a US thing.

The potential catch is that FD staff may not be au fait with GCs, so it’s a good idea to let them know beforehand (eg a day before you’re checking out) and give yourself enough time when checking out for them to deal with processing it. Mentioning it when you check in is probably a good idea also.

Someone might claim that gift cards aren’t applicable at their hotel. That’s almost certainly BS but you’ll have to be prepared to escalate it if they claim they can’t be used (most likely just a lazy clerk who doesn’t want the hassle of inputting it into the system).