POINTS

Got reminded of something this past weekend .. that I should have known. I've experienced similar issues but this one got by me.  Shame on me.

Here's the deal .. at least .. my deal.  I lean on American Express for points. Marriot Bonvoy for Hotel points.  American Airlines for mileage points.  There are dozens of other companies of course that do this .. I also have Hilton points, Southwest Airlines, Sun Country, Delta... list goes on... but here's what I got reminded of this past weekend.   Points sometimes.. suck

I made my Marriott reservation this past January nine months out.  Only room choice available was a room with 2 queens.  This was for a large event I was attending, so I assumed a lot of folks had already snagged their rooms and I was getting leftovers.  Now, had I looked closer at the room options WITHOUT points, I'd probably have been surprised.  Why?  Well, there are lots of other options.  For arguments sake.. lets go look. 

• Guest room, 1 King, Sofa bed
• Guest room, 2 Queen
• Guest room, 2 Queen, River view, Balcony
• Larger Guest room, 2 Queen, Sofa bed
• 1 Bedroom 2 room Suite, 1 King, Sofa bed, River view, Balcony

Without blinking, I would have chose the last one. But If I use " Points" option, only two of those show up; none with Balcony.  Wait.. WTF?  Here's why this pisses me off.  I'm not a baseline member.  Not even just1/2 up the food chain... I'm near the top; Titanium Elite.  Now, if I make the reservation, I also have Suite Upgrades (if avail they say) but historically not one of these places ever honors it so what's the point?   My takeaway; if you want to use your points, prepare to settle for the bare bones rooms. I call BS.  Charge me more points for the better room!   

I've come across this with AMEX as well.  If you use those points for airline tickets, you better be planning way out because they usually only offer you up the shit seats that aren't selling well.  Now, if I book out say ... 10 or 11 months, I've never had an issue.  But I've tried to book a few days out ... and hardly any flights avail.  But if I go to AA... I can see them.  Hmmmmmmmmm

AA points are another issue.   If you book way ahead, you usually do well, no issues. But try to use them short notice and they usually jack up the total miles you need.  What is normally 12,500 might be 25,000 or 30,000.  Again, WTF?

Sun Country is the real pain in the ass.  I realized way too late they only fly through DFW from like May-Sep. So, if I want to go to Mexico outside the summer months... they rarely work for me. Sort of pisses me off because I'd never have used that card to build up points knowing that.  Now....  I'll get them used in the future, but it's not convenient.

My takeaway from all of this... do your homework.  Compare Points vs Cash Option.  Don't forget to Check military discount options and AAA options.  You'll be surprised at the discrepancies sometimes.  I have to admit, I was disappointed with Marriott this past week.  Other times (ex NYC) I've had good experiences using points; this time .. not so much!

p.s.  I know this is obvious to most, but PAY OFF that credit card monthly if playing the points game.  They know most don't, which is why they offer these.   Don't fall prey..... work the system... don't let them work us.  

Update: 12 hours later after posting the above, I'm working on a Hilton reservation.  Yep.. they show MULTIPLE options for rooms with Various point structures for each.  Hoping Marriott reaches out to me per my Review