Another piece of information from MichelleL on Marriott Rewards Insiders is Marriott Gift Cheques will no longer be sold after December 31, 2012. The group provider for these paper gift cheques is retiring the product. Marriott Rewards members may still buy gift cheques through December 31, 2012. Marriott gift cheques purchased in 2012 will remain valid through their expiration date.
https://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/inhotelextras.mi
* As of January 1, 2013, $100 and $1,000 Elite-only gift cheque rewards will no longer be available. Gift cheques purchased by December 31, 2012 will be honored until the certificate’s expiration date.
These Marriott cheques appear to be another one of the good value benefits of hotel loyalty that is being discontinued due to low utilization by members, The end of 2012 has seen a number of these offers on the chopping block like Hyatt Platinum Extras certificates.
The $100 and $1000 paper gift checques (Elite members only) will be pulled on Dec 31, so prepare for the redemption action to be unplugged around the 5-6p Eastern time frame.
Because there are an extremely low number of members who have redeemed for these awards in the past, we decided against a broad communication in favor of interacting within the community, where we know many of those who use these awards are active. We posted the information on the Insiders – which promptly leaked to FlyerTalk – and made comments on the site pages.
MichelleL – Marriott Rewards Insiders
Here is a Loyalty Traveler piece from January 27, 2011 explaining why the $1,000 Marriott Gift Cheques were a high value award redemption.
Marriott Elites Tip: Real Value of $1,000 Marriott Cheques
Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.
