Sheraton Istanbul City Center (Review)
Marriott is offering their eGiftCards at 15% off from 1pm on 30 Nov till 1pm 2 Dec 2020. The largest hotel chain in the world offered a similar deal early this year at a better discount of 20% and I enjoyed using mine in Malaysia and Dubai in the past few months!
Key points to note
These gift cards can be used globally even though they are in USD.
You can purchase up to US$5,000 worth of gift cards per day.
Gift cards cannot be used for prepaid rates.
Gift cards can be used for the whole nett amount of your stay, including taxes, service fees or any expenses (food, spa, transport etc.) made during your stay.
Gift cards do not expire.
All rates that allow you to pay at the hotel are eligible (e.g. BRG, packages booked on marriott.com).
Currency exchange rate is fantastic; no mark-up.
Hotels can process multiple eGiftCards if you have small balances in them.
Gift cards cannot be used at Bulgari, Ritz-Carlton Residences, Design Hotels and Home and Villas by Marriott.
According to the terms and conditions, this offer is only for USA/Canada residents. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find out how I managed to purchase them.
Add your gift cards into your account to view their redemption history
Gift card values available
US$50 for US$42.50
US$100 for US$85
US$250 for US$212.50
US$500 for US$425
US$1,000 for US$850
How to use the eGiftCards?
As these eGiftCards are not that popular, not all hotel receptionists know how to process them. Because of this, a little bit of extra effort is recommended on your part to ensure a smooth check-out process. I shared a little bit about my frustrating experience using them in Bali last year.
Throughout my hotel stays this year in Malaysia and Dubai, I reached out to the hotel in advance (2-3 days before) via email or the chat function in Marriott’s app. As expected, some of them had no idea what I was referring to or mistook it for a Free Night Certificate. When this happens, all I did was politely ask to chat with the manager on duty.
Another step I took was to remind the front desk staff to process my eGiftCard immediately upon check-in or the day before check-out. I have used it in 7 properties in recent months and never faced issues redeeming them.
Conclusion
If there is one thing that I can recommend buying speculatively, this is it. These cash vouchers offer fantastic flexibility and unlike miles/points, do not run a devaluation risk, unless if USD crashes dramatically in the near future. And unlike specific hotel vouchers, these gift cards can be used at thousands of hotels worldwide!
The fact that these eGiftCards do not expire and offer great currency exchange rates make them even more attractive.
I will definitely be loading up on these and I recommend Elite members of Marriott Bonvoy to do the same, especially when the cheapest eGiftCard (worth US$50) only costs US$42.50.
UPDATE 30 Nov: Purchased and delivered
I attempted to purchase a gift card at around 1.10pm earlier today with my Razer card, YouTrip and UOB PRVI AMEX cards. All three transactions did not go through. I then tried with my AMEX Krisflyer and it went through just fine. I went ahead to purchase a total of 2 gift cards.
Here’s how I filled up the form on the first page:
To: (My name)
Recipient email: My email address
From: My shortened name (Fai)
Delivery date: 2020-11-30
Message: Enjoy
I then added it to cart and clicked “Review & Checkout”.
On the next page, I clicked on “Begin Checkout”.
On the following page, I entered my email address (same as recipient email) and clicked on “Continue”.
On the payment page, I entered my AMEX Krisflyer card details and filled up the form like this:
Address 1: Real Singapore address
Address 2: Real Singapore address
Country: USA
State: Oregon
City: Portland
Zip/Postal Code: First 5 digits of real Singapore postal code
Phone Number: Real Singapore phone number with “65” in front and without the “plus” sign.
I have successfully received both Marriott eGiftCards. They were both sent via email at 7.15pm today.
UPDATE 9.30pm 30 Nov: Bought another gift card and delivery was instant this time.
UPDATE 30 Nov: Prepaid stays allowed!
As shared on Suitesmile’s Instagram page, I am currently in JW Marriott Marquis Dubai on a prepaid rate that offers 2 complimentary nights for the price of 4 when using a Mastercard. I checked with the hotel if my card has been charged. When they said no, I asked if I can make the payment with my eGiftCard. They said yes!
This was when I realised that on most of my “prepaid” stays, my card was only charged a few days before my stay or during the stay. This means that if I can get in touch with the hotel before my card is charged, I can pay for ANY stay, prepaid or not, with my Marriott eGiftCards!
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