Marriott deleted all points without notification.

[chuckie99]

Last year I discovered my Marriott points, which I had accumulated over 20 years, were gone. Due to family health issues, I had not traveled for several years,

I contacted Marriott and was told that since I had not had any activity in two years the points had expired. They also stated that the sent me several emails explaining this.

I never received any emails. If I had, I would have used or donated points to have activity. I sent a letter about this to the corporate office on 11/10/2017, but never received a response.

Today, while looking at my Marriott profile to verity the email address, I noticed that there is no email address in mu account profile. Given that, I don't see how they could have sent me any emails.

 

[ADM]

You said you accumulated many points over the course of 20 years. Which email address(es) were you using during that time? It's strange that nothing is listed in your account. It sucks but most loyalty program benefits expire after so many months of inactivity. Have you used the company contacts listed on this website to contact them?

http://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/marriott/

 

[Neil Maley]

You aren’t a frequent flyer anymore if you haven’t flown in two years. Programs change constantly and most airlines now have a period of inactivity they allow before you lose the points.

 

[Christina H]

Did the OP ever sign into the account prior to the expiration. How long ago did the points expire?

 

[JVillegirl541]

Marriott simply gave you their procedure for expiring points which is to email the account in question. If you had never set your account up properly then Marriott would have no way to contact you and you would be responsible for logging into your own account and knowing the rules.
I am a long time Marriott member and receive monthly emails, I also read those emails and log into my account every couple months to make sure I’m getting the Points I am due. I do NOT ever get anything from Marriott that has to do with my account in the Mail (ever) I do get advertising propaganda
The burden is on the member to make sure their account is active and up to date!

 

[jsn55]

I am so sorry, Chuckie. Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, we get a post like yours at least once a month. Loyalty plans were set up way back when to reward loyalty. Things quickly got out of hand, and with the advent of the credit card sign-up bonuses, "everyone" has a bunch of points somewhere. I am a hard-core loyalty points junkie and I check my accounts every month or so. If I lost even 12 of them I'd come unglued. The program sponsors are eager to get rid of this incredibly huge balance sheet liability, so they don't budge on reinstating points for anyone who isn't a regular, loyal customer. Some programs allow you to purchase your points back, but from what I've seen, it's an expensive proposition. Still ... we never advise giving up ... use our Company Contacts to "artfully beg" for your points back. Make your letter concise and polite. Submit to one exec at a time, waiting a week between. It's an extremely long shot, but worth a try.

 

[Barry Graham]

I agree with @jsn55 it doesn't hurt to try to get them back using the company contacts. Please let us know what happens - whether they say "Yes" or whether they say "No".

 

[chuckie99]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I have contacted the company via phone and email about reinstating the points (response was no), and US mail (sent to Rewards department at their Bethesda, MD address - no reply). Is there another way to contact them?

I set up my Marriott Rewards account before email, which is probably why there is no email in my account. Today, if you try to set up an account profile, you must enter an email, so my account must have been set up before that was required. Marriott's email response to my request stated they could confirm they sent notification emails to me, but I don't know how they could have without my email address.

I used to get US Postal mailings, but I can't remember when that stopped.

 

[Neil Maley]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I have contacted the company via phone and email about reinstating the points (response was no), and US mail (sent to Rewards department at their Bethesda, MD address - no reply). Is there another way to contact them?

I set up my Marriott Rewards account before email, which is probably why there is no email in my account. Today, if you try to set up an account profile, you must enter an email, so my account must have been set up before that was required. Marriott's email response to my request stated they could confirm they sent notification emails to me, but I don't know how they could have without my email address.

I used to get US Postal mailings, but I can't remember when that stopped.

Postal mailings stopped years ago.

You have done all you could by emailing and US mail. Our contacts usually work - follow the directions we have about writing in Company Contacts - start at Customer Service and move up one by one weekly.

 

[Barry Graham]

Just supporting what @Neil Maley said, I know that you said you had sent e-mails and called. Did you use the contacts here http://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/marriott/ ?

 

[chuckie99]

Thanks - on the contact site I found the [email protected] email. I contacted them with my explanation and they re-instated my points.

Thanks again for all the tips.

 

[Barry Graham]

Wow that was easy! Great news and so quick! Thanks for telling us.

 

[Globetrottingal]

Well, that was a nice and quick resolution! Chuckie, I suggest that you schedule a routine check in on your account, at least monthly, so you can be up-to-date on all Marriott updates and news. just so you can avoid issues like this!

 

[jsn55]

Thanks - on the contact site I found the [email protected] email. I contacted them with my explanation and they re-instated my points.

Thanks again for all the tips.

Are you kidding? This is FANTASTIC! I do believe this is the first successful "intervention" with a loyalty program ever. Great work, Chuckie! Maybe you should post your email so that we can share it with others as the "gold standard" of how to ask for something.