I am kicking myself for letting Marriott take advantage of me. I was cheated, plain and simple.
I have read that different members are offered different "challenges" at different times. My challenge was to achieve 6 stays by June 30. If I succeeded, I would maintain Gold status for an entire next year.
Given that our commitments keep us close to home, it was not easy, but I achieved 6 stays before the June 30 deadline. (Also, to be fair, these were not all single-night stays. Most were multiple-night stays. So Marriott certainly profitted from my business.)
The 6th stay -- the last one I needed to achieve the challenge -- ended June 30. That's when I checked out.
As you know, Marriott Rewards usually takes a couple of days to post stays to your account. So my stay ending June 30 was not posted until July 2.
To my surprise and disappointment, I was too late. The challenge was closed and I lost the opportunty to confirm Gold status.
To add insult to injury, I was immediately demoted to Silver status.
This is a clear case of bait-and-switch. The rules said I needed 6 stays by June 30. I did that. Apparently, the real requirement is to complete 6 stays and have them posted by June 30. Marriott Rewards never said that.
I feel like a fool for rushing to complete so many stays in a short period of time, and letting myself get cheated.
Next time I will know not to trust Marriott. This time, it was too late.
Has anyone else had the same experience? Surely I am not the only one who was cheated in this manner.