Marriott Accidentally Sends Out Emails to Users Who Shared Points
If you've shared points with friends or family members in the last year, you may have received an oddly-worded email from Marriott this week. But don't worry — your account hasn't been hacked.
The chain has apparently emailed members who shared points with others at some point between August of last year and now, which left some users thinking that additional transfers had been made on their accounts.
TPG Loyalty & Engagement Editor Richard Kerr tweeted a screenshot of the email he received, which said that he shared 19,000 points. Kerr wrote on Twitter that the points were shared earlier this summer.
Marriott responded to the tweet with a tweet of its own, saying that the email was sent "in error."
A TPG reader emailed with the same problem, writing, "Today, I received an email saying that my girlfriend had gifted me 100,000 Bonvoy points. She did in December (pre-Bonvoy) but definitely didn't do it again today."
The tip continued as follows:
"So I call Marriott, and they try to play it off as 'a reminder about previous activity', which is absurd, given that it's not positioned that way. The email appears to have come from the official Marriott address."
If you're a Marriott Bonvoy member, you're allowed to transfer up to 100,000 points per year. You'll need to call Marriott's customer service, but as TPG's Ethan Steinberg wrote earlier this year, the points posted instantly when he transferred. Keep in mind that you have to transfer at least 1,000 points.
Bottom line: If you shared points earlier this year and received an email in the last few days, Marriott has confirmed that these messages were sent in error. However, if you want to be extra cautious, feel free to change your account password to prevent a future hacker from stealing your points.
