My first Marriott redemption didn't go as planned.

01 Flights first

2 adults + a toddler:

• MAA → COK via Yes Bank Marquee: ₹12,576 → ₹3,800 cash + 8,776 pts. (Could have booked via iShop, but I wanted to empty my Marquee points.)
• COK → MAA via Times Black (iShop): ₹14,116 → ₹705 cash + 13,411 pts.
• MIL's flights: ₹9,490 → ₹470 cash + 9,022 pts.

≈ 85% of all flight costs covered on points. ✅

02 The hotel plan

Originally booked The Artiste Kochi:

• Room 1 → 33K pts + FNA (≈ ₹35K value). Total ≈ ₹68K cash → ~₹2/pt. 💪
• Room 2 → 49,500 pts (≈ ₹33K value). Total ≈ ₹68K cash → ~₹1.35/pt. 💪

Felt like a great first Marriott redemption.

03 The rethink

Weeks later, the same stay showed ₹36K cash or 38K pts (₹0.9/pt). A points-pro friend helped me modify and reclaim my points.

Another CC veteran, who's been to all the Kochi Marriotts, suggested Le Méridien instead. Resort vibe, lounge access, bigger rooms.

If you're gonna do Marriott at Kochi, Le Méridien is the best. A bit outdated, but still a superb property.A CC veteran who's stayed at every Kochi Marriott

Showed pics of Le Méridien to my wife and she was like, "YES, GET ME THAT." She also asked if we could do just 1 room, and the veteran suggested booking as 3 adults and not mentioning our little one, since he's not even 1 year old yet.

So I cancelled The Artiste and booked 1 room at Le Méridien for 3 adults + a roll-away bed. Couldn't use the FNA, but spent only 60K pts instead of 1.2 lakh. 🔥 Half the points, and I still got lounge access.

2 days before the trip, I opened chat and requested an 11am early check-in + confirmation on the roll-away bed. Both were granted.

04 Travel day

I drove my own car (overnight parking ~₹1,500 for the whole duration) since it was an early flight and I wanted to avoid the stress, hassle and haggling of Uber/Ola drivers. It would have cost the same as a cab, so this was more comfort and safer.

After security, we went to the Travel Club lounge and swiped my Times Black + Regalia Gold + HDFC Marriott Bonvoy. Lounge access for all 3 of us. Food was amazing, piping hot idli, yummy pongal. Such a good start to the trip.

Flight was a breeze. Little one slept through most of it. 💤 We even printed a First Flight Certificate and got it signed by the captain, plus a pic with the pilot. ❤️

Used Times Black's ₹5L milestone voucher for Avis for both airport transfers, and Avis was excellent. I made multiple changes (pick-up time, hotel location, drop timing) and all were accepted smoothly. Only gripe: voucher bookings don't show on the Avis site, so I had to email crs@avis.co.in for edits (quick responses though). Driver details came 6 hrs before pick-up, and an Innova Crysta was waiting on arrival.

Reached the hotel at 9:40am. Almost an hour and a half earlier than we'd initially planned or told the hotel.

05 The upgrade

Front desk were awesome:

• Gave me early check-in right then, at 9:45am.
• Upgraded my room from city-view → backwater view with a balcony 🌅 (I'd requested it in chat and was told they'd try during check-in).
• Complimentary breakfast for 3 adults × 3 days, without even asking.
• Club lounge access (6-8pm snacks + drinks).

All from what looked like a "poorer" redemption. 🙃 My wife was ecstatic the moment she saw the view from the balcony. That itself made my day, and made me so proud for getting into credit cards and points.

06 The experience

Since we came in very early, I booked Latest Recipe via EazyDiner for lunch, a buffet for 3 adults at ₹2,100. 😋 First lunch plus daily complimentary breakfast here, a huge spread: charcuterie, salads, South & North Indian, Continental, live stations (dosa, appam, eggs, waffles, pancakes), pastries and ice creams. Even my MIL, who's picky, loved it. ❤️

Over the next few days we:

• Visited Marine Drive and did a night cruise (₹100 pp) and the Naval Museum ⭐, my favourite part of the trip.
• Explored Fort Kochi and other spots.
• Ate Paragon biriyani, bought 2kg halwa for friends and family, and did some dress and spice shopping.

The little one broke a glass, but luckily the hotel didn't charge anything and said it was fine. 😅 The Club Lounge was okay (2 veg + 2 non-veg starters, fruits, sandwiches and drinks).

Check-out was smooth. They even gave us 2 slices of cake from 2 different teams as a send-off, along with packed bananas and cut pineapple for the little one. Such an insanely sweet gesture, and the cake was delicious.

07 Getting around

Used Uber One (3-month sub) free via TimesPrime. Loaded ₹800 from family RSDCs + ₹2K Uber gift vouchers via iShop (12% valueback). Uber Cash was seamless, rides confirmed in under 2 min, no haggling or cancellations, and I got 10% back via Uber One too.

08 Return & the Avis experience

The return ride was spot on. 👍 Avis was again prompt, the Innova Crysta was on time, and it was a smooth journey. Post security, we visited the Earth Lounge at Kochi, and it was the crappiest food I've ever had. 😂 That made me feel the return wasn't going to be comfortable.

The little one was crying half the way home. Or in other words, "he was singing the song of his people for everyone on the flight." 😅 Reached home at 6pm.

09 The lesson

This had a lot of redemptions and maximising in it, because I wanted to use as little cash as possible; I'm saving for an international trip a short while away.

But all that effort, it made me happy the moment I saw my wife smile on the balcony. I helped achieve a dream, and it's worth every minute spent min-maxing with credit cards.

10 Quick recap

What started as a ₹2/pt "perfect deal" became a ₹0.75/pt better trip. Mall-side became riverside. Math became memories. And I learned that the best value isn't always the one in the spreadsheet. ❤️