At one point the amount of material landing on the star changed by a factor of five over the course of a few days. (sciencedaily.com)
Instead it appears I was charged the full points amount for the stay and given no credit for the underlying voucher / coupon. (insiders.marriottrewards.com)
You should probably pay the full points amount if you think you can obtain more points later at a cost of less than 2 cents. (travelcodex.com)