Originally Posted by
pauleeepaul
I actually had a reverse experience- paid first night at Conrad HKG to get exec level and lounge access. 3 award nights following using Diamond Force. I got HHonors points for the paid night and the rack rate value of the award nights- I think the paid first night may have muddied the water.
Also had exec room and lounge for duration.
No, not the paid night but Diamond Force muddied the water. This occurs frequently if one uses forced availability for an award stay. They even make reference to this in the confirmation and point out, that points might be credited and will be reversed. However, the latter never happend to me. Forced availability tends to be the best deal.