Originally Posted by
nfg05
Sure not everyone will redeem for category 6, but I don't see why it's not "practical" for them to do so. Are you saying there aren't enough of them spread around the US?
To me, any way you slice it FWN comes out ahead and redeeming FWN at < category 4 is just silly.
its not silly....i may be able to get upto 8 free weekend nights out of this promo....
i have 2 short work trips to the US this year so won't be able to use the free nights there....
i will be in singapore for the formula 1 grand prix in september but i don't think i'll be able to use the free nights there as all hotels are full during this time....
i could always use them in india itself, but then i would have to add the cost of 2 return tickets to get back & forth from new delhi....i don't think the mrs. would like to spend a 3-4 day vacation in india again....we have been to most of the places where there are nice properties in the country, so she would want to go someplace else....
that leaves me with 2 options....i either fly to the maldives to use the free nights at the sheraton (which i would love to do) but the resort is very expensive in terms of food, etc....so including my flights back & forth i will end up spending close to $2k for this trip....my other option is to use these free nights in october when i will be in kl & bkk....all hotels there are under cat 4 (some even cat 2)....this way i can take my wife out for a small vacation which will cost me very little (since i will be in kl & bkk for work in any case)....
Originally Posted by
mahasamatman
There aren't all that many of them around the world (not everyone will redeem in the US), and not everyone goes to a hotel just for the sake of going to a hotel. Redeeming a free night for no other purpose than just to redeem it isn't good "value" (though it's still nice). The only monetary value is in redeeming the free night for a stay you would otherwise have paid for.
very true....last year i had over a dozen free weekend nights & i redeemed about 8 or 9 of them in the US....this year both my US trips are fairly short & i won't have time to spend any free nights there....
Originally Posted by
SanDiego1K
I am bemused by this statement. There is a travel component in getting to any hotel. Many people might live somewhere that requires getting on a plane to get to any of the category 6 hotels that appeal to them. Once they add the time and cost for travel, it simply might not make sense to make that trip. Then, they need to ratchet back to a property that suits their travel budget.
again very true....there are a few good properties in india but all of them will require me to get on a plane to get to....the cost of 2 return tickets (will be travelling with the mrs.) adds up pretty quickly....i could always take a 3-4 day trip to either singapore or dubai or thailand....they will all end up costing me around the same amount as the domestic flight....
Originally Posted by
nfg05
I don't think I suggested people go spend $ on travel to redeem at a category 6 when they don't have enough free nights to cover their stay...
As you are saying, much more reasonable to save your awards and use them for vacation. The behavior you describe is certainly odd, not sure who does that.
even if i have enough free nights to cover a stay, i'm still spending money to get there....then i am spending money to eat & shop, etc....so it doesn't matter if the hotel is a cat 2 or cat 6, money will be spent on these free weekend nights....
Originally Posted by
mahasamatman
Actually, we did this last year, combining a mileage run with a free hotel stay and a night at the theater to see Spamalot. FlyerTalk is all about the oddballs...
i've been there....done oddball things like that a bunch of times....