They should be able to tell you the taxes in advance. Check with SPG or the hotel. No point risking it, though I seriously doubt that they will charge you anything except the $3.50 in city tax (if that).

I just got a claim approved for the Sheraton. I could have gotten the Chatwal too but I didn't look hard enough after Kayak's price went up to match SPG's. There are still lower prices out there for a lot of the hotels, including the Chatwal. I couldn't find anything for the St. Regis for the dates I wanted sadly.

I live in NYC so this is just for fun and the points. I'll try doing it again after a month. Hopefully lower OTA prices will still be around.

I think SPG should make this BRG standard all over the world. IHG does that, but as I understand there guarantee is more of a pain in the ... and they often weasel out of it.