Originally Posted by
stifle
sdsearch is correct. However, the HHonors IT will normally credit reward stays as though they were paid.
Not officially.
So if the OP wants to risk it, they have to do the award stay early enough to see if it'll end up counting, so that if not, they have time to do a paid stay (if they're that interested in the status offer).
The other question, I just realized, is that the OP wants to use another family member's points. If so, will that really count as their stay (for a Fast Track promotion)? It seems the OP needs a stay using their own HHonors number, but can they put their own HHonors number onto a stay booked with a family member's points?