Thank you, DCAcubsfan. This information is always very interesting to learn.

Hyatt has pretty much the same practice with commensurate reimbursements. The programs really take a hit when we book an award stay early, before they've gotten around to blacking us out.* Actually, I've heard that Hyatt's and some other chains' non-capacity period reimbursements are a lot less than that, but this is only hearsay.

* This may be a tip.