Questions on using free night certificate
I recently applied for and received the Fairmont Visa Signature cards. I am looking at one of the hotels in Alberta or Vancouver during the first week of August. I am hoping to meet minimum spend for 2 free nights in next couple of days. It looks like people are receiving free night certificates pretty fast after meeting minimum spend so I'm hoping that I receive them soon so I can make reservations.
I'm wondering in the mean time if I should just book a refundable room in order to hold a room and then later see if they can just apply the certificates when I receive them. Anyone have experience in doing this or thoughts on whether this is a good plan? I still do not understand how the suite upgrade certificate and room upgrade certificates work, but I'd like to use them as well. If booking a refundable room, should I just book a standard room and then try to usedthe free night certificates and upgrade certificates to upgrade to a nicer room or suite? Thanks in advance for your assistance. I've never stayed at a Fairmont, but I'm excited about the possibilities.