So I'm not all the way through this thread yet, but I've got a couple questions that I've seen conflicting reports about:

Some reports say that availability for the 2 free nights (sign up bonus) is the same as standard award availability. Some say it's different. Can someone confirm?

Also, I've seen reports that you can reserve a room before your 2 free nights actually post. Is that true? Mine won't come through for another couple weeks, and I'm concerned about the PH Sydney removing availability before then.