Suite Nights awards have been a big let down for me. We tried to use them 5 or 6 times this summer and were never succesful (yes, suites for $$ showed available in every case). In two cases I had to spend 30 or more minutes on the phone with SPG just trying to get the request to work. They didn't know why they wouldn't in those cases.
The only stay we've been able to get was at the Westin in Houston for 1 night when it was mostly empty.
We just booked a trip for New Orleans (6 nights, starting Sunday) and they were confirmed. Great. However, they took 3 from this year and 3 from next year. Turns out it's because I had 6 pending nights in another reservation at another property, that I canceled a few minutes after I made the one above.
They cannot fix it manually. So, they said I needed to cancel my reservation, rebook and hope the upgrade comes through again. So, if I do this, I may lose the 6 night upgrade and not be able to cash in 9 of 10 SNA's for this year. Or, keep what I have, effectively lose 6 of 10 for this year and already use 3 of 10 for next year.
Benefits are supposed to make frequent customers happy, not cause disappointment and frustration. I'd be fine with a 50% success rate, but mine is much lower at this point.