I am trying to book a hotel room at a Ritz Carlton peak time. [Because I'm looking to book at a high demand time, I'm flexible as to where I stay.] Most Ritz hotels have rooms available with points, which, as I understand it, means that I can use the free night certs that come with the CC. My wife and I have the card, so we will have 6 nights total. But the free nights have not posted yet.

I have two related questions: first, can I book a room with points for now, and the switch those to the free night certificates when they post? I don't want the availability to disappear, so ideally I would like to book a room for 300k points, then, when the free nights post in a week or two, "convert" the booking to one using the certificates.

Second, I am seeing some pretty surprising (error?) deals. For example a tier 4 hotel is 50,000 points per night, so a 6 night stay would be 300,000 points. Often, hotels will include cash co-pays for upgrades, club level, etc. So, a base room would be 300k points; an upgraded view might be 300k + $100 per night; a suite would be 300k + $500 per night, whatever.

However, a couple of times, ALL rooms have listed at 300k (i.e., the cash component is missing). I've been tempted to book one of those rooms, to get one of the upgrades for the same price as the base rate. But it's not clear if I would be able to book those using the free night certificates. (I know Rule #1 of mistake rates, of course.)

Would appreciate any advice Marriott/Ritz veterans have. Thanks in advance!