Originally Posted by
wco81
Question is what is the typical rack rate of those hotels?
Are there restrictions on redeeming this benefit, like blacked out dates, only booking on hotel sites, etc.?
The certificates book from the same inventory as awards nights. If a room is available on points for the night requested, you can use your certificate for it. You must book it through IHG.com and select free-night certificate (not awards points) as the rate type.
As for what's the typical rack rate, you need to gauge that yourself depending on the locations and dates you might try to redeem the certificate. For me, I'd figure I can make the 40k-limited cert worth at least $150 still. That seems like enough more than the $89 AF to make the card worthwhile, though clearly not the bargain the $49 AF card with unlimited cert was.