Originally Posted by
lexdevil
I think I understand the BRG, but I am pretty confused by what you are saying. Of course my scenario exists. Everyone else here seems to believe that it exists. They did not reject my claim because they could not find the rate I claimed on the OTA page; they rejected it because the rate on the OTA page was higher than the pre-paid SPG member rate. So...if I want a rate lower than $275 per night I have to book the non-refundable $225 rate on the SPG website. I don't, however, want to do that because my plans may change.
The bolded part is incorrect! I do >100 BRGs/yr for the last 7-8 yrs. I have NEVER booked a non-refundable rate and almost all my BRGs are on prepaid rates as 99% of the time, that's the lowest rate on SPG. However, you do have to find a lower rate than the lowest rate on SPG to submit a BRG in the first place.
(The exception is with Design Hotels as detailed in the wiki, but I never stay at Design Hotels for that reason.)
Anyhow, I give up. Good luck!