Originally Posted by
DErg
I'm using mine in January at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, if you're into skiing that's a great property which also happens to be quite expensive in the winter. Nightly rate during peak ski season is normally almost or just over $1k/night which makes it one of the more expensive north american Hyatt properties.
So I'm using 60k points and the 1 cat 1-7 cert as opposed to paying $3k for the stay.
+1
The best use is one that replaces the most expensive stay that you would actually have paid cash for otherwise (or a stay that has no cash substitute that you'd be willing to pay). I am using 2 cat7 certs + 30k for three nights at Andaz Maui around Thanksgiving because it's a good deal on those nights (just over $1k/night after taxes and parking -- and no matter what, I would be paying $500+/night for anything decent on those dates).
PH NY is not bad for a splurge, but if you wouldn't actually pay the going rate for the property on a trip to NYC (I wouldn't, I'd rather stay at the Chatwal for half the rate), it's not necessarily a "good redemption."
Ventana could be an excellent redemption value.
There isn't really much else in the US other than (as mentioned above) the ski type places, e.g., Aspen, Beaver Creek, Park City, Tahoe.