Originally Posted by
VegasGambler
The point that you are missing is that he wants to go to Hawaii.
It is not "going to Hawaii to max out the cert", it's "using the cert to make a trip that he wants to take anyway more affordable".
Having said that, the most that a cert can save you is 15,000 pts (at least, until the whole peak / non-peak thing takes effect). It doesn't matter if the room is $1000/night -- if you can get it with a cert, you can get it with points.
Also, while hotels in Hawaii are usually extremely expensive, flights to Hawaii are surprisingly cheap, especially from the West Coast. So it's certainly possible that points or certificates could make a difference in whether a Hawaii vacation is affordable.
I will agree and disagree with you, If it was the OPs intent to go to Hawaii I feel they would have said so in their 1st post and would have asked which Hotel in Hawaii that is a Cat 4 or lower is the best place to stay at. The OP never mentioned Hawaii till much later = my originally gut feeling holds the OP is simply looking to get as much savings as they can using the cert
Now if Im correct there are only 2 hotels where it can be used The HP Waikiki or Centric Waikiki, from the times Ive checked them The HP is usually more expensive but I think the Centric is a much nicer place. My gut again tells me the OP would book The HP since its more expensive = yielding a higher savings $ amount,. even thou The Centric is more points
too each their own but personally I have never 1st looked for a hotel to max out my savings and then decided thats where I want to go. I do the complete opposite I decide where I want to go and then workout my hotels, and thats why I end up not maxing out my certs, simply since I use them for a place I want to go to
heres the OPs 1st post : Hi FT'ers. Wanted to see if there was an overall consensus on the best use of free night certificate (cat 1-4) in both the US and world. Trying to see how best to maximize it's use.
I dont see Hawaii being written down, I do see they simply are willing to go anywhere in order to max out the savings for using that 1 night cert