I posted in the "$200 Hotel Credit" thread about my recent experience at the Bellevue in Philadelphia (Hyatt Unbound.) $200 credit was posted quickly by Amex after I made my reservation and prepaid. I only got an upgrade at the hotel because the clerk made a mistake and put me in a connector after I specifically told him "no connecting door." The third night free worked fine. The $100 F/B credit worked fine (those charges didn't even show up on my folio). F/B availability was quite limited--just a limited room service menu, with no lunch available and no dinner on Sundays. I spent some of it by using the pantry by the front desk. I offered my Hyatt # at checkin, and the agent entered it. I received full points for the nights paid, including the current Hyatt bonus. I only got credit for 3 of the 4 nights stayed in my World of Hyatt account.

This "upgrade if available" stuff is nonsense, if you ask me. What qualifies as an "upgrade" anyhow? In hotels like this one, rooms are highly variable. But in a lot of newer properties, the rooms are virtually identical, just varying in view. They'll tell you a room on a high floor is an upgrade.

The real problem for budget travelers such as myself is that the rates on the THC hotels are usually so high that even with all the credits, another option is likely much cheaper. I had to look really hard to find a destination/hotel that I felt was a pretty good deal.