Originally Posted by
Matt4200
Okay but there’s so much to do in NYC for me it’s a destination. We have a trip booked their in February, but it’s off season and we’re staying in Gild Hall so no sense using it there.
As mentioned previously a property like Alila Encinitas with family nearby to watch the kids we could easily do a 2 night couples getaway. I’d happily spend the Cert plus 30k (or 25k if it’s a Cat 7 off peak). Considering again that the bulk of my stays are at low end properties I would really enjoy a couple nights at a high end property, plus those EQN’s too.
One thing I really like is the Pay My Way even when mixing payment methods. Earlier this year when using the Cert the first night was Peak and the second was Standard so using that tool online was able to choose the certificate for the first Peak night and points for the standard night. Very clean compared to over the phone where they’ve tried to make 2 reservations and ask the hotel to combine them which is quite messy.
Gild Hall is Cat 5, 23k pts during peak time and often $500+/night during that time. So I'm not sure why there is no point using it there; it's saving you 23k pts. Obviously don't use it during off peak times. Surely you are in NY or somewhere similar where all the hotels are cat 5+ and it's peak time, at least once throughout the year?
Personally, I'm in Tokyo once or twice a year, usually during peak times, and I strongly prefer the GH there to the other Hyatt options. So I usually end up using it there to save 29k or 25k points. But if that wasn't going to work out for some reason, I'm also in NYC a few times a year and I would have no qualms using it at a cat 5 there to save 23k or 20k. In the past I've also used it at the HR Maui (before it was Cat 7)