Originally Posted by
MarkOK
It's always a cost-value proposition. I nearly always get more value burning pts at low category hotels than at resorts. I think on this last stay, it was either ~$140 for each room (for a non-advanced pay rate) or 5000 pts. Thankfully, I booked months in advance before their 'base rooms' were booked up. And, IMO, being able to quickly and last minute book airport hotels on pts is a HUGE benefit. At DFW, it's been very valuable to me booking a Hyatt hotel on pts at 10PM that night vs paying skyrocketing rates as they get booked up during weather events.
That is usually better than pts redemptions at most resorts, and I do care when a low category airport hotel decides it's too good to play by the spirit of the rules. (granted, with this going to Cat2, it'll be rarer to get more than 2 cents/pt redemption values here. That Cat1->cat2 jump is huge percentage-wise).
I agree. The Cat 1 properties often offer the best award value in the system. Which I guess explains why they're disappearing now.
Unlike the LHR Hyatt Place, I was able to book the well-reviewed Lindner hotel in Berlin for 3500 points for summer before today's price increase. They obviously weren't trying to skirt the program rules. That's easily 5 cent per point value.