Originally Posted by
BingoLoco
I'm not interested in a reward room, only reward upgrades. And I'm not getting the credit cards.
Sounds like there are properties where 5000 a night will get me an upgrade, so I've got to buy a couple thousand more points and I'm good for a 3 night getaway.
Actually, with 13,000 points, you've got a one-night upgrade at a Category 1 hotel. (e.g., a 2-bedroom suite at a TownePlace Suites would be 12,500 points - as long as it's a Cat 1)
You can't apply 5000-point upgrades on top of paid rooms. The underlying room must be an award stay.
If you aren't getting the credit cards and aren't interested in an award stay, then my recommendation would be to look at the merchandise catalog. (They snail-mail it to members but I'm sure it's online somewhere.) 13,000 points would probably get you $30-40 worth of merchandise.
Another option would be to convert the points to a small number of airline miles - could be useful if you have a dormant account somewhere that needs its activity clock reset.