If a hotel offers to refund free night cert, should I actually get it?
 

Something just feels wrong about this situation, or maybe I'm just being unreasonable. I used a free night certificate at a Hampton, and they messed up with the room type. They agreed to refund the certificate, but I actually received 42k points, which is what I assume would have been the cost of the free night if I had used points instead of the certificate. I thought that the certificate is worth more than 42k points, so I asked Hilton to put the certificate back instead of the points, but they don't want to. Am I wrong to expect it?

When you originally booked, you were happy to use a free night certificate for a 42k point room.

There was an issue with that stay, as a result of which, the hotel refunded you the points. You also got some benefit from the hotel room where you stayed before, even if it's just taking you a step closer to requalification.

Yes, you did give up something worth more than 42k points to stay there - and you could make the argument that you should have that higher-value thing (i.e., a free night cert) as the stay didn't meet expectations. However, you freely chose to give up the original free night cert for "only" 42k points, so I'd say you're ahead on the deal given the hotel's error. I would chalk this up as a win, overall.

The Free Night Certificate (FNC) had an expiration date. The 42K points do not. :tu: