I don't understand why the hotel had to convert USD to local currency.

I have only one P&C res, but the rate was concerted to local currency at the time of the res, and my confirmation is now quoted in euro, which is what I will expect to be billed.

Is this not the case for all P&C reservations?

Unable to find availability on P+C for PH Vendome. I'll try every few days and hope I get lucky!

DFW Regency (cat 2) had availability when I called, coworker who is also Plat was unable to convert straight points to P+C for the IAH Hyatt Place (cat 1).

Same here :-(

I think that this P&C as well as the myElite rate is very well done.

However, I also wonder about the long term viability as it stands right now.

From what I know, availability of these rates do not line up with anything else, award availability for example. The properties control availability albeit at a set price (for P&C) or discount (myElite rate).

Local Currency or USD?
 

I had thought that P&C rates for non-US properties were converted to local currency at the time the reservation is made, but a poster upthread said there was exchange rate loss at the time of checkout due to the hotel's conversion of USD to local currency.

So which is it?

I have a P&C reservation for Paris, and my confirmation is quoted in euro, so is what expected to be billed.

Anyone else with experience in completing a P&C reservation at a non-US property?

I think both of you are right..... but you are talking about different things.

The cash part of P+C is calculated at the time of booking, at the exchange rate that is then valid (or some pre-determined average). You are charged in the local currency on departure against the exchange rate that is then valid, so there might be a small difference. Nothing really wrong with that in my opinion, especially when the T&C's clearly mention that you will be billed in the local currency.

What also happens is that for some countries the website shows USD as the local currency when it actually isn't, Indonesia/Bali and Argentina are examples. At checkout you will be billed in the local currency using an exchange rate that might be (very) unfavorable, that's where the difference will be.

That's a bit more opaque since at time of booking you will only see something like this "Total rate in hotel currency is guaranteed. Total rate in your selected currency will vary with fluctuations in exchange rate". But you will never actually see the rate in the local currency.... that's quite different than what happens with the P+C rate.

I'm confused. If I try to do Points & Cash at a hotel that states rates in US$, such as those in Bali and Argentina, is the cash potion definitive in dollars or local currency at the time of reservation? In other words, assuming that I ultimately pay the cash portion is local cash currency, do I get the exchange rate on the day I make the reservation or the rate at check out time?

Interesting picks - Argentina and Bali - considering what's been going on in the past month. Hypothetical? Or are you considering gaming them?

And thank you, peteropny.

I booked 4 nights at Andaz Maui at pre-devaluation rates (22K/night) for March. Today, I called Gold Passport to change those 4 nights to points + cash so I could use the suite certificate, but was told that P+C was only available for the final 3 nights. I gave them the go-ahead and the GP rep contacted the hotel general manager, who approved for all 4 nights to be upgraded to a suite. The first night is labeled a reward stay. The GP rep said that I would be refunded the difference in points (P+C is 12.5K/night), but those points haven't been credited to my account yet. I called GP again after 3-4 hours (afterhours), and was told that the refund should've been instantaneous.

Also, when I log in, my account does show the first night as a reward stay and the final 3 nights as P+C, but nowhere does it say anything about the suite upgrade on any of the nights. But when I called, the GP rep said that there are notes on her end (keep in mind that this is GP, not the hotel) that say that my reservation is for a suite. Since I have no evidence of this in my log in, should I call the hotel to confirm this? Or is GP's word good enough?

Speculation on my part here... but since reservations for hotels that show USD rates stay in USD until checkin/checkout I would assume the cash part for P+C would also be in USD until that time.

The problem that was mentioned by Jaimito Cartero is that when these hotels do the exchange to their local currency they might not give you a decent exchange rate (it's unpublished what they will use). So when you then pay in that local currency and it is again exchanged to USD by the exchange rate your card company uses you might see the difference. Sometimes just a small difference, but it can be anything from 1-5% as I have seen.

The way to beat this might be exchanging on the local black market and paying cash in the local currency. Seems to work perfectly for Argentina :-).

Thanks for the explanation. I hadn't realised that hotels where the rate is quoted in USD actually bill in the local currency, in the post in question, it was Indonesian rupiah, so I guess that is what was happening.

But I don't see why my rate quoted in euro for the cash portion of the P&C would be recalculated. I'm not worried so much about the fluctuating exchange rate; that might even to be to my advantage. But I don't want the hotel using the "cash" exchange rate that they display at the counter (at least they display it at the counter here in Japan).

Here's hoping that one or both of you will report back with some success some day, because to my way of thinking, P+C for this property would be an incredible deal post-devaluation. Which is why I am not surprised that availability is very limited (if not non-existent).

When P+C came out, all of the bloggers did some dopey arithmetic in dividing the cash portion at each hotel category by the points, and concluded that at 2 cents a point ($300 / 15,000 points), the Category 7s (and Category 1s) were the worst deal, and that the "sweet spot" was in the middle categories. But when you are talking about rooms priced around $900 minimum (and for many dates a heck of a lot more), one is getting that cash half (of $450+) for $300 and 3 cents (or more) of hotel room per point on the points half.

(I realize many folks will say that this is a phony calculation, since "Who the heck [among those not so rich as to ignore price] would pay $900 to $1,500 for these hotel rooms?" and there is some truth to that, but I tend to think of it the other way: "Who the heck would use points to buy something that they could afford to pay cash for?")

Yes, but if P & C is converted at the time of reservation while a regular (non prepaid) reservation is converted at check out time, one use the choice between C & P or not to speculate on whether the exchange rate will rise or fall during the intervening months. For counties experiencing volatile exchange rates or even just big rises or falls in the value of their local currency, the difference could be significant. It's making me think what strategy I want to use beyond calculating the value of points.

I think that countries where extreme currency fluctuations are expected to occur are the ones that quote in USD and keep the rate in that currency until payment. I expect if you use P+C in those countries they will also keep the cash part in USD. It's not for nothing that for Argentina they quote USD...

But for others you do run a risk with fluctuating exchange rates to the USD. But remember, that can also be to your advantage. It's more likely a substantial change in exchange rate vs the major currencies will be down than up. Just look what recently happened to the TRL or KZT.... And for most P+C reservations the amounts involved will be small. Standard paid reservations would be for a larger amount, and you would have exact the same currency risk.