Matt4200

Got one for earning Globalist Status.

What U.S. properties would be the best use of this?

So far we have looked at and liked:

Park Hyatt NYC

Ventana, Big Sur

(Just went to Hawaii so the Maui Resort is out)

craigthemif

Best use is a personal decision.

There aren't any hotels worth flying across the country for a single complimentary night. There are lots of Hyatt hotels in locations that you might really want to visit. There are also lots of really nice hotels in places you have already visited dozens of times (and don't want to repeat).

You need to be more specific about what constitutes "good use" for you. Looking at the list of Category 6-7 hotels is probably easier than trying to explain it on an internet forum.

DErg

I'm using mine in January at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, if you're into skiing that's a great property which also happens to be quite expensive in the winter. Nightly rate during peak ski season is normally almost or just over $1k/night which makes it one of the more expensive north american Hyatt properties.
So I'm using 60k points and the 1 cat 1-7 cert as opposed to paying $3k for the stay.

platbrownguy

+1

The best use is one that replaces the most expensive stay that you would actually have paid cash for otherwise (or a stay that has no cash substitute that you'd be willing to pay). I am using 2 cat7 certs + 30k for three nights at Andaz Maui around Thanksgiving because it's a good deal on those nights (just over $1k/night after taxes and parking -- and no matter what, I would be paying $500+/night for anything decent on those dates).

PH NY is not bad for a splurge, but if you wouldn't actually pay the going rate for the property on a trip to NYC (I wouldn't, I'd rather stay at the Chatwal for half the rate), it's not necessarily a "good redemption."

Ventana could be an excellent redemption value.

There isn't really much else in the US other than (as mentioned above) the ski type places, e.g., Aspen, Beaver Creek, Park City, Tahoe.

Matt4200

I like your way of thinking of it, but for me In Particular I would never go above a Cat 4 Hyatt, so this is a little splurge.

I typically stay at Category 1 and 2 Hyatt hotels and on a special vacation a Category 4 (Hyatt centric Waikiki most recently).

One night at a Category 7 will be an amazing getaway for us. Maybe not PH NYC as it’s more of a named location and not amazingly memorable, but Ventana does look pretty great and I would never normally stay there because of the price tag. On non-peak season it’s like $800 a night.

As far as using (2) Category certificates for one stay how do you do that? Because I have (2) Category 1-4 Certificates but it’s only letting me redeem them individually, not together for a two night stay.

platbrownguy

I dallied on getting the WoH card until recently (my wife and I alternate taking the hard pulls, so I got her the card a while back). When I applied for the WoH card a few months ago, one of the options was two Cat 7 certs instead of the usual 50k points, so I did that. I'm going to requal for Globalist in the next few weeks so I guess I could have held out and used three Cat 7 certs in a row, but I wanted to go ahead and book the Andaz Maui at Thanksgiving while there was redemption availability to be had.

I did have to call to get the redemption to work with multiple certificates -- if there's availability for the two nights individually, then there will almost certainly be availability for both nights together, as long as the room type is the same.

Matt4200

I know you can book two individual nights, but AFAIK there’s no way to use them both for one reservation is what I’m saying.

Of course you could book two adjoining night stays back to back, and contact the hotel to have them connected which most do accommodate. I was just seeing if you knew a way to use two in one single reservation. So it sounds like in your case you made 3 reservations since the two Certificates were used each individually and one paid night.

The only downside to that is nicer hotels tend to block our award nights for one night stays, but if you’re booking 2-3 nights then Award stays magically open up.

For example: Try checking award availability for Hyatt Centric Waikiki for a 1 night stay any time in the next 6 months pick one night at random. And it will say there’s no award availability for that night. But if you try it with a 3 night stay you can book your 3 nights award stay with points.

How is that possible if the first night of the stay was previously blocked out?

Sorry for the rant I just went through this whole thing with them.

But I am hopeful there’s a good way to use two Category certificates in one reservation.

platbrownguy

No, they can do it if you call. It's a single reservation, single reservation number. 2 certs and 30k. I've done it plenty of times with multiple Cat 4 certs, I think I've used up to 4 of those at once (30 nights, credit cards, brand explorer, etc.). Always had to call in but never a problem.

Agree with you that if there is a minimum-length-of-stay requirement, that can be an obstacle to points or cert redemption. Andaz Maui was hard to get because of that, and I'm playing a similar game with Marriott now for a Christmas redemption at the Westin Snowmass. But my point above is still true, which is that if the individual nights are available, you should be able to call (try it!) and get both nights booked in a single res using both certs.

Matt4200

Thanks for the Datapoint!

Currently have 2 Cat 1-4 Certs and 1 Cat 1-7. So that’ll be nice I thought I’d have to make to reservations then call the hotel to have them combine them. Nice to learn WOH can use both at once if booking over the phone!

DErg

They definitely can and can even combine them into one reservation with points. I just finished a 5 night stay at the PH Istanbul. I used 4 cat 1-4 certs and then points for the last night. Reservations was able to put it all together into one reservation no problem.

lsquare

I'm looking for some suggestions. The recently renovated Park Hyatt Toronto seems like an excellent place to use the certificate as it has high cash rates even for January. I'm all ears and am interested in what you guys have to say.

coleslaw

For me it would be Ventana Big Sur, but you’d have to make it a multi day trip.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Honestly, for me, Park Hyatt New York. I love the city, and despite certain misgivings on upgrades, I find the PHNY to be finished out really well and to have nice service interactions, especially with room service and turndown staff.

lsquare

That's a fantastic idea, and I've always wanted to go there, but I think it's not easy to get there, right? I actually have two of the Cat 1-7 certificates. If only Ventana Big Sur is as accessible as the Park Hyatt New York.

​​​​​​​I totally forgot about this option! I'm sure I'll get more value out of PHNY than PH Toronto?

craz

here we go again with the same _____ question/thread

It never amazes me how many people are simply looking to max out value when using any Cert. Never posting what they enjoy doing, seems it will be a 1 nighter. So if its not a staycation doesnt airfare (even using miles or pts) car rental decrease the end value big deal! I can save the most even if I have to spend for a tkt and car and really have no interest in being in that locale eg great value say in Vail, but I dont ski and hate cold weather, but since I can get savings(sic) Im going, yes just for 1 night even thou I will be at most 10 hours at the hotel

I just dont get it!