Best use of Cat 1-4 free night certificate
 

Hi FT'ers. Wanted to see if there was an overall consensus on the best use of free night certificate (cat 1-4) in both the US and world. Trying to see how best to maximize it's use.

Thanks!!

Sorry I just dont get these questions

Ive used many a cert from all the different programs when I had a stay I needed, and it didnt matter what the cat was. So yes I would use a 1-4 at a cat2 if that cat 2 is expensive for the night I needed it and didnt have any plans where I knew I could use it

So a cat 4 in Hawaii is $1200 for the night, Im not about to pay or use miles to get there just to max out the value . It woiuld be something else if I was gonna be there anyways

Personally I used an IHG all cat cert at an IC that was 40K last week since I didnt have any other plans before it would exp and it was good for any cat the rate was < $150 and I was Ok with it, I used to use it at the ICHK which is 70K or a boat load of $$, but except for connecting flights I wont be in HKG till it settles down

So just use it wherever you would have normally paid for the night w/o having to pay for any extra cost to get to the hotel, is my advice

+1.

The best use is where you otherwise would spend cash or points. One free night is simply not enough to travel out of your way to use it.

Some people might not even want to change hotels in the same city. One night at the Park Hyatt New York and another night at the Thompson near Wall Street might excite a few of us Globalists with 2 free night certificates per year, but many others would rather just spend their time enjoying New York instead of switching hotels...

The best use is just using them before they expire with minimal time and effort spent.

Technically the answer gets a little more complicated starting in March when you can use your free cert during Peak periods when it will be more points than normal but the free night certificate is still available to redeem.

So if you are at risk of halving a certificate expire just use it anywhere is the answer that others have said and I 100% agree. Although If you are traveling a lot and have options then you’d want to redeem a cat 1-4 starting in March during a peak night at a cat 4 that has a cash price of I’d say at least north of $300. Bonus if you are Globalist and they have expensive parking that is also comped then.

If we’re talking cat 1-7, then again you’d want a cat 7 during a peak night with a cash price I’d say that is ideally north of $500.

That’s at least how I’m planning to redeem my certificates as they come in now that we know about the Peak rates coming in March.

It's not a bad question if you don't read it literally.

Change "best use" to "nicer hotels that average for the category" and it's a reasonable question. And it's pretty clear that's what the OP meant.

I suggest filtering Hyatt hotel listing by category, look for category 3s and 4s, and then look for full service properties. That will cut the list down quite a bit. Then check the reviews.

Doing that for a few seconds suggests (prior to checking reviews)

Andaz San Diego
Mancheseter Grand Hyatt San Diego
Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor
Hyatt Regency Seattle
Hyatt Regency Austin
Hyatt Regency Sarasota
Gild Hall NYC
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
Grand Hyatt Tampa

If you look outside the US, then you'll get a wider variety, such as Park Hyatt Siem Reap which might qualify as a "best use" if you are planning to visit Angor Wat (which is a great destination if you like that stuff)..

However, I use them where it's convenience. The Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara is ok, no great shakes, but it's a cat 4 an hour from my house and Ihad reason to be in Santa Barbara later in the evening, so I made a weekend out of it. I wouldn't fly to stay there.

SImilarly, the Hyatt Regency Sarasota is ok, no great shakes by any means, better places in Sarasota, but I had a reason to be there, so I used them (and used an extra to have my nephew stay with his wife and baby at the hotel and give them a nice break).

Chicago has some nice Cat 4 options (Thompson, Centrics, etc.)

I like Craig's suggestion, since I go to Manhattan often enough and it's always so pricey there. They've got some taxes & fees that are just out of left field and these free nights render them a moot point. Also, NY is large enough where, in my view, it makes sense to spend time in different parts of town where you have different stuff to do and restaurants from which to choose. It's just much more efficient to spend an evening in the area of one's hotel rather than having to take a taxi, uber and/or public transport.

Too bad HR TST no longer accepts the cat 4 free night. This had been far and away my favorite use of the Cat 4. Arrive in HK in the morning with late checkout the following day before a late/early morning onward flight to SE Asia (tokyo, singapore, shanghai, whatever) with in town checkin where I can send my luggage 24 hours before my flight. It was perfect and always loved the day + in HK with more than adequate facilities in HKG to prepare for my late/early morning departures.

But if you didnt visit NY ,. would you go there just to use and max out the savings on the cert?

Some people might fly half way across the world but I wouldn't.

Ah, from the West coast? Sure, if 2 nights. But, probably not if I were in Europe or Asia though.

Where I've used my Cat 1-4 certificate and felt it was a great deal:
- HR Boston (which is sadly now a cat 5... so instead I use it at the HR Cambridge when staying on boston)... last time I stayed there it was 349/night, so the certificate was a great deal
- GH Tampa (it's technically an airport hotel, but the property is great, nice pools, close to the beach)
- HR Baltimore (great location if going to Camden Yards)

All of these were hotels that were costing over 200/night, so I view these as great redemptions.

However, as everyone else has said.... the best use is for when you are going to a location you are planning to do, there's a cat 1-4 hotel and the room rates are more than 99/night. I travel a lot for leisure (but most of my travel is work related), so I always find a use for the certificate. I'm not sure how far out of my way I would go to just use a certificate for the sake of using one tho.

The best place to look and determine --> https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/explore-...l&categories=4

I definitely agree with all of you. The question of "Best Use" is definitely quickly answered by "wherever you'd save the most money that you might otherwise spend".

If the question is really more of "I have this certificate and some points and i'm looking for a place to get good value of points/cert at a Hyatt", then here's my personal list:
- Andaz San Diego
- Andaz Vienna
- Bellevue (Philadelphia)
- Centric Waikiki
- Chicago Athletic Association
- Confidante Miami Beach
- GH San Diego
- Gild Hall (NYC)
- Grand Hyatt Denver (Cat3)
- HP Keystone (Yes, it's a Hyatt Place. But it's a great ski location, and you can get free ski tickets)
- HR Grand Cypress (in Orlando for conventions/disney)
- HR Jersey City (across the Hudson, amazing views of Manhattan)
- HR Paris Etoile
- HR Seattle

No longer available, but I've stayed at and were a Category 4 (or less) at the beginning of the year:
- HR Coconut Point (Bonita Springs florida)
- Parisi Udvar (Budapest)
- Centric San Francisco (wharf).
- Grand Hyatt Seattle
- Olive 8 (Seattle)

as a Globalist your list is OK as a non-Globalist a person will get hit with Parking Fees at most of them which isnt $10 a day and can be as much as $50 w/tax. So a non-Globalist should treed lightly

That's true. But in any of the big cities you're going to pay a significant premium for parking at any hotel. And you're always free to park somewhere nearby and not at the hotel if that's a concern. And frankly, if you're in any of the big cities there's a good chance you don't even have a car.

In other words whether you pay for parking or not doesn't decrease the value of the points/certificate.
- If you don't have a car, parking is completely irrelevant.
- If you do have a car, then you have to pay to park it somewhere. It's not like parking would be free if you paid with cash, or it would be free if you spent a night at the Hilton or Marriott. And it's completely up to you whether to pay the hotel their fee, or find somewhere nearby.