myperks

point taken. Read the post as something else.

RedSun

Please get back to the topics, Gent's....

We have more serious problem with Marriott FNs expiring on 8/1/2021.... I know it is totally different thread.

AndyKehn

People do realize that cat 7 cert can be used at cat 5 or 6 right. Same with cat 4 which can be used at cat 3 or 2. Now that half the US population is vaccinated and everything opens up, if you can't use the certs then you really never will due to some misplaced fear of traveling. I supported the extension when vaccine was no where in sight, but now I think people are just looking for excuse to maximize their cpp rather than just enjoy a nice domestic trip.

coleslaw

And you should be careful that you don’t *accidentally* use a Cat1-7 cert instead of a Cat1-4 when you’re booking a 1-4 property... it’ll take whichever has the closest expiration date.

FlyerBeek

To be fair (and I'm not one to frequently compliment Marriott over Hyatt), the Bonvoy certs I've got expiring in August 2021 were earned in 2019. Some of us have Hyatt certs that were earned two months ago (Feb 2021) that are also expiring in August 2021. Really wish Hyatt would at least temporarily issue certs good for 1 year instead of 6 months while travel remains heavily restricted for many.

-FlyerBeek

coleslaw

Great job keeping things on topic

RedSun

I think the 6-month thing only affects a very small set of FNs. All the previous 6-month FNs have been extended to end of 2021. Hyatt may just extend all those FN to end of 2021.

But compared with Marriott, I'm happy with Hyatt. I do not have those new 6-month FNs since very few people earned those 6-month Milestone awards from last year. So I do not know how loud we can get to.

FlyerTalker324193

I don't know. For us in Europe, the non-extension of certs earned this year is more of an issue (leaving aside the small number of countries which are farther ahead in their vaccination campaign such as Malta, the UK, or Serbia).

I'm nowhere near 60 nights yet, so cat. 1-7 certs aren't an issue for me personally. But I just earned a 1-4 and may earn another one soon (through allowed essential/work travel). Nevertheless, in the way leisure travel is still heavily restricted, I can't make good use of them. You know, June, July, perhaps August I could use certs. However, travel may still be heavily restricted at the time. Come September, it's busy season for me at work. And come October, these certs may just expire unused...

craz

why are you bringing common sense into this, you should know on FT all that counts is being able to use a cert at the most peak time to so called save as much as possible, and with hotel rates down its not a good time to use a cert over paying out of pocket.

GrayAnderson

I mean, I burned two certs in the last six weeks (in New Orleans...one was a mistake because the hotel's website sort-of misrepresents the current parking situation, so I didn't get my included Globalist parking with it; the other was a perfectly good use of it). One was at a Category 3 hotel, the other a Category 4 hotel...and I think both are fine uses. OTOH, I can see not wanting to burn a cert at a Category 1/2 hotel (where it arguably makes more sense to use points if you're going to do anything award-wise).

But on the other hand, I can see preferring to pay cash now (if one needs to stay) and burn certs over the summer, or preferring to pay cash while on someone else's dime, and for a lot of folks that's the only travel that's happening (particularly in Europe, where I suspect that at most some folks might have been limping out stays at a nearby hotel to try and retain status).

toomanybooks

My Concierge beats Twitter like a rented mule.

coleslaw

You got lucky!

My concierge is helpful, but if it’s something relatively straightforward that I need/want done quickly then Twitter is unbeatable (for me).

AllThePants

Curious -- which NoLa hotel misrepresents their parking situation? I fly through NoLa quite a bit (it's the most direct flight within driving distance to a lot of the rest of the south) -- so was planning to burn a Cat4 ticket on a pre/post-flight night in town.

GrayAnderson

The Hyatt Regency New Orleans. The issue is virus specific (and I suspect is starting to "self-resolve": The website isn't terribly clear that you can't charge any of the non-valet parking options to the room:
-The presence of a detailed parking fee chart, despite mentioning a third-party company, isn't clear that the parking goes to them separately. There are other situations, such as the HR Orlando International, where if you're staying at the hotel you can use the airport lot but it can charge to your room. Likewise, at the Eliza Jane parking is with a local company...but they simply hand you a parking pass to park in a lot that's one or two buildings over, so the situation (again) isn't clear.
-It isn't mentioned that self-parking can't use the valet lot...something which would make sense in the present situation since the hotel wasn't using the space at all...and I believe some lots are split between the two at different hotels (e.g. the restaurant valet at the HP Boca Raton uses level 3 of the garage while the HP uses the higher levels). If anything, the parking page gives the impression that both operations might be handled by a third party (e.g. the HR Atlanta outsources the valet operation to a local company).
-IIRC in March, the mobile site was using the "older" message they had from January (I've been checking the Internet Archive and the message seems to have been swapped on the main site in early March, but "main site updated" doesn't always copy to mobile versions and vice-versa) which made no mention of the parking situation (they had recently added a note on the subject).

As of now (I just checked, and things are steadily changing), it is even more goofy: Valet is available, but only on Friday/Saturday (which makes it both not a "virus safety measure" since they can clearly do it "safely" and highly frustrating if you have a "long weekend" stay). It's a close-to-full-service operation during the weekend and bupkis during the week now. But even now, the little window doesn't make it clear that someone staying Thursday-Sunday or Friday-Monday (say, over Memorial Day?) on an award would be unable to charge one of the nights to their room.

(The upgraded suite that I got was nice...it was a Deluxe Suite that was large enough to be a comfortable apartment for one (just under 700 sq ft per the website). But the parking situation still grates since I had to choose between "unexpecetedly pay $25" and "park on the street"...the room rate was low enough that I would likely have paid cash if I'd been able to sort that, but since the mobile website was missing key details AFAICT...)

Edit: I might also kvetch about the "room service only" situation with food come breakfast, but between having spent the day driving from Augusta, GA and getting in at close to 0200 IIRC, I wasn't going to be up for it. I have no idea if they totally failed to honor on this front/failed to offer compensation. Again, the Eliza Jane at least threw 500 points at me in compensation.

craigthemif

You're quite right. Since people can't get 3+ cents per point (or the equivalent via a certificate), they should not use the certificates at all, just out of principle...