ooom416354

Hello everyone, I have a quick question. Currently I have a points stay booked at the Swan Reserve for next year. The total is 330,000 points, and it's broken out as follows:

60,000 points
FREE night 0 points
50,000 points
50,000 points
50,000 points
60,000 points
60,000 points

Total 330,000 points

Now, I was thinking of opening the new Chase Marriott Boundless card which offers 3 free nights up to 50,000 after the minimum spend. If I were to open this, would I be able to apply my 3 free nights for the above 50,000 night rates, plus pay for the rest using points AND still get the 5th night free? Or would I have to use only two of the 50,000 night certificates and pay for the rest with points to still get the 5th night free? Or is combining points + free nights certificates not even possible at all and would negate the 5th night free?

Thanks as always.

Veronyka

The way I understand it (though others feel free to correct me), is that you can't get the 5th night free when using the free night certificates, even when combining with points. I just tried to use 3 free night certs and then points for the 4th night to get the 5th night free and it made the "5th free night" one of the points nights (but still was going to take away my cert). I also tried to pay for one night to get 5th night free and it still wouldn't since 3 of my nights were free night certs. I chatted with CS and they affirmed that I couldn't get 5th night free if using any number of certificates.

ooom416354

Ah so if I were to use any number of free night certificates, it would negate the 5th night free in all cases?

Veronyka

That's the way I understand it. That the 5th night free only works with points redemptions or paid stays, not with any number of free night certs.

MD/DC Flyer

You can combine free certs with the pay for 4 get 5 nights as long as you are actually paying for 4 nights with points. So you can combine two certs on a 7-night stay (under one reservation) and still get one night free as you will be paying for 4 nights.

It would be interesting if the changes next year (allowing to add points to a cert) will make any changes in how this would work.

SPN Lifer

[My following response is substantively incorrect. According to Post # 9 below, the "pay 4, stay 5" nights do not need to be consecutive within a longer reservation. I must have misremembered earlier posts on the subject. Sorry.]

Unfortunately, the first and last of the seven nights are 60K points, above the 50K Free Night Certificate (FNC) value. So under these particular circumstances, the two FNCs cannot be used.

But theoretically, two FNCs could be used before or after, or both, a "pay 4, stay 5" point redemption.

ooom416354

Ah makes sense, thank you. I suppose I could use one of them for the first night, then the rest use points and get the 5th free? Either way I had hoped the 125k offer plus 1 free night stuck around longer because I can apply again as of 11/14. Oh well. Thank you everyone!

MD/DC Flyer

Check for price changes - at least for now - the prices could get cheaper (this particular hotel can be had for 40,000 a night). The prices now change on the weekend following the 15th of every month.

martzipan

That’s not how it works. You get to pick which nights you apply your FNC to.

In the OP’s case, one can apply two FNC for the 50k nights, pay points for another 4 nights, and get one more free. It does not matter which order the nights are in, they don’t have to be sequential.

For example, I recently had a 9 night stay at a cat 5 hotel where 5 of the nights were 40k and 4 were 35k. In order, it was something like 40-35-35-40-35-35-40-40-40. I applied my four 35k certificates to the cheaper nights, and paid a total of 160k points for the rest of the reservation. The fact that they were intermixed did not matter.

The only problem you might have is that you won’t be able to change the existing reservation to apply certificates instead of points, you’d have to make a new one. So if availability or price changes by the time you get the FNC, you may not be able to book it as you plan.

MD/DC Flyer

You will be able to change reservation (either by adding another night and then removing it, or by changing room type and back again) - so one does not need the double amount of points upfront - but as you indicated the price will be the new price if there was a price change.