Using points to book NYC hotel for a family member
 

Mr Canuck and I would like to give a night's stay in a NYC hotel to his sister and her soon-to-be husband as part of their honeymoon trip to New York. (They'll be staying with us for the rest of the time.) We're thinking about a couple of options to booking them a nice hotel: (1) Priceline; (2) Marriott points; (3) Hilton points; or (4) redeeming our Thank You Points for about $200 in Ritz-Carlton gift cards and then topping up that amount so they can stay at the RC Battery Park (looks like it's about $325 a night for a harbor view room).

I have a few questions: (1) Can we book a hotel for another person through Priceline? (2) Can we use Marriott or Hilton points to book a hotel for another person (without having to pay any transfer fees)? (3) Which NYC Hilton family and Marriott family hotels would you recommend for a special stay that doesn't break our "points bank", and why? (For example, I think the Waldorf-Astoria and Ritz-Carlton are out of our range for Hilton and Marriott points stays, respectively, but anything else is a viable option.)

Thanks

I'll answer #2: No problem booking a Hilton or Marriott room for someone else using your points.

#1: I've done Priceline bookings for other people, but using their credit card. The guest checking in needs a credit card on file for charges. I am interested to know what other people have experienced.

#3: I'm no help on NYC travel. I am not familiar with NYC hotels.

Kate,

What date will you be looking for?

No problem using your credit card on Hotwire/Priceline for another person. They will have to provide their own credit card at check n for incidentals.

I'm not sure yet. Probably either late September or late October.