“Forced” to adventure due to free night certs… On my mind

There was a time when I sort-of hated hotel free night certificates.  Often, expiration dates approached and I had no good use for them.  Sometimes I’d use the soon-to-expire free night at a near-airport hotel.  In those cases, I rarely got great value or a memorable stay.  Sometimes I gave away the free night to a family member or friend.  Sometimes, I gave away free nights to readers.

Near the end of 2019, I took a different approach.  I had three uncapped IHG free night certificates that were near expiration.  I searched for the best way to use those certificates for a last minute trip, and I picked the Kimpton Seafire resort in Grand Cayman.  We had a fantastic time!  If interested, read about my trip planning here: Assembling a cheap award to paradise, and my review here: Kimpton Seafire Grand Cayman. Bottom Line Review.

That trip to Grand Cayman changed my perspective.  Rather than thinking of expiring free night certificates as a burden, I decided to see them as a kick in the pants towards adventure. Rather than struggling to find an adequate use for my certificates, I now look for opportunities.  Where can we go to really enjoy those free nights?

For now, the pandemic has made international travel difficult, but there is plenty of adventure to be had in the United States.  In April, for example, I used a soon-to-expire Marriott 7 night certificate to stay at the best category 6 Marriott I could find in the United States: the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Tucson.  It was great!  See my full review here: Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Tucson. Bottom Line Review.  If it wasn’t for that expiring certificate, we wouldn’t have gone, and we would have lost out on a fantastic experience.

In addition to the pandemic making international travel difficult, it has led to many of us having far more free night certificates than usual.  Most chains have extended free night certificates a few times and so for those of us who get free night certificates each year from our credit cards, we have two or three sets of these certificates burning holes in our award wallets…

IHG 40K Free Night Certificates

My wife and I have four IHG 40K free night certificates.  These come from the old IHG Select card, which is no longer available new, but you can also get these annually from the IHG Premier card.  One of my certificates expires at the end of August.  Both of my wife’s certificates expire at around the end of this year.  What adventures will these certificates force us into?

I’ve long been interested in trying out the Hotel Indigo in Traverse City, Michigan.  I’d prefer to go in the summer, but for most of this summer the property is priced at 80K points per night.  My certificates will work only when the hotel is priced at 40K or less.  Fortunately, I found a couple of Sunday nights late in August when the property is available for exactly 40,000 points!  I booked one with my cert which expires end of August.  I also booked Monday night with 46,000 points so that we can have a two night stay up north.

With the short term problem solved adventure booked, I still need to find a great use for my wife’s certificates which expire at the end of this year.  Ideally, we’d stay at one of IHG’s Luxury & Lifestyle brands:

IHG categorizes the following brands as luxury and lifestyle: Six Senses, Regent, Intercontinental, Kimpton, and Hotel Indigo.  Neither Six Senses nor Regent hotels yet exist in the United States and so, for this year, we’ll probably stick to the other three brands.  Plus, it may be impossible to find those at 40K points per night.

My wife and I like the Kimpton brand and so we’ll seek out good opportunities with Kimpton first.  We’ve been interested in trying the Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel & Spa in Florida, but unfortunately every night from October 1 to December 31 is priced higher than 40K points per night.

I’d be even more interested in trying out the Kimpton Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara, California (shown above), but no nights are currently available for 40K points or less on any dates I checked: August 1 to December 31.

I next looked at Portland, OR.  I’ve never been there, but I’d love to go.  There are a couple of nice looking Kimpton hotels there, and it’s not too hard to find availability for 40K points or less:

IHG Reader suggestions?

I haven’t yet settled on our IHG 40K adventure.  Are there IHG hotels, preferably within the United States, that you highly recommend?  Please comment below.

Hyatt Category 1-4 Certs

There are a number of ways to get Hyatt Category 1-4 certs.  The World of Hyatt card offers a category 1-4 cert each year upon renewal and again when you spend $15K within a calendar year.  Additionally, Hyatt offers these as a Milestone Reward (when you earn 30 elite qualifying nights within a calendar year); as Brand Explorer rewards (when you’ve stayed at 5 different brands); and sometimes as rewards for miscellaneous promotions.

I currently have six of these certs, with four expiring 12/31/21.  It’s time to plan an adventure!  Here are some of the Hyatt hotels & resorts that I have my eye on and which are bookable with Category 1-4 certs:

Lahaina Shores Beach Resort, Maui, Hawaii (Category 4)

This is a Destination brand resort with full kitchens in every room.  My understanding is that this resort doesn’t provide any elite benefits like breakfast, late checkout, etc., but come on, it’s in Maui and on the beach.  The full kitchen is a big perk in itself.  Other than the fact that I’m not eager to go to Hawaii right now (it sounds like Hawaii is overflowing with tourists, much more than usual), this looks like an incredible use of free night certificates.

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort (Category 4)

This looks like it would make for a great summer or fall adventure!

Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, near Orlando, Florida (Category 3)

This one is only category 3, but we’ve been here many times and really enjoy it for escaping the Michigan winter.  If we choose this one it would be for mid to late December.  Returning to our old stomping ground doesn’t really seem like an adventure, though.

The Confidante Miami Beach (Category 4)

This one looks like it would be a great winter escape.

Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, New Mexico (Category 3)

Recent reviews of this one are mixed, with some very negative reviews, so we’ll probably pass on this one.

The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch (Category 3)

Given that we just did an Arizona adventure, it’s not too likely that we’ll do this one this year, but I put it on the list for others who may be interested.

Hyatt Reader suggestions?

I haven’t yet settled on our Hyatt category 1-4 adventure.  Are there Hyatt category 1-4 hotels or resorts, preferably within the United States, that you highly recommend?  Please comment below.

Marriott 35K Certs

Marriott offers a number of credit cards that award 35K and 50K free night certificates each year (details here).  Earlier this year, I was absolutely flooded with these certificates thanks to my wife and I having multiple Chase and Amex Marriott cards.  Since then, I’ve already used or applied a bunch of these certificates.  Many will be used at a family event where I booked multiple rooms for multiple nights, all with 35K certificates.  Now, I still have six 35K free night certificates expiring Jan 3, 2022 or within a few months afterwards.

35K Free Night Certificates can be used on up to category 5 properties except when they are peak priced; or up to category 6 in the unusual case where they are off-peak and available at PointSaver rates.

Inn at Bay Harbor, Michigan (Category 5)

The Inn at Bay Harbor is a long-time favorite of mine, but I probably won’t use my certificates here.  The best time to visit is in the summer where the hotel is almost always peak priced at 40K per night and therefore cannot be booked with 35K certs.  I imagine the fall would be pretty nice too, and I do see some availability at 35K per night (you have to look 2 nights at a time since they have a 2 night minimum stay), but we’re already planning to go a couple of times this summer using points with fifth night free stays.  Plus, it’s hardly an adventure to return here.

New Marriott Hotels

In order to find exciting new possibilities, I used Marriott’s hotel directory to filter to category 3, 4, and 5 hotels in the United States; luxury and premium brands only; and hotel type = new hotel.  This resulted in a list of 38 hotels.  Scanning through the list, I found the following hotels that look interesting to me. I’ve included Marriott’s one-sentence description of each:

• The Barfield, Autograph Collection, Category 4. “Brand-new luxury hotel in downtown Amarillo with boutique guest rooms and upscale amenities.”
• Epicurean Atlanta, Autograph Collection, Category 5. “Awaken Appetites Unknown.”
• JW Marriott Charlotte, Category 5. “Luxury urban retreat with steakhouse, oyster bar, rooftop bar, pool and spa.”
• The Industrialist Hotel, Pittsburgh, Autograph Collection, Category 5. “New boutique hotel with bold amenities and prime location near Market Square & Point Park University.”
• The St. Clair Inn, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Category 4
• Le Méridien St. Louis Downtown, Category 5. “Discover Le Méridien St. Louis Downtown’s modern guest rooms, upscale event space and dining.”
• ADERO Scottsdale, Autograph Collection. Category 5. “Welcoming guests May 14, 2021 onwards. Brand new Four-Diamond luxury resort & spa.”

Autograph Collection Hotels

Then, because I tend to find Autograph Collection hotels interesting, I filtered to all category 4 and 5 Autograph Collection hotels in the U.S.  Here are the ones I found interesting:

• Morrison House Old Town Alexandria, Autograph Collection, Category 5. “Charming 45-room hotel with on-site dining and intimate event spaces in Old Town Alexandria.”
• WATERMARK Baton Rouge, Autograph Collection. Category 4. “High-end hotel with luxury accommodations located near Louisiana State University.”
• Bohemian Hotel Celebration, Autograph Collection. Category 5. “A lakeside boutique hotel in Celebration, Florida, just moments from Walt Disney World®.”
• The Siena Hotel, Autograph Collection (Chapel Hill, NC). Category 5. Note: My wife and I stayed here many years ago and loved it.
• Grand Bohemian Hotel Charlotte, Autograph Collection, Category 5. “Boutique hotel in the heart of Uptown Charlotte with eclectic on-site restaurants and a rooftop bar.”
• Metropolitan at The 9, Autograph Collection (Cleveland, OH). Category 5. Historic hotel in downtown Cleveland, with boutique rooms, exceptional dining and a rooftop bar.
• Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection (Columbus, OH). Category 5. “Upscale hotel with glamorous rooms in the iconic LeVeque Tower near Palace Theatre and Ohio Theatre.”
• The Adolphus, Autograph Collection (Dallas, TX). Category 5. “The Adolphus, Autograph Collection features boutique accommodations in the heart of downtown Dallas.”
• Fenway Hotel, Autograph Collection. Category 5. “Jazz Age-era hotel in Dunedin, with boutique rooms, a rooftop bar, a restaurant and event venues.”
• westdrift Manhattan Beach, Autograph Collection. Category 5. “4-star luxury hotel with great dining, modern rooms, golf, pool, gym and outstanding event venues.”
• Glass Light Hotel & Gallery, Autograph Collection (Norfolk, VA). Category 4. “Downtown Norfolk’s Boutique Hotel and Glass Art Gallery – Come See Life in a New Light.”
• The Camby, Autograph Collection, Category 5. “Luxury hotel with an on-site restaurant and 11 event rooms near Biltmore Fashion Park.”
• Art Ovation Hotel, Autograph Collection. Category 5. “Enjoy interactive art installations and performances, onsite restaurant, rooftop bar and pool.”
• The Davenport Lusso, Autograph Collection (Spokane, WA). Category 5. “Upscale, boutique hotel with an on-site Ale House and complimentary Wi-Fi near Riverfront Park.”
• The Davenport Tower, Autograph Collection (Spokane, WA). Category 4. “Boutique hotel with room service, suite options and on-site restaurant in the Arts District.”
• The Historic Davenport, Autograph Collection (Spokane, WA). Category 4. “Timeless elegance awaits at The Historic Davenport, Autograph Collection.”
• Ambassador Hotel Tulsa, Autograph Collection. Category 5. “Luxury hotel in downtown Tulsa, free Wi-Fi and shuttle, pet-friendly rooms & suites, on-site dining.”
• The Ben, Autograph Collection. Category 5. “Only Waterfront Full-service Hotel downtown. With a rooftop pool & bar. Steps from Clematis Street.”
• The CURRENT Hotel, Autograph Collection. Category 4. “From business to pleasure and everything in between, the best part of Tampa Bay awaits.”
• Williamsburg Lodge, Autograph Collection (Virginia). Category 5. “Luxury hotel with three golf courses, 10 event venues and free Wi-Fi near William & Mary College.”

Marriott Reader suggestions?

The list of potential Marriott hotels in the U.S. alone, is huge.  Have you been to any of the hotels listed above?  Do you recommend we go, or stay away?  Do you know of other exciting options that I missed?  Please comment below!

Send us on an adventure!

My wife and I will be doing lots of international travel next year, so we’d like to stay in the U.S. this year (plus, of course, that’s much easier right now due to the pandemic).  But, within the U.S., we’re happy to go anywhere.  Where do you think we should go?  Recommend things to us based on location (e.g. “near this national park”), activity (e.g. “go water rafting here…”), hotel, or really any other factor you think of.  Ideally we’d be able to make good use of some of the free night certificates described above.  Comment below, and tell us where to go!

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