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Which Hilton property in Miami South Beach should I redeem my points at?

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Answers (7)

Advice on using hotel rewards

Advice on using hotel rewards

  1. Anonymous Guest

    I’m relatively new at this and I have a question about the timing of cashing in hotel points. There is a lot written about the timing of using airline points, 331 days in advance, etc. However, I would like suggestions on when is the best time to try for hotel points. Far in advance or closer to the date of travel? I’m taking my wife to Europe for five weeks in September of 2016 and want to use my hotel points as much as possible. Thanks for any advice.

  2. MidSouthSkier Community Ambassador

    @Henner13 – welcome! With some hotels you can book even further in advance. Personally, I wait until my flights are confirmed and then I book right away. I don’t normally travel in high season but as long as I have the points I go ahead and lock it in. Cancellation is usually free (far enough in advance) so there’s no real reason NOT to book the room as soon as your plans are set. Just be sure to read the booking terms so that you know when your cancellation deadlines are, should anything come up.

  3. Papa13 New Member

    Thanks MidSouth Skier. So I take it that the hotels don’t lower or raise the award points as we get closer to the date of travel? What I see today for points will pretty much still be that point level in ten or eleven months?

  4. MidSouthSkier Community Ambassador

    That’s generally correct. Of course there may be special circumstances – like if some special event gets scheduled – where the prices might rise but as a normal thing the price stays the same.

  5. Papa13 New Member

    [QUOTE=”MidSouth Skier, post: 8442, member: 184″]That’s generally correct. Of course there may be special circumstances – like if some special event gets scheduled – where the prices might rise but as a normal thing the price stays the same.[/QUOTE]

    Thanks again for the quick reply. Am I being foolish for signing up for several of the hotel credit cards that Lucky has suggested? I don’t travel as much as I used to, so my only way to build points is through the introductory offers of points and/or a couple of free nights.

  6. MidSouthSkier Community Ambassador

    Free nights are always nice and if you see a good sign-up bonus it certainly doesn’t hurt to jump on it. Just realize the difference in the free nights: with Hyatt, the initial two free nights are good at ANY Hyatt anywhere while the free nights in subsequent years are limited to category 1-5 (I think) hotels. So if you have an aspirational stay in mind, that’s when you want to use those initial free nights.

    The Marriott free night is also limited to cat 1-5. The IHG free night is good at any IHG hotel, I believe. Hilton’s are limited to weekend nights and probably only certain categories too though I don’t know off the top of my head.

    So I’d get a general plan of where you want to travel and when, then look at what hotels are in the area and see what cards suit that best.

    I don’t travel as much as I’d like but those free 1-off nights from Marriott & IHG come in handy on weekend trips with friends, even if they aren’t aspirational stays.

  7. pkong New Member

    Hi, I’m new here. my sign-up initial two free nights with Hyatt is about to be expired by the end of Nov.I called to hyatt yesterday and they allow us to use it in category 6, but at last they told me that the traveling date will have to be by the end of Nov. Do you have any insider trick that I can use it in Dec?
    Thank you!

    [QUOTE=”MidSouth Skier, post: 8444, member: 184″]Free nights are always nice and if you see a good sign-up bonus it certainly doesn’t hurt to jump on it. Just realize the difference in the free nights: with Hyatt, the initial two free nights are good at ANY Hyatt anywhere while the free nights in subsequent years are limited to category 1-5 (I think) hotels. So if you have an aspirational stay in mind, that’s when you want to use those initial free nights.

    The Marriott free night is also limited to cat 1-5. The IHG free night is good at any IHG hotel, I believe. Hilton’s are limited to weekend nights and probably only certain categories too though I don’t know off the top of my head.

    So I’d get a general plan of where you want to travel and when, then look at what hotels are in the area and see what cards suit that best.

    I don’t travel as much as I’d like but those free 1-off nights from Marriott & IHG come in handy on weekend trips with trips, even if they aren’t aspirational stays.[/QUOTE]

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