Free night certificates - Revision history

Editor at 03:13, 28 October 2021

2021-10-28T03:13:00Z

Editor: /* Hyatt certificates */

2021-10-27T21:44:28Z

‎Hyatt certificates

Editor: /* "Capped" hotel certificates from Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG */

2021-06-13T18:25:47Z

‎"Capped" hotel certificates from Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG

Editor: /* Other options */

2021-06-09T00:58:09Z

‎Other options

Editor at 22:54, 31 May 2021

2021-05-31T22:54:41Z

Editor: /* Hyatt certificates */

2021-04-30T03:22:34Z

‎Hyatt certificates

Editor: /* Marriott certificates */

2021-04-30T03:22:02Z

‎Marriott certificates

Editor at 21:09, 27 April 2021

2021-04-27T21:09:49Z

Editor: Editor moved page Free Night Certificates to Free night certificates without leaving a redirect

2021-02-19T04:38:38Z

Editor moved page Free Night Certificates to Free night certificates without leaving a redirect

Editor at 19:19, 12 February 2021

2021-02-12T19:19:53Z

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 {{Box|Extended Expiration Dates}}
-Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and Radisson have all extended the expiration dates of their certificates until the end of 2021. In addition, Hilton is extending all certificates issued in 2021 until the end of 2022 and allowing them to be used any day of the week, rather than just on weekends.
+Hyatt, IHG, and Radisson have all extended the expiration dates of their certificates until the end of 2021 and Marriott has extended the expiration dates of their certificates (and suite night awards) to June 30th, 2022.  Hilton certificates issued in 2021 are extended until the end of 2022, but any certificates issued earlier are only extended to the end of 2021. In addition, Hilton is allowing all these certificates to be used any day of the week, rather than just on weekends.
 {{/Box}}
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 <li>'''You can only use Marriott certificates for hotel nights that don't exceed a specified point cap'''.  For example, the certificate from the regular Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card can only be used for rooms that would require up to 35,000 points to book and the certificate from the premium Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card can only be used for rooms that would require 50,000 points to book. {{Link|Marriott Certificate}}.</li>
-<li>'''35,000-point Marriott certificates substantially limit your ability to use your certificates at nicer hotels'''. During peak dates, these certificates will only work at Marriott’s category 1-4 hotels, which tends to restrict you to Marriott’s lower tier brands, on the outskirts of cities. During regular and off-peak dates, you could use them for Category 5 hotels, which is enough for Marriott and Sheraton branded hotels in moderately expensive cities, but the cash rates during these dates will still be relatively low.</li>
+<li>'''However, starting sometime early in 2022, you'll be able to augment your certificates with up to 15,000 points to book more expensive hotels'''. For example, you could use 5,000 points and a 35,000 point certificate to book a hotel that requires 40,000 points per night.</li>
 <li>'''50,000-point certificates can be used at nicer hotels'''—Category 6 hotels during “standard” season, Category 5 hotels during “peak” season, and Category 7 hotels (out of 8) in “off-peak” season. Just don’t expect to use them at luxury hotels and fancy resorts. </li>
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 <ul class="bulletlist">
-<li>'''The 50,000-point certificates from the Marriott Brilliant card is a good option for most people'''. It provides access to significantly nicer hotels than the other certificates, and once you factor in the card’s $300 annual credit, only costs a little more than the other cards.</li>
+<li>'''Once Marriott certificates can be augmented with points, they should be easier to use than the other "capped" certificates''', because they can be effectively used on hotels costing 30-50,000 points per night. Even when Marriott switches to a fully dynamic pricing system, we expect point costs to be based on a value of .6 cents per point, allowing you to use a 35,000-point Marriott certificate to save around $200 on any stay that would normally cost $200-300.</li>
 <li>'''The value you can get from other certificates is pretty similar'''. A 40,000 point IHG hotel, Category 4 Hyatt, and 35,000 point Marriott point are likely to have comparable rates, and you should occasionally find opportunities to use the certificates for rooms maxing out around $200-250 per night. On rare occasions, you should be able to use them for a more expensive room or a more memorable location.</li>

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 <ul class="bulletlist">
-<li>'''Every year you have the [[Hyatt credit card|Hyatt Credit Card]], you’ll receive a certificate you can use for a free night at Category 1-4 hotels''' (out of 8). This corresponds to hotels that cost up to 15,000 Hyatt points per night per night on a regular date and 18,000 points per night on a peak date. {{Link|Hyatt Certificate}}.</li>
+<li>'''Every year you have a non-business version of the [[Hyatt credit card|Hyatt Credit Card]], you’ll receive a certificate you can use for a free night at Category 1-4 hotels''' (out of 8). This corresponds to hotels that cost up to 15,000 Hyatt points per night per night on a regular date and 18,000 points per night on a peak date. {{Link|Hyatt Certificate}}.</li>
 <li>'''A lot of bloggers have written good articles that recommend some great choices for using your certificate'''. Here are some links to get your imagination going. You can also view the '''[//www.hyatt.com/en-US/explore-hotels?categories=4&regionGroup=0-All list of Hyatt’s category 4 hotels]'''.</li>
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 </ul>
-<li>'''You'll qualify for a second certificate as soon as you spend $15,000 during a calendar year—this is the only card that lets you reasonably earn two certificates per year'''. The opportunity cost of earning the extra certificate is around $100-150. So, if you are holding onto the card and you are sure you will be able to use both certificates, it is usually worthwhile to try to use the card for $15,000 worth of spending.</li>
+<li>'''With the regular card, you'll qualify for a second certificate as soon as you spend $15,000 during a calendar year—this is the only card that lets you reasonably earn two certificates per year'''. The opportunity cost of earning the extra certificate is around $100-150. So, if you are holding onto the card and you are sure you will be able to use both certificates, it is usually worthwhile to try to use the card for $15,000 worth of spending.</li>
 For existing cardholders, the spending requirement is based on your cardholder year until your 2021 anniversary date. You'll then have an opportunity to earn an additional certificate by spending $15,000 between your anniversary date and the end of 2021. In 2022 and beyond, spending for the certificate is based on the calendar year.

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 The free night certificates from the Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG cards can only be used at each program’s less expensive hotels. On the other hand, unlike the Hilton Surpass and Business Cards, there is no minimum spending requirement each year. You get a certificate just by holding onto the card.
-While you should easily be able to get more value from the certificate than each card's annual fee, it is hard (but not impossible) to get more value than about $200 per certificate.
+While you should easily be able to get more value from the certificate than each card's annual fee, it is hard (but not impossible) to get more than $200 value per certificate.
 ==== Marriott certificates ====

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 Even better, you'll receive 40,000 points each year you renew, good enough for yet another free night.
 {{/List|card}}
 === Free night certificate tips ===

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 *[[#Free night certificate tips|Tips]]
 {{/TOC}}
 {{Main|article}}
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 {{Image|HiltonPhoto.jpg}}
 '''If you like luxury hotels, make sure to earn one or more of the Hilton certificates every year. Unlike the certificates from the other major hotel programs, you can use them at even their most expensive resorts and luxury hotels. We make sure to earn multiple certificates every year.'''

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 </ul>
-<li>'''If you are interested in additional certificates, you can sign up for multiple cards'''. However, if you also want to receive a signup bonus for each new card, you'll need to follow some restrictions that are detailed in our [[Marriott / SPG Credit Cards|Marriott credit card guide]]. And you'll be potentially limited by the Chase 5/24 rule and/or the Amex 4-5 credit card rule.</li>
+<li>'''If you are interested in additional certificates, you can sign up for multiple cards'''. However, if you also want to receive a signup bonus for each new card, you'll need to follow some restrictions that are detailed in our [[Marriott credit cards|Marriott credit card guide]]. And you'll be potentially limited by the Chase 5/24 rule and/or the Amex 4-5 credit card rule.</li>
 {{Table|Basic|4.75in}}

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 <li>'''You can get multiple certificates by signing up for multiple Hilton credit cards'''. Each person could earn up to 3 certificates per year by signing up for the Hilton Aspire, Hilton Surpass, and Hilton Business cards, and spending a total of $30,000 per year. Amex will let you get multiple copies of the same card, so you could actually earn even more certificates if you wanted. </li>
-Keep in mind that Amex limits each customer to a total of 4-5 credit cards (across both personal and business cards), so there is probably a limit to the number of “slots” you want to use for Hilton cards, especially if you are also trying to collect other Amex signup bonuses. After the first year, it is possible to convert a card back and forth between the Surpass and Aspire versions so that you can earn two certificates with one slot, but there is a chance that Amex may eventually frown upon this behavior. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.
+Keep in mind that Amex limits each customer to a total of 5 credit cards (across both personal and business cards), so there is probably a limit to the number of “slots” you want to use for Hilton cards, especially if you are also trying to collect other Amex signup bonuses. After the first year, it is possible to convert a card back and forth between the Surpass and Aspire versions so that you can earn two certificates with one slot, but there is a chance that Amex may eventually frown upon this behavior. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.
 {{Table|Basic|3.75in}}
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 </ul>
-<li>'''The Amex options aren't subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, but you only have a limited number of Amex "slots"'''. Amex limits you to a total of 4-5 credit cards (across both personal and business cards), so the Hilton, Marriott Business and Marriott Brilliant cards are all competing with each other, with other Amex cards, and with the speed at which you'll be able to collect Amex signup bonuses.  {{Link|Amex Limits}}.</li>
+<li>'''The Amex options aren't subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, but you only have a limited number of Amex "slots"'''. Amex limits you to a total of 5 credit cards (across both personal and business cards), so the Hilton, Marriott Business and Marriott Brilliant cards are all competing with each other, with other Amex cards, and with the speed at which you'll be able to collect Amex signup bonuses.  {{Link|Amex Limits}}.</li>
 </ul>

← Older revision	Revision as of 04:38, 19 February 2021
(No difference)

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 {{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|free night certificates}} (2021)}}
 {{seo|description=Every hotel credit card that gives you a free night certificate, each year you have the card.}}
-{{Page|article|Benefit List|Hotel Strategies}}
+{{Page|article|Benefits|Use Points}}
 {{Image|HyattFreeNight2.jpg|full}}