I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 & 2024 (see first page for add'l details)

[leeniewdw]

Has anyone stayed at the Hyatt Churchill in London?

Looking at booking a stay, but concerned about not all rooms being renovated (hotel said they didn't do all the rooms because some people like 'classic' decor ). I am not a globalist, so no lounge access for me (can purchase for 120 GBP / night and the lounge doesn't have a hot breakfast -- no thanks!). Since I need 2 rooms, would book 1 on points, other with a Prive agent for breakfast and possible room upgrade.

We were just there June 16-19. I used URs to Hyatt to book and have no status (other than what you get for joining WOH). We found it very comfortable (amazing bed) and room was nice (no idea if it was renovated or not). Enjoyed the ease of getting back to Heathrow by taking a quick/cheap cab (about a mile) to Paddington Station and then the Heathrow Express straight to LHR.

I'm not sure I'd stay there again, but that's not because of the room or service or anything, just because we'd want to experience a different part of London.

 

[mmmears]

Waldorf Los Cabos Pedregal standard award availability is pretty open throughout the year with varying minimum stay requirements. Booked 5 nights with 5th night free and wanted to add another night with an FNC. Standard award is not available as a single night, but is as 6 nights. Called, but the rep couldn't do it either.

Anyone run into this before with Hilton? Guess I'll set up an alert and hope it's eventually available as a single night.

I hate when they play these games. We stayed there in May with 3 one-night reservations strung together, so it is possible, but I guess it's not easy to do. I'd set an alert (that's how we finally found a room). Congrats on the 5 nights - I can't remember if you've been there before or not but we really love it.

 

[hsmamato2]

Changes to Hilton Biz reported on Reddit

Amex Hilton Business Changes from Last Night

• SUB 175k/$8K/6 months. Offer ends 6/5/24.
• Annual fee $95-> $195
• Plastic -> Metal Card
• New $240 Hilton purchases in $60 Quarterly Credits
• New National Emerald Executive
• Removed FNC from 15k and 60k Spend (on 7/1/24)
• Category Spend 6x Removed (on 7/1/24) -> 5x on first 100k/year, then 3x
• Same 12x for Hilton Spend
• Priority Pass removed (on 7/1/24)

The $240 credit offsets the AF, but not happy they are removing the FNC.

Quoting from an older post ....Priority pass removed 7/24- does that mean my PP card I just got a few weeks ago and the 10 visits won't work after that date?

 

[wanderlust7]

I hate when they play these games. We stayed there in May with 3 one-night reservations strung together, so it is possible, but I guess it's not easy to do. I'd set an alert (that's how we finally found a room). Congrats on the 5 nights - I can't remember if you've been there before or not but we really love it.

Glad to hear you like it. We haven't been yet. I'm hoping I can prepay for incidentals using 3 Aspires credits and then use the credits again next year during the stay.

 

[nlenguyen]

I got a chase quarterly bonus on my Amazon Prime Card, but nothing else

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Any harm in lowering CL on a CIU that's only been open 6 months? Trying to prime ourselves if a big CIP bonus comes along soon...

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Any harm in lowering CL on a CIU that's only been open 6 months? Trying to prime ourselves if a big CIP bonus comes along

Don’t think so…. I’ve done it

 

[mmmears]

Glad to hear you like it. We haven't been yet. I'm hoping I can prepay for incidentals using 3 Aspires credits and then use the credits again next year during the stay.

They didn't have any issue using our 2 Aspires for the incidentals. I think you're going to really like it there.

 

[NewbieMom]

Glad to hear you like it. We haven't been yet. I'm hoping I can prepay for incidentals using 3 Aspires credits and then use the credits again next year during the stay.

Please report back if you're able to prepay! This is another property I'd love to check out next and have several credits to use as well.

Are you able to have 4 in one room? The occupancy listed is 3, but not sure if they are strict about it?

 

[smallsy]

Thanks. We just want to experience the city, so looking for a hotel near some major attractions/good restaurants.

We just got back from Boston (first time) and stayed at The Langham. The location was great, very quiet as it's in the financial district, and the hotel itself is fabulous. To be fair, this was an anniversary trip, so we were willing to spend a little more, but we booked with points and used the CSR benefits (free breakfast for 2, $100 hotel credit -- which we used on drinks/snacks at the bar). I think it was worth it factoring in all of that and the 1.5x points value. We had also considered the Dagney which is right around the corner for a little less, and it looked nice as well. We walked everywhere except for Fenway, and took the T for that.

 

[wanderlust7]

Please report back if you're able to prepay! This is another property I'd love to check out next and have several credits to use as well.

Are you able to have 4 in one room? The occupancy listed is 3, but not sure if they are strict about it?

@FreeDiningFanatic was able to get a room that fits 4 after contacting the hotel. They said they'd charge $200/night, but then didn't. Hopefully it's still the same, but I haven't e-mailed yet.

There's a DP of prepaying on Flyertalk, but it wasn't painless (seems there was some confusion about prepaying for a points stay). I haven't finished going through the thread, hoping there are other DPs.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Waldorf Los Cabos Pedregal standard award availability is pretty open throughout the year with varying minimum stay requirements. Booked 5 nights with 5th night free and wanted to add another night with an FNC. Standard award is not available as a single night, but is as 6 nights. Called, but the rep couldn't do it either.

Anyone run into this before with Hilton? Guess I'll set up an alert and hope it's eventually available as a single night.

Glad to hear you like it. We haven't been yet. I'm hoping I can prepay for incidentals using 3 Aspires credits and then use the credits again next year during the stay.

Please report back if you're able to prepay! This is another property I'd love to check out next and have several credits to use as well.

Are you able to have 4 in one room? The occupancy listed is 3, but not sure if they are strict about it?

@wanderlust7 That minimum stay requirement is unusual. Holidays? Just about every stay we've had has been FNC or individual nights strung together. I have found the Diamond Desk not to be as helpful as they used to be. I would reach out again, and like you said, set up alerts.

I have successfully prepaid for incidentals by requesting to "make a deposit for incidentals." I did this directly with my concierge, who was very helpful, and also arranged a great upgrade. Happy to share those details if you PM me. I actually ended up cancelling the trip I put the deposit on and it was refunded back to my Amex without any prompting from me. The year had already rolled over and Amex did not claw back, but as always, ymmv.

FYI, there have been varying dps of GCs working at this property. Some have no problem at all and others on this board have experienced problems.

@NewbieMom In maybe 2022 I contacted the resort about how to go about booking 4, because they do have 2 queen beds. They told me to book the standard award room and then contact them. There would be an "upgrade" charge of something like $150-200/nt. I was willing to pay that. Booked it and contacted them and they switched us to the 2 queen room, but waived the "upgrade" charge. It was nice that they did that, but I wouldn't ever count on it. Also, the 2 queen room is identical to the king room, so it's not truly an upgrade, but maybe a room capacity charge. I was very appreciative of the waived fees, regardless.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I am very excited to share that I was able to snag Hermitage Bay, and SLH property through Hilton, when it briefly had extremely limited availability during a recent SLH onboarding phase. Located in Antigua in the Caribbean, the standard room books into an oceanfront cottage suite with balcony and outdoor shower. I think there are only 25 cottages, so no more than 50 people on the resort at anytime.

I booked on a whim, with very little info and figured I'd snatch it and cancel after I looked into it. I was able to book AA flights for 28k pts RT + $109/pp. What I didn't know when snagging it was that it seems all meals and drinks are included, as well as round-trip transportation and VIP service through customs (have to confirm this is true for Hilton/SLH bookings). So a 5 day stay looks like it's gonna cost us only airline taxes, which is just crazy.





I would really like to see about an upgrade to a hillside pool villa.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

For anyone who booked the WA Costa Rica Punta Cacique, opening in 2025, it is now showing on the Hilton resort list, so you should be able to use Aspire credits there.

 

[AJruns]

I have a Chase offer for 10% off Sheraton charges >$100 (up to $57). Does anyone know if a reservation at the Dolphin hotel comes through as a Sheraton booking? The fine print excludes vacation club and Four Points bookings. Thanks!

 

[wanderlust7]

@wanderlust7 That minimum stay requirement is unusual. Holidays? Just about every stay we've had has been FNC or individual nights strung together. I have found the Diamond Desk not to be as helpful as they used to be. I would reach out again, and like you said, set up alerts.

I have successfully prepaid for incidentals by requesting to "make a deposit for incidentals." I did this directly with my concierge, who was very helpful, and also arranged a great upgrade. Happy to share those details if you PM me. I actually ended up cancelling the trip I put the deposit on and it was refunded back to my Amex without any prompting from me. The year had already rolled over and Amex did not claw back, but as always, ymmv.

FYI, there have been varying dps of GCs working at this property. Some have no problem at all and others on this board have experienced problems.

@NewbieMom In maybe 2022 I contacted the resort about how to go about booking 4, because they do have 2 queen beds. They told me to book the standard award room and then contact them. There would be an "upgrade" charge of something like $150-200/nt. I was willing to pay that. Booked it and contacted them and they switched us to the 2 queen room, but waived the "upgrade" charge. It was nice that they did that, but I wouldn't ever count on it. Also, the 2 queen room is identical to the king room, so it's not truly an upgrade, but maybe a room capacity charge. I was very appreciative of the waived fees, regardless.

I did book a holiday, with a cancellation penalty 3 months before. But I think their award release pattern has changed. You can see it if you do a flexible date search and change the length of stay. For example, in April, there are 5 check-in dates showing 120k for 1 night stays, but 20 dates if it's 5 nights. I saw a similar pattern across most months.

Great to hear no issues prepaying. I've also appreciated all the other info you've shared about the resort in the past. Thank you!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I did book a holiday, with a cancellation penalty 3 months before. But I think their award release pattern has changed. You can see it if you do a flexible date search and change the length of stay. For example, in April, there are 5 check-in dates showing 120k for 1 night stays, but 20 dates if it's 5 nights. I saw a similar pattern across most months.

Great to hear no issues prepaying. I've also appreciated all the other info you've shared about the resort in the past. Thank you!

That's interesting. For what it's worth, I never search for more than 1 night availability, so I am used to seeing very, very sparse availability. This gives me even more confidence that you should be able to add on that one night, although the holiday timeframe adds some uncertainty if the usual will hold true.

In an ideal world, the Diamond desk would call the resort for you and they could release that night for you, since you are meeting the 5 nt minimum +1.

 

[mmmears]

@FreeDiningFanatic was able to get a room that fits 4 after contacting the hotel. They said they'd charge $200/night, but then didn't. Hopefully it's still the same, but I haven't e-mailed yet.

There's a DP of prepaying on Flyertalk, but it wasn't painless (seems there was some confusion about prepaying for a points stay). I haven't finished going through the thread, hoping there are other DPs.

Just an FYI, but they also offered us upgrades (for a fee) a few days before the trip. We didn't take them up on it because the king room was large enough for us. With a larger party, you may be able to get something good at the last minute if you want to upgrade.

I did book a holiday, with a cancellation penalty 3 months before. But I think their award release pattern has changed. You can see it if you do a flexible date search and change the length of stay. For example, in April, there are 5 check-in dates showing 120k for 1 night stays, but 20 dates if it's 5 nights. I saw a similar pattern across most months.

Great to hear no issues prepaying. I've also appreciated all the other info you've shared about the resort in the past. Thank you!

Unfortunately, I'm seeing those minimum stay issues across multiple brands (PHPV, WA Amsterdam, and Andaz Maui just to name a few). I'm not surprised they are playing these games, but I am extremely annoyed by it.

 

[orangecuse]

Does anyone have a backpack they love for things like excursions or dayhikes etc? Something that can hold snacks, a big water bottle, maybe some kids extra shoes, but nothing massive.

 

[AJruns]

Does anyone have a backpack they love for things like excursions or dayhikes etc? Something that can hold snacks, a big water bottle, maybe some kids extra shoes, but nothing massive.

I have a $15 foldable backpack from Amazon that I use for full day trips, like Disney, but my absolute favorite everyday use bag is a hydration pack from Nathan with the bladder removed. I put a water bottle, dog drinking bowl, and windbreaker in the big pocket and charging pack and snacks in the small one (though my favorite feature is the pockets on the front of the straps that hold my phone, chapstick, sunscreen, etc. securely and within easy reach). It’s a small bag so won’t hold a ton more than that (though I’ve clipped a packable jacket and second water bottle and hat to the outside), but it’s very sturdily made so you can overstuff and it won’t break. It’s more of a regular backpack than most hydration vests. Mine is 6+ years old but this looks the same.