As some of you know, last year I’ve applied for the old version of Hilton Ascend card (called Surpass at the time) in both mine and my husband’s names. The perk that sealed the deal for me was the free weekend night certificate you would both get upon first renewal. While I made great use of my bonus by burning points in Moorea and Auckland, in retrospect, I should have waited to apply for the second card until now. But more on that later.
I’ve ranted many times on how much my husband hates dealing with anything miles and points related. This one was no exception. You see, in order to set up his Hilton account, I had to use a different email address. This is where I messed up. For some unknown reason, I figured it would be OK to use his personal email account. You don’t ask a normal person to do a crazy’s job.
It wasn’t really that much of an issue until I realized that the weekend night certificate would come to his email address, not mine. There is a special code you have to provide when redeeming it, and it can be a major pain in the behind, at least based on my previous experience
I knew the approximate date his cert was supposed to show up, so I asked my husband to keep an eye on it. He said that he would. I told him to look out for “free weekend night reward” in the subject of the email or something along those lines. Well, I guess that wasn’t specific enough. The email in question sat there for few weeks until we finally discovered it. How could this happen? The subject line had “your reward has arrived!” verbiage instead of “free weekend night reward” and my husband figured it was SPAM.
OK, mystery solved. On to redeeming the free night. Normally, Hilton reps ask to speak to the account holder, but not this time. The guy let me redeem the certificate without any issues, and my husband was happy that he didn’t have to deal with it. I try to limit his involvement in my hobby/obsession unless there is no other option.
By the way, if for some reason you lose the email with the code, Hilton folks should see it on their end. If the rep seems to be confused, hang up and call again.
Where I burned the cert
The weekend certificate can be used at most Hilton properties, so naturally, I wanted to maximize the heck out of this thing. But I certainly wasn’t going to fly somewhere just so I can later brag about my “free” hotel stay. I wish I could magically transport myself to Conrad Bora Bora for just one night, but I’m afraid it’s not possible. Fortunately, we do live in Florida, so there are a few nice Hilton options within driving distance from my house.
I’m hanging on to my Hilton points for a possible trip to Hawaii, so reluctantly, I decided to make it a one-night getaway with my husband. Even then, finding an open weekend was a challenge due to various commitments we have in our lives. If you are in the same boat, I recommend you think long and hard when it comes to hotel certificates with an expiration date. Many times, they are indeed worth it, but don’t hold out for potential better value down the road. Bird in the hand… and you know the rest.
Anyway, I’ve narrowed it down to two hotels: Waldorf Astoria Orlando and Doubletree Beach Resort North Reddington Beach The first one was running at 80,000 Hilton points during my dates, and the second one at 40,000 points. I’ve always been curious about Waldorf Astoria brand. It sure looks fancy, and now as a Gold member you can even get free(ish) breakfast.
Some WA properties give out vouchers good for certain $ amount towards food, but the one in Orlando offers complimentary continental breakfast for up to two guests in the room. You can pay an extra $15 per person to upgrade to full breakfast. Ouch!
Waldorf Astoria has a very nice pool complex and of course, Orlando has all kinds of entertainment options nearby. The problem is, neither me or my husband are big fans of Orlando. We go there mostly for the kids. There was another problem with Waldorf Astoria:
While resort fee is supposed to be waived when you use free certificate or points, the dreadful parking fee stays. With tax, we are talking $40+tip. It definitely takes the “free” out of free stay, doesn’t it? Not to mention, lunch and dinner prices at a property like that will be quite high as well.
By comparison, Doubletree Beach Resort North Reddington Beach has no stupid fees of any kind. You can pay $5 to upgrade to full breakfast, which is probably what we will end up doing. Did I mention that the property is located right on the beach? And I’m a sucker for a beach.
Unlike Waldorf Astoria, it looks like a “blue collar” hotel, which is fine by me. Even though the points rate is waaay lower, I consider it a better value for me personally. Of course, if you are planning to be in Orlando anyway, and happen to have one of these certs, it’s a different story. Our reader Natasha has recently mentioned to me that Waldorf property is absolutely amazing, and I have no doubt that it’s the case.
Bottom line
As I’ve said at the beginning of the post, I made a mistake by getting my husband’s Hilton Surpass card last year. The sign-up bonus gave us 100,000 points+free weekend certificate upon renewal. If I signed up for this card right now, he would end up with 150,000 points. See this post for more details
Since the hotel we are staying at would otherwise cost us 40,000 points, you can see that I clearly made the wrong call. In this hobby you win some and you lose some, and I certainly don’t have a crystal ball when it comes to future credit card bonuses.
But it’s OK. The weekend certificate, as well as $95 annual fee, are sunk costs at this point. Sure, it was tempting to go for Waldorf Astoria Orlando as a way to prove to myself that I made the right call. But it’s not what I wanted, end of story.
Hopefully, soon I’ll be enjoying my reasonably-priced margarita, with my feet in the sand. Well, as long as red tide doesn’t mess up my plans. If that happens, Waldorf Astoria Orlando, here I come!
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Photo by Katja Grasinger on Unsplash
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Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
You can self park at the Hilton bonnet creek next door which is “only $22 a night” which isn’t bad. The two hotels are connected by a covered walk way. Trust me it’s worth it.
@Natasha Paying $22 certainly beats $35! Thanks for the tip. Hmm, it definitely looks like a nice property. I’ve been following the red tide situation in Clearwater, and it’s getting worse. Perhaps I should reconsider. My in-laws have actually invited us to join them in Orlando next month. Perhaps this will be a chance to kill two birds with one stone by adding one night at WAldorf Astoria. Everyone seems to rave about it!
We stayed at the Waldorf using points the last time we were in Orlando. It is definitely an exceptional hotel and the service is phenomenal. That being said, we didn’t have a car and didn’t have to pay anything additional for breakfast, and it is true those costs add up quickly!
Doug, thanks for your thoughts! I was very tempted to use the cert at the Waldorf. On paper it really does look like a no-brainer, even with parking fee. Now if they could just somehow transport it to the beach location! 🙂
I certainly don’t have an issue with splurging now and again, and $40 isn’t going to bankrupt us. In fact, we may end up going there after all. It looks like red tide is back in Clearwater, at least on certain beaches. If things don’t clear up in few weeks, I will simply rebook at Waldorf, provided there is award availability. Otherwise, the beach is calling my name (as usual).