Expiring Stay Certificates is part of the Central America Trip Report.
I was stationary in Puerto Rico for a long time but that didn’t mean I felt like leaving. The reason I did is because my IHG stay cert was expiring and my birthday was coming up. I could’ve stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Condado to justify paying the IHG card’s annual fee, but that hotel is quite terrible (see Holiday Inn Express San Juan Condado: Turrible).
Instead, I searched for IHG hotels in Latin America and the Caribbean in a new country that I have not visited (see Where I’ve Traveled). There were two results: Dominica and Honduras. While the hotel in Dominica looked nice, the logistics of getting there coupled with the fact that I didn’t want to trade one island for another had me intrigued to check out what there was to do in Honduras.
I came to find out that Roatan is also an island, the largest of the Bay Islands. The hotel was a Kimpton, a brand that I quite enjoyed when I visited Bangkok (see Kimpton Bangkok: The Best Here?). I quickly rationalized that sitting on a beach in Honduras is quite adventurous because it’s Honduras. I also found a superb flight for 25,000 points and $5.60 from SJU-MIA-RTB. Locked in on Roatan, I went to my favorite website for adventure, Wikiairports, to see where I could go next (see Wiki Airports: Finding Flights to the Unbeaten Path). While the choices were limited, I, within two days, pieced together a spectacular itinerary (see Bus-Ted: Central America Trip Report Points & Cash Summary).
TPOL’s Tip: IHG certificates have to be booked, not used by the expiration date.
Almost ready to congratulate myself, I received an alert that my Hyatt Category 7 certificate which I received for qualifying for Globalist (see Hyatt Globalist: Now What?) was expiring. “Ay Caramba!”, I declared. I wonder if there are any Cat 7s in Latin America or the Caribbean in countries I have not visited. There were not. “Dios mio!”, I exclaimed. I wonder if there are any Category 6 Hyatts in Latin America or the Caribbean in countries that I haven’t visited. There weren’t any.
Maybe I should save my certificate, I thought. That was an impossibility because there was no time between this trip, the expiration of the certificate at the end of June, and my residency trip in July (see Off Again! SJU-TBD Trip Report).
TPOL’s Tip: Hyatt stay certs must be used by the expiration date.
I checked out Category 5 but also found nothing. Out of options, I rationalized burning it on a lower category. I quickly talked myself out of that idea. Instead, I booked the Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen. I did this for three reasons: 1) It was the best value for the cert as the room was going for 29k or $700 a night. 2). In my book, Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong…Including Mine (purchase here), I ridiculed people who go to Playa Del Carmen who believe that place is the ‘dream’ vacation and wanted to see it for myself. (That distinction now belongs to Tulum (see I’m Still Not Going to Tulum)). 3). It was an easy flight from where I was coming from El Salvador.
2 certs expiring, 2 certs booked. I was ready to go.
Overall
I resent the obligation that expiring stay certificates impose. However, without due dates, I would never leave my bubble.
Honduras is beautiful!