Here's some advice from 2 experiences: These Chase Award Nights are NOT transferable. The T&C's are very clear about that. In DEC 2011 I booked 2 nights in NYC with my Chase Award Nights for me & added my friend who would be arriving before me to the reservation. I never showed up & the front desk never asked for my ID. My friend checked-in, presented his credit card & all was good. Last week I booked 2 nights for a friend in LA with his name added as a guest who would arriv earlier. Luckily I was in the area because the hotel insisted on ID of Award Night awardee. So I was able to present my ID while they swiped his credit card. It can go either way depending on how astute the front desk folks are....IMHO.
Whoa, I was going to try and see if I could borrow someone's free stays, but that sounds pretty risky if what you say is true. I want to go to DC over Presidents Weekend, and I would love to stay at the Park Hyatt, but I haven't done the Chase Hyatt card yet and I wouldn't want to risk not getting the free stays in time. That's why I would offer someone whose free stays are expiring to swap (assuming I was at least approved for the card before then), allowing the lender more time to use or sell their free stays.
Anyone else with experience on either end of the awardee not being present for a free stay?
TIA