I am planning to use a reward certificate at the Marquis in NYC. 180,000 points for 5 nights at the Marquis sounds great to me. I was wondering if there is a chance they would upgrade our room also? What experience do you have with getting an upgraded room when using a reward certificate? As a gold elite, I have been upgraded to larger rooms and better views regularly when paying for the room, but have not had any experience with redeeming the reward.
I stayed at the JW Resort in San Antonio in March using points for a 5 night stay. I was upgraded to a suite without asking. It all depends on how full the hotel is during your stay. In general, it is harder to get upgraded on a longer stay than on a shorter stay. But since your name is "lucky", I'm sure you'll have no problem at all!