silver

you can't receive points unless "you" actually pay the hotel, this is true for all stays at hotels not just hw and pl. i believe all companies though will credit you points towards your incidentals that you incur during your stay, such as food, parking, movies and the like. you are also eligible to be upgraded based upon your status with the points program...just remember that you can't get points on it. these policies are not hotel specific, but rather company specific. one hyatt won't give you different treatment than another, if they do than you need to speak with a manager familiar with the rules. same as one hilton to another, or one westin to another.

good luck on getting a room for those prices in the area, it is a very high demand area due to the limited number of rooms. sounds like your hotel you saw was the embassy suites arcadia or holiday inn monrovia, there are only 3 full service hotels in the area, the other being the four points sheraton in monrovia. actually i now think you can cross out the embassy due to the low rate, so its between the latter two. hope you were able to get that room

hotwire is generally a fixed rate at most hotels while the priceline rate floats off of their best available rate. so if they are discounted heavily during a need date at the hotel, the priceline rate would be better, I would check those rates during holidays and weekends while looking at hotwire during midweek business travel and high demand leisure times