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Hotel Rewards Programs & Deals Thread

I used my Chase sapphire points last night to book my trip to Maui. We had almost enough for two tickets which helped a ton on coast. It was also the cheapest way to get the rental car in Maui. Now I also get the points from paying the other airfare off, and my parents airfare. I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep this card or switch over full time to my ciit card.
 
Just got the go ahead to get the rapid rewards card and put the sapphire on hold while we earn the bonus miles. We'll burn the miles, cancel the card and go back to the sapphire and should have a good amount of miles for a family vacay next summer.
 
50,000 miles from SW has officially hit the account....let the fun begin
 
Cookie,
Which hotel program are you looking at?
 
Ihg has 60000 points signup last I saw a few days ago...think hilton had 2 nights. Didn't look at mariott
 
JB said:
Cookie,
Which hotel program are you looking at?
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It was through Chase. Think it was a Hilton 40 or 50k points. 1k spend in 3 months.
 
Damn Amol. I could likely do the minimum spending but it wouldn't be easy......large annual fee compared to $100 for 50k points elsewhere but the credit helps.
 
#Cookie said:
It was through Chase. Think it was a Hilton 40 or 50k points. 1k spend in 3 months.
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Don't do that one if it's Hilton. The citi Hilton and Amex Hilton are better cards. If you go Hilton you need a card that gives you free nights and mega earning points since the cost for redemption now is upwards of 50k per night for average rooms. We have the citi reserve Hilton and like it as a backup program.
 
JB said:
Don't do that one if it's Hilton. The citi Hilton and Amex Hilton are better cards. If you go Hilton you need a card that gives you free nights and mega earning points since the cost for redemption now is upwards of 50k per night for average rooms. We have the citi reserve Hilton and like it as a backup program.
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holy crap thats a lot of points for 1 room

Cookie, if you are just looking for the most rooms for a signup, then if Im not mistaken Marriot may be a good play for you. I think JB and I went over it last year but for fairfields and places like that the bonus could get you like 7 rooms. Beyond the signup bonus the card kinda sucks, but depends on ur needs.
 
JB said:
Don't do that one if it's Hilton. The citi Hilton and Amex Hilton are better cards. If you go Hilton you need a card that gives you free nights and mega earning points since the cost for redemption now is upwards of 50k per night for average rooms. We have the citi reserve Hilton and like it as a backup program.
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Just looked it up. It's the Chase Marriott Visa:


[h=2]Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card[/h]
  • 50,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months from account opening
  • 1 free night stay after account approval (Category 1-4 hotels)
  • Unlimited Point Accumulation
  • 5 points for every $1 spent at over 3,600 Marriott locations
  • 2 points for every $1 spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, and at car rental agencies & restaurants
  • 1 point for every $1 spent on purchases anywhere else
  • 15 nights credit toward Elite status every year upon account anniversary
  • Earn 1 Elite Night Credit for every $3,000 spent
  • 1 free night stay every year after account anniversary (Category 1-5 hotels)
  • Pay no foreign transaction fees and enjoy global acceptance with Chip and Signature Technology
  • Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $85
 
mikedean441 said:
holy crap thats a lot of points for 1 room

Cookie, if you are just looking for the most rooms for a signup, then if Im not mistaken Marriot may be a good play for you. I think JB and I went over it last year but for fairfields and places like that the bonus could get you like 7 rooms. Beyond the signup bonus the card kinda sucks, but depends on ur needs.
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That was before their Deval Mike. Marriott and Hilton are both average at best programs for those that do not travel a lot.
The best bang for the buck with a card is IHG. You get Platinum status just by having the card and can get 5 or so free nights out of the signup.
Hyatt offers 2 free nights anywhere (up to 1k per night rooms) at signup and then another free night each year. Plus redemptions are a decent number of points rather than astronomical. Another option if you want Hilton is the Citi Reserve Hilton which gives you auto Gold status by having the card. Points are high to redeem, but with that card you earn them crazy fast. You also get 2 free nights anywhere at signup and 1 each year you have the card. Its a solid contender.

Cookie,
we had that Marriott card and traded it in for the IHG card. If you are sold on it, wait until they offer their 70k point signup bonus they do a couple of times a year. Since rooms are about 20k for each one on the low to average end, that will give you an extra night.
 
5 free nights with IHG and the platinum status seems pretty solid then
 
When looking at these cards the easiest way for most of you to find the right one and program is to decide on which lower end you like best. For that I mean each hotel brand has a lower end tier. They cost less than $100 and are everywhere.

Marriott has Fairfield
Hyatt has Hyatt Place
Starwood has Four Points
Hilton has Hampton
IHG has Holiday Inn Express

Once you have your favorite there, you can pick your program. For us that is all but Marriott right now. The bang for the buck and the sketchyness of their lower end places led us away from the program. Add in virtually no status given for having the card when others are doing it (you get silver which is a joke) and it is average at best for casual travelers.
 
I'm waiting for my 50k points from SWA. I called and they said they distribute points on the 6th of each month. That means I may be booking flights 6 weeks out from travel, which is a little tighter than I normally like. I'm curious if that's the way it worked for the rest of you.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I'm waiting for my 50k points from SWA. I called and they said they distribute points on the 6th of each month. That means I may be booking flights 6 weeks out from travel, which is a little tighter than I normally like. I'm curious if that's the way it worked for the rest of you.
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Not exactly

My Bill was due on the 13th

Statement generated on the 16th and the transaction adding the points was done on that day
 
tequila4kapp said:
I'm waiting for my 50k points from SWA. I called and they said they distribute points on the 6th of each month. That means I may be booking flights 6 weeks out from travel, which is a little tighter than I normally like. I'm curious if that's the way it worked for the rest of you.
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Almost all of the credit card point systems reward on the statement date (shortly after) each month.
 
I just received this offer from AmEx. It seems like a no brainer but I thought I'd come here first and see if anyone has any experience with this. Is 50K enough points to be meaningful airfare?

You're invited to apply for the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express. Apply today and get 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the Card within your first three months of Card Membership.1 Experience the benefits of being a Card Member with a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year—a savings of $175!2
 
tequila4kapp said:
I just received this offer from AmEx. It seems like a no brainer but I thought I'd come here first and see if anyone has any experience with this. Is 50K enough points to be meaningful airfare?

You're invited to apply for the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express. Apply today and get 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the Card within your first three months of Card Membership.1 Experience the benefits of being a Card Member with a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year—a savings of $175!2
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any idea what the points get you? redemption values?
 
I did not care for their regular rewards program so opted for the Starwood card from them instead.
 
mikedean441 said:
any idea what the points get you? redemption values?
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No idea. I just tried entering in a flight to find out, but without an account to log in with you only see actual cost, not points needed to book the flight.

Edit: on the other hand I see that a new Big Bertha driver is 51K points. Hmmm.
 
Amex is good to have if you attend a lot of sporting events, concerts, etc at stadiums with a Amex Lounge. At Staples center if you have a Amex Gold or higher all you need is a ticket into the event and then you can get access to the Amex Lounge with up to 3 friends and watch the game or show from there. Staples has tables and chairs, booths, a bar and usually has a buffett, etc.
 
Just paid the rapid rewards card off and waiting for the 50k points to hit. Cha Ching!
 
sparksjr said:
Just paid the rapid rewards card off and waiting for the 50k points to hit. Cha Ching!
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Nice Sparks. We used almost all of our points late last year, but they paid off in huge dividends for us in hotel rooms free of charge.
Building that back up wont be too difficult this year.
 
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