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Hotel Rewards Programs & Deals Thread

JB

JB

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With all the traveling we do, hotel rewards are a great way to assist us. Some are good, some are great, some are awful, but all are something extra. There are so many programs out there, that I thought it would be a great thread for everybody that travels to THP events or just travels in general. We belong to so many of the rewards programs, its easy to lose count.

Best Western
Choice Hotels
Club Carlson
Hilton Honors
La Quinta
Loews
Marriott
Omni
Priority Club
Starwood Preferred
Wyndham Rewards

There are plenty more out there too, but these are the programs we use. Typically we try to limit it to a couple to maintain status, but in some areas it is hard. Some are great for being pet friendly such as La Quinta, where they all allow pets and there is never a fee, while others are the same, but with some rather large fees attached.

There are even some great apps out there like AwardWallet to help you keep track of everything.

Hilton has recently devalued their points again, so despite being a Honors member since 2002, it is one we do not look for all that much. Marriott and Starwood have recently changed their programs as well, but in my opinion, not to the severity that Hilton has. Although Hilton does seem to have the most promotions.

Then you have the credit card tie ins. Those that give you immediate "status" and come with perks such as free nights, bonus points, etc. They can be great if you are a traveler and use your credit wisely (usual disclaimer of course). Some can offer as much as 85,000 for signing up (with early spend) and even offer as much as 15 points per dollar spent on their properties.

Just thought it would be a fun thread for those that are traveling around to help each other out. Signing up is always free, and even if you plan on not staying in one again, it never hurts to sign up before booking.
 
This is a neat thread. I dont take advantage of this as much as I could be Im sure. We use an amazon credit card to pay for everything and the amazon dollars rack up pretty quickly. Thats it though.
 
Love me some rewards chat.

right now Im rolling with the Delta Amex. Being in Cincy Im pretty much forced to fly with them and therefore might as well not have to pay bag fees and earn some miles. Really handcuffs me living here as there are a ton of better airline programs out there, but oh well. I get 1 point for each dollar spent and then doubleor something like that when booking flights, as well as a $99 companion ticket once a year (which is going away next year). They are forcing you to upgrade your card next year to the platinum, which will cost more money yearly, but the $99 companion ticket will then be free.

On the hotel side, Ive been a marriott rewards member for lord knows how long. Just a few weeks back Ive contemplated signing up for the Chase Marriott card for personal use since Im not traveling for work anymore.

You can get 50,000 points in just a few months which is good enough for 6-7 nights of stays, plus a freebie on your anniversary date.

Will make THP traveling much easier down the road
 
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mikedean441 said:
Love me some rewards chat.

right now Im rolling with the Delta Amex. Being in Cincy Im pretty much forced to fly with them and therefore might as well not have to pay bag fees and earn some miles. Really handcuffs me living here as there are a ton of better airline programs out there, but oh well.

On the hotel side, Ive been a marriott rewards member for lord knows how long. Just a few weeks back Ive contemplated signing up for the Chase Marriott card for personal use since Im not traveling for work anymore.

You can get 50,000 points in just a few months which is good enough for 6-7 nights of stays, plus a freebie on your anniversary date.

Will make THP traveling much easier down the road
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We just got the Chase Marriott card with that promotion. Waive first year fee, plus the 50k after early spend could really help out. Immediate upgrade status too.
 
The point system helped KelllyBo and i stay at the Hilton prior to the recent THP outing. She use to build points up as a frequent traveler and I did to while working for the government. If you travel, this is a no brainer!
 
JB said:
We just got the Chase Marriott card with that promotion. Waive first year fee, plus the 50k after early spend could really help out. Immediate upgrade status too.
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wait a second, what is this upgrade status you speak of? I remember reading about the other stuff, but dont recall this part of the deal...
 
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mikedean441 said:
wait a second, what is this upgrade status you speak of? I remember reading about the other stuff, but dont recall this part of the deal...
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They have a few cards, the one we have is the Signature.
With the card, you are already starting at Silver Elite status, rather than member. THis would normally take about 10 nights each year to obtain. Plus you are fast tracking your way to Gold and Platinum because each year you are given 15 nights credit for having the card.
 
JB said:
They have a few cards, the one we have is the Signature.
With the card, you are already starting at Silver Elite status, rather than member. THis would normally take about 10 nights each year to obtain. Plus you are fast tracking your way to Gold and Platinum because each year you are given 15 nights credit for having the card.
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interesting....and what does becoming gold or platinum get you?
 
We've been with Marriott for years. We racked up enough points to cover a week at the open last year in San Fransisco. Pretty sweet to cash in from time to time
 
mikedean441 said:
Mikey likey gold
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Me too and that is what we are in a few of the other programs, but should get to that in Marriott soon since signing up for the card gives you a head start.
 
Wife has the Starwood Amex, she won't use anything else. She's on the road a bunch for work, and she racks up points like there is no tomorrow on that card. The cool part about the SPG points is that they are easily to transfer into airline points, it allowed us to fly business class to Thailand and back a few years ago.
 
My preference of rewards is Hilton Honors. Since they recently re-tiered their levels, I've manage to keep my Gold status til 2014. Hopefully, they'll continue to be generous with promos down the road.
 
arydolphin said:
Wife has the Starwood Amex, she won't use anything else. She's on the road a bunch for work, and she racks up points like there is no tomorrow on that card. The cool part about the SPG points is that they are easily to transfer into airline points, it allowed us to fly business class to Thailand and back a few years ago.
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It is a great system they have. Their points seem to be valued a lot more than most of the chains in their quality range. Lower tiered especially come out way ahead of others. We too have that card and if their were more of them out there, we would definitely seek them out. Wish they were more pet friendly for less cost though.
 
Im fixing to begin to do quite a bit of traveling for my job after my training finishes. I am not sure I will be responsible for paying for anything and then later reimbursed, but if that is the case I will have to look into this stuff for sure!
 
TexasHacker34 said:
Im fixing to begin to do quite a bit of traveling for my job after my training finishes. I am not sure I will be responsible for paying for anything and then later reimbursed, but if that is the case I will have to look into this stuff for sure!
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You will have to charge your airfare to your Diner's club card they give you and then can charge everything else to a personal card of your choice. Dont sign up for a new personal card until you know what project you will be on and what hotels the client makes you stay at. They often have negotiated rates and make you stay at their preferred hotels. Then, sit back and enjoy the points pile up.

I've jumped around programs & matching CCs through my years of travels, but prefer the Sapphire Preferred the best. If Starwood had a property where I was traveling, they always got the nod. Best of the Best as Ary indicated.
 
I do US Air, Starwood and Marriott. Also Hilton, but not too much there. US Air is the major airline here, so I do all my flying with them and have their credit card, which gives you double miles when booking flights and miles match dollars spent on everything else. Now that the merger with American is happening, I'll probably sign up for their card to get the bonus miles for signing up, then those miles will merge with those on my US card.

I usually stay at Westins and that racks up the star points. They're paying for a family trip to Hilton Head, but they definitely have jacked up the points it takes to book and most hotels don't do the cash and points rate any more.

Marriott is where I stay if there's no Westin around. I'm still trying to save those points.


Taps away
 
When I used to travel around the country on a weekly basis I signed up for a bunch of hotel point cards. At the time for me the best was Choice Hotels(Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn and so on). At the time if you used their card for every 2 stays you got double the points. Those days I was living out of a suitcase so I was a different hotel every night. The points just racked up and it worked great because the company paid all my bills but I kept the points. After that we went a few years without paying for hotel rooms, and even flew to the first 2 outings for free(4 round trip tickets). The points I didn't use I dumped in my US Airways account and those have racked up as well. Marriott points are great too, but the hotels rarely fit in to the budget the company laid upon me.
 
JB said:
It is a great system they have. Their points seem to be valued a lot more than most of the chains in their quality range. Lower tiered especially come out way ahead of others. We too have that card and if their were more of them out there, we would definitely seek them out. Wish they were more pet friendly for less cost though.
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What Starwood brands aren't pet friendly? We've had pretty good success with them being pet friendly.

I'm not sure if the other hotel companies do it, but we love using the "cash and points" option for Starwood reward stays, the cash you pay is much lower than the rack rate and you don't have to use a ton of points to do it.
 
arydolphin said:
What Starwood brands aren't pet friendly? We've had pretty good success with them being pet friendly.

I'm not sure if the other hotel companies do it, but we love using the "cash and points" option for Starwood reward stays, the cash you pay is much lower than the rack rate and you don't have to use a ton of points to do it.
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Missed the key part being "for less cash". Each one I have contacted wanted a minimum of $100 for pets.
 
Thats a wee bit outrageous.
JB said:
Missed the key part being "for less cash". Each one I have contacted wanted a minimum of $100 for pets.
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We used to get a ground level room and leave the dog in the car....... 20 minutes later, in thru the window she came.
 
JB said:
Me too and that is what we are in a few of the other programs, but should get to that in Marriott soon since signing up for the card gives you a head start.
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I like the added point bonuses, a solid incentive
 
JB said:
Missed the key part being "for less cash". Each one I have contacted wanted a minimum of $100 for pets.
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Oh, I get what you're saying. We just expect to pay more for having a pet with us, so I guess I don't think about it a lot when we're making a reservation.
 
arydolphin said:
Oh, I get what you're saying. We just expect to pay more for having a pet with us, so I guess I don't think about it a lot when we're making a reservation.
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We have come to realize just how different it is across the board. I guess we expected some sort of standard as it pertains to fees. For some there are no fees attached and always pet friendly. For others, not so much.
 
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