“A Fast-Track to a Fabulous Getaway” is the way Starwood Preferred Guest is advertising their “Stay Three, Getaway Free” promotion for one free night at any of 200 Starwood Resorts worldwide after three hotel stays at nearly any Starwood Hotel worldwide.

The offer counts stays from May 1 to July 31, 2011. Free nights earned can be redeemed through December 21, 2011. There is no limit for the number of free nights earned except for the time limit.

SPG Stay Three, Getaway Free registration. Must register by June 30, 2011.

SPG Promotion FAQ.

 To redeem your Free Night Awards, contact SPG Customer Service and mention Award ID 3FRN.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

This promotion for me is a fast-track to a fabulous getaway. I happen to have quite a bit of travel I can plan around California and the Pacific Northwest over the next three months. Portland, Oregon and Fresno, California have Starwood Hotels under $100 per night after tax. These are not my destination cities, but I can probably pull out six one-night stays in these two locations while enjoying the locale. Portland, Oregon is a great location for maximizing cheap Starwood stays.

$600 for six hotel nights on a couple of trips while I see locations like Yosemite National Park and visit some Portland microbreweries is a great deal when my paid stays earn two free nights for a place like Westin Mammoth which will be an even better hotel stay than the Four Points Fresno on another trip to Yosemite National Park later in the year. Or I can stay at St. Regis Monarch Beach rather than cheap Orange County Airport hotels when I go south to see my sister’s family. Basically what I spend for the three nights to earn a free resort night will be the going rate for the hotels where I redeem my free nights. Paying $600 for hotel stays I need to earn $600 in free resort hotel stays I desire is a good deal for my travel pattern.

The San Francisco Bay Area shows several hotels at under $100 in May. This is a great place to maximize cheap Starwood stays, but not in downtown San Francisco and the other locations kind of bore me now since I have been to these places so often.  A night at the Sheraton Palo Alto offers the free Stanford University Museum for a day of culture, a thought provoking lecture or two and the restaurants in Palo Alto are reliable for some interesting direct conversation or common eavesdropping if you comprehend the language.

The sensible strategy for someone in the US for this Starwood Resorts free night offer is to try and stay Starwood heavy in May before summer travel and room rates pick up. That is if we actually see a travel increase this summer with higher prices. Sure, occupancy has been up for the past year by 5 to 10%, but the room rates are not significantly higher than two years ago.

I actually thought San Francisco had been much higher priced hotels in 2011 and then I tracked May 2011 Starwood Hotel rates alongside May 2009 hotel rates and at least 50% of 20+ Starwood Hotels in the Bay Area are actually lower rates now on average.

Six Starwood Resort nights on a Greek or Italian Island can be a $3,000 hotel stay. I don’t know if I can get to Europe this summer for a trip. Loads of Starwood nights are less valuable if I can’t travel with my wife during summer school break when we both benefit from a luxury hotel stay.

Earning six nights with 18 hotel stays in the next three months is a plan I think makes economic sense for encouraging summer travel for me. My back-up California locations are St. Regis Monarch Beach (category 6), Westin Verasa Napa (category 5) and Westin Monache Mammoth (category 5).

Westin Napa has suites with a full kitchen, dining table, balcony patio, sitting room, bedroom and 1.5 bathrooms that I received an upgrade to when I stayed there as an SPG Platinum on free nights earned in the 2009 free weekend nights promotion.

We might even go for a Rocky Mountain tour to St. Regis Park City, Utah and St. Regis Aspen and Westin Beaver Creek Mountain, Colorado.

This “Stay Three Getaway Free” offer is a good promotion for making a $1,000 to $3,000 investment if you are in a position to travel frequently from now through July and still have the opportunity to get great value from free nights earned.

Starwood Resorts participating in free nights. These are the hotels where you can redeem free nights earned. Three stays at any of 1,000+ Starwood Hotels worlwide in all nine Starwood brands qualify for earning the free Starwood Resort night. Starwood brands include Sheraton, Westin, Four Points, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, Aloft, W Hotels, St. Regis, and Element.

United States  

Arizona

California

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Guam

Hawaii

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

Puerto Rico

South Carolina

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virgin Islands

Virginia

 

Algeria

Argentina

Aruba

Australia

Austria

Bahamas

Brazil

Cambodia

Canada

Cayman Islands

China

Croatia

Cyprus

Egypt

Fiji

France

Gambia

Germany

Greece

India

Indonesia

Israel

Italy

Japan

Malaysia

Maldives, Republic of

Malta

Mauritius

Mexico

Monaco

Morocco

New Caledonia

Nigeria

Panama

Peru

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Seychelles

South Africa

Spain

St. Maarten

Switzerland

Syria

Tahiti

  • Le Méridien Tahiti

Thailand

 

Turkey

 

United Arab Emirates

 

United Kingdom

 

Uruguay

Vietnam

Sixty Second overview of current offers:

Hotel program changes continue with Hilton HHonors introducing a Points & Money option for hotel rewards. In typical Hilton fashion the changes are announced before they are implemented. Several weeks since announcing new reward redemption options of Points & Money and Upgrade rewards there is still little evidence on the booking website revealing these new features for new reservations. I am waiting to see some example Points & Money rates to evaluate the program offer.

Starwood Preferred Guest launches Getaway Free for a free Starwood Resort night at over 200 locations after 3 stays at Starwood Hotels worldwide on May 1. This may be the best promotion of 2011 since there is no certainty we will see a return of Hyatt’s free night after every two stays.

Starwood Preferred Guest also changed its elite status match practice to a “Stay Challenge” format effective April 1. 2011. You must request a stay challenge from SPG customer service. 15 nights in 90 days for SPG Platinum is reported to be the norm.

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite trial period takes 12 nights in 60 days to retain Diamond. The difference from SPG is Hyatt gives the member Diamond privileges during the 60 day trial period while earning status with hotel stays. SPG gives Platinum elite benefits after the 15 nights.

Best promotions to check out for May 2011:

  • Starwood Resorts – Getaway Free night  after three stays at any Starwood Hotels (5-key).
  • Red Lion Inn – 5,000 points per stay + breakfast to May 31 (5-key).
  • IHG 2 nights for price of 1 is another great deal for Europe (5-key).
  • Accor 3 nights for two is good Europe hotel deal (4-key).
  • Accor 10th Anniversary World Tour monthly prizes March – December 2011 (4-key).
  • Club Carlson Stay Twice and earn one free night April 15- June 15 (4-key).
  • Hyatt 10,000 points after 5 nights and 2,500 points for every additional 2 nights April 1 – June 30 (4-key).
  • Hilton HHonors – Triple Virgin Atlantic miles April 1 – June 30 (4-key). This offer can be combined with HHonors 1,000 points per night promotion.
  • Ritz-Carlton – $100 gift card for 5 nights March 15 – June 30 (3-key).

***********************************************************************

Loyalty Traveler ranks the consumer value of hotel loyalty promotions on a Five Key Scale.

Five Keys = one of the best hotel loyalty promotions of the year.

Four Keys = high value rebate on the cost of hotel stays.

Three Keys = good value hotel loyalty promotion or rate offer

Two Keys = a bonus value if you play, but not necessarily worth going out of your way.

One Key = There is limited or no value. You are likely paying more than the bonus value.

Rate discounts and loyalty program bonuses are two types of hotel chain incentives to consider when booking travel. 

Rankings are subjective and subject to change. Your specific travel pattern may result in some promotions ranking more favorably for you. When assigning a key rank I take into consideration the following factors and probably more: 

  • The opportunity for significantly high-value return on hotel spend in terms of future hotel rebate in free nights and discounted hotel nights. 
  • Current loyalty program promotions and offers from other hotel chains.
  • Past loyalty program offers and rates for the specific hotel chain and loyalty program.
  • Current economic conditions in the hotel location and travel industry.

 

HELP SHEET #6 – April 29, 2011

Offers marked with an asterisk (*) were added since the last March 31 update.

Accor HotelsA-Club

Hotel Brands: Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, Adagio, All Seasons, Thalassa Spa.

* Accor 3 nights for price of 2 in Europe. Accor has around 2,000 hotels in Europe. 4-key hotel rate. (LT Post April 19)

Motel 6 is the primary Accor Hotels brand in USA, however, extremely limited A-Club hotel loyalty program participation. 

Accor Hotels is the largest chain of hotel brands globally outside of the USA.

Accor 10th Anniversary World Tour Giveaway – One monthly trip consisting of Round the World flights and hotel stays in 10 cities over 30 to 40 days. Ten prizes each month for a hotel stay. (11 prizes each month from March through December 2011). LT post March 30. 

Accor A|Club Global Promotion Offers List – link (This link allows searches by continent region)

Accor Hotels A-Club bonus offers

Best Western HotelsBest Western Rewards 

Hotel Brand Tiers: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier  

* Best Western and American Airlines AAdvantage or Air Canada Aeroplan = 3,000 miles after 3 stays and 1,250 miles per additional stay. New members earn 250 bonus miles free for promotion registration. (4-key promotion) LT post April 16.

Best Western International Offers webpage link. The link provides a variety of promotions internationally for Best Western hotels.

Best Western Rewards Elite Status Match Offer (February 19, 2010) This offer is ongoing and still available. Best Western is a particularly useful loyalty program when traveling outside the USA. Best Western and Accor A-Club have more hotels outside the USA than all the other major hotel programs combined including Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Starwood.

Program Change for Elites: Elite members earn 250 bonus points for stays in US/Canada or a welcome snack. (Aug 3, 2010)

Best Western Brand Tiers Change – Best Western is designating about 25% of the chain’s higher quality hotels in the 4,000+ hotel chain as Best Western Plus (about 800 hotels) and Best Western Premier (about 100 hotels).

 

Carlson HotelsClub Carlson (formerly Goldpoints Plus)

Hotel Brands: Radisson Blu, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza 

Stay Twice, Earn a Free NightApril 15 – June 15, 2011. Limit of one free night during promotion period. All hotels participate and free night may be redeemed at any hotel through December 31, 2011. Loyalty Traveler post March 30. 4-key promotion.

Club Carlson new loyalty program replaces goldpoints plus on March 31.

These Loyalty Traveler posts describe changes with Club Carlson: 

* Club Carlson Hotel Category Reassignment Analysis – Overview and Category 1 Hotels (April 7) – This post has links to posts for each Club Carlson Hotel Reward category with tables showing the new Club Carlson reward category and the former Goldpoints Plus reward category.

Club Carlson Loyalty program Launches March 31 – Replaces goldpoints plus (Feb 14)

Club Carlson Reward Category Changes March 31, 2011 (Feb 18)

Club Carlson Hotel Reward Category Analysis (Feb 28) This post shows the number of hotels in each category and changes from 2010 level for different global regions.

Club Med resort credit for goldpoints. $100, $250 and $500 credit.  (March 10).

Goldpoints Plus program change – elite members earn 2,000 points for online booking. All general goldpoints members earn 1,000 points for online booking.  This will change to add 3,000 points for Club Carlson Concierge elite April 2011. (LT post July 18)

Choice HotelsChoice Privileges

Hotel Brands: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban, EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, Ascend Collection.

Hotel Reward Partners: Preferred Hotels Group, Barcelo Resorts 

$50 Gas Card or 8,000 points for two stays March 3 – May 4. Earn bonus two times if registered or five times if Platinum or Diamond elite.   Loyalty Traveler post (March 1). 3-key offer.

Refer-a-Friend promotion – Choice Privileges members who refer a new member receive 500 points after new member’s first stay and the new member receives 500 bonus points after first stay. Loyalty traveler post Jan 31.

Choice Privileges Program Changes for Elite Members effective January 1, 2011:

These are truly program enhancements for elites. 

  • Platinum elite qualification = 20 nights in a calendar year (formerly 25 nights).
  • Diamond elite bonus increased to 50% base points (formerly 40%).

Reward night booking window extended for Choice Privileges elite members:

  • Gold = 50 days (formerly 40 days)
  • Platinum = 75 days (formerly 60 days)
  • Diamond = 100 days (formerly 90 days) 

Nordic Choice Club hotel loyalty program covers 140 Choice hotels in Scandinavia and Baltic regions of Europe. Choice Privileges members currently do not earn points for hotel stays in Scandinavia, although hotel stays are available for points. Nordic Choice Club offers points and benefits for hotels in this region. Choice Privileges members planning frequent travel in Scandinavia may want to compare the benefits of Nordic Choice Club to Choice Privileges.    (LT post Sep 9)

Drury HotelsGold Key Club

* Triple points – Stay three times at Drury Hotels between April 1 and May 31 and earn triple points for all three stays.  LT post (April 11).

 

Expedia Rewards – Expedia’s new loyalty program earns points for air, hotel and travel package bookings. This is a gamechanger for online travel agencies. Booking airfare through Expedia is a no brainer method for earning additional travel rebates since frequent flyer benefits are unaffected. Hotels are a different matter though since no hotel loyalty points with programs like SPG, Marriott, Hilton and others are earned for Expedia bookings.

Main Expedia Rewards benefits are the ability to earn points when booking travel for other people like family members and friends. And Expedia vacation packages often allow a hotel night to be added for the same price as airfare alone; particularly when traveling to Las Vegas. Loyalty Traveler Analysis March 28.

 

Fairmont Hotels and Fairmont President’s Club

Tip: Sign up for Fairmont President’s Club to receive monthly special discount rates for Fairmont Hotels. 

Four Seasons Hotels

Four Seasons Special Offers website link

 

Global Hotel AllianceGHA DiscoveryHotel loyalty program alliance for 12 independent hotel brands including Kempinski, Omni Hotels, Pan Pacific, First Hotels, Mirvac, Anantara Resorts, Tivoli Hotels, The Doyle Collection, Marco Polo Hotels, Park Royal, The Leela Palaces, Shaza Hotels.

Overview of GHA Discovery, elite membership benefits and local experiences, Loyalty Traveler post January 30.

 

Hilton HotelsHilton HHonors

Hotel Brands: Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Conrad, Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Home2Suites. 

* Hilton HHonors Triple Miles with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for stays April 1-June 30. This is a 4-key promotion allowing 3,000 miles per Hilton brand hotel stay. LT post March 29.

** Hilton HHonors has triple bonus miles offers with 8 airlines for stays April 1 – June 30. My blog post has promotion registration links for  Alitalia, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways, Emirates, Miles & More, Olympic, Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. LT post April 28.

* Hilton HHonors 2011-Q2 promotion for 1,000 bonus points per night April 1-June 30.  Registration is required. All  Hilton brand hotels worldwide participate. 2-key promotion.  Loyalty Traveler post March 25.

Conrad Hotels 25th Anniversary Free Night March 1- June 30. Book by June 12. Free night is based on a paid stay of two to six nights, depending on Conrad hotel. My analysis indicates this offer is a savings at most Conrad hotels. Loyalty Traveler post March 23. 3-key rate offer.

Home2Suites opens first hotel of Hilton’s new extended stay brand in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Unfortunately this new hotel brand becomes the first HHonors brand with a lower earn rate for points and miles. Loyalty Traveler post March 21.

HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards posted for hotels through May 2011. Point Stretchers require 40% fewer points than standard HHonors rewards. Use the drop-down menu to see participating hotels in different Hilton brands. This is the largest set of hotels I recall in several years offering Point Stretcher discount reward dates. (Loyalty Traveler post Dec 3)

HHonors Comprehensive Reward Charts – Members have difficulty locating the various reward charts on the Hilton HHonors sites, particularly VIP Rewards and Waldorf-Astoria rates. This Loyalty Traveler post places all the HHonors reward charts in one post. (LT post Sep 13, 2010)

Cheaper Hilton Reward nights using Priority Club points – this Loyalty Traveler analysis developed from the Priority Club Anywhere Challenge. Hotels Anywhere allows Priority Club members to spend points for hotels in other chains. My study shows there are numerous Hilton Hotels requiring fewer Priority Club points than Hilton HHonors charges its members in HHonors points for the same reward. (LT post Sep 17)

HHonors Program change: Gold and Diamond members receive complimentary internet at all Hilton Worldwide hotels beginning September 1, 2010. (Hilton – Aug 2 press release)

 

Hyatt HotelsHyatt Gold Passport

Hotel Brands:  Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Vacation Club, Hyatt Resorts, Andaz, Hyatt Summerfield Suites

Hyatt Spring Promotion – April 1 – June 30. This 4-Key offer is 10,000 points after 5 nights and 5,000 points for every two nights thereafter, up to a maximum 60,000 bonus points after 25 nights. LT post March 7.  4-key offer.

Update on Hyatt Property Specific Bonuses: Jeff Zidell Hyatt VP, told me on March 8 the ‘property level bonus’ program is being evaluated and reinvented. We will probably only see regional hotel bonus offers until July. Specific property level bonuses that typically offered 1,000 to 2,000 points in G1, G2, and G3 offers may be gone for good. We’ll see.

 

InterContinental Hotels GroupPriority Club

Hotel Brands: InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Hotel Indigo 

* IHG 2-for-1 rate offers in London and Europe for stays through June 30. (5-key rate offer) LT post (April 13)

* IHG Double Points or Double Miles (May 16 – August 15, 2011) – 2-key offer. LT post April 21.

InterContinental Hotels in Europe 5th Night Free rate July 14 – Sep 11, 2011. These rates are about 20% off Best Flexible Rate and equivalent to Advance Purchase rate. Loyalty Traveler post March 16.

* Complimentary InterContinental Ambassador membership ($200 value) after three stays at InterContinental Hotels by July 31, 2011. My Loyalty Traveler post argues for spending 32,000 points or $200 for Ambassador membership and earning benefits on three stays.

* Priority Club PointBreaks through May 15, 2011 are probably the best hotel loyalty program reward night value available at 5,000 points for a free night. Many of the hotels are discounted 80% from their normal 25,000 points for a reward night. The current list had 70 hotels on April 26.  Loyalty Traveler post April 26. (5-key offer.)

IHG Priority Club relaunch previews new reward option for Last Minute Hotel Nights at 50% points of standard reward night. Other changes are primarily cosmetic with new mobile apps, card redesign and website changes. Loyalty traveler post March 29.

* IHG Priority Club partnership with Las Vegas Resorts – The Venetian and The Palazzo become InterContinental Alliance hotel partners as of April 1, 2011. Priority Club points can be earned and burned (40,000 points per night) for hotel stays and InterContinental Ambassador benefits apply. Earn 6,000 bonus points for a three night stay (April 11).

Through May 15 – Spring Break Promotion for 7,500 points on two-night stays at more than 100 hotels in Florida, California, Texas, Hawaii, Mexico and Costa Rica. IHG Spring Break Promotion Code = ISGSB.  Loyalty Traveler post (Feb 13) 2-key offer.

Priority Club Any Hotel Anywhere American Express gift cards increased in price.

      New Price for Any Hotel, Anywhere Cards  Loyalty Traveler post Jan 25.

  • $100 = 33,000 points (formerly 29,000)
  • $125 = 39,000 points (formerly 34,000)
  • $150 = 45,000 points (formerly 39,000)
  • $200 = 60,000 points (formerly 49,000)
  • $250 = 72,000 points (formerly 59,000)

3-key offer IHG Sweetheart Deal – $100 Visa card rebate for a three-day or longer stay at any IHG hotel worldwide within 90 days of 2011 wedding in U.S. or Canada. (LT Jan 11)

Points & Cash Program Change:  Priority Club Points & Cash Reward nights increased the cost of 5,000 Priority Club points to $40 from $30. The cost to buy 10,000 points remains unchanged at $60. Loyalty Traveler post (Nov 19)

Cheaper Hilton Reward nights using Priority Club points – Hotels Anywhere allows Priority Club members to spend points for hotels in other chains. My study shows there are numerous Hilton Hotels requiring fewer Priority Club points than Hilton HHonors charges its members in HHonors points. (LT post Sep 17)

IHG Friend & Family Hotel Rates (Steve Sickel). Steve Sickel is senior Vice President Relationship Marketing for InterContinental Hotels Group. During the hotel recession of 2009 he offered this link to FlyerTalk members for booking discount friends and family rates. This link is still active. And we are all friends of Steve’s. Here is a FlyerTalk thread discussing this rate deal. The link in Steve Sickel’s name leads to the offer page for a voucher to complete. Some guests mention the hotel wants the completed voucher at check-in. These rates do not qualify for points or stay credit. One of the best features of this offer is the ability to book high category rooms at steep discount.

Program Change: Ambassador Annual Membership Fee Increased from $150 to $200 as of July 1, 2010. You can also buy Ambassador membership for 32,000 Priority Club Rewards points (formerly 24,000). Renewal fee is still $100.

Priority Club Points Exchange Value and Points.comLoyalty traveler research (Jan 20) into the exchange value of Priority Club points into airline miles through Points.com

 

Kimpton Hotels – InTouch

Loyalty Traveler posted an outline of Kimpton’s InTouch program showing how 21 stays in 2011 can potentially earn 7 free nights at any Kimpton Hotel. (LT post Jan 11)

 

La Quinta Hotels – La Quinta Returns

Hotel chain and hotel loyalty program overview by Loyalty Traveler,  April 12.

 

Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) – Leaders Club Rewards 

Leaders Club Rewards program changes: Membership fees for Leaders Club Rewards dropped to $100 annual for Access level. Access membership includes complimentary breakfast for two each day of stay and free internet. Unlimited membership is $1,200 annually. Loyalty traveler post Feb 3.

LHW Hotel Special Offers link

 

Marriott HotelsMarriott Rewards

Hotel Brands: Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, Residence Inn, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites, SpringHill Suites, Edition, Autograph Collection, Marriott Vacation Club, AC Hotels. 

* Marriott $50 Bonus Bucks per night, up to $100 per stay at 16 hotels in 10 U.S. states through May 31, 2011. Bonus bucks are valid worldwide for most charges.  LT post April 18.

AC Hotels is Marriott’s newest hotel brand. AC Hotels are a Madrid-based hotel chain now partnered with Marriott and brings 90 new upscale hotels in Spain, Italy and Portugal into the Marriott Rewards system. This brand is projected to expand in Europe and Latin America. Loyalty Traveler post March 27.

Marriott Hotels Europe 3rd Night Free Special offer rate with breakfast March 6 – May 30. Promotion code = C9E and look for rate description “European Spring 3 for 2, American Breakfast Daily”. 170 hotels participating in Europe. Stay three nights Thursday to Sunday or Friday to Monday. Loyalty Traveler March 10. 3 to 4 key offer depending on location and rate.

Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Assignment Changes for 2011 (Loyalty Traveler March 2)

* Marriott Rewards PointSavers –PointSavers reduce the points cost of a free night by one hotel category. For example, category 5 hotel requires only 20,000 points per night. 5th night free applies to PointSavers rate. http://www.marriott.com/rewards/marriottRewardsPointSavers.mi

Marriott Points Redemption Strategy using $1,000 in Marriott Cheques. This post explains how Marriott elite members may buy $1,000 Marriott Cheques for 135,000 points. You can then pay for hotel stays and earn points and elite credit on paid stays you actually purchased indirectly with points. Loyalty Traveler post Jan 27.

Marriott Rewards Elite Rollover Nights extended for 2011. This is the third year Marriott Rewards offers elite rollover nights for elite qualifying nights over your earned elite membership. For example: Silver elite requires 10 nights in calendar year and Gold elite takes 50 nights. Stay 25 nights in 2011 and the 15 nights above Silver elite rollover to 2012 membership year. You will have earned Silver elite for 2013 from your 15 extra nights in 2011 rolled over to 2012. Confused? Don’t worry. This is a great benefit for elite members. (Loyalty Traveler 5-key offer. LT post Dec 23.)

Program change – Free internet worldwide for Gold and Platinum Marriott Rewards members beginning January 2011. This expands the complimentary internet benefit offered to elites for hotel stays in the Americas since May 2010.

 

Preferred Hotels Group – I Prefer

I Prefer and Preferred Hotels Group special offers page.

 

Red Lion Hotels – 44 hotels in western U.S.

*  5,000 bonus points + Breakfast for stays by May 31. Free nights are only 10,000 points with R&R Club. 5-key promotion.

 

Ritz-Carlton Rewards

Ritz-Carlton $100 Ritz-Carlton gift card after 5 nights or $250 gift card after 10 nights during March 15 – June 30, 2011. No registration required. Loyalty Traveler post March 17. 3-key promotion.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards loyalty program launching Sep 15 (LT post Sep 14)

Reward Changes in new Ritz-Carlton Reward Tiers (LT post Sep 15)

Ritz-Carlton rewards Hotel + Air Packages Analysis (LT post Sep 16)

 

Starwood HotelsStarwood Preferred Guest

Starwood Hotels brands: Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Four Points, element, aloft. 

** Starwood Preferred Guest – Stay 3 and get a free Starwood Resort hotel night from May 1-July 31, 2011. Free nights are good for over 200 Starwood Resorts including several category 6 and one category 7 resort. Free nights are valid until December 21.  LT post April 15.

Starwood Preferred Guest Hotel Category reward assignment changes for 2011 took effect on March 1. My LT post (Feb 22) has a list ordered by city, state and country for changes.

Starwood Hotels data on number of hotels in each brand and average rates by brand and global region. Loyalty traveler post Feb 4.

Starwood hotels Website Enhancement – Website now allows comparison of four different rate types side-by-side for hotels in one location including promotion rates, AAA, breakfast rates, senior, government and reward nights. There are monthly calendars to locate days when Cash & Points nights are available at a specific hotel Loyalty Traveler post Nov 23

SPG Peak Season Rates Return for 2011. Category 5, 6 and 7 hotels relaunch peak season dates and a calendar of dates and participating hotels is posted here. Book by January 9 to lock in lower rates for your hotel stays. Loyalty traveler post Dec 6

Starwood Hotels Policy Change: Sheraton Hotel Club Lounges will be open 7 days a week in 2011.

Starwood Preferred Guest – American Express credit card changes effective October 14, 2010. The annual fee is increasing to $65 from $45 for renewals beginning Oct 14. Benefit changes include 5 elite nights and 2 elite stays credit each year. This will have no effect for members who qualify on stays. The SPG50 certificate will be discontinued in favor of a 3rd night free offer at Sheraton Hotels. Loyalty traveler post (August 24); Sheraton 3rd Night Free Analysis (Nov 12)

3-key promotion SPG link: Pay Your Birthyear Rate -This promotion has been extended through 2011. Rates can be an incredible 5-key savings or no savings depending on the hotel and your birthyear.   LT post 4/28/2009

3-key discount rates Starwood Hotel Rate Discount Codes for Multiple Night Stays

These offers are for rate discounts on stays of 2 to 6 nights. Third night free tends to be one of the best discount rates. Important to check other rates (AAA, Senior, Special Offers) as these discounts are generally based on the Best Available Rate (BAR) and may not be the lowest overall rate for some hotels. 

Starpoints Airline Direct Deposit is Better for United, Continental, and Singapore miles (March 25, 2010)

 

Stash Hotel Rewards

* Stash Hotel Rewards New Member Enrollment 1,000 bonus points link.

Stash Rewards is a one year old loyalty program for over 100 independent upscale hotels in the U.S. Loyalty Traveler post Jan 19. Loyalty Traveler has found the hotel partners with Stash Rewards in Monterey, Napa and Washington D.C. are great choices for hotel travelers. Stash Rewards offers points for many high quality independent hotels that previously had no loyalty program affiliation.

* Stash Hotel Specials for Bonus Points and Low Redemption Rate Hotels

 

Voila Hotel Rewards

Loyalty Traveler profiled Voila Hotels program in light of the recent signing of two New York former Starwood W Hotels as the initial hotel members in the USA for this international loyalty program for 250 independent hotels.

2,500 points for every two-nights, up to maximum 10,000 bonus points after 8 nights at Voila hotel properties February 25 – May 31, 2011. Loyalty Traveler post March 3.

Wyndham WorldwideWyndham Rewards

Brands: Wyndham, Wingate, Hawthorn Suites, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Baymont Suites, Microtel, Knights Inn.

 

Loyalty Traveler Research Articles

Hotel Loyalty Credit Cards and the Value of Hotel Points

* Loyalty Traveler Analysis of Hotel Rewards Credit Cards (March 19, 2011)

* Elite Status Benefits with Hotel Loyalty Credit Cards (March 21, 2011)

Hotel Credit Cards Comparison by Value of Points (September 2, 2010) 

Hotel Credit Card Comparison using NerdWallet.com Value of Points (Sep 5, 2010) 

Loyalty Traveler’s Three Rules for the Value of Hotel Points (Sep 7, 2010)

 

Hotel Points to Airline Miles Conversion Tables

* Hotel Points to Miles Conversion Rates for Aeroplan Bonus – This post shows the conversion rates for airlines using Aeroplan’s bonus offer through April 30, 2011 for 5,000 bonus miles on hotel points transfers equaling 25,000 Aeroplan miles. Loyalty Traveler post March 22.

Hotel Points-to-Miles Conversion Tables for 9 hotel programs and 7 U.S. airlines (March 30, 2010)

Hotel Market Segments and Hotel Brand Profiles based on JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study

Overview JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study (Aug 10)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power Luxury Segment and luxury hotel brands  (Aug 11, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power Upscale Segment Hotel Brands (Aug 11)

Loyalty Traveler Comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Full Service Brand Ratings (Aug 13, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Limited Service Brands (August 15, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Economy/Budget Hotel Brand Ratings (August 16, 2010)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Extended Stay Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 17)

 

Hotel Rates Survey for USA States, Cities, and Average Hotel Rates Worldwide

* Hotels.com 2010 – Full Year 2010 – Global Hotel Price Index – This is a great resource for finding where hotel rates are high and low around the world. There are tables of USA average hotel rates by state and major cities.

In July 2009 Starwood Hotels extended the terms of its co-branded credit card agreement with American Express to June 15, 2015. Starwood Hotels received $250 million in cash towards the purchase of future SPG points by American Express.

SPG points liability increased from $634 million at year-end 2009 to $702 million year-end 2010. That is 10.7% more liability added in one year.

The average daily rate worldwide for Starwood Hotels at year-end 2010 was $160.00.

$702 million in liability at $160 per room night = 4,387,500 room nights in free rooms waiting to be redeemed. I have no idea how liability is actually calculated, but needless to say that members are holding points for millions of free room nights.

I just redeemed 16,000 points yesterday for Category 4 Cash & Points award nights to save $800 at a hotel in June.

Speculation on how many points $250 million buys.

I was thinking American Express probably pays about $10/1,000 points for something like 25 billion points for $250 million. After running some numbers I now think American Express must buy points for far less than a penny a point to cover all the 20,000 points new cardmember bonuses and points given for credit card spend.

Any guesses on how many points $250 million buys?

The Palazzo has an entire city block of pools wrapped around two sides of the hotel. I read somewhere there are seven pools. I guess that depends on which ones are counted.

The view from my room looked down to the Azure Luxury Pools in the top right. These pools require a premium spend to hang out. The days I was there the charge was $250.  The large oval pool is open to all guests. Two pools and spa tub in Azure are nearer Las Vegas Blvd.

The large pool outside the main hotel pool doors was packed on a Friday afternoon. Pool hours were 9am to 6pm in late April. One of the most disappointing features of the major hotels on the Las Vegas Strip are short day pool hours. Few pools stay open to even 8pm in peak summer when it can be 90 degrees at midnight and many pools have open hours as short as 10am-4pm in winter, even on days when it is 75 degrees.

The pools look out to the Venetian in one direction and the Wynn and Encore Hotels across Spring Mountain Road in the other direction.

The large pool centrally located directly outside of the hotel pool entrance on the 3rd floor is at the hallway to Canyon Ranch Spa and there is a cafe and bar on the hotel side of the pool and another bar on the other side of the pool.

A smaller pool is empty and showed Reserve signs on lounge chairs when I walked by.

The long pool has views of the Venetian Resort.

Pool Cabana

TV, couch and table.

Two chairs.

Canyon Ranch Spa was a treat just to walk through to reach a different set of swimming pools. I know nothing about the spa, except there are two fitness rooms and a café. The walk engaged me with the walls as I wandered the corridors alone.

The first mile  is a warm-up walk to what else is inside for a workout.

And down the hall and another corner and there is a reception desk and beyond that a rock climbing wall.

There are around a dozen or so spa pools located around teh resort pools. I didn’t count them all.

The best “swimming” pool is around the back side of the Palazzo outside the doors of the Canyon Ranch Spa.

Pool Bars are located in several places around the pools. Drink prices range from $6 for beer to $12 for cocktails.

The pools nearest the Venetian get the most early morning sun at this time of year in the early spring months.

These pools bake in the early morning while the long pool and other pools in the front side ot the Palazzo linger in the shadows.

Loyalty Traveler post: The Palazzo Las Vegas – Part 1 The Bella Suite

Hilton HHonors takes double dipping to a new level this quarter with combinable promotions for triple miles per stay and 1,000 bonus points per night. I have written about British Airways 5,000 bonus miles and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club’s 3,000 miles per stay in previous posts over the past month.

Here are 6 other airlines offering triple miles through June 30. You must set your HHonors earning preference to Points and Fixed Miles (1,500 miles per stay for most airlines and brands) or Points & Variable Miles (3 miles per $1 for most airlines and brands) for these bonus miles offers.

Alitalia (Skyteam) 600 base miles + 1,200 bonus miles. Hampton Inn = 120 base miles + 240 bonus miles. Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for Alitalia miles. Alitalia only allows Points & Fixed Miles. Registration page in Italian.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue (Skyteam) (1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands)

British Airways (oneworld) – earn up to 5,000 bonus miles (1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands). 1,000 bonus miles per stay allows bonus on 5 stays.

Emirates Skywards – 1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands. Homewood Suites earn 100 base miles and 200 bonus miles for Fixed Miles. Hampton Inn stays are not eligible for earning Emirates miles.

Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT Polish – Star Alliance) – 1,500 miles per stay. Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for miles. Miles & More only allows Points & Fixed Miles. Registration page in German.

Olympic Air  – Registration page is in Greek.

Turkish Airlines – (Star Alliance) – 1,500 miles per stay for most brands. Hampton Inn earns 300 miles per stay. Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for miles. Miles & Smiles only allows Points & Fixed Miles.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club  – 3,000 miles or 6 miles/$1 per stay for most brands. Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites earn 600 fixed miles or 6 miles/$1 per stay.

Thursday April 28 has Omni Hotel offers on the Daily Getaways sale at 12 noon ET. This past year I went to Omni Chicago and Omni Interlocken, Colorado. Having seen those hotels and these prices for a two-night weekend stay does not impress me as a particularly great bargain, although I am sure there are some savings of $100 to $200 or more for a weekend at several of these Omni Hotels.

Offer 1: Omni Weekend Getaway = $190 ($171 with American Express payment) –  e-certificate for a two-night stay valid through December 30, 2011 with Friday or Saturday check-in. 36 packages for sale.

Certificate is valid for a standard room (single or double occupancy) only at the following locations:

  • The Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark
  • The Omni Majestic Hotel (St. Louis)
  • The Omni Charlotte Hotel
  • The Omni Charlottesville Hotel
  • The Omni Houston Hotel at Westside
  • The Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale
  • The Omni Jacksonville Hotel
  • The Omni Severin Hotel (Indianapolis)
  • The Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West
  • The Omni Newport News Hotel
  • The Omni Corpus Christi Hotel
  • The Omni San Antonio Hotel at the Colonnade 

Offer 2: Omni Weekend Escape = $280 ($252 with American Express payment) –  e-certificate for a two-night stay valid through December 30, 2011 with Friday or Saturday check-in. 49 packages for sale.

  • The Omni Royal Orleans (New Orleans)
  • The Omni Royal Crescent Hotel (New Orleans)
  • The Omni Hotel at CNN Center (Atlanta)
  • The Omni Interlocken Resort (in the Denver/Boulder area)
  • The Omni Tucson National Resort
  • The Omni Hotel at Independence Park (Philadelphia)
  • The Omni Mandalay Hotel (Dallas)
  • The Omni Fort Worth Hotel
  • The Omni Houston Hotel (near the Galleria)
  • The Omni Austin Hotel Downtown
  • The Omni William Penn Hotel (Pittsburgh)
  • The Omni Richmond Hotel 

Offer 3: Omni Berkshire New York = 1 night stay = $275 ($247.50 with American Express payment) –  e-certificate for a one-night stay valid through December 30, 2011 with Friday or Saturday check-in. 10 packages for sale.

Offer 4: Omni Luxury Weekend = $385 ($346.50 with American Express payment) –  e-certificate for a two-night stay valid through December 30, 2011 with Friday or Saturday check-in.   33 packages for sale.

This offer is only valid at the following locations:

  • The Omni Chicago Hotel
  • The Omni San Francisco Hotel
  • The Omni La Mansion del Rio (San Antonio)
  • The Omni Shoreham Hotel (Washington, D.C.)
  • The Omni San Diego Hotel
  • The Omni Parker House (Boston)
  • The Omni Los Angeles Hotel
  • The Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate
  • The Omni Bedford Springs Resort (in the Cumberland Mountains of South Central Pennsylvania)
  • The Omni Mount Washington Resort (Bretton Woods, New Hampshire)
  • The Omni Amelia Island Plantation (Florida)

These hotel certificates are for one standard room and require 14 days advance booking.

room view from Omni Chicago Hotel

 

DiscoverAmerica.com offers for Loews Hotels did not sell out on Monday. These discounts are still available.

Loews Hotel – 1 night in a 1-bedroom suite = $222 ($199.80 Amex)

  • Loews Atlanta Hotel
  • Loews Annapolis Hotel
  • Loews Vanderbilt Hotel Nashville
  • Loews New Orleans Hotel
  • Loews Denver Hotel
  • Loews Philadelphia Hotel
  • Loews Hôtel Le Concorde – Quebec City, Canada
  • Loews Hôtel Vogue – Montreal, Canada

The Palazzo and The Venetian in Las Vegas became InterContinental Alliance Resorts on April 1, 2011. These two adjacent Las Vegas Strip resorts are currently the only two hotels in the newly created branding alliance within the InterContinental Hotels Group.

The Palazzo Resort Las Vegas, an InterContinental Alliance Resort

I booked a room for Friday night, April 22, 2011 at The Palazzo using a Priority Club Points & Cash reward night at 30,000 points + $60 cash. The room rates for that date were $199 for a King Luxury Suite or $229 for a Bella Suite with two Queen beds. Priority Club let me book either room type with an award. The paid rates were $30 more for a View room in these two hotel categories.

My sister pointed out that most Las Vegas strip hotels charge more for two beds than for one King bed. I had never noticed this before since I am 99% a King.

This is part one of a two part post on The Palazzo Las Vegas Resort.

  • Part One: The Palazzo Luxury and Bella Suites
  • Part Two: The Palazzo Resort Recreation and Entertainment

 

Hallway from Palazzo Casino to Palazzo Shops

 

The Palazzo Resort Basic Room Type – Luxury or Bella Suite

Check-in at The Palazzo:

Actual check-in time was listed as 3:00pm on my reservation. I arrived at the hotel around 2:00pm.

The parking garage has one set of elevators that take you directly to the lobby area with hotel registration desks. Another set of elevators from the garage take you close to the hotel room floor entrance and its sets of room floor elevators. The hotel rooms are located on the opposite side of the casino from the Palazzo front entrance and registration desks.

The Palazzo Las Vegas lobby

There is a dedicated check-in desk for Priority Club Elite members.

The Palazzo Priority Club elite member desk

My check-in agent was charmingly friendly and seemed genuine in her conversational interest while setting up the hotel stay. She welcomed me as a Priority Club Platinum elite and said I was receiving an upgrade to a view room on the 32nd floor. There are three sets of room elevators for floors up to 23, 23-36 and 37-50.

Late check-out at 1 pm rather than the normal time of 11am was offered as a complimentary benefit.

Royal Ambassadors have their own separate registration lounge room at The Palazzo.

The Palazzo Royal Ambassador hotel registration lounge

I received a Bella View suite on Floor 32 with my Priority Club Points & Cash room. The room rate for this last minute reward night was $290 for room with tax. My 30,000 Priority Club points were worth $230 or $7.67 per 1,000 points. That is why buying points at $6 per 1,000 is a good idea when you get the chance with Points & Cash rewards.

$7.67 per 1,000 points is actually a low redemption value for my Priority Club reward stays where I generally spend points for $10+ per 1,000 points. The primary reason I went with points was to avoid spending $230 more for the hotel night. I burned points to save the cash for other hotel stays I need to make in May 2011 that will earn back far more than 30,000 Priority Club points.

P for Palazzo in marble

Check-in Amenities:

There is a mandatory Palazzo Resort fee of $17.00 + 12% tax = $19.04 per day. This fee includes free wi-fi and access to Canyon Ranch Spa fitness rooms. There is even a rock-climbing wall in the spa. This is also a location where breakfast can be purchased at a café far less crowded than the pool area or casino locations.

There was a set of coupons provided at check-in which appeared to be geared for Priority Club members. My sister who booked a rate not using Priority Club had different coupons for her stay.

The Palazzo discount coupons provided with my Priority Club reward night stay had the following offers:

  • Canyon Ranch Spa $35 off any 50 minute or longer Massage or Facial.
  • Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro – 20% off breakfast or brunch.
  • Zine Noodles DimSum – Asian cuisine – $30 off $60 purchase.
  • LAVO Nightclub – complimentary line pass and admission.
  • Piano Bar two for one drinks.

 

The Palazzo Las Vegas lobby ceiling

 

Prestige at The Palazzo

Prestige at The Palazzo is a nightly paid upgrade for an additional $100 that includes:

  • Private champagne check-in starting at noon (normal check-in time is 3pm).
  • Deluxe continental breakfast from 7am – 10am.
  • Coffee and tea on 23rd floor from 10am – 4pm.
  • Hot and cold hors d’oeuvres from 5pm – 7pm.
  • Complimentary cocktail reception from 5pm – 8pm in the 23rd floor lounge.
  • Desserts from 7pm – 9pm.
  • Plasma TV screens throughout the 23rd floor lounge.
  • Complimentary wi-fi on 23rd floor.
  • DVD library for suite.
  • Personal concierge service 7am – 9pm.

Basically Prestige is an extra $93 after tax over the otherwise mandatory resort fee of $17 + tax. For two people this could be a decent value for the additional food and drinks.

Complimentary continental breakfast in the Floor 23 lounge is perhaps a $25 per day value. The Grand Lux in the Palazzo casino has many more food selections with a buffet breakfast at $15.95 per person. This is a relatively good deal at Grand Lux dining room for a Las Vegas Strip resort breakfast.

Drinks are $6 beer and $12 cocktails in most places around the Palazzo Resort, so 3 hours of free drinks could be a significant value depending on your intake. Evening appetizers and dessert are probably another $25 to $30 value.

Prestige at the Palazzo for $100 + $12 tax = $112 per day is a reasonable price for 23rd floor lounge access if you are staying as a couple and will be hanging around the hotel for the free food and drinks. Most of the other amenities like wi-fi and fitness room access are provided with the regular daily resort fee.

The View

The room view overlooked the pools, but from the 32nd floor the pools are rather far away.

The Palazzo Las Vegas - pool view from Floor 32

 

Straight ahead window view was Treasure Island and that hotel had an 8:30 pm pirate ship battle and performance. Again, this was far away for seeing the people performing in the show so our visual attention focused on the overall light effect, fireballs and sinking ship. Hundreds of people were gathered on the sidewalks watching the show outside Treasure Island.

The Palazzo Las Vegas view of Treasure Island

The lights at night stretching across the valley are pretty to watch.

The Palazzo Las Vegas view

The Room:

The entry-rate standard room category at The Palazzo is either a Luxury Suite (King bed) or Bella Suite (two Queen Beds). My family had one of each room type for this stay and both rooms were identical with the exception of the beds. These are large rooms at 720 square feet. Most commonly a luxury class hotel room is about 500 to 600 sq. ft. at the entry level room category.

The Palazzo Las Vegas Bella Suite

 

The Bella Suite has two Queen beds. Good quality pillows and linens make these comfortable beds.

Each bed has a seat at the foot of the bed. There was seating for at least ten people in the room.

The Palazzo Las Vegas bed seat.

 

The bed section of the suite has a wall-mounted 42-inch TV.

The Sitting Room

The couch is extra large and contains a pull-out bed.

The Palazzo Las Vegas large couch and desk

The Palazzo Las Vegas Bella Suite TV

The TV in the sitting room seemed slightly smaller, perhaps 37-inch. This piece of furniture also had stocked electronic mini-bar and room safe.  A small round table with three chairs in front of the window provided a place to eat or sit. Two stairs between beds and sitting room could be an issue for some guests.  

The Palazzo Las Vegas Bella Suite curtains

 

The Bathroom

The bathroom is a large space at 130 square feet with separate shower and bathtub, dual sinks, a separate toilet room and stand alone vanity table.

The Palazzo Las Vegas bathroom vanity table in Bella Suite

Separate shower and tub.

Dual sinks and just outside this picture on the right is a wall mounted TV.

Separate toilet room.

My overall impression is the size of the room at The Palazzo makes this hotel a great choice if you want room to move about in your room at a price that is likely cheaper than upgrading to a room this size at most of the other Las Vegas Strip hotels.

Part Two at The Palazzo Las Vegas has photos of  the seven or so pools and Canyon Ranch Spa.

This is a good YouTube video posted by SuperCabbie1 showing the standard Palazzo luxury suite with a King bed. There is an extra chair that is not present in Bella Suites with two Queen Beds. The room location in the video is the non-view room that looks southeast to the Venetian and lots of low roof tops over the casino and spa and parking garages behind the Las Vegas Strip resorts.

DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways offer at 12 noon ET today April 27, 2011 is for sets of Priority Club points. A member may purchase up to 5 sets in each of the four offers for up to 20 total sets. It is possible to buy 500,000 points in this sale.

  • 10,000 points for $67 ($60.30 if payment is American Express), 650 sets for sale. Maximum purchase is 5 sets per member.
  • 25,000 points for $167 ($150.30 if payment is American Express), 120 sets for sale. Maximum purchase is 5 sets per member.
  • 25,000 points for $167 ($150.30 if payment is American Express), 420 sets for sale. Maximum purchase is 5 sets per member. (There are two separate sales for sets of 25,000 points).
  • 40,000 points = $267 ($240.30 if payment is American Express), 300 sets for sale. Maximum purchase is 5 sets per member.

There are two good reasons for making a Priority Club points purchase today.

  1. Purchased points from this sale count for elite status. Priority Club requires 20,000 points earned in a calendar year for Gold elite or 60,000 points for Platinum elite. These points purchases from DiscoverAmerica count for elite qualification, whereas points purchased through Points & Cash rewards do not count for elite qualification. You can buy your way to Platinum elite for $361 with the purchase of 60,000 points today.
  2. If you do not have any Priority Club points, then a purchase today puts you in play for taking advantage of Points & Cash reward nights where the price of a reward is discounted by 10,000 points for $60. All hotels are available for Points & Cash rewards. Crowne Plaza hotels cost 25,000 points per night. Points & Cash takes 15,000 points + $60. Purchasing points for $60 per 10,000 points through this DiscoverAmerica sale drops the price of a Crowne Plaza hotel to $150 to pay with points. Any Crowne Plaza hotel night more than $150 will be cheaper to pay with points.

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards hotel brand reward nights:

InterContinental Hotels = 40,000 points (high tier) or 30,000 points per night (low tier). There are slightly more hotels at the 30,000 points level.

Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo= 25,000 points per night.

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express = 10,000 points or 15,000 points or 25,000 points. Most hotels are in the 15,000 points tier. About 200 of 3,000 hotels globally are in the 10,000 points tier.

Staybridge Suites = 20,000 points per night.

Candlewood Suites = 15,000 points per night.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations = 27,500 per night.

 

Another way to buy Priority Club points at a discount

Buying Priority Club points at $60 is a fair market value, but not necessarily a deep discount. Priority Club members can actually buy 10,000 points for $60 through Points & Cash reward nights by making a booking for a hotel, buying 10,000 points and later canceling the booking before the stay.

The way Points & Cash rewards are structured requires the member to buy either 5,000 or 10,000 points prior to booking the reward night. 5,000 points cost $40 or 10,000 points cost $60. The points purchased are added to your Priority Club account instantly. The points purchase is nonrefundable so if you end up canceling the reward night the points remain in your account.

There really seems to be no limit to making points purchases through this method. The primary reason the DiscoverAmerica.com sale is better is points purchased through the sale count for elite qualification. But that is irrelevant if you already have Priority Club Platinum elite status and plan to requalify in 2011 anyway.

DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways has travel sales every weekday through May 13. Here is the calendar for upcoming sales.

The good news is the current list of Prioriy Club PointBreaks hotels has been extended to May 15, 2011. There are no new hotels added to the list from the previous offer for March and April stays. The list has been shortened from 107 hotels on February 28, 2011 that were available for booking through April 30, down to 70 hotels that have extended the PointBreaks 5,000 points per night reward until May 15.

There is speculation on FlyerTalk that Priority Club PointBreaks rewards as we have known them at 5,000 points are dying off in May 2011.

The evidence:

  1. PointBreaks list extended for three weeks with no new properties listed.
  2. Priority Club launches Last Minute Rewards at 50% off the standard reward night rate next week with an email scheduled for Monday May 1 on participating hotels for the weekend of Friday May 6 – Sunday May 8.
  3. A new version of the InterContinental Ambassador brochure delivered last week describes PointBreaks Reward nights as 50% off.

Not only the PointBreaks news, but FlyerTalk member Chongcao in the UK received an InterContinental Ambassador brochure with no mention of 10,000 point hotel Priority Club rewards. Currently there are still about 200 properties listed as 10,000 point hotel rewards. Chongcao actually posted lists of Priority Club hotels March 2010 showing the different levels of hotel rewards available through Priority Club. This is still my web destination when I want to check hotel reward levels for 10K and 25K and InterContinental Hotels at 30K and 40K. Sounds like Chongcao may update the list soon for 2011.

Priority Club PointBreaks Hotels available through May 15 for 5,000 points per night:

United States  (34 hotels)

ALABAMA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES TALLADEGA 

ARIZONA

STAYBRIDGE SUITES TUCSON AIRPORT

ARKANSAS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES FORT SMITH

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS JONESBORO

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES BENTONVILLE 

CALIFORNIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SANTA NELLA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES FRESNO SOUTH

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES MERCED

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES VACAVILLE 

FLORIDA

CANDLEWOOD SUITES JACKSONVILLE EAST MERRIL ROAD 

GEORGIA

CANDLEWOOD SUITES MACON

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS BRASELTON 

IOWA

STAYBRIDGE SUITES WEST DES MOINES 

IDAHO

CANDLEWOOD SUITES BOISE – TOWNE SQUARE 

ILLINOIS

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES CHICAGO-LIBERTYVILLE

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES DANVILLE

STAYBRIDGE SUITES PEORIA-DOWNTOWN 

KANSAS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES WICHITA-AIRPORT 

LOUISIANA

CANDLEWOOD SUITES NEW IBERIA 

MARYLAND

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS CAMBRIDGE 

MICHIGAN

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DETROIT-FARMINGTON HILLS

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES ALLEN PARK-DEARBORN 

MISSISSIPPI

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES STARKVILLE 

MISSOURI

CANDLEWOOD SUITES JEFFERSON CITY

HOLIDAY INN ST. JOSEPH RIVERFRONT/HIST. 

NEW YORK

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS OWEGO 

OKLAHOMA

CANDLEWOOD SUITES OKLAHOMA CITY

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES OKMULGEE 

SOUTH CAROLINA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS CHARLESTON-MONCKS CORNER 

TEXAS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES HOUSTON PARK ROW

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS HOUSTON SOUTHWEST – SUGAR LAND

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES HOUSTON NW BELTWAY 8-WEST ROAD 

VIRGINIA

HOLIDAY INN NORTON

WISCONSIN

CANDLEWOOD SUITES WAUSAU-RIB MOUNTAIN

Offer and participating hotels are subject to change at any time, valid for stays thru May 15, 2011. Reward night terms and conditions apply.

36 international hotels

Canada

ALBERTA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES EDMONTON NORTH

BRITISH COLUMBIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES SQUAMISH

ONTARIO

HOLIDAY INN WHITBY OSHAWA

SASKATCHEWAN

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES PRINCE ALBERT

Mexico 

CROWNE PLAZA RESORT MAZATLAN

HOLIDAY INN HOTEL AND SUITES GUADALAJARA-CENTRO HISTORICO

INTERCONTINENTAL PRESIDENTE MERIDA

Central & South America

ARGENTINA

HOLIDAY INN SANTA FE 

BRAZIL

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL CURITIBA

Europe 

AUSTRIA

HOLIDAY INN FELDKIRCH 

CZECH REPUBLIC

HOLIDAY INN PRAGUE AIRPORT 

FRANCE

HOLIDAY INN BLOIS-LOIRE VALLEY 

GERMANY

HOLIDAY INN FRANKFURT AIRPORT-NEU-ISENBURG 

HOLIDAY INN LEIPZIG-GÜNTHERSDORF

SPAIN

HOLIDAY INN ELCHE

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MADRID-LEGANES 

TURKEY

HOLIDAY INN BURSA

UNITED KINGDOM

HOLIDAY INN ASHFORD-CENTRAL

HOLIDAY INN GLASGOW AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN LUTON-SOUTH M1, JCT.9

HOLIDAY INN NEWPORT

HOLIDAY INN WASHINGTON

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS DROITWICH M5, JCT.5

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS LONDON-STANSTED AIRPORT

Africa

SOUTH AFRICA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SANDTON-WOODMEAD

Middle East 

EGYPT

CROWNE PLAZA SAHARA OASIS PORT GHALIB RESORT 

SAUDI ARABIA

HOLIDAY INN JEDDAH-AL SALAM

Asia 

CHINA-PEOPLES REPUBLIC

HOLIDAY INN BINHAI TIANJIN

HOLIDAY INN DOWNTOWN HEFEI

HOLIDAY INN ERDOS CITY

HOLIDAY INN HANGZHOU THOUSAND ISLAND LAKE

HOLIDAY INN SHANGHAI WEST

HOLIDAY INN YOULIAN SUZHOU

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SHANGHAI SANLIN

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS TIANJIN BINHAI 

PHILIPPINES

HOLIDAY INN CLARK

Oceania 

There are no properties available at this time.

As Loyalty Traveler I am focused on the economics of travel and helping leisure travelers get better value from upscale hotel stays. I say a promotion is a great deal when I see an opportunity to get a high value future rebate on hotel spend.

Starwood Preferred Guest “Getaway Free” promotion is a great opportunity for leisure travelers to earn SPG elite status while buying a high-value vacation opportunity at a luxury Starwood Resort at a bargain price. This is the third year Starwood has run a free night promotion.  Although this is a bit more restrictive than prior years with free nights earned limited to redemption at 200 resorts, the more positive aspect of this offer compared to the past two years is the ability to redeem free nights any day of the week.

Starwood’s Getaway Free may very well be the best hotel loyalty promotion we see in 2011.

Spend a lot to save a lot and earn elite status.

What I like about this promotion is the ability to earn SPG elite status while earning high-value free nights.

In 2009, during the height of the financial crisis, Starwood Hotels offered a promotion for a free night at any hotel up to category 6 after two hotel stays. In 2010 the promotion was changed to three stays earn a free night at any hotel up to category 6. This year the promotion is limited to free night redemptions at 200 Starwood Resort properties.

I worked the Starwood free nights promotion hard in May 2009. My wife was going through cancer treatment and the hotel stays provided us with some desirable distractions from the daily reality of being totally stressed about our future life together. Kelley just received results of her CT scan last week conducted 18 months after finishing treatment for Stage 2 rectal cancer. No cancer detected.

I wrote several posts on my Starwood Hotel strategies during the 2009 promotion and detailed my hotel rate search methods, hotel rate savings, and room types I received on my paid stays.

Many leisure traveler readers question the logic and real value of frequent stays when spending money to earn free nights through possibly unnecessary hotel stays.  

Here are links for three posts from May/June 2009 that I think still offer good information for travelers interested in the current Starwood Getaway Free promotion for a free Starwood Resort night after three stays. These posts illustrate how Starwood hotel stays paid off in our travels.

How I search hotel rates (May 8, 2009)

My Starwood Free Night Promotion Progress (May 20, 2009)

My May 2009 Starwood Free Nights Promotion Analysis (June 25, 2009) – This post has a table showing details of my Starwood stays for earning seven free nights and how I calculated getting about $6,000 in hotel rooms for under $2,000.

Westin Market Street San Francisco view northwest

DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways has free night vouchers for Radisson Hotels and Country Inns & Suites in the U.S. on sale at 12 noon ET today at deep discounts.

Radisson Hotels = $89.00  ($80.10 with any American Express card payment). Maximum purchase is 3 vouchers. There are 100 Radisson vouchers available in this limited sale. DiscoverAmerica Radisson sale link.

Country Inns & Suites = $56.00 ($50.40 with any American Express card payment). Maximum purchase is 7 vouchers. There are 447 available in this limited sale. DiscoverAmerica sale link.

These vouchers have no expiration date and are transferable.  There are about 140 Radisson Hotels in the U.S.  and over 400 Country Inns for these free night vouchers.

Loyalty Traveler analysis:

I wanted to stay at the Country Inn in Barstow, California last night to earn a credit toward the two stays earn one free night worldwide promotion. I was floored to see the rate at $167 per night and that rate never dropped during the past week. So I am at a Holiday Inn Express instead.

These Radisson and Country Inn vouchers are definitely good deals applicable to hundreds of hotels around the U.S. for cheaper hotel nights than the published rates.

DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways

There are several more great deals coming on DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways over the next three weeks (rates shown are American Express discounted price).

Mon April 25: Loews Hotel Suite certificates ($200 to $315 range).

Wed April 27: Priority Club points ($60/10,000 so nothing too special except these point purchases qualify for elite status points.)

Thu April 28: Omni Resorts ($170 to $350 range).

Mon May 2: Hilton HHonors points (250,000 points for $1,240 has loads of potential reward opportunity).

Wed May 4: Wyndham Rewards points (up to 48,000 points for $135).

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