Earn 500 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles from Best Western Rewards for every purchase of a $50 Best Western Travel Card through August 31, 2010.

Promotion is available only online at http://travelcard.bestwestern.com/americanairlinesbonus10.

Best Western Travel Cards can be used for payment at most Best Western locations worldwide. Europe may have more limited acceptance. Participating hotels can be checked on the Travel Card website. Travel cards do not expire and the unused balance can be carried over between hotel stays.

This promotional offer is a no-brainer deal for the loyalty traveler who stays at Best Western hotels and collects AAdvantage miles. There is no limit to the number of cards purchased or AAdvantage bonus miles received during this promotion.

Travel Card Frequently Asked Questions

http://travelcard.bestwestern.com/travelcard/faq.jsp#Q21147

AA Bonus Miles Terms and Conditions:

American Airlines AAdvantage^® miles offer valid for Best Western Rewards^® members who: reside in the U.S. or Canada; have enrolled in Best Western Rewards; and purchased a $50 USD/CAD Best Western Travel Card^® (“Travel Card”) during the promotion period. Best Western Rewards members must select American Airlines AAdvantage miles as their earning preference in their Best Western Rewards profile. Best Western Rewards members will earn 500 bonus American Airlines AAdvantage^® miles per $50 Travel Card purchased. No limits. Promotion is available online only at http://travelcard.bestwestern.com/americanairlinesbonus10.

Travel Card is independent of Best Western Rewards^® and your login’s may not be the same. A Travel Card login is required to purchase a Travel Card as part of this promotion. To obtain a Travel Card login visit: http://travelcard.bestwestern.com/travelcard/login_form.jsp. Promotion is valid between June 1, 2010 and August 31, 2010. Other restrictions may apply. Offer not valid with any other promotion or discount. Promotion subject to cancellation or change without notice. All Best Western Reward program rules apply. See http://www.bestwesternrewards.com/ for rules and links to airline program rules.

See http://travelcard.bestwestern.com/ for complete Best Western Travel Card terms and conditions.

Joie de Vivre Hotels’ Joy of Life Club allows members to double dip for points and miles with Virgin America Elevate through the end of 2010. Earn one mile in Virgin America’s Elevate frequent flyer program and one point in Joy of Life Club for every US$1 spent at member hotels. Starting in 2011 members will need to choose Joy of Life points or Virgin America Elevate points for hotel stays.

Joie de Vivre Hotels consist of 32 properties in California; primarily in the San Francisco to Monterey Bay area.

I actually took my first flight on Virgin America last week. Bring your headphones and you will have dozens of TV stations and hundreds of musical selections for inflight entertainment. Or just sit back in the white plastic seats and groove on the cool blue lighting. The cabin design gives the airline the equivalent of a W Hotel experience.

The new Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad, California, formerly the Four Seasons until last month, has a promotion available for stays through the remainder of 2010 offering a free night on a four night hotel stay, $100 resort credit and 10,000 Gold Passport bonus points. Advance reservations are required by July 31. Use special offer code PHA10K for this rate. Promotion link.

Rate checks for August 22-26 and August 26-30 show weekday nights Sunday through Thursday are 20% lower ($350) than Friday and Saturday night weekends ($420).

$1,050 for four nights with 10,000 bonus points (approximately $200 value) and a $100 credit brings the overall nightly rate down to around $200 per night after points and credit rebates. Of course you will earn an additional 5,000+ Gold Passport points for the paid portion of the hotel stay.

Not a bad deal if you want to bask in luxury in the southern California sun (or fog depending on the coastal layer pattern for the season).

You can earn 5,000 points for stays in two different Hotel Indigo locations in the USA and Canada from June 14 through September 17. Hotel Indigo is the boutique style hotel brand for InterContinental Hotels Group. This Priority Club promotion can be repeated for up to 25,000 points with stays in ten different hotels. There are 30 US and two Canada properties. Promotion registration is required.

Complete a two-night stay by September 12, 2010 at any of nine Hyatt Hotels in Northern California to receive a 5,000 points bonus. Rate code NCA5K includes 5,000 bonus points, 20% off lunch and dinner and 20% off spa services.

Nine participating hotels in this special offer are:
Grand Hyatt San Francisco
Highlands Inn – A Hyatt Hotel, Carmel Highlands
Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa
Hyatt Regency Sacramento
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa, Santa Rosa

Book by September 9 and stay by September 12 for this offer.

Loyalty Traveler analysis:

Compare rates for this offer to determine its overall value for you. The rates tend to be higher than otherwise available. Sample searches showed rates up to $50 per night higher for hotels I checked.

5,000 bonus points alone may not make this a good deal due to the higher rates for this offer at most hotels. This can be an opportunity rate if you are planning to come to Carmel/Monterey, Sacramento, or the San Francisco Bay Area anyway, particularly if you plan to use the Hyatt restaurant or spa for your stay.

Weekend rates for Friday and Saturday are generally lower for most of these hotels, except in Monterey-Carmel where weekends are generally peak rates.

Labor Day weekend might be the lowest rates for this offer in San Francisco hotels. Santa Clara is typically the lowest overall price of these hotels with some weekend rates as low as $109 per night.

Hyatt Regency Santa Clara July 23-25 (Fri-Sun)

• $109/Night          NCA5K rate (5,000 BONUS POINTS)
• $109/Night          Hyatt Daily Rate  (AAA rate is $149)

Hyatt Regency Sacramento July 23-25 (Fri-Sun)

• $149/Night          NCA5K rate (5,000 BONUS POINTS)
• $134.10                 AAA rate 

Hyatt Regency Monterey August 20-22 (Fri-Sun)

• $229/night          NCA5K rate (5,000 BONUS POINTS)
• $206.10 AAA rate 

Highlands Inn, Carmel Highlands August 20-22 (Fri-Sun)

• $539/night          NCA5K rate (5,000 BONUS POINTS)
• $575                       AAA rate (includes breakfast for two) 

Hyatt Regency San Francisco September 3-5 (Fri-Sun)  

• $199.00 NCA5K rate (5,000 BONUS POINTS)
• $149.25                 AAA 

Grand Hyatt San Francisco September 3-5 (Fri-Sun)

• $199                       NCA5K rate (5,000 BONUS POINTS)
• $159.20                 AAA

Hyatt Regency San Francisco balcony room with Bay view

Six nights at the Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona and $5000 spending cash. Sound like a good vacation?

You must register for the sweepstakes at www.hilton.com/topchef before making a Hilton stay by September 15, 2010 to be entered into the sweepstakes. You can even get around the Hilton stay requirement and register by mail to enter the sweepstakes. HHonors reward stays are not eligible for entry. You may have a total of three entries by either method during the promotion period.

Hilton values this prize at $9,080. And this is another promotion only open to US residents.

Download the new Android app and earn 1,000 Priority Club points for each stay through September 30 booked on your mobile phone. You can check account balance, book rooms, cancel rooms, and redeem points for reward nights through your phone.

To download the new Priority Club® Rewards App for AndroidTM, visit the Android Marketplace from your mobile device and search for “Priority Club”, or use the QR Code image.

Kimpton Hotels has a great restaurant option available for someone like me who hates the huge mark-up on wine when dining out. Through Labor Day you can bring two bottles of your own wine to a Kimpton Hotel restaurant and receive complimentary corkage.

Serrano Hotel San Francisco — here I come.

“We’ll have the Ponzu specials and here is my restaurant.com $25 dining coupon.”

A $2 coupon (purchased during 80% off Restaurant.com sale which occurs every few weeks) offering a $23 discount on a $50 meal and BYOW makes for the kind of hotel dining expense I can enjoy on my Loyalty Traveler budget.

Crab cakes with a view at Harry Denton’s Starlight Room on top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel with my own bottle of wine.  That sounds like a delightful dinner date looking over Union Square San Francisco.

Harry Denton's Starlight Room (the building with the star) at top of Kimpton's Sir Francis Drake Hotel, San Francisco seen from the Grand Hyatt (Marriott Union Square at right)

Kimpton Hotels have restaurants in 23 cities around the USA, however, there are alcohol laws and this offer is only valid in the more liberal states of California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and the U.S. capital city of Washington, D.C.

Hyatt Gold Passport has some high value bonus miles offers for stays this summer. The 1,000 airline frequent flyer bonus miles per night promotion is from June 15 through September 30 for these nine airlines:

Monday, July 19 Update – American Airlines AAdvantage is not a participating airline for the 1,000 bonus miles per night promotion according to this announcement from Friday, June 16. Apparently members who had signed up for AA did receive the additional AAdvantage 1,000 bonus miles retroactive for stays since June 15, however, Gold Passport members will not be allowed to sign up for the 1,000 AA miles per night for the remainder of the promotion period. There is still the 3,000 AA miles per stay through October 15, 2010 for up to 20 stays. (See below)

Registration Links for 1,000 Airline Bonus Miles per Night (there are slight variations in the promotion period dates for different airline partners)

• American Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways
• Southwest Airlines (1.0 bonus credit per night)
• Amtrak
• ANA – All Nippon Airways
• Japan Airlines
• Thai Airways
• Jet Airways
• Lufthansa Miles & More (July 1-October 1)

The bonus can be earned for up to 30 nights for 30,000 bonus miles during the promotion period. Bonus miles are in addition to the regular 500 miles per hotel stay. Southwest normally earns 0.5 credit per stay, so a 1-night stay will earn 1.5 credits.

You can also register for this promotion by phone and ask to enroll in TP30K2010 for your preferred airline program.

Gold Passport 30,000 Bonus Miles Promotion Source: Hyatt Gold Passport 1,000 miles per night announcement on FlyerTalk by Gold Passport Concierge on July 13, 2010.

Choosing miles excludes earning 5 Gold Passport points per $1 for hotel stays. You also do not earn G bonus point offers when choosing miles.

Diamond members still can receive 1,000 Diamond amenity points for a hotel stay when choosing miles (500 points for Hyatt Place or Summerfield Suites). And even when choosing miles Gold Passport Diamond members are still eligible to receive bonus points Diamond benefit for a closed Regency Club (2,500 points) or bed preference unavailability (5,000 points).

Stackable Miles Bonus Hyatt Promotions for American Airlines and United Airlines

In addition to this offer there has been confirmation by Hyatt Passport Concierge that the 1,000 bonus miles per night may be combined with other concurrent promotions for American Airlines miles or United Airlines elite member mile bonus.

American Airlines 3,000 AAdvantage Miles per Hyatt Stay

Hyatt has a separate promotion for American Airlines to earn up to 60,000 AAdvantage miles for hotel stays from July 6 through October 15, 2010.

Gold Passport members choosing AAdvantage miles earn 2,500 bonus miles per stay in addition to the regular 500 miles per stay for a total 3,000 miles per stay for a maximum of 20 stays with this promotion.

Combine the two AA promotions and the Gold Passport member earns 3,000 miles per stay plus 1,000 miles per night through September 30. A one night stay earns 4,000 AAdvantage miles.

• 1-night stay = 4,000 AAdvantage miles
• 2-night stay = 5,000 AAdvantage miles
• 3-night stay = 6,000 AAdvantage miles
• 4-night stay = 7,000 AAdvantage miles

Hopefully you see the pattern here. One night stays are the way to max out this promotion offer at minimum cost.

There have been several postings on FlyerTalk in the past couple of days to clarify whether the 1,000 bonus miles per night promotion can be combined with the AAdvantage 2,500 bonus miles per stay promotion. Gold Passport Concierge confirmed these are stackable offers in this July 15 FlyerTalk post.

United Airlines

Mileage Plus elite members have had an offer for 2,000 bonus Mileage Plus miles per Hyatt brand hotel stay running all year from November 1, 2009 through January 31, 2011.

Gold Passport Concierge posted on FlyerTalk the new promotion may be combined with the older promotion for UA elites.

• 1-night stay = 3,500 Mileage Plus miles
• 2-night stay = 4,500 Mileage Plus miles
• 3-night stay = 5,500 Mileage Plus miles
• 4-night stay = 6,500 Mileage Plus miles

Hyatt hotel stays seem to be a cheaper way to earn miles than flying these days.

Hilton HHonors has a Golf Sweepstakes through September 6 with three Grand Prizes of 100,000 Hilton HHonors points and a 4 day/3 night trip for the winner and up to three guests at a hotel and 3 rounds of golf for four at one of five destinations.

• Waldorf Astoria Orlando in Orlando, FL (Celebration Golf Club, Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, and Eagle Creek Golf Club);
• Hilton Los Cabos Beach and Golf Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Cabo Del Sol Golf Club, Palmilla Golf Club, and Cabo Real Golf Club);
• Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, AZ (Arizona Biltmore Golf Club, TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, and TPC Scottsdale Champion Course);
• Doubletree by Hilton Dunblane Hydro in Scotland  (Golf Course[s] to be determined by Sponsor);
• Grand Wailea in Maui, Hawaii  (Wailea Golf Club [Gold], Wailea Golf Club [Emerald], and Wailea Golf Club [Blue]).

Hotel accommodation is two rooms for three nights. Economy air travel for up to four persons is provided by United Airlines. Winner also receives a US$3,370.00 check. Total prize value is around $8,000 to $11,000.

Prize drawings will be around September 14, 2010. Trip must be booked 90 days in advance and trip must be completed within one year of prize notification or prize is forfeited.

First Prizes:

There are also four 1^st prizes of 50,000 HHonors points, a Taylormade driver and Adidas shoes.

Sweepstakes Entry

HHonors members get one online sweepstakes entry by registering at www.hhonors.com/golf between June 15 and September 6, 2010. Sweepstakes is limited to US 50 states + DC legal residents.

Additional entries: Each night you stay at a Hilton brand hotel through September 6, 2010 will create an additional entry into the golf sweepstakes.