Best Western Rewards comes out with the best midscale hotel segment promotion for 2012 so far. Earn one free night for any Best Western worldwide after 3 stays from February 6 to April 8, 2012. There is an earning limit of one free night with this offer and the free night voucher expires June 30, 2012. Members must register prior to first stay for hotel stays to be eligible.
Best Western has launched its winter offer for 2,000 bonus points per night, up to four nights for a maximum 8,000 bonus points on stays in the U.S. and Canada through January 31, 2012. Promotion registration required before first stay. Use the link to register online or call Best Western Rewards 1-800-237-8483 and request enrollment in WINTER12 promotion.
Loyalty Traveler Analysis
Best Western is a useful hotel loyalty program to maintain an account balance. The value of Best Western is the large number of hotels around the U.S. and globally in places where you may not find many other familiar names. Best Western has over 4,000 hotels and nearly half of those hotels are outside the USA. That surpasses just about every other major hotel chain, except Accor A|Club and remove France from that list and Best Western has the most hotels internationally for US/Canada travelers.
One time in Guayaquil, Ecuador I needed a hotel and the Hilton was priced in the $200 range. I looked at the airport terminal hotel listings and saw Best Western and landed a $35 rate in downtown. I ate a steak dinner at the hotel restaurant with beer for US$5. The hotel guard escorted me to the taxi early the next morning packing some ballistic heat.
Best Western promotions are typically not big points earners. This promotion offer looks good for Best Western Rewards.
My main complaint about Best Western Rewards is there is no easy way, at least not that I know, to see what hotels are in the different reward categories. I wish their website would create a list of hotels in each reward category for member ease in locating hotel reward options.
8,000 points is the lowest category reward night for Best Western hotels. I’d love to be able to see a list of which hotels I can redeem 8,000 points for a free night. Hotel reward nights go up in 4,000 point increments to 36,000 points per night. Most hotels around my part of California are in the 16,000 to 28,000 points range.
Best Western hotel stays earn points at the the rate of 10 points/$1.
Assume you stay 4 nights at $75 per night. $300 in hotel spend earns 3,000 points + 8,000 bonus points. At 12,000 points you will see more hotels for reward nights. Best Western offers easy status match for elites from other hotel programs to boost your points earning potential.
Best Western WINTER12 Promotion for 8,000 bonus points after 4 nights by Jan 31, 2012.
Best Western is giving away 10,000,000 points through a Facebook offer through the month of October. Simply register your name, email and Best Western Rewards account number, then hit the button and see how many points you win.
I picked up 500 Best Western Rewards points and an additional 100 points by spamming one of my tourist board friends on Facebook.
Best Western 10 Million points Facebook Giveaway
Best Western has a convoluted fall 2011 promotion offering double points/miles or triple points/miles for some stays from September 12 and November 20, 2011. The bonus is confusing since it only applies to every second stay and has different earning limits depending on elite status and whether the member chooses to earn points or miles.
Fall Promotion Details
Got all that fine print?
Best Western Rewards has made this promotion unnecessarily complicated for what is ultimately a relatively low value bonus.
Sample Bonus Points Earning showing why the order of your hotel stays matters.
Best Western Stay 1: September 19 – Best Western Park Crest Inn, Monterey California
Best Western Stay 2: September 27 – 30 (3 nights) Best Western Plus Victorian Inn, Monterey California
The main thing to remember for this promotion is the bonus is based on the money spent for only the 2nd, 4th, 6th or 8th hotel stays. You may want to plan out stays to be sure the high spend stays fall on these alternate stays.
Using the same two stays shown above, but in reverse with the three nights high spend stay first and the lower spend stay second will result in far fewer points.
Bonus Miles promotion has an advantage and disadvantage
Members can register for double or triple miles with American Airlines or Aeroplan or Airmiles.
The rules are basically the same when choosing to earn double miles on every second stay. Members earn triple miles if stays in two different types of Best Western hotels during the promotion period. The advantage of the miles bonus promotion is there is no limit to the number of times this bonus can be earned and the hotel spend per stay is not a factor. The number of miles earned is independent of hotel spend.
Double miles = 500 miles on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and so on … stays for AAdvantage or Aeroplan.
Triple miles = 750 miles.
Miles can be a better deal for someone with low spend stays.
Bottom line is this offer is rather complicated and not necessarily worth strategizing too much over unless you have a really high spend Best Western stay planned. There are bonus miles and points to be earned, and with hotel rewards typically in the 16,000 points range, this offer might get you a free night or two or a couple thousand bonus miles if you frequently stay at Best Western hotels.
Best Western has offered bonus airline miles for gift card purchases all summer and this promotion ends August 31. There are eight frequent flier programs offering bonus miles. Best Western gift cards are valid at Best Western properties globally.
You must set your earning preference in Best Western Rewards to miles for this bonus. Most of these frequent flier programs offer unlimited bonus miles earning. This offer is open to Best Western members in U.S. and Canada.
American Airlines and Aeroplan offer the best bonus miles value.
Best Western Travel Card airline bonus miles for purchases by August 31, 2011.
Best Western has a TWEET1 promotion code that reduces the room rate from 5% to 20% at participating hotels. TWEET1 shows as Managers Special rate. TWEET1 is only a 5% discount at most hotels I checked, yet some Best Western hotels offer up to 20% discount with this promotion code. Many hotels do not offer this rate code.
Post Update July 14: Thanks to reader Jimmy for comment on this post (see comments) showing Best Western Rewards T&C state Managers Special rates are deeply discounted rates not eligible for points or miles. The Tweet1 rate should probably be avoided if going for 3 stays = 1 free night promotion. I’ll stick with AAA deeply discounted rates that are eligible for points and promotion credit.
AAA is generally a 10% rate discount so TWEET1 is only useful if you are not a AAA member or the hotel offers a greater discount than 10% with TWEET1 promotion code. I’ve actually been asked to show my AAA card more in 2011 than in the entire previous decade so hotels appear to me to be carding guests more frequently to verify actual AAA membership.
Thanks to SC Flier for posting this discount promotion code on Milepoint.com.
Finding TWEET1 (Managers Special) promotion rate on BestWestern.com.
Best Western Hotels in Moab, Utah and July 13, 2011 Best Available rates
2. Click on “Check Availability” button for hotel and enter TWEET1 in the promotion code box.
Enter TWEET1 in promotion code box
3. Look for Managers Special rate and compare to Best Available and AAA rates. TWEET1 offers a 5% discount at Moab Best Western Plus Canyonlands Inn.
Best Western Canyonlamds Inn TWEET1 rate is 5% discount on BAR.
4. Compare Managers Special rate (TWEET1) to AAA rate. Best Western Plus Canyonlands Inn, Moab, Utah offers AAA 10% discount rate for a better deal than TWEET1 if you are eligible for AAA rate.
Best Western Plus Canyonlands Inn Moab has better AAA discount of 10%.
5. At some Best Western hotels the Managers Special offers a bigger discount than AAA. Best Western Park Vue in Ely, Nevada offers a 20% discount on BAR using TWEET1 promotion code compared to just 10% rate discount using AAA.
Best Western Park Vue, Ely Nevada offers 20% discount rate using TWEET1.
You may also want to try COSTCO as a promotion code rate offering a 10% discount at many Best Western hotels if you are not a AAA member.
Best Western is offering a free night after three hotel stays from June 19 through August 14. Here is Loyalty Traveler’s post on summer free night offers.
HELP SHEET #8 – updated July 7, 2011
This Loyalty Traveler post is the 8th update for 2011 hotel loyalty promotions and includes about 25 new promotion offers since the June 7 list. Offers marked with an asterisk (*) were added since the last update June 7.
Hotel Brands: Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, Adagio, All Seasons, Thalassa Spa.
* Motel 6 is the primary Accor Hotels brand in USA, however, extremely limited A-Club hotel loyalty program participation. A|Club repeats last year’s promotion allowing redemption of A|Club vouchers for stays at North America Motel 6 hotels from June 1-October 31. LT post June 29.
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 Hotels – Best Western Rewards
Hotel Brand Tiers: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier
5-Key promotion – Best Western free night after three stays from June 19 to August 14, 2011. Limit one free night during promotion. Loyalty Traveler post June 4.
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 has designated 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, mostly outside U.S.).
Carlson Hotels – Club Carlson (formerly Goldpoints Plus loyalty program)
Hotel Brands: Radisson Blu, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza
* Club Carlson does not currently have a major bonus points promotion since the free night after two stays promotion ended June 15. There appear to be some good discount rates (35% off two day Radisson stays – book by July 12) and Park Inn 20% off two or three night weekend stays in North America through August 31.
There are also some good values with Club Carlson double points rates where members earn 40 points/$1 for room rate. This is an extra 2,500 points on a $125 room rate that may only be $10 more than otherwise lowest rates.
These Loyalty Traveler posts describe changes with Club Carlson launch March 31, 2011:
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).
Club Carlson online booking bonus – Club Carlson general members earn 1,000 bonus points for online booking. Silver and Gold elite members earn 2,000 bonus points for online booking. Concierge elite members earn 3,000 points. Club Carlson Benefits table link.
Choice Hotels – Choice 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
Stay two times for 8,000 points May 19-August 11. This promotion awards members with 8,000 total points after two stays. Four brands require a two-night stay for this promotion ay Rodaeway Inn, EconoLodge, MainStay Suites and Suburban Suites. This offer is a variable bonus offer since two $60 stays that normally earn 1,200 points ($120 x 10 points/$1) receives 6,800 bonus points for 8,000 total points, yet two $300 hotel stays that earn 6,000 base points will result in 2,000 bonus points for 8,000 total points. This offer is best bonus on low cost hotel stays. Loyalty Traveler post May 16, 2011.
Choice Privileges reward night cost analysis. Using a spreadsheet of 2010 reward cost, I calculated the percentage of hotels in various reward levels worldwide from 6,000 points to 40,000 points. This is the only breakdown of hotel reward tiers I have ever seen for Choice Hotels. Loyalty Traveler post May 1, 2011.
Choice Privileges Program Changes for Elite Members effective January 1, 2011:
Program enhancements for elites.
Reward night booking window extended for Choice Privileges elite members:
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, 2010)
* 1,000 bonus points for enrollment in Drury Gold Key Club.
Expedia Rewards –
Double Rewards points for Expedia Vacation Package paid with MasterCard through August 31. Registration required.
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 Special Offers website link
Global Hotel Alliance – GHA Discovery – Hotel loyalty program alliance for 12 independent hotel brands including Omni Hotels, Pan Pacific, Kempinski, 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 Hotels – Hilton HHonors
10 Hotel Brands: Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Conrad, Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Hampton Inn, and Home2Suites.
* Double HHonors Points or Double Miles for stays worldwide from July 1-September 30, 2011. List of about 250 excluded hotels, mostly in U.S.. Promotion registration required. Loyalty traveler post June 24.
* HHonors Gold VIP elite after 4 stays or 9 nights in 90 days at U.S. hotels with Hilton HHonors MVP. Promotion registration required.
* Free HHonors Gold VIP elite to August 31, 2011 for U.S. resident Visa Signature cardmembers. Complete three stays by August 31 to extend Gold VIP status through March 2013. Existing Gold and Diamond members receive 5,000 bonus points. Loyalty Traveler post June 10.
Great Getaway Hilton Summer Sale with discounts from 15% to 40%. Book May 13 to August 31 for hotel stays May 27 to Sep 5. Prepaid rates and must book 14 days in advance. Loyalty Traveler post May 19.
HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards posted for hotels through November 2011. Point Stretchers require 40% fewer points than standard HHonors rewards. Use the drop-down menu to see participating hotels in different Hilton brands. The Point Stretcher hotel awards were updated in early June.
HHonors Points & Money – Loyalty Traveler reward analysis indicates these are good value. Loyalty Traveler post May 9.
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 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)
Hotels.com Welcome Rewards
Earn a free night for every 10 nights.
* Double points (up to 4 bonus points) through July 31 for new Welcome Rewards members.
Hyatt Hotels – Hyatt Gold Passport
Hotel Brands: Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Vacation Club, Hyatt Resorts, Andaz, Hyatt Summerfield Suites
* 2,500 Aeroplan miles per Hyatt stay July 1-September 30. Maximum bonus is 25,000 miles after 10 stays.
* Welcome credit and 2,500 bonus points for stays paid with American Express at 75 international hotels. Loyalty Traveler post July 2. 3-key promotion.
Earn 19,000 Southwest points after 5 Hyatt stays June 1-August 31. Loyalty traveler post June 5.
Program Change – 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 Group – Priority Club
Hotel Brands: InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Hotel Indigo
* Limited Time Rate Discount Europe – Up to 35% off for weekend stays in Europe through August 31. These rates are prepaid and nonrefundable with no changes allowed. T&C also state no points.
* Limited Time Rate Discount Europe – 2 nights for the Price of 1 – LT Note: Promotion page states this offer expired June 30, 2011, but I still found available 2-for-1 rates for August dates on July 7. This is a recurring rate promotion for several years and offers one of the greatest discounts on hotel rooms in Europe; particularly London. LT 5-key rate offer.
* Pack Your Points Tweetstakes July 1-July 31. Retweet @IHG_Deals daily message for entry. One entry per day. Prizes are 15,000 or 30,000 points for daily winners chosen in August. LT post July 4.
* IHG Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights are posted the week before the first weekend of the month. Hotels are only posted for a few days and must be booked by Thursday prior to the Friday through Sunday dates. LT post June 30.
$75 MasterCard Gift Card for 2-night weekend stay worldwide at any IHG hotel May 19-August 31, 2011. Limit of four cards per member. Only for U.S. residents. Loyalty Traveler post May 18. 4-key offer.
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.
Priority Club PointBreaks through July 30, 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 133 hotels on May 9 and only 27 hotels on July 6. Look for a new list of hotels posting in July. Loyalty Traveler post May 9. (5-key offer.)
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.
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 booked by June 30 (Loyalty Traveler April 11 post).
InterContinental Ambassador Accelerator - 20,000 points after 15 nights at InterContinental Hotels. Registration required.
Priority Club Any Hotel Anywhere American Express gift cards.
New Price for Any Hotel, Anywhere Cards Loyalty Traveler post Jan 25.
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.com – Loyalty traveler research (Jan 20) into the exchange value of Priority Club points into airline miles through Points.com
Kimpton Hotels – InTouch
* Kimpton “Summer Like a Local Rate” offer gives a $25 nightly dining credit for a rate $10 over BAR May 26-September 5.
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.
* New La Quinta Returns members earn Gold elite after two nights within 60 days of enrollment. Two nights may be one stay. Gold elite promotion offer for new enrollments through August 31, but keep in mind these offers are sometimes withdrawn early.
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.
Earn a free night after every 5 stays with stays in at least two LHW properties by December 31, 2011.
Marriott Hotels – Marriott 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 Rewards Earn one free night at a category 1 to 4 hotel reward after two hotel stays June 1-August 31. Registration deadline for this promotion was June 30, 2011. This offer may be earned two times during promotion. Active Marriott Rewards members may have a points offer based on 15 to 25 nights. Loyalty Traveler post May 16.
Marriott Rewards 4x miles for hotels stays June 1-August 31. Earn 8 miles per $1 or 4 miles per $1 with 13 participating airlines depending on Marriott hotel brand. Loyalty Traveler post May 27.
Program Change: All Marriott Rewards members receive complimentary internet at Asia-Pacific region hotels. Loyalty Traveler post May 2, 2011.
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 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.
Omni Hotels – Omni Select Guest
Member benefits include complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, shoe shine and morning beverage delivery.
Earn a free night after every 10 nights or earn 500 miles per hotel stay.
Preferred Hotels Group – I Prefer
I Prefer and Preferred Hotels Group special offers page.
Red Lion Hotels – 44 hotels in western U.S.
* Red Lion Double Points and Free Breakfast promotion code = RLDOUBLE (through Dec 31, 2011)
Ritz-Carlton Rewards
* Ritz-Carlton Rewards Visa – 50,000 points enrollment offer and Gold elite first year. Maintain Gold elite with $10,000 annual spending. Three confirmed Club level upgrades per year and other benefits. Loyalty Traveler post June 13.
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 Hotels – Starwood Preferred Guest
Starwood Hotels brands: Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Four Points, element, aloft.
* $40 gas card for two-night or longer stays at Four Points, Aloft or Element hotels in North America through September 15. Must book hotel stay by July 31 using rate code SSBGAS. LT post July 6.
* Four Points $25,000 contest for best story submitted on Four Points Facebook page between June 15 and August 10. Contest open to US and Canada (except Quebec). Also weekly prizes for two-night stay and $50 in beer credit. Contest Rules.
* 3x points for Starwood Hotels in Japan for stays and dining June 1-August 31. LT post June 26.
Starwood Preferred Guest – Stay 3 and get a free Starwood Resort hotel night from May 1-July 31, 2011. Note: Promotion registration ended June 30, 2011, so too late if you are not already registered. 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. (5-key promotion)
FourSquare 250 bonus points for mobile check-in at Starwood Hotels May 1-July 31, 2011. Loyalty Traveler post May 12. Note: Most of these bonuses have quickly posted for me. I need to follow up on a couple of missing bonuses.
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, 2010.
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 or sometimes a 5-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 or sometimes a 5-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 Voila bonus points per stay through August 31 and entry into 500,000 points sweepstakes.
* Double elite credit for Voila member hotel stays through July 31. Registration required.
Wyndham Worldwide - Wyndham Rewards
Wyndham Brands: Wyndham, Wingate, Hawthorn Suites, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Baymont Suites, Microtel, Knights Inn, Tryp.
1,000 bonus points per Wyndham stay from June 1 –September 5, 2011. Loyalty Traveler post June 2.
* European residents only – 15,000 bonus points for two hotel stays worldwide by September 30 at most Wyndham brands. Stays must be booked by August 31. Bonus may be earned four times for 60,000 points. Loyalty Traveler post July 6.
Loyalty Traveler Research Articles
* Room77.com hotel room views compared to my photos. Loyalty Traveler website analysis June 22.
Comparing the value of hotel program points - compares Hyatt, Priority Club and Hilton programs, then discusses how I am planning summer travel using free night promotions. (May 2, 2011)
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 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.
Loyalty Traveler ranks the consumer value of some 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:
Marriott, Starwood, Best Western and Choice have free night promotions allowing you to pay now and stay free later on another trip. They all have restrictions on the type of free night allowed, so read the rules carefully and see if the free night looks like one you can use.
Marriott Rewards – One Free Night after Two Stays June 1 – August 31.
Marriott International hotel brands: Marriott, JW Marriott, Marriott Vacation Club, Renaissance, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites, Autograph Collection, Ritz-Carlton, Edition. (AC Hotels is Marriott’s new brand in Europe, but AC Hotels are not listed as a participating brand for this promotion.)
Strategy for Marriott Rewards promotion: My wife and I have traveled where one night at a hotel is a reservation in my name and the second night is a reservation in her name. First person should check out and get a hotel stay folio before second person checks in under different member account to be sure the stays credit appropriately to each member’s account for the free night credit.
This allows longer stays without changing hotels while maximizing promotion credit. Just tell the hotel you are staying on two different reservations to maximize the Marriott Rewards promotion and you might not need to change rooms during your hotel stay.
Starwood Preferred Guest – One Free Night at a Starwood Resort after Three Stays, May 1 – July 31.
Starwood Hotels brands: Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, Aloft, Element, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Le Meridien.
Choice Hotels – 8,000 points after Two Stays, May 19 – August 11, 2011.
Choice Brands: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, Ascend Collection, MainStay Suites, Suburban, Rodeway Inn, EconoLodge.
Best Western Hotels – One free night after three stays June 19-August 14, 2011.
Best Western hotels are all one brand, but in 2011 three tiers were created with most of the worldwide 4,000+ properties remaining Best Western and about 800 hotels as Best Western Plus and around 100+ hotels (mostly outside U.S.) as Best Western Premier.
Where to find Best Western Rewards promotion registration link
Best Western has a Twitter campaign happening May 19 through June 17, 2011 offering daily points and cash prizes. “Wanna Go, Wanna Bring Summer Edition” has $4,000 in prizes. Prizes only awarded Monday through Friday.
Simply follow Best Western on Twitter and then tweet this:
I wanna go to (location), I wanna bring (@twitter username) and I wanna (activity)! #wannagobw @thebestwestern.
Insert a place, a Twitter member and an activity and keep it all under 140 characters or it doesn’t submit your tweet.
Main Rules:
Prizes:
Here is the primer for readers who don’t yet use Twitter.com.
Best Western 'Wanna Go, Wanna Bring' Twitter sweepstakes
Elite members of Best Western Rewards will receive 5,000 points for the purchase of a $100 Best Western Travel Card before May 31, 2011 and used between June 1 and August 31. This is an online offer only for Best Western Rewards elite members. Maximum one bonus per member.
Best Western is a hotel chain getting my attention lately as I travel around the Sierra foothills and mountains of California. Oakhurst and Mariposa are gateway towns to Yosemite National Park and both have Best Western Hotels. The bellman at the AAA 4-Diamond Tenaya Lodge on Highway 41 just outside Yosemite (review and photos coming later) told me the Best Western Plus Yosemite Gateway Inn just 12 miles from the National Park entrance is considered the best (lower priced) hotel in Oakhurst. I wanted to stay there but it was sold out. I ate at the Chinese restaurant next door to the Best Western hotel and I could see some kind of motorcycle event happening with the parking lot loaded with bikers.
As I have been planning National Park visits across the western states for the next couple of months, I keep finding Best Western hotels the closest to many of the park entrances.
Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California (Bridalveil Fall on right)
