Update Wednesday 10-22-08.     

On Monday, October 20, I contacted Fairmont Hotels marketing department asking for clarification of the 7-Day Winter Sale promotion and Free Night offer.  I questioned the telephone customer service reply I had received regarding the free night being credited back to the guest’s account at checkout since this detail was not mentioned anywhere in the promotion terms and conditions.

This morning I received an email from David Doucette, Executive Director of Internet Marketing for Fairmont Raffles Hotels International.  The website promotion pages have been updated to include the sentences:

“Advertised rates do not include price adjustment for the free night. Free night credit is applied at check-out.”

Loyalty Traveler gives this deal a big thumbs up in light of the explicit free night clarification now shown for this promotion. 

There are still 5 1/2 days to take advantage of the great rates being offered for this 7-Day Winter sale promotion. 

The offer was a good deal and now I consider it a great deal.  So keep in mind as you read through this post that my analysis of the promotion was not based on being refunded one night’s stay.  And that free night on top of the 10% to 20% nightly rate discount makes this sale up to a 40% discount on Fairmont Hotel rooms.  This is exactly the kind of hotel deal travelers need in this economy.

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Fairmont’s Free Night Winter Sale Offer Looks Good, But Looks May Be Deceiving

Fairmont Hotels 7-day Winter Sale One Free Night and 20% Off

Fairmont Hotels has a Winter Sale starting today and ending at 11:59pm EST, October 27.  So, if you count today, the Fairmont Winter Sale is actually an 8-day sale.

The Fairmont Winter Sale offers Discount Rates AND one free night for stays between November 3, 2008 and April 15, 2009.

While the prices may be good rates for Fairmont Hotels there is a highly restrictive condition for this sale:

Hotel booking is entirely prepaid and nonrefundable.  No cancellations.

Fairmont Hotels 7-Day Winter Sale Terms and Conditions

Nonrefundable reservations make me cringe; especially when the rate is for a luxury hotel booking –possibly for several thousand dollars.

I’ve wanted to write about nonrefundable reservations for the past week since before reading Joe Sharkey’s New York Times article and the Fairmont special offer opens the way.  The topic of nonrefundable hotel rooms has many facets from nonrefundable, nonchangeable prepaid hotel rates to using hotel loyalty points for a free room, but with a credit card room deposit than can turn into a very expensive no-show or last minute cancellation. 

The Fairmont Hotels 7-Day Winter Sale provides me with the opportunity to discuss the booking option of Nonrefundable, PrePaid Hotel Stays compared to other more flexible hotel booking options.

Is the Savings Benefit of a Nonrefundable Hotel Reservation Really Worth the Risk?

My bias is for maintaining the most flexibility I can arrange and afford when making hotel reservations.  I have to know there is almost no chance of me missing the stay before I go nonrefundable.

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A Free Night Looks Good, But Looks May Be Deceiving

The Fairmont Hotels homepage ads look great – “Spectacular Winter Sale”

Fairmont Hotels 7-Day Winter Sale advertisement

“Save up to 20% and Receive a Free Night”

The advertisements caught my attention and my Loyalty Traveler eye for a good value hotel deal. I decided to analyze the claim a little more closely.

Running the numbers through sample bookings reveals a very different result than I expected when booking the 7-Day Winter Sale rate.  The savings are not even close to being a free night in cost savings. The nonrefundable nature of this deal makes me wary. 

You will save money with the special rate, however, for properties I checked the overall savings with Winter Sale rates was at most 20% less than a non-promotional, regular booking search with consumer-friendly no-penalty cancellation policies of arrival day to 7 nights before hotel arrival, depending on the specific hotel. 

So much for the free night claim!  A free night leads this frequent guest to expect at least a 25% discount on the normal hotel rate for a 4-night stay (most hotels in the Winter Sale offer a 4^th night free).  Imagine a $100 per night regular hotel rate:

·         Night 1 = $100

·         Night 2 = $100

·         Night 3 = $100

·         Night 4 = free

To me, 4^th night free means I pay $300 when the regular room rate would have been $400 for a four night stay.  Saving $100 on a $400 hotel stay is a 25% savings.

In addition to the free night, if I am saving 20% on the regular hotel rate, to me, this means I get the $100 hotel rate at $80 per night. 

On a four night stay for a hotel normally $100 per night, a 20% savings on the normal rate and a free night makes me think I will get 4 nights for the price of 3 nights at $80 each.  Paying $240 for 4 nights on a regularly $100/night room  would be an overall 40% savings. 

Now, that would be a “Spectacular Winter Sale”.

Unfortunately, for the potential Fairmont guest, my three sample searches showed only a 20% overall savings at best on a 4-night stay using the Winter Sale rate compared to the regular Best Available rate.  I guess Fairmont has a different concept of 4^th night free than Loyalty Traveler.

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Loyalty Traveler searches for Fairmont Hotels 7-day Winter Sale

Rate searches conducted on 10-20-08 for a 4-night hotel stay January 16-20, 2009 at three Fairmont Hotels:

1.      San Jose Fairmont, San Jose California

2.      Scottsdale Fairmont, Scottsdale, Arizona

3.      Chateau Whistler, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Hotel rate search results show the Winter Sale overall hotel rate advertised as up to 20% off AND a free night is not based on the simple comparison of what any hotel guest booking the same dates through the default Best Available Rate on the Fairmont Hotels homepage would find. 

Fairmont San Jose, San Jose, California

Hotel Stay: Jan 16-20, 2009

lowest priced room, Fairmont King, Main Building, 450sq.ft.

$119.20 per night Winter Sale Rate – nonrefundable, no cancellations allowed; $536.48 for 4-night stay

$149 per night regular Best Available Rate (BAR) – reservation may be canceled up to 6pm hotel time, January 16, 2009.

The hotel special offer saves approximately $33 per night after taxes.  A guest booking a five-night stay at the Fairmont San Jose using the Winter Sale rate will pay the same as four nights booked through regular reservations.  I call this a 5^th night free offer.

Fairmont Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona 

Hotel Stay: Jan 16-20, 2009

Upper Mid-range room, Casita Suite, Premium King, 850sq.ft.

 Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Scottsdale, Arizona

Fairmont Scottsdale

$688.50 per night Winter Sale Rate – nonrefundable, no cancellations allowed.

4-night total rate with taxes = $2,754 + tax = $3,082.28 prepaid nonrefundable deposit

$765 per night or $3,060 for 4-night stay, booking regular website Best Available Rate reservation

Fairmont’s Winter Sale saves $306 on a $3,060 regular rate for the four night hotel stay at the Fairmont Scottsdale.  The real value of the Winter Sale in this hotel sample is just a 10% savings on a four night luxury hotel stay and comes up far short of the value expected in the advertisement for a discount AND a free night offer in the Fairmont Winter Sale.

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, main pool

Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada (ski resort)

Mid-Range room, Deluxe Valley View King

$479 per night regular reservations, $2,203.40CAD payment due 3 days to arrival Jan 13, 2009

$383.20 per night Winter Sale, $1,762.72CAD nonrefundable prepaid October 20, 2008

Winter Sale special rate saves $440.68 on a 4-night stay.

440.68/2203.40 = 20% total savings on 4-night stay.  The Winter Sale basically gives a 5^th night free meaning 5 nights at the Winter Sale rate = 4 nights at Best Available non-promotional rate.

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This 7-Day Winter Sale offers a Fairmont Hotel discount for the next six months of travel.

The risk of losing a couple of thousand dollars if you need to cancel your trip to save 10 to 20% on hotel rates combined with the fact that Loyalty Traveler finds the actual savings is of significantly lower value than I would have expected with the advertised offer of a free night AND up to 20% savings makes me wary to suggest this offer to travelers. 

You should think twice before making the Winter Sale hotel commitment for any trip with much possibility of being cancelled.  Remember winter’s wicked weather.  Hotel flexible plans are often worth the extra cost.

Update to this post before actually posting on Loyalty Traveler blog 10-20-08.

Just off the phone with Fairmont Hotels to ask why they advertise up to 20% off AND a free night when my searches show only 20% off as the best offer I find. 

Where is the free night deal of the Winter Sale?

Fairmont Hotels telephone agent comes back after having me on hold for several minutes to tell me the hotel rate for the 4^th night on the four night stay is refunded at check-out.

That is a great deal if true!  Why is it not written in the promotion terms?

As a consumer the refund detail is probably the most important detail I need to know next to the rate being prepaid and nonrefundable.

I would want the refund term in writing before committing to this deal.  Fairmont Hotels needs to update the 7-Day Winter Sale Terms and Conditions if this is truly how the promotion is scheduled to operate. 

Why keep the consumer in the dark about how the free night component of this hotel offer is implemented?

If the prepaid free night is refunded on check-out, then the Fairmont Winter Sale is a great deal.  Too bad the Winter Sale promotion details are not clear on this aspect of how the Free Night offer works. 

Priority Club Rewards Buy Points 10% bonus

Buying points is a good way to top off the points in your hotel loyalty account for that free hotel stay award.  Until November 6, 2008 Priority Club will add a 10% points bonus to all purchases.  Priority Club raised the price of points this past year to $11.50 per 1,000 points on purchases of 20,000 to 40,000 points. 

Priority Club points purchase link and rules:

Points must be purchased in 1,000 point increments

·         Only 40,000 points may be purchased in a rolling 12-month period (this favors buying points sooner rather than later if you plan to buy 40,000 points so you can repeat purchase in another 12 months).

·         Price:    

o   $13.50 per 1,000 points for 1,000 to 9,000 points

o   $12.50 per 1,000 points for 10,000 to 19,000 points

o   $11.50 per 1,000 points for 20,000 to 40,000 points

·         Points will appear in account within 48 hours.

The current promotional bonus deal allows the Priority Club member to purchase 44,000 points for $460.  And if you think buying 44,000 points seems like a waste of money, keep reading.

Holiday Inn Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco

Buying points can be a great hotel cost savings

No other program offers the opportunity to get a high value room for so few points as InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Priority Club Rewards with their PointBreaks for 5,000 points award nights.  The challenge with PointBreaks is getting your reservation in as soon as new hotels are listed.  The list changes every couple of months and as hotel reservations are booked the PointBreaks hotel list dwindles in size.

Current offers for PointBreaks are valid for hotel stays through November 30, 2008. 

Consider the Hotel Indigo Columbus Architectural Center in Columbus, Indiana, one of the new boutique brand hotels of IHG.  (I realized there is a Columbus, Indiana after several minutes searching for this hotel in Ohio.) 

A four night stay at the Hotel Indigo Architectural Center from Monday, November 3 to Friday, November 7, 2008 will cost 20,000 points using the PointBreaks special offer.  A Priority Club member can buy 22,000 points with the current bonus points promotion and book this four night stay for $230.

This same hotel stay will run $153 per night + 12% tax for a nonrefundable room rate of $171 per night.  A four night fully paid stay will cost $684. 

Just buying Priority Club Rewards points and booking a PointBreaks stay will reduce the four night hotel stay at the Hotel Indigo, Columbus, Indiana by $450.

 Now that is a discount!

Starwood has a 25% discount promotional rate called “Better Tomorrows” for stays of at least 2 nights.  The promotion is actually Pay 1 night, Get 2nd at 50% off.  Best savings are for stays of even-number nights 2, 4, 6, 8…. 

Starwood normally has a 20% discount on 2-night stays using links given below in this post for multi-night discounts.  These links also provide for a 33% discount on a 3-night stay if the hotel is participating.  Better Tomorrows is less than 17% discount if rate used for a 3-night stay.

Is the name “Better Tomorrows” a stock market response or what?

Starwood Hotel rates (rate check 10-13-08)

Weekday rates are generally higher in urban city business districts

Starwood has a newly launched promotion, Better Tomorrows, for stays of two nights or more. This special offer gives a 25% discount overall for stays of 2, 4, or 6 days.  Be aware the promotion is actually Pay 1 night, get 2nd night for 50%.  This means hotel stays with an odd-number of nights will have less than 25% overall discount.

3 night stay on $150 per night rate:  Night 1 = $150, Night 2 = $75, Night 3 = $150 or in other words $375 is a total savings of $75 on the regular $450 3-night rate.  This is only a 17% savings.  Many Starwood hotels have a 3rd night free offer that will be a better savings (33%) than the Better Tomorrows rate.

Better Tomorrows Discount Rate Terms:

1.       Promotional rate code = ZBT

2.       Minimum 2-night stay with arrival Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

3.       Reservation is prepaid, non-changeable and non-refundable.  (Watch out!  Be Certain!)

4.       Reservations must be made by March 31, 2009 for stays completed by March 31, 2009

Special rate should be eligible rate for “You Choose” Hotel Stays and Nights eligibility.  Check with SPG.

Longer stays of 3 to 6 nights may be available using a different offer, the on-going Starwood Hotels special room rate links for discounts up to 33% off regular rates at participating hotels around the globe.

Starwood Hotels Multi-night Discounts for City Hotels (2 to 6 night hotel stays): http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=GENDRE_H

Starwood Hotels Multi-night Discounts for Resort Hotels (2 to 6 night hotel stays):

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=GENDRE_R

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I wonder sometimes how I plan out my hotel travels and here is an opportunity to share how I go about using a loyalty promotion.

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) is now into the second week of the fourth quarter SPG promotion called “You Choose”.   The promotion allows the SPG member to choose the promotion type.  The offer is an assortment of bonus points based on the number of hotel nights stayed or hotel stays and also includes an option for earning free nights during the final three months of 2008.  Another good value choice for some members is “Double Stays” or “Double Nights”. 

The difference between stays and nights is based in the rule that consecutive nights at the same hotel count as one hotel stay. 

Road travel pattern of hotel stays

A person who spends one night at four different hotels is credited with 4 hotel nights and 4 hotel stays.  

A person who spends 7 nights at a beach resort hotel is credited with 7 hotel nights and 1 hotel stay.  Many hotel loyalty promotions have a lower requirement for the number of hotel stays required compared to the number of hotel nights to benefit travelers who stay frequently, but have short stays.

Typical vacation leisure pattern

Your travel pattern determines the best promotion choice. Frequent one or two night stays can be the cheapest way to fulfill a hotel promotion using hotel stays because the number of nights required is usually more than the number of hotel stays.  Many leisure travelers do not want frequent one-night stays and the multi-night leisure traveler may favor a promotion choice for nights.

·          

SPG “You Choose” 4th Quarter Promotion

2 Stays = 2,000 bonus points

4 Nights = 2,000 bonus points

6 Stays = 9,000 bonus points

12 Nights = 9,000 bonus points

10 Stays = 25,000 bonus points

20 Nights = 25,000 bonus points

Remember this promotion only lasts until December 31, 2008 so be sure you have a complete plan for sufficient hotel stays or nights before picking a higher threshold bonus.  You must register and select your offer choice by November 15, 2008.

4 stays = 1 free night (up to Category 5 hotel);  maximum of 2 free nights

8 nights = 1 free night (up to Category 5 hotel);  maximum of 2 free nights

The remaining choice of any value is Double Stays.

Loyalty Traveler loves this elite fast-track choice.  Going for SPG Platinum Elite status will pay for itself as long as you plan to travel sufficiently with Starwood Hotels in 2009 to the tune of 10 to 15 nights or more.   You will actually maintain your Platinum status through February 2010 for at least 14 months of complimentary upgrade opportunities, bonus points, and additional hotel stay amenities.  SPG has run a double stays promotion once or twice a year for the past few years so regaining Platinum elite in 2009 may require as few as 13 stays (25 stays is normal qualifying requirement).

During the first quarter this year I made Hyatt Diamond status on a “Stays Count Double” promotion and this quarter I will take the SPG Double Stays promotion to retain Platinum elite membership with SPG.

·          

As I looked over rates in California and I checked Oregon and Washington, I saw Portland, OR has the overall lowest rates in a west coast location with multiple Starwood hotels.  Anaheim area around Disneyland midweek looked good too.  But these rates are around $100 to $120 per night for mediocre hotels.  San Francisco and Seattle rates are sky high in the $200+ range for most hotels on most nights.

And this brings me around to Canada.  I happened to search Vancouver and was surprised to see rates for hotels like the Sheraton Wall Centre at $159CAD and then I was shocked to see the US Dollar is now worth $1.17 CAD.  (well, the USD has dropped 2% during the time I have been writing this piece today and the exchange rate is now $1.15 after Monday, Oct. 13 trades.)

Just three months ago, in July 2008, the exchange rate was an even 1.00 to 1.00 between the Canadian and US Dollar.  Canada’s currency has dropped 15%-18% in just three months since July 2008.  (Mexico has dropped over 20% and makes Mexico a huge bargain for Americans right now.)

At the current exchange rates I don’t think the prices of Starwood hotels in Vancouver have changed much since I first visited Vancouver’s Starwood hotels in 1999 to fulfill an SPG promotion bonus and they haven’t changed much from 2003 when I snapped these photos.

Vancouver Skyline from Sheraton Wall Centre

After looking over rates for Starwood Hotels in California, I branched outwards from the state.

Rather than stay at the usual suspects for cheap rates like the Sheraton San Jose ($84) and Sheraton Sunnyvale ($99) or East Bay locations like the W Newark ($99) or Sheraton Pleasanton ($71), this Loyalty Traveler has decided to head to the great north country of Vancouver, British Columbia for some Starwood Double Stays.

·          

Alaska Airlines – Say goodbye to 20,000 mile domestic tickets

Alaska Airlines is raising their domestic economy frequent flyer tickets to 25,000 miles as of November 1, 2008.

I am cleaning out my Alaska Airlines account and a flight to Vancouver, Canada is still only 20,000 miles and $40 in award taxes for the frequent flyer ticket.

 Alaska Airlines-Horizon Airlines propeller plane

One of the great benefits of having a coordinated plan for frequent flyer programs and frequent guest programs is the ability to use points and miles when needed to reduce the cost of travel needed to fulfill other promotions.

My Alaska Airline miles are primarily leftover miles from 2003 when I fulfilled an Alaska Airlines promotion for 100,000 bonus miles.  I earned 150,000+ Alaska miles in 2003.  I cashed in 100,000 miles for a British Airways First Class ticket to Europe a few years back.  I transferred 1,000 Diners Club points to Alaska miles earlier in 2008 to raise the account to a domestic award ticket level from 19,000 to 20,000 miles.  I can now cash in the miles, get a ticket to Canada for $40, and vacation while earning Double Stays with Starwood Preferred Guest at the relatively cheap Vancouver urban hotels.

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Vancouver’s Stanley Park in 2003

I love Canada.

Every time I have gone to Canada by plane I swear I will never go back.  The world over, I have experienced nothing even close to the amount of questioning I receive by Canadian airport immigration.  This is how I recall our typical conversation.  The conversation seems similar if I am going to Canada for 2 nights, 7 nights, or two weeks.

Airport Mountie: “Why did you come to Canada?”

LT: “Hotel stay.”

Airport Mountie: “You are only here for one night?  Why would you come to Canada for one night?” 

LT: “A hotel stay and weekend vacation.”

Airport Mountie: “Who spends money to travel all the way from California to Canada for just a weekend?  Now tell me, why have you come to Canada?”

LT: “I like Canada? And it is only two hours away by plane.”

Airport Mountie: “Where are you staying while you are here in Canada?”

LT: (I usually rattle off a Starwood Hotel name).

And after one to two minutes more of inane back and forth Q and A they eventually let me in. 

View from Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, British Columbia

Sunday Brunch – Best Hotel Promotions Currently Available

Sunday Brunch with Loyalty Traveler is a chance for me to review the best hotel promotions currently happening.  Hotel loyalty program promotions tend to have a validity period of one to four months.  Most of the major hotel loyalty programs are currently running 4^th quarter major promotions going from now into December.

Here are links to Loyalty Traveler posts and analysis for the major hotel promotions.

Many of these promotions will earn free nights and in some cases a person can earn free hotel nights worth more than what the promotion costs to earn the free night.

Hilton HHonors:

Hilton HHonors One Million Points Contest
Five Prizes of One Million Hilton HHonors Points will be awarded to HHonors members who register for the promotion and book a stay at a Hilton family hotel online on HiltonHHonors.com or rent a car from National Car Rental at nationalcar.com between September 1 and November 30, 2008

Hyatt Gold Passport:

Hyatt Gold Passport Fall 2008 Faster Free Nights (FFN) Promotion

The hotel industry’s most generous hotel loyalty program offer, Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights, has once again been officially announced by Hyatt Gold Passport.

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club:

IHG Priority Club 25,000 Points for 2 stays in UK or Germany  Sep 17 post.  This deal is great for someone who does not normally stay at Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels.  Possible to earn one free night for an expensive Crowne Plaza  worth much more than the cost of two cheap stays at Holiday Inn Express.

IHG Priority Club 3^rd Night Free Around Britain – Sep 17 post.   IHG 3 for 2 Breaks Around Britain
Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Express by Holiday Inn have “autumn offers to fall for” with a 3rd night free for two paid nights on a 3-night stay.  Most hotels require Friday-Sunday stays, however, some locations may have other days available for special offer rate. 

Priority Club Fall 2008 Promotion –  Double Miles or Double Points beginning with second stay at an IHG hotel brand or beginning with first stay for Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites brand hotels.

Marriott Rewards:

Marriott 20% Weekend Savings – rejuveNATION Weekends Promo
Offer: 20% discount off of regular room rate for weekend stays from Thursday through Sunday, beginning Friday, September 12 through Sunday, December 21, 2008.  Some resort properties offer 20% discount rate for other days.  Some properties may have multi-night stay requirement.

Marriott Rewards Fall Megabonus with VISA Card Payment
Registration required for promotion bonus. 
Promotional Period: September 15, 2008 – January 15, 2009
FrequentFlyerBonuses.com reports six variations of Marriott Rewards Fall Megabonus for 25,000 to 50,000 points depending on the specific offer targeted to your member account.

Starwood Preferred Guest:

Starwood Preferred Guest You Choose 4^th Quarter Promotion .  This promotion runs through the end of 2008 and features a fast-track to elite status or bonus points.  Platinum status for 13 stays will generally allow a member to gain $100+ per night added value on hotel stays throughout 2009.

Starwood Asia-Pacific Free Weekend after 3 Stays
SPG Offer: Earn a Free Weekend certificate valid for Starwood hotels in Asia Pacific region after just 3 stays in participating hotels in Asia-Pacific region paid with a MasterCard.
Promotion registration is required by December 15, 2008 online.

St. Regis San Francisco, Starwood Hotels

GoldPoints Plus has a Quarter 4 promotion for members who complete 3 stays at any Carlson hotel property worldwide between October 1 and December 31, 2008 to be eligible for one hotel stay up to 4 nights in 2009 at 1/2 points of the standard redemption level for any Carlson hotel worldwide.

Carlson Hotel brands include Radisson Hotels, Country Inn and Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza, and Regent Hotels.

The promotional stay is not transferable.

Four Nights at Half Points promotion offer link.

Promotion terms and conditions.

Read Loyalty Traveler’s June 2008 post “Carlson Hotels Worlwide GoldPoints Plus” for an overview of the hotel chain and loyalty program.

IHG 3 for 2 Breaks Around Britain

Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Express by Holiday Inn have “autumn offers to fall for” with a 3rd night free for two paid nights on a 3-night stay.  

·         Most hotels require Friday-Sunday stays, however, some locations may have other days available for special offer rate. 

·         Special discount offer available for hotel stays from September 1 through December 26.

·         Reservations are pre-paid, nonchangeable, nonrefundable.

·         Paid nights earn Priority Club Rewards points.

·         Link to promotion offer terms and conditions.

Note: Express by Holiday Inn is the international brand name for the comparable Holiday Inn Express in the USA.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:  I tried several hotel bookings online and did not see any mention to this 3^rd night free rate.  The terms state that some hotels may have blackout dates and some hotels may offer 3^rd night free for non-weekend stays.

Loyalty Traveler advice:  Book this offer through telephone reservations for better assurance that the promotional offer 3^rd night free rate is valid for your hotel stay.

IHG Priority Club 25,000 Points for 2 stays in UK or Germany

InterContinental Hotels Group has so many promotions going on right now that it is hard keeping up with the deals. 

This new promotion for 25,000 points after two hotel stays in the UK or Germany is actually a great deal for someone who had not planned to stay in Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, or Express by Holiday Inn hotels over the next few months.

Offer: Earn 25,000 points after two stays in Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, or Express by Holiday Inn in the UK or Germany.  (The fine print is discussed below and points earned are variable depending on your total earnings of points between Sep 15 and Dec 15.  It is possible to not earn any bonus points from this promotion if you earn 25,000 Priority Club points during the promotional period from other bonuses and stay activity.)

Promotion Dates: September 15, 2008 – December 15, 2008

Registration is required.  Offer is available to new and existing Priority Club members.  No retroactive credit for stays prior to registration.   Registration for this promotion automatically registers the Priority Club member for the global double points promotion during this same timeframe.  See my post on the double points promotion here.

Bonus Points Credited to account by January 15, 2009.

Link to 25,000 Points after Two Stays promotional offer terms and conditions.

Hotel loyalty programs are throwing free nights and bonus points offers at the consumer as economic conditions continue to slide around the globe.  The biggest advantage of the current Priority Club offer for stays in the UK and Germany is for the traveler who is focused on another loyalty program offer like the SPG “You Choose” offers discussed in yesterday’s post or Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights which I analyzed in this post. 

The Priority Club 25,000 points offer has an unusual and indefinite phrase regarding the points earned for this promotion:

“All members of Priority Club Rewards with two qualifying stays in a Crowne Plaza®, Holiday Inn®, or Express by Holiday Inn® hotel in the U.K. or Germany between 15/9/08 and 15/12/08 will receive whatever number of points are needed for the member to have accumulated a minimum of 25,000 Priority Club points earned from all IHG hotel stay-related points and bonus points-earning activities globally during the promotion period.”

Basically this clause in the offer terms makes this promotion much less valuable for Priority Club members participating in the current double Priority Club points promotion who may very well earn 25,000 points through other promotions and therefore would not receive any additional points from this promotion.

This 25,000 points offer has the highest value for a traveler who only has two stays during the promotional period.  25,000 points are sufficient for a free night at a Crowne Plaza hotel.  Assume you have two stays in the UK or Germany at a rate equivalent to $100USD per stay.  $200 in base spending will earn 2,000 Priority Club points.  Double points on the second stay will earn another 1,000 points for a total of 3,000 points on hotel stay spending.  The member will receive an additional 22,000 points from this promotion.

One of the most time-consuming aspects of real travel is getting from one place to another.  Hotel loyalty program promotions tend to have more lucrative special offers based on hotel stays rather than nights.  Accruing hotel stays means getting from one hotel to another and involves travel time.

My personal travel preference is to explore the immediate area I am located.  When I last stayed in Singapore I had four hotel stays in 5 nights.  I enjoyed each hotel and I enjoyed walking the neighborhoods around each location.  Hotel hopping suits me when I am traveling for leisure (well, okay, I also hotel hop for business).  My wife, on the other hand, wants to go someplace and stay as long as possible in the same hotel without moving around.  Her travel style favors promotions based on hotel nights.  We tend to redeem hotel points for multi-night stays.

One of the advantages I see with this promotion is the ability to stay in one city and bounce from a Starwood brand hotel to the IHG brand hotel or the Hyatt hotel to the IHG brand hotel and maximize two promotions while hotel hopping in one city location. 

This autumn has plenty of free night and bonus points earning opportunities for the frequent traveler who plans travel with two or three loyalty programs.  Of course this all assumes your fortunes haven’t tanked and you still have money to travel. 

Starwood Preferred Guest – “You Choose” Fall 2008 promotion

Starwood Preferred Guest yesterday unveiled their SPG 4^th quarter promotion, “You Choose”, with plenty of fan-fare and some complaints among the FlyerTalk crowd.   Bottom line:  The promotion has competitive value for the end-of-year offerings among the major hotel loyalty programs. 

SPG Promotional Offer:  There are 12 offer choices and the SPG member has until November 15, 2008 to register for a promotional offer.  Offer choices are outlined below in this post.

Note: All stays/nights within the promotion dates will apply retroactively towards the SPG offer choice selected, except for the “Double Stays” or “Double Nights” offer requires the SPG member to register and select Double Stays or Double Nights for this option to take effect.  No retroactive credit for Double Stays/Nights before registration. 

Promotion Dates:  Stays and nights from October 1 – December 31 are eligible for promotion.

Choose Your SPG Offer Carefully: Once you select your choice of the 12 offers, there is no changing your mind.  Unless you plan to choose Double Stays and Nights, there is no reason to make your decision right away, as all other options will apply retroactively to October 1 stays and nights as long as you register by November 15, 2008.   

SPG actually has recommendations for promotion choices based on your anticipated stay pattern for the final quarter of 2008.

SPG Promotion 12 Offer Choices:

1.      Elite Status – Double all eligible nights and stays.  SPG elite status normally requires 10 stays or 16 nights for Gold elite membership.  Platinum elite membership takes 25 stays or 50 nights. 

Loyalty Traveler analysis: Double stays and nights reduces the elite qualification for Gold membership to 5 stays or 8 nights.  Platinum elite will take 13 stays or 25 nights.  A member who can reach gold or platinum elite status will hold that membership level through February 2010. 

Platinum elite benefits include regular upgrades worth $50 to $100+ per night when staying at most hotels.  Platinum elite members can receive 500 points per stay as a platinum amenity gift with each hotel stay (250 points for Four Points stays).  Platinum elite members have no minimum transfer requirement for Starpoints to airline miles. (It is a nice feature to be able to transfer 10 Starpoints into an airline frequent flier account to extend the expiration date for miles in airline programs with no activity.  Gold members have 1,500 points transfer minimum and non-elites have a 2,500 points transfer minimum.) 

2.      Free Weekend Night – two choices for earning a free weekend night at any Category 1-5 hotel.  A category 5 hotel in peak season is a 16,000 point value.

a.      Four stays earns a free weekend night  (limit of two free weekend nights after 8 stays)

b.      Eight nights earns a free weekend night (limit of two free weekend nights after 16 nights)

Loyalty Traveler analysis:  These options potentially have the biggest return for the least investment.  Four stays can be earned for as little as $300 in some locations and there are some Category 5 hotels with $400/night minimum rates.  The drawback is the limit of two free nights for this promotion.  As an SPG platinum member I like this choice because I will probably receive a $200+/night complimentary upgrade on the free stay. Eight stays will provide an equivalent of 24,000 Starpoints for two free weekend nights at a Category 5 Starwood hotel.  Keep in mind though that Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights offers a free night with every two stays during this same promotional period.  Also, the offer of 25,000 points for 10 stays awards points which have much greater flexibility in use.  A Category 5 hotel on a Cash & Points award only costs 4,800 points and $90 per night. 

Free weekend nights choices are all about the redemption option you think you can use.  An advantage of the SPG free nights offer is the redemption period is through April 30, 2009 whereas Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights must be redeemed by February 28, 2009.

3.      Bonus Starpoint Offers (7 choices)

a.      Earn 2,000 bonus Starpoints with every two (2) stays. Maximum of 10,000 bonus Starpoints with 10 stays.

b.      Earn 2,000 bonus Starpoints with every four (4) nights. Maximum of 10,000 bonus Starpoints with 20 nights.

Loyalty Traveler analysis: These offers are geared for the person who does not want or need elite status and who has limited stays/nights planned for the rest of 2008.  Choose nights if you plan a multi-night trip.  If you are looking at maxing out this offer, then consider going for the higher threshold offers with 6 stays or 12 nights to earn more points.

c.       Earn 9,000 bonus Starpoints with every six (6) stays. Maximum of 36,000 bonus Starpoints with 24 stays.

d.      Earn 9,000 bonus Starpoints with every twelve (12) nights. Maximum of 36,000 bonus Starpoints with 48 nights.

Loyalty Traveler analysis: These two offers favor the frequent guest who can reach 6 stays or 12 nights, but is confident that travel will not allow 10 stays or 20 nights during the promotion.  A travel plan for 10 stays or 20 nights will earn substantially more points with the 25,000 bonus point offers below.  A mattress run to cover the difference between 6 stays and 10 stays will earn an additional 16,000 points for just four more stays.  That is a bonus worth earning if you can plan your travel for it.

e.      25,000 bonus Starpoints with every ten (10) stays. Maximum of 100,000 bonus Starpoints with 40 stays.

f.        Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints with every twenty (20) nights. Maximum of 100,000 bonus Starpoints with 80 nights.

Loyalty Traveler analysis: These two offers favor the frequent guest who plans to be spending substantial time in Starwood hotels over the next three months.    Considering it would take 80 of 92 nights of the promotion in Starwood Hotels to max out at 100,000 points for the nights offer is quite a hurdle and takes a true SPG loyalty traveler.  2,500 bonus points per stay or 1,250 bonus points per night are good rebates in Starpoints on your paid stays.

Assume $150/night on one-night stays as a platinum elite.  The SPG member could earn 450 Starpoints + 500 platinum amenity + 2,500 points/stay = 3,450 Starpoints with a purchase value equivalent of $120.75.  Even more points with an SPG Amex card payment.  This is essentially a rebate of 70 to 80% of the room cost if averaging $150/night rooms.  Drop the average room rate to $100/night for your paid stays and the points earned are worth about the same amount as the room rate paid.

Maximizing promotional value: Assume no current status with SPG and a frequent guest completes 30 one-night stays at $90/night average room rate and 10% tax. 

10 stays = 1,800 base points (10 nights x $90/night) + 25,000 points = 26,800 Starpoints

Gold elite status earned after 10 stays and earn 50% elite bonus Starpoints.

20 stays = 1,800 base points + 900 elite bonus + 25,000 points = 27, 700 Starpoints

30 stays = 1,800 base points + 900 elite bonus + 2,500 platinum amenity (for stays 26-30) + 25,000 Q4 bonus points = 30,200 points.

Summary:  30 stays costing $3,000 earns platinum elite status through February 2010 and 84,700 Starpoints ($2,964.50 cash purchase value since SPG sells Starpoints for $35/1,000.)  84,700 Starpoints are sufficient for a 5^th night free hotel stay at a Category 6 hotel such as the Westin Paris, April 20-25, 2009 with the current minimum room rate at 410€/night.  The value of this 5-night stay would be $2,901USD and as a platinum member the likely room upgrade would increase the value of your free stay on points.

This example shows that the Q4 promotional offer provides a way for the frequent guest new to Starwood to earn loads of Starpoints while earning high elite status.

4.      Double Starpoints with no earning limits

Loyalty Traveler analysis:  This is the choice for the SPG high-spender member who already has or doesn’t need status.  Since only base points (2 points/$1) are doubled, this offer favors the SPG member spending loads of cash.  10 stays can earn 25,000 points and 2 stays can earn 2,000 points with other choices in this promotion, so this offer is good for the person who may be paying $500/night for a hotel stay.  Assume $6,000 spent for a 12-night stay would only earn 9,000 bonus Starpoints (12 nights offer) or 6,000 Starpoints (2,000 points per 4 nights offer) with other promotional choices.   Double points on $6,000 spending earns 12,000 bonus points and may be the best option for some. 

Imagine you are a real high-roller and plan to spend $50,000 at Starwood Hotels, then this option is your route to 100,000 bonus Starpoints with far fewer than 40 stays or 80 nights.  As I recall, Starwood had a couple of properties on the $3,000+/night suites in a hotel survey I saw last month.

5.      $25 Amazon Gift Cards

a.      $25 Amazon gift card for every two (2) stays up to ten (10) stays for five gift cards.

b.      $25 Amazon gift card for every four (4) nights up to twenty (20) nights for five gift cards ($125).

Loyalty Traveler analysis: Poor value in my opinion.  Take a 2,000 Starpoints offer instead.

Marriott 20% Weekend Savings – rejuveNATION Weekends Promo

Offer: 20% discount off of regular room rate for weekend stays from Thursday through Sunday, beginning Friday, September 12 through Sunday, December 21, 2008.  Some resort properties offer 20% discount rate for other days.  Some properties may have multi-night stay requirement (Thursday night discount may require Friday night stay, Saturday night discount may require Sunday night stay).  There are over 2,500 participating hotels.

Promotional Code: Must ask for promotional code “F5X”.  The F5X rate already includes 20% discount.

Booking Period:  Must book F5X rate between September 8 and September 22, 2008 for stays from September 12 to December 21, 2008.  This is 15 eligible weekends for discount rates.

Restrictions:  Link to promotion terms. Offer not applicable to groups of ten or more.  Some blackout dates may apply.  Some hotels are not participating.  Rejuvenation promotion only valid for participating hotels located in Continental USA, Canada, Caribbean, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.  (Hawaii, Continental Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa are not included).

Promotion is not combinable with other promotions.  This condition seems to exclude these discount rates with the Marriott 25,000 points Fall Megabonus promotion.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis 

Loyalty Traveler tested the promotional rates with searches of San Francisco hotels.  Findings revealed mixed results for 20% discounts for the major Marriott brand hotels located in the city center for the months of September and October, the high season for San Francisco.  Renaissance Stanford Court  showed the most availability for 20% discount rates for weekends in October. 

JW Marriott, Marriott’s luxury hotel for San Francisco, offered the 20% discount for a 2-night stay for arrival on Thursday October 9 and check-out on Saturday, October 11 with rates as low as $207 per night.  Any other weekend stay combination of nights including a Saturday night raised the rate to $329 per night.  The $207 rate for the JW Marriott was widely available for November and December stays.

Searches for Marriott San Francisco appeared to not have any 20% discounts until November when hotel rates in the region annually move to lower rates.  Renaissance Stanford Court did show some 20% discount rates for weekends in October including a Saturday night. 

The best value seemed to be for Thursday-Friday two-night stays which offered a substantial discount compared to the normally high-priced Thursday night rates for San Francisco city hotels.  AAA rates for these dates were more widely available among the region hotels offering a 10% discount off prevailing rate.  Loyalty Traveler tip is to try different combinations to find the best promotional rates. 

Combinations:  Thursday-Friday, Thursday-Saturday, Friday-Sunday, Saturday-Monday may all provide different rates and the best rate may be from any combination of nights between Thursday and Sunday for the particular location searched.

Thursday, Oct 9-Saturday, Oct 11 San Francisco Hotel Rejuvenation 20% Discount Rates

JW Marriott $207 (AAA rate $246/night);   Friday night only rejuvenation rate:  $255

Stanford Court, Renaissance $199  (AAA rate $224); Friday night only rate:  $199 rejuvenation rate

Courtyard San Francisco Downtown $151.20  (AAA rate $199);

Friday night only rejuvenation rate:  $159.20

Comparative Value of Marriott’s Discount Rate for a Friday-Saturday stay on October 10-12, 2008

The Stanford Court Renaissance $199 Rejuvenation 20% discount rate matched the lowest rate for Marriott brand hotels in San Francisco for the weekend of October 10-12, 2008.  The Courtyard Downtown also had a $199 non-discounted rate.  The Marriott Rejuvenation rate was highly competitive for a Thursday-Friday stay, but showed much less availability for stays including a Saturday night.

Here is how other hotel brands in San Francisco were priced for the Friday-Saturday weekend October 10-12, 2008.

Hilton San Francisco, $220.15 (nonrefundable)  AAA rate $25 higher

Hilton Financial District, $211.65 (nonrefundable)  AAA rate $25 higher

Starwood Le Meridien San Francisco, $259 (nonrefundable); hotel also has special offer rate for 3^rd night free from October 9-12 for $638 for 3-night stay. 

Starwood Palace Hotel, $296.10 (AAA rate); hotel also has special offer rate for 3^rd night free from October 10-13 for $658 for 3-night stay.

Starwood W Hotel, $336 (nonrefundable); hotel also has special offer rate for 3^rd night free from October 9-12 for $778 for 3-night stay.

InterContinental San Francisco, $278.10 (nonrefundable)

Mark Hopkins InterContinental San Francisco, $207 (nonrefundable)

Hyatt Regency San Francisco, $332.10 (AAA)

Grand Hyatt San Francisco, $269.10 (AAA)

In this study of one October weekend in peak season San Francisco, the Marriott rejuvenation rate is competitive with other brands’ hotel rates even though the 20% discount special rate was only available at one of the six San Francisco Marriott brand hotels for the sample weekend searched.  Thursday-Friday stays showed much greater availability of the 20% discount rate at Marriott hotels and were highly competitive to other brands’ rates.   JW Marriott for $207/night is quite a bargain even when compared to Starwood’s 3^rd night free rate at the San Francisco W for $257/night.

3-night stays using Starwood’s 3rd night free promotional rate made some of the Starwood Hotels highly competitive with Marriott’s rejuvenation rate for long weekend stays including a Saturday night.

Loyalty Traveler tip:  Link to the Category: “Fall 2008 Promotions” in the categories list on the left side column of this blog to see posts on all the major hotel loyalty program promotions currently available for Fall 2008.

Starwood Asia-Pacific Free Weekend after 3 Stays

SPG Offer:Earn a Free Weekend certificate valid for Starwood hotels in Asia Pacific region after just 3 stays in participating hotels in Asia-Pacific region paid with a MasterCard.

Promotion registration is required by December 15, 2008 online at www.SPG.com/mastercardfreeweekend or through SPG customer service requesting Registration Code “MFW”.

Promotion Hotel Stay Dates:  Eligible stays must be booked between September 15, 2008 to December 15, 2008 for stays with arrival dates between October 1 and December 31, 2008 using a rate eligible for earning Starpoints.

Award Redemption Dates: Free Weekend Award will be earned after two qualifying stays and must be redeemed for a stay between November 1, 2008 and January 31, 2009.  Award will be received two to three weeks after second stay.  Free weekend award is not transferrable.

Participating hotel properties: All Starwood hotels in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, India, Nepal, and the Maldives appear to be participating with the exception of the resorts in French Polynesia (Tahiti and Bora Bora Starwood hotels).

 Link to SPG Asia-Pacific Free Weekend Promotion Terms

The drawback (for non-Asia residents) to the current Free Weekend promotion is the time-limited need to redeem the certificate by January 31, 2009.  Unless you live in the Asia-Pacific region you need to have two trips to Asia-Pacific or one long trip on the order of a month or more to be able to qualify for the certificate, wait two to three weeks to receive the certificate, and then redeem your free weekend.  This Starwood promotion could work well for someone seeking to earn elite qualifying miles with two trips to Asia on your preferred airline carrier before the end of 2008.

By the numbers:

Malaysia has some of the lowest rates in the world for major hotels with luxury hotels in Kuala Lumpur and beach resorts on the island of Langkawi and rates typically around $80 to $120USD per night.

Thailand Oct 1 for 1 night 

Several Starwood hotels are under $150 per night for beach resort locations.

Indonesia October 20, 2008

Several Starwood hotels in Indonesia have rates after tax under $75USD/night.  On the other extreme is the St. Regis Bali, SPG Category 7 hotel, with daily rates in the $500 to $650USD range. 

Redemption Opportunities for Free Weekend Certificate

St. Regis Bali, Indonesia (SPG Cat 7 hotel) December 5-7, 2008 $665/night or $1,330 weekend value

ITC Maurya, New Delhi, India  (SPG Cat 6 hotel) December 5-7, 2008 15,250INR or 34,300INR after tax = $760USD weekend value

W Retreat and Spa, Maldives (SPG Cat 7)   Before you get your hopes up that you will be spending a free weekend at the luxurious W Retreat in the Maldives, Loyalty Traveler was unable to find any availability for this hotel for any weekend during the promotion redemption dates from November to January.  I mean the website at this time does not show any availability for a Friday-Saturday weekend to even book a room for cash.

St. Regis, Beijing (SPG Cat 6) 4,025 CNY (after tax) for Jan 16-18, 2009 = $589 USD for weekend stay

St. Regis, Singapore (SPG Cat 6) 1,225 SGD (after tax) for Jan 16-18, 2009 = $856 USD for weekend stay.

Le Meridien Ile des Pins, New Caledonia (SPG Cat 6) 61,800XPF for Dec 5-7, 2008 = $730USD for weekend stay.

Westin Tokyo, Japan (SPG Cat 5) 78,940JPY for Dec 5-7, 2008 = $733 for weekend stay

W Hong Kong (SPG Cat5) 6,050HKD for Dec 5-7, 2008 = $776 for weekend stay

For the Starwood traveler in Indonesia the opportunity is there to earn a free weekend certificate with stays at a variety of Starwood hotels with nightly rates under $100, as well as having one of the best redemption values for the free weekend stay with the St. Regis Bali, a Category 7 hotel being one of the most expensive Starwood properties in Asia.

And as far as getting the W Maldives for free.  That redemption opportunity looks highly unlikely at this time, however, Loyalty Traveler found midweek availability starting at $1,200 USD per night for dates in December. 

Personal aside on 2003 Asia-Pacific SPG promotion

In 2003 Starwood ran a promotion for 50,000 points after hotel stays in 5 different Starwood brands in the Asia-Pacific region.  I had planned to hang out in Scandinavia for summer 2003 and burn through a couple hundred thousand Hilton HHonors points staying at Scandic brand hotels for 10,000 points/night.  The combination of British Airways announcing frequent flier program changes to raise the First Class award level for a USA-London-Australia award from 150,000 miles to 420,000 miles, along with the Starwood promotion motivated me to alter my summer travel from Scandinavia to Australia.  My wife and I were able to earn 100,000+ Starpoints with 10 hotel stays in Australia for about $1,600 in hotel room stays.  A status match to SPG Platinum due to my Hilton activity made for some nice complimentary upgrades on these stays. 

Hotel Points to Airline Miles Exchange – Wyndham Rewards vs. Starwood

Starwood Hotels scores well in most major surveys in the upscale hotel sector for frequent guests.  Wyndham Rewards is the economy hotel traveler’s domain with brands like Ramada, Days Inn, Travelodge, Howard Johnson, and Super 8.

Wyndham Rewards, like Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), offers a relatively good value for exchanges of hotel points into airline miles.  Loyalty Traveler took a closer look to see how well Wyndham Rewards matches up with SPG when it comes to trading in your hotel points for miles.

Wyndham Rewards hotel points can be exchanged at three redemption levels:

8,000 points for 3,200 miles,

17,500 points for 7,000 miles,

30,000 points for 12,000 miles

All three levels have the same rate of exchange at 2.5 hotel points = 1 mile.

Wyndham Rewards Airline Partners  (11)

Domestic Airlines                                           International Airlines

American AAdvantage                                    Air China Phoenix Miles

Continental OnePass                                      Air Berlin Top Bonus

Delta SkyMiles                                                Air Canada Aeroplan

Midwest Miles                                                                       

Northwest Airlines WorldPerks

Spirit Airlines Free Spirit

United Mileage Plus

US Airways Dividend Miles

Starwood Preferred Guest Airline Partners (28)

SPG has eight domestic airlines, however, SPG domestic partners include Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, but two Wyndham Rewards airline partners, Midwest and Spirit Airlines, are not available through SPG points-to-miles exchange.  Starwood has a far greater number of international airlines and with airline alliance frequent flyer agreements, there is the option of using most international airline miles for a variety of other airlines including USA domestic tickets.  SPG does not have points-to-miles exchange with Wyndham Rewards partner Air Berlin Top Bonus.

By the Numbers:

The rate of exchange for Starpoints-to-miles with most airline partners is a straight

1 Starpoint = 1 mile. 

SPG points-to-miles transfers provide better value when exchanges are made in 20,000 Starpoints increments and SPG automatically adds a 5,000 Starpoints-to-miles bonus. 

20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 airline miles with 22 of the SPG airline partners.

Wyndham’s Competitive Advantage

“You don’t have to be a star(point), baby, to be in my show”

United and Continental have a lower exchange rate than most Starpoints-to-miles transfers:

2 Starpoints = 1 mile with United or Continental or  

20,000 Starpoints = 12,500 miles with United or Continental Starpoints to miles exchange.

Wyndham Rewards exchange rate is 30,000 points for 12,000 miles with all the major domestic airlines, including United and Continental.  

Essentially the question becomes -  How do you compare the ability to earn 20,000 Starpoints to 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points?

Relative Earning power for Wyndham Rewards and SPG Starpoints.

A general member in Wyndham Rewards earns 10 points per dollar at Wyndham family hotels.

Basically 30,000 points is $3,000 spending.

SPG general member earns 2 Starpoints per dollar at Starwood hotels; 20,000 points = $10,000 in spending.  An elite member earns 3 Starpoints per dollar; 20,000 points = $6,667 in hotel spending. 

A comparison of regular points earning rates without consideration of promotional bonuses favors Wyndham Rewards for persons wanting to exchange points for United or Continental miles. 

American, Delta, Northwest, and US Airways transfer 1:1 Starpoints-to-miles so 20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 miles.  Wyndham Rewards requires 60,000 points for 24,000 miles.

$6,000 in spending with Wyndham Rewards for 60,000 points or 24,000 miles is not significantly different from Starwood’s 20,000 points or 25,000 miles for $6,667 in spending for an SPG elite member (at least 10 hotel stays in a calendar year).  But Wyndham Rewards has a definite advantage for the frequent guest who does not have the Starpoint earning power of SPG elite status.

[See this post on why using 2 or 3 Starpoints/$1 hotel spending underestimates the earning power of the SPG hotel loyalty program in a comparison of hotel loyalty programs.]

Wyndham Double Rewards Points Promotion

Bonuses can make all the difference in value.  And for the next four months, Wyndham currently has the advantage over Starwood with their Wyndham Double Rewards Points promotion.  Register and earn 20 Rewards points per $1 through January 8, 2009.  Unfortunately, the terms and conditions for this promotion limit double points to only four stays during the promotion period, so multi-night stays are more advantageous.

$100 in eligible spending with Wyndham Rewards hotel brands and earn 2,000 points.

$100 in eligible spending with Starwood Hotels earns 200 to 300 points, perhaps as much as 1,200 to 1,300 points with current promotions like the FlyerTalk 500 points/night promo or platinum amenity points.  There are numerous variables in Starpoints earning due to many hotels offering site specific bonuses and SPG regional bonus points offers.  Your travel pattern will influence your earning ability with the SPG program.  Wyndham Rewards is a simple program and there are few regional or site specific special offers for additional points.

The bottom line is Wyndham Rewards has favorable points-to-miles exchanges, on par, and sometimes better than Starwood Preferred Guest.  While the two hotel loyalty programs cater to different market segments, the option to transfer hotel points to miles at a reasonable exchange value is not just for the Starpoint elite travelers.  Wyndham Rewards can put you up for the night and help you get that flight too at a good exchange rate for hotel loyalty programs.

Wyndham Rewards Flights vs. SPG Flights

Wyndham Rewards also offers flight tickets for North America similar to SPG flights. 

Sample ticket price is 53,500 points for a USA domestic ticket up to $360 value.  SPG flights charges 30,000 Starpoints for a $360 ticket.  Wyndham Rewards member can currently earn 20 points/$1 (for up to four stays) compared to 2 or 3 points per $1 with Starwood and whatever SPG bonus points offers can be combined with your stay.