After updating the Loyalty Traveler Current Hotel Promotions page yesterday, I realized I hadn’t even discussed some of the major promotions ending this month since writing a summary of Q1 2010 hotel promotions back in December. I have put together a summary list by hotel chain of about 25 hotel loyalty promotions currently available to members. I plan to make the hotel loyalty promotions and special rates summary a weekly feature post for Loyalty Traveler blog.

April 14, Loyalty Traveler Current Hotel Loyalty Promotions Guide

The frequent guest has the choice of many hotel loyalty promotions with little guidance to their relative value. Loyalty Traveler’s summary of current hotel loyalty promotions and limited time offers for the frequent guest are shown below.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three Keys = good value hotel loyalty promotion or rate offer

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

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

 

April 14 HELP Summary for Current Hotel Loyalty Promotions by Program 

Best Western Rewards 

3-key Promotion $50 gift card after two stays by May 30 (March 30, 2010)

Elite Status Match Offer (February 19, 2010) FlyerTalk members are stating there is an accompanying offer for 5,000 bonus points after first stay.

 

Carlson Hotels – Goldpoints Plus

5-Key promotion: Award Nights On Sale through May 31: Radisson 50% off, Country Inn and Park Inn 25% off

4-Key promotion Country Inn & Suites Third Night Free is Truly a Free Night (March 18, 2010)

3-key promotion Up to Quadruple Points for stays through May 28, 2010 (March 31, 2010) This can be a 4-key or 5-key promotion if you have 4-night stays at a Radisson which combined with 50% free nights can be one or two free nights earned. 4x points is 80 points/$1. Top category hotel award at 50% discount is just 30,000 points. $800 on a 4-night stay will earn 65,000 points with online booking bonus.

 

Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

3-key promotion Spring Promotion Stay Twice and Earn 8,000 points Feb 22-April 30

(good for free night at 1,500 hotels)

Hilton HHonors

4-key promotion Nine bonus airline miles promotions that may be combined with free night promotion (April 13, 2010)

4-key promotion Fast Ways to Free Stays (Earn a free night after every 4 stays or 10 nights through June 30) (April 7, 2010)

Hilton HHonors earn unlimited free nights through June 30 – Fast Ways to Free Stays promotion (April 4, 2010)

Hyatt Gold Passport

Limited Time Special Rate Sale US, Canada, and Caribbean (ends Wed. April 14, 11:59pm CST) Prepaid, nonrefundable rates for stays through July 5, 2010.

5-key promotion – Big Welcome Back promotion for one free night after every two stays March 26-June 30 (March 26, 2010)

5-key promotion – Hyatt Gold Passport Instant Platinum Elite and Diamond Elite Fast-track (Feb 21, 2010)

3-Key Limited Time Offer American Express Membership Rewards Hyatt $100 certificate for 2-night stay for 1,500 Membership Rewards points through May 31, 2010. Certificate valid in US, Canada, and Caribbean through December 30, 2010.

InterContinental Hotels Group – Priority Club

2-Key promotion Earn 200 miles or 1,000 points per night up to 20,000 points or 4,000 miles through April 30, 2010 (Dec 22, 2010)

Priority Club PointBreaks 5,000 points per night awards to June 30 (March 29, 2010)

IHG Friend & Family Hotel Rates (Dec 26, 2010)

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

3-key promotion – Earn 1 free night after every 5 hotel stays in 2010. Must stay in at least two different hotels. Bellagio in Las Vegas is LHW member. (April 13, 2010)

Marriott Rewards

5-Key promotion – May 1-July 31 New members of Marriott Rewards earn a free night after two stays  (April 5, 2010)

3-key promotion – $50 Gift card for weekend stays at Marriott to April 18 (Feb 24, 2010)

1-Key offer – Marriott Rewards Instant Redemption Awards (March 24, 2010)

Marriott Rewards Triple Airline Miles through April 30 (Feb 18, 2010)

Marriott Rewards 2010 MegaBonus Feb 1- April 30, 2010 (Dec 22, 2010)

Starwood Preferred Guest

4-key promotion $100 Amazon Gift Card for 2 Westin Stays in US/Canada by May 13 (Feb 20, 2010)

3-key promotion SPG link: Pay Your Birthyear Rate (This promotion can be an incredible savings or no savings depending on the hotel and your birthyear.) LT post 4/28/2009

3-key limited time offer Buy up to 20,000 Starpoints at 20% discount = $28/1,000 points. SPG link

2-key promotion SPG up to 4x points through April 15, 2010 (Dec 18, 2009)

1-key promotion Four Points Breakfast for a Buck (April 12, 2010)

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

Wyndham Rewards

2-key promotion Lufthansa Miles & More 1,000 miles per stay, up to 4,000 miles March 15-May 15.

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

Other Offers:

5-key offer – Condé Nast/Competitours - Condé Nast/Competitours 250,000 miles giveaway for 200 words by April 30   (LT post April 9, 2010)

Frequentflyerbonuses.com – Five Years, Five Ways to Win (2005-2010)

Frequentflyerbonuses.com 5^th Anniversary Contest – Prize is $250 Marriott Gift card or 10,000 Spirit Airlines miles

Congratulations to Patrick Sojka of FFB for five years. Loyalty Traveler had its four year anniversary this month.

 

 

Today I put some more time into analyzing the category changes for Hilton HHonors.

Hilton HHonors = 3,551 hotels (Waldorf Astoria Collection has additional 19 hotels)

• USA = 3,139 hotels;  88.4% of hotel properties
• International = 412 hotels;  11.6% of hotel properties 

Category 7 =  117 hotels

• 68 USA/Puerto Rico
• 49 international

• 22 hotels made double category jump from Category 5 to Category 7
• 95 hotels increased from Category 6 to Category 7

 

HHonors Category 6  =  180 hotels

• 122 USA
• 58 international

• 3 hotels jumped 3 categories from Category 3 to Category 6 (Brisbane and Perth, Australia, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.)
• 42 hotels made a double category leap.
• (45 hotels made a double category or more leap; 25% of hotels in Category 6.)
• This 25% jump from Category 3 or 4 to Category 6 is similar                                                                                                          to 25% hotels jumping from Category 5 to Category 7.  
• 122 hotels went from Category 5 to Category 6
• 13 Category 6 hotels from 2009 remained in Category 6 after January 15 shift.

 

HHonors Category 5 = 462 hotels

• 347 USA
• 115 international

HHonors Category 4

• 1,110 USA
• 127 international

 

HHonors Category 3

• 1,340 USA
• 56 international

HHonors Category 2

• 115 USA
• 3 international

 

HHonors Category 1

• 37 USA
• 4 international

 

412 hotels international excluding WAC

3,139 hotels USA

Does anyone know where to find a list of InterContinental Hotels for 30,000 points and hotels at 40,000 points?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is heated activity on the hotel loyalty front in these holiday weeks. Hilton, Marriott, Starwood, and IHG have announced 2010 promotions. Hyatt still has the best promotion of 2009 and you can take advantage of this offer through the month of January.

Hyatt Gold Passport “The Next Big Thing” promotion is incredible with combined promotion benefits for both points and miles. Oct. 1 2009 – Jan 31, 2010.

Hyatt Gold Passport promotion registration link.

1.       Earn a free night after every two stays. Loyalty Traveler Sep. 17

2.       Earn double elite stay credit. (Diamond membership in 13 stays or Platinum in 3 stays.)

3.       Earn 2,500 airline miles after every two nights until Dec 31, 2009. Loyalty Traveler Oct. 5

4.       Earn Hyatt Gold Passport G bonus with most hotel stays. Loyalty Traveler Nov 9

 

Starwood Preferred Guest up to 4x points

January 5 – April 15, 2010.

Registration required between January 5 and March 31, 2010.

SPG Promotion Link

 

Double base points (1 or 2 night stay) = 4 points/$1

Triple base points (3 night stay) = 6 points/$1

Quadruple base points (4 nights or more) = 8 points per $1

This promotion is combinable with other promotions. Elite bonuses are additional.

Loyalty Traveler Dec 18

 

 

Hilton HHonors free night after 4 stays or 10 nights

January 7 – March 31, 2010

 

Posted on FlyerTalk by HamptonInsider this promising HHonors promotion for a free night valid across the Hilton system after 4 stays or 10 nights. The promotion details are not released yet, so at this point the rumor is just a seemingly reputable insider pre-release on FlyerTalk. There will likely be some restrictions on hotel reward nights redemption and perhaps some hotel exclusions, but overall this may be a sign of a new style of promotion activity from Hilton HHonors.

 

The points increases in 2010 categories is not so bad a change if the HHonors program makes it easier to earn free nights with promotions like the current 25,000 points after 4 stays and what looks to be a free night offer coming in January.

The leisure traveler may find HHonors a lifestyle deal with their two-pronged approach to rewarding loyalty membership. HHonors may see a return of the HHonors points traveler who can earn some lucrative bonuses on hotel stays. Combine the points budget traveler with the big fish spender putting $40,000 on the HHonors co-branded credit card for complimentary HHonors Diamond elite annual membership.  The Diamond lifestyler from both ends of the economic spectrum can find good value with HHonors. Value gives a traveler reason to put more effort into a Hilton hotel choice.

 

Marriott Rewards

MegaBonus 25,000 to 60,000 points depending on offer and nights stayed.

Feb 1- April 30, 2010.

Members are receiving new Marriott Rewards 2010 Megabonus offers. Marriott targets members with different offers.

 

Marriott Rewards PointSavers Plus 10% discount or 15% discount for Gold and Platinum elite members.

There are still three weeks to book a discounted discount hotel nights reward with the special PointSavers offer through January 15, 2010.

Update January 5, 2010: My personal MegaBonus offer is a free night (category 1-4 hotel) after two stays. Limit of one free night may be earned and free night to be redeemed by August 31, 2010. This offer is essentially a 20,000 points value if used for a Category 4 night. I have no elite status with Marriott Rewards.

IHG Priority Club Rewards

1,000 bonus points per night or 200 bonus miles up to maximum 20,000 points or 4,000 miles (20 nights).

Priority Club Rewards Registration Link

20,000 points is a rather weak offer from IHG considering this is only 50% of the points needed for one free night at a top tier InterContinental Hotel costing 40,000 points. The points-hungry tactic with IHG is to play the promotion registration game with Priority Club Rewards. A member can average 5,000 to 8,000 points per night for stays in IHG brand hotels.

Skeptical?

Read this FlyerTalk thread.

A reader’s comment the other day asked if I would give a simple points value for the different hotel chains. I quickly made an educated assessment off the top of my head.  

Hilton $6-9/1,000 points
Hyatt $15-$20/1,000 points
IHG Priority Club $7-$10/1,000 points
Marriott Rewards $7-10/1,000 points
Starwood Preferred Guest $35-$50/1,000 points

The comment had me thinking this past week about a method for making an accurate and precise calculation. I do not have the advanced mathematical tools to create a sophisticated analysis. Here is a great business idea for a fellow entrepreneur. Create computer programs that can evaluate high value redemptions for points and provide a list of hotels with great value for points.

My Loyalty Traveler corollary applies for this analysis:

“Points only have potential value until they are redeemed.”

Location is the key component of any program assessment when comparing one hotel chain to another. You have a good idea of the value of Starpoints or HHonors points if those are the points currency you frequently work with for your hotel stays. When it comes to comparing hotel programs and the value of points, then location comes into play along with other factors.

1.       Location – the objective variable. Look at the hotels in a particular city and compare points cost to rates for specific dates. That is what I have done for this assessment and in tribute to the Colbert Show I have titled this piece “Better Know a City”.

2.       Potential to earn points in the hotel loyalty program. This is the subjective variable and is related to the promotions offered, hotel stay pattern, elite status, and credit card earning.

My subjective evaluation of points earning ranking:

a.       IHG Priority Club

b.      Starwood/Hyatt

c.       Hilton/Marriott

Better Know a City – New York City

NYC is the most expensive hotel city in the US and therefore the hotel categories are also high for the different chains.

I picked a 3-night stay for Monday through Wednesday nights, April 5-8, 2010.

This is a date far enough in the future that awards were available 49 of 50 hotels in the city of New York and rates have probably not been discounted yet. Hotels typically begin heavy discounting within a few weeks of a stay date when occupancy is too low.

As will be seen from this analysis, the typically high hotel category placement for New York City hotels gives IHG Priority Club a competitive advantage in a hotel loyalty program comparison.

Priority Club bases the cost of a free night on hotel brand rather than hotel category. For this reason the cost in points for a free night at the Candlewood Suites in New York City is the same 15,000 points as a free night at the Candlewood Suites in Flowood, Mississippi.

Here are some observations on free night award searches across hotel loyalty programs:

 

1.       Starwood Hotels is the easiest program to check award availability compared to cash price. The initial search results for a location show the cash room rate, free night availability, and Cash & Points, if available. The search results also show the hotel category level for points. A member must be logged in as a member to check award availability with the other hotel chains.

 

2.       Hilton and Marriott require a check of the hotel’s homepage to see Hotel Category level. Hyatt requires a check of hotel category through Gold Passport award chart links.

 

 

3.       Marriott Rewards design is a mess. Has it always been this way?

I searched New York, New York and up to 92 hotels were displayed. I saw no function on the webpage to narrow this list down to just NYC downtown hotels.

 

Hilton and Starwood both offer a function to limit the geographic search to within a few miles of the location desired. Marriott Rewards did not even show a New York City hotel on page 1 of the search results.

 

I ended up searching by Category. The problem here is only one category could be searched at a time. I had to check Category 8, then Category 7, then Category 6, each time starting the search from scratch with New York City and filtering the 90+ hotel list down to the desired hotels so I would see only NYC listings.

 

New York City Results:

 

 

Hyatt Gold Passport  

Redemption value $20.02 for 2 hotels;

range $19.21 to $20.83

The best deal is Grand Hyatt New York, a Category 4 hotel at 15,000 points per night.

 

 

Starwood Preferred Guest  

Redemption value $22.14 per 1,000 points for 9 hotels;

range $14.40 – $34.92

Starwood Preferred Guest in New York City

 

SPG typically is a poor value for points when redeeming high category hotel properties. An unexpected result in this study was the relatively good redemption value for the Category 7, St. Regis New York. At $845 per night or 30,000 points, the points value of $28.16/1,000 points actually came out as one of the best deals for the SPG member in New York City. But seriously, $845 per night? That is some Wall Street level cash to spend for a hotel night.

 

4 of 9 Starwood hotels had a redemption value of less than $20 per 1,000 points.  That is a poor value and far below the $40 to $50 per 1,000 points a member can easily receive in many locations. I’d spend cash and save my points for another day.

 

Hilton HHonors  

Redemption value $6.68 per 1,000 points (17 hotels);

range $4.91-10.98 based on 2009 category levels.

 

If all these properties move up one category in 2010, then the

2010 redemption value = $5.62 per 1,000 points

range will be $3.98-$8.78.

 

The Waldorf=Astoria was the only New York City hotel not available as an award among the 50 hotels searched across the different hotel chains. The hotel was available for Sunday night April 4 at 40,000 points (50,000 points as of January 15, 2010.)

Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square was the only hotel to have a redemption value over $10/1,000 points, however, this hotel was by far the most expensive Hilton brand property in the city for the April dates at $439 per night for this Category 6 hotel. The Waldorf Towers was only $399 for the same dates.

 

Marriott Rewards

Redemption value = $7.54/1,000 points;

range $5.97 to $8.63  (11 hotels)

 

Marriott Rewards in New York City

 

 

 

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club

Redemption value = $9.96/1,000 points;

range $7.00 to $17.00  (10 hotels)

IHG Priority Club in New York City

 

Conclusion: My initial off-the-top-of-my-head estimates of points redemption value were within the range I found for New York City with the exception of Starwood Preferred Guest where the value was significantly lower than I estimated.

In my defense, SPG has poor redemption value at most high category hotels. I have repeatedly made this criticism of the program on Loyalty traveler blog. The St. Regis New York at $845 per night is an exception to the rule. This is actually a good use of 30,000 points for a SPG category 7 hotel.

I have never actually redeemed points for any hotel higher than a category 5 in the Starwood hotel chain. My analyses generally conclude a member is better off paying the big bucks for a high category hotel and saving your points for higher value hotel stays at Category 2 to 4 hotels and Cash & Points stays.

As someone who has burned several hundred thousand Starpoints, I typically get around $50 per 1,000 points with my free night redemptions. Cash & Points is usually the high value deal. Unfortunately, there were few offers of Cash & Points rates for the New York City Starwood Hotels so far in advance of the April date.

Priority Club and Hyatt Gold Passport show high value points redemption opportunities. Points & Cash rates with Priority Club provides even higher value for your points at these hotels.

Hilton and Marriott both showed redemption values in the lower range I initially estimated. Hilton, Marriott, and SPG offer better value when you have a 4 or 5 night stay and receive a discount on points.

IHG Priority Club and Hyatt Gold Passport are easily the winners for best value in the Better Know a City for your hotel points stays in New York.

December is the month for securing elite status. People in the know, those frequent guests and fliers making mattress runs and mileage runs this month, know that a few unnecessary hotel room nights or a few thousand miles of unnecessary airline flights are truly necessary. Some loyalty travelers are frantically booking travel solely for the purpose of attaining the magic threshold of higher elite status in 2010.

And it is magic when after 10 minutes waiting in the elite security line at the crowded airport, you barely get on your plane just before it taxies out of the gate. You reflect on the frazzled family who walked up to the elite check-in airport counter just in front of you, each parent cradling a crying toddler, with a hands-free wandering preschooler lagging behind dragging a backpack, a babystroller under Dad’s arm, two suitcases, two backpacks, and a purse.  You watched as you moved closer to the elite member check-in counter while the parents were steered away from the Star Alliance Gold members check-in line to the hopelessly long economy class general members’ line extending halfway down the terminal. They were supposed to depart on the same flight as you, but they hadn’t even arrived at the security zone as you passed through the detectors and rushed off to the gate. They are still waiting in some non-elite fliers’ line while you are comfortably seated in First Class as the plane heads toward the runway.

Elite level status has practical implications in the frequent flier world beyond upgrades and airport lounges.

I haven’t been on a plane in the past few months. I watched scenarios like I described here over a number of years when I traveled as a United Airlines Mileage Plus elite member. I flew over 100,000 miles a year for several years primarily as a means of flying comfortably and having the privilege to hang out at airport lounges during international flights.

Joe Sharkey has a piece posted this week on his blog, Joe Sharkey At Large, “Continental Airlines is the Latest Airline to Diss Lower-Level Elite-Status Customers”. His piece is about how Continental Airlines offers enhancements to the most frequent fliers in the 100,000 flight miles per year category and new super-tier called Presidential Platinum elite for the cream of the Platinum fliers.

Flying 100,000 miles is expensive for a leisure traveler. I held United 1K for a couple of years with less than $2,500 in spending on flights annually, but then there was another $1,500 or so for my wife’s flights. And then add another $4,000 to $5,000 for lodging, and then add daily expenses when traveling. 

$4,000 to $5,000 in airfare was one expense I had to cut back, about 30% of my annual travel budget, to have some money available to put into Loyalty Traveler business expenses. Loyalty Traveler was founded as a business for explaining the value of elite status with travel loyalty programs and ironically I had to give up elite status air travel to conserve resources for the business. I hope to get back to a much higher level of air travel in the next year or two.

Right now my focus is maintaining high elite status in a couple of hotel programs – Hyatt Gold Passport and Starwood Preferred Guest – for my hotel travel. I just suffer like the masses when I have to get on a plane.

Ed Perkins wrote a piece on SmarterTravel.com, “Dollars Trump Miles as a Measure of Airline Loyalty”. Ed had an issue with upgrading a United flight using miles. He could not get an advance confirmation of the upgrade.

My experience of traveling around the world as a United 1K was a blast when I could buy a $600 ticket from California to Singapore, upgrade my ticket to a business class seat with a systemwide certificate (SWU), hang out at the international lounge in SFO before the flight, and then pop into the United Red Carpet Club at Narita Airport Tokyo for a free shower and a couple of glasses from the automatic beer dispenser. My cheap economy ticket also allowed me to earn 40,000 to 50,000 redeemable miles and 18,000 to 36,000 elite qualifying miles depending on promotions.

The problem with all that lovely treatment as a United 1K is that travel with my wife Kelley wasn’t always as fun. I’m not talking about a need for Tiger Woods entertainment without the wifey. I am talking about the fact that my United Airlines Mileage Plus elite status regularly provided upgrades for me, domestic and international. However, Kelley’s low level elite status, and sometimes even as a Premier Executive, frequently did not allow her to clear the upgrade list. We often traveled separately on the same plane to Europe with me in her assigned economy class seat and her in my upgraded Business Class seat.

Mom & Dad’s Florida Vacation

My parents have learned the value of Starwood Preferred Guest elite status – especially since they do not have it. This morning I received a call from my mom vacationing in Florida. Their hotel travel tally so far is three Starwoods and a Hilton in Florida. I asked them to take pictures of the view from each bedroom window at their hotels.

Hotel websites are generally good about photos of the hotel entrance, the lobby, restaurants, and pool.

Hotel websites rarely show a prospective guest the view from the less desirable side of the hotel. I am struck by the number of times I stay at a hotel and receive the preferred view and think this was a good deal. And I consider all those people I see coming out of their room located on the other side of the hallway and I wonder, “Do you feel like you’ve been cheated with this hotel stay?”

So my mom tells me they had a nice size room at a Sheraton in Fort Lauderdale, but faced the parking lot for the multi-night stay. Then, it was the Sheraton in Key West at a resort property on the beach, but their room was not facing the beach side of the hotel. Then, her description of the room in Coral Gables was “nicely furnished, but the room was miniscule.” She said the rooms are nothing like I get when I stay at Starwood Hotels.

“Elite Status” is my Two Word Response

Earning elite status with a hotel chain is really a much easier affair than airline frequent flier programs. Playing the 100,000 mile game with airlines is a matter of either several long-haul international trips or a whole lot of domestic flying. Hotel loyalty high-level elite-status is something many travelers can earn without even leaving town. You will appreciate your effort when you take that $3,000 beach resort vacation and spend the week looking at the beach from your hotel room window and balcony.

Here is the view from my room when I stayed at the Westin Mission Hills near Palm Springs, California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I received an upgrade on my Cash & Points stay to a golf course view preferred room. A general member of SPG on the same rate would be more likely to have received a room with this type of view across the parking lot.

Westin Mission Hills Resort – the other side of the hotel

 

Stays Count Double through January 31, 2010 with Hyatt Gold Passport

 

 

 

(The Next Big Thing registration required)

Hyatt Gold Passport is offering double stay credit for elite status through January 31, 2010. Elite status is based on paid stays completed in a calendar year. This means you can earn Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum level elite membership with just 3 stays in January or Diamond elite with 13 stays. The elite status you earn with Hyatt Gold Passport in January 2010 during stays count double will remain valid for over two years through February 2012.

Between fast-track elite status and Costco Hyatt Check Certificates at a 20% discount, the cost to earn high elite Diamond status with Hyatt can readily be accomplished for under $1,000 in many places while earning free nights for a fantastic February or March 2010 resort vacation. Check out your local Hyatt Place hotel rates. You can even go upscale Hyatt at a bargain with low January rates in many locations. The Hyatt Regency San Francisco was over $250 per night for most of summer 2009 and is less than half that rate for most weekends in January 2010. San Diego hotels are an incredible bargain right now.

Starwood Preferred Guest instant SPG Gold elite for New Members

Starwood Preferred Guest has offered a “stays count double” promotion every year for the past several years. Take advantage of the offer if it comes around next year and you can set yourself up with high-level elite-status.

Seriously, when you are spending a couple of thousand dollars for a vacation, a little bit of annual hotel planning can put you in that beach resort hotel on the beach side of the hotel rather than the resort view of the parking lot.

If you are new to Starwood Preferred Guest and you would like to receive instant SPG Gold elite membership, valid through February 2011, then just send me an email ricgarridolt@gmail.com. With my SPG Platinum member referral, you can be registered for 1,000 bonus points per night ($35 value) at Starwood Hotels through March 31, 2010 and you will receive an instant upgrade to SPG Gold Elite membership. And I get 1,000 points if you actually stay in a Starwood Hotel by March 31. A win-win-win deal for you, me, and Starwood.

Hotel Loyalty Program Links:

Hyatt Gold Passport “The Next Big Thing” Promotion

Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum elite benefits (lower-tier elite)

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite benefits (higher-tier)

Starwood Preferred Guest Gold elite benefits

Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum elite benefits

Loyalty Traveler posts:

Passports with Purpose Win 50,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points

Earn 2,500 airline miles with every two nights at Hyatt brand hotels (Oct. 5, 2009)

Hyatt Faster Free Nights + Stays Count Double promotion analysis Oct.1 – Jan 31, 2010 (Sep 19, 2009)

Hyatt Gold Passport Enhancements – And they really are enhancements (April 2, 2009)

 

Many people prefer airline miles over hotel points. I understand the value equation when your air miles are used for Business and First Class travel, but I have a hard time seeing the value in exchanging 20,000 Starpoints for 25,000 miles to redeem a domestic economy class airline ticket.

When grandma wants to see her grandkids for the summer vacation, a handful of airline tickets may have more benefit than a week in a luxury hotel room. Travelers have different needs.

Hotel points to miles exchanges allow a hotel loyalty program member to convert hotel points into frequent flier miles.  Major hotel loyalty programs including Hilton HHonors, Hyatt Gold Passport, InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest offer this option for points-to-miles conversion. In general, you can only transfer hotel points to a frequent flyer account where both accounts are in your same name. You cannot move your points into another person’s frequent flyer account.

Marriott Rewards offers the best exchange ratio for points-to-miles conversion across a broad spectrum of airlines when compared to other hotel loyalty programs, particularly with its Hotel + Air packages where the hotel points-to-miles ratio is an even 1:1 conversion.  Hyatt Gold Passport shows the next best overall points-to-miles exchange program.

Exchange rates differ between hotel loyalty programs for points-to-miles exchanges, although, as seen in the tables there is a cluster of similar exchange rates for Hyatt, IHG, and Starwood. The conversion rates for Hyatt and Starwood remain remarkably close, even up to both programs offering 25% bonus miles when converting large blocks of points-to-miles.

Hotel-points-to-airline-miles is one-way exchange route.

Hotel-points-to-airline-miles is a one-way exchange route. Conversions are not allowed in the reverse direction from airline-miles-to-hotel-points.

Hilton HHonors has the competitive edge of the five hotel loyalty programs compared in these tables in being the only hotel loyalty program to offer a conversion of airline-miles-to-hotel-points with a relatively good rate of exchange for several airline partners; American Airlines being the most prominent transfer partner among the major US airlines.

The international airline tables I have put together for hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion shows a higher degree of variability than the domestic airlines. Some prominent international airlines do not partner with one or more of the hotel programs. Several international airlines available for points-to-miles conversion with one of more of the major hotel loyalty programs have not been included in the tables for this post.

I have included an explanation regarding Hilton HHonors at the end of this post to address the Points & Miles feature of the HHonors program. The tables below show HHonors at or near the bottom for the poorest exchange ratio in points-to-miles transfers with nearly every airline. Hilton HHonors members have the ability to earn miles through hotel stays in addition to points in real hotel travel, but the strict conversion of points-to-miles is not a favorable rate when compared to the other major hotel loyalty programs.

My Loyalty Traveler advice for Hilton HHonors members is earn your miles from hotel stays and save your HHonors points for better value opportunities.

Hotel Loyalty Program Points-to-Miles Links

Hyatt Gold Passport – Airline Partners. Lufthansa is a Hyatt airline partner for earning miles, however, the Terms & Conditions for Hyatt Gold Passport Points-to-Miles Terms and Conditions specifically excludes Lufthansa and airline partners in Miles & More from points-to-miles participation.

Hilton HHonors – Points for Miles

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club – Points to Miles

Marriott Rewards – Air Mileage Rewards

Starwood Preferred Guest – Transfer Starpoints to Miles

The Loyalty Traveler tables shown are informational only and before conducting a transfer between programs you should contact the programs directly for the most up-to-date guidelines and restrictions, as information is subject to change at any time. 

A great resource for checking conversion rates between more than 70 hotel, airline, credit card and other loyalty programs is through Randy Petersen’s WebFlyer Mileage Converter. I haven’t checked all my tables through the Mileage Converter, but the dozen or so I checked matched up. That is good news for both of us since the results were independently derived. The tables I have made are good for comparative data across hotel chains. The Mileage Converter is better for accurate conversions between any two loyalty programs and also provides the user with several options for points and miles exchange conversion routes.

Domestic Airline Conversion tables are in Part 1 for Alaska, American, Continental, Delta/Northwest Skymiles, Southwest, United Airlines, and US Airways.

International Airlines Hotel-Points-to-Frequent-Flier-Miles Conversion Tables

• Aeromexico

• Air Canada Aeroplan

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue

• Air New Zealand Airpoints

• ANA – All Nippon Airways Mileage Club

• British Airways Executive Club

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

• Emirates Skywards

• LAN Airlines LanPass

• Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT Polish)

• Qantas Airways

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

• South Africa Airways Voyager

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

Air Canada Aeroplan

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

Air New Zealand Airpoints

1. Starwood Preferred Guest

2. IHG Priority Club

3. Hilton HHonors

4. Hyatt Gold Passport and Marriott Rewards are not Air New Zealand points-to-miles airline partners

 

ANA – Al Nippon Airways Mileage Club

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

British Airways Executive Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

 

 

 

 

 

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

Emirates Skywards

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors (Emirates is not an HHonors airline partner)

1. Starwood Preferred Guest
2. Hyatt Gold passport
3. Marriott Rewards
4. Hilton HHonors
5. IHG Priority Club

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors
5. Hyatt Gold Passport (Miles & More is  hotel stay earning partner, but does not participate in points-to-miles)

1. Hyatt Gold Passport
2. Marriott Rewards
3. Hilton HHonors
4. IHG Priority Club and Starwood Preferred Guest are not partners with Qantas.

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Starwood Preferred Guest
5. Hilton HHonors

1. Hyatt Gold Passport
2. IHG Priority Club
3. Hilton HHonors
4. Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest do not partner with South African Airways

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport
3. Starwood Preferred Guest
4. Hilton HHonors
5. IHG Priority Club does not partner with Virgin Atlantic

The Hilton Conversion Issue in the Loyalty Traveler tables for HHonors members.

Hilton HHonors is problematic in these tables due to the different earning mechanism with HHonors hotel stays. Hilton HHonors has “Double Dip”, their registered term for the member option to earn both hotel points and miles during a single hotel stay.

Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Priority Club, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) all allow a member to earn miles with hotel stays, however, the member earns airline miles or hotel points. As a general rule a member in programs besides Hilton HHonors cannot earn both miles and points from a hotel stay. Both Hyatt Gold Passport (promotion still ongoing through Jan 31) and Starwood Preferred Guest (ended July 31) had promotional exceptions in 2009 where members earned both airline miles and points, but Hilton HHonors is the only chain offering both miles and points as a standard earning option.

Hilton HHonors ranks at the bottom in nearly all the hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion tables.  The tables are designed to be an objective look at conversion rates. Hilton HHonors may be a good hotel loyalty program members wanting to earn miles with hotel stays, but has a poor hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion program for its members.

In real travel a Hilton HHonors member has the ability to earn thousands of airline miles while also earning HHonors points.

1.       The tables do not reflect the added earning potential for a Hilton HHonors member earning 500 miles per hotel stay or 1 mile per $1 in hotel spending.

 

2.       The hotel point levels used in the tables show Hilton, IHG, and Marriott at 10,000 points while Hyatt is 5,000 points and Starwood 2,000 points as the basis for equivalent quantities of points used for miles conversion comparisons. I could have increased Hilton HHonors by 50% to 15,000 which accounts for Points and Points earning preference with HHonors. Rather than playing with the variables I opted to present Hilton HHonors in a strictly objective conversion table without factoring in the potential for added miles from hotel stays.

 

3.       For example: Hilton HHonors points-to-miles conversion for 130,000 points with Air France = 13,000 miles. This is less than 50% of the miles for any of the other four hotel loyalty programs.

 

But consider if the Hilton member spent $13,000 to earn 130,000 points during 40 hotel stays in 2009. This HHonors member with 40 stays and an earning preference of Points & Fixed Miles could have earned 500 Flying Blue miles per stay. The member could have earned 20,000 Flying Blue miles from hotel stays, In addition to 13,000 miles from points.

 

33,000 miles places Hilton HHonors right back in the pack when it comes to miles earned.

 

4.       For example: The Hilton HHonors member could have sprung for a four week honeymoon divided between two Hilton resorts and spent $13,000. Earning Points & Fixed miles would only earn 1,000 miles from two Hilton stays. The member with an earning preference of Points & Variable Miles (1 mile per $1) would earn 13,000 miles.

 

5.       For example: HHonors member could have chosen Points & Points and earned 195,000 points and no miles. (I’m ignoring elite points as these are just more variables to complicate the issue.)

 

Unfortunately, all this is conjecture and highly variable, dependent on the member’s hotel stay pattern and earning preference.  Therefore, the tables do not necessarily reflect the earning potential of miles with the Hilton HHonors program for a frequent guest of Hilton.

 

The tables do accurately show the conversion rates for HHonors points-to-miles conversions on a scale aligned with the four other hotel loyalty programs.

 

Some people need a major hotel chain some of the time. Other people desire a major hotel chain most of the time.

 

There are 7 “hotelmart” chains. [I just thought of that term and I like it. Could I coin the phrase?

Too late. I checked and found a discount hotel website HotelMartUSA.com. So, I will just borrow the term for now.]

 

There are 7 global hotel chains with 3,000+ hotels. Four of the hotel chains are predominately mid-scale or economy lodging with Wyndham, Choice, Best Western, and Accor’s Motel 6 properties in the US. The higher proportion and absolute number of upscale hotels is why I limit my hotelmart comparisons to Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Marriott chains.

 

Here are numbers based on end of year 2008 from the HotelsMag.com survey. Most of these 10-month old numbers are likely bigger now, but they are sufficiently precise for a hotel chain size overview.

 

Wyndham Hotel Group = 7,043 hotels

(Hotel brands: Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Super 8, Knights Inn, Wingate, Baymont, Microtel, Hawthorn Suites)

 

Choice Hotels = 5,827 hotels

(Hotel brands: Comfort Inn, Cambria Suites, Quality Inn, Clarion, Sleep Inn, EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, Suburban, MainStay Suites)  

 

InterContinental Hotels Group = 4,186 hotels

(Hotel brands: Holiday Inn and HI Express, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, InterContinental Hotels, Hotel Indigo, Candlewood Suites)

 

Best Western = 4,000 hotels

(Hotel brand – Best Western)

 

Accor Hotels = 3,982 hotels (France based chain with few hotels in USA aside from Motel 6)

(Hotel brands: Motel 6, Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Mercure, Suite Hotels, Ibis, allseasons, Etap, Hotel F1, Formule 1)

 

Hilton Hotels = 3,265 hotels

(Hotel brands: Hilton, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Crowne Plaza, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Waldorf Astoria Collection, Conrad Hotels, Hilton Grand Vacations)

 

Marriott Hotels = 3,178 hotels

(Hotel brands: Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites, SpringHill Suites, J.W. Marriott, Marriott Vacation Club International, Ritz-Carlton Hotels)

 

Hotel chain size drops from the mega-chain size of 3,000 to 7,000 properties down to just around 1,000 hotels for the next largest hotel chains of Starwood Hotels and Carlson Hotels (Radisson Hotels parent company). Hyatt Hotels is small fry at 413 hotels, but their loyalty program has incredible benefits for travelers to major cities and resorts in the USA and around the world which is why I include them in my predominately big five loyalty program coverage of Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards, InterContinental Hotels Group, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Hyatt Gold Passport.

 

Other programs high on the scale of market segment I like to focus on are Fairmont President’s Club and Kimpton In Touch (hey, I’m 116 miles from San Francisco). Several of the small hotel associations like Preferred Group, Leading Hotels of the World, and Small Luxury Hotels pop up on my radar throughout the year with excellent hotel finds or promotional rates.

 

 

Last July I broke down the hotel numbers for each brand in these chains:

Marriott Hotels – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/07/09/marriott-hotels-profile-by-numbers/

InterContinental Hotels Group – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/07/09/intercontinental-hotels-group-profile-by-numbers/

Hilton Hotels Family – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/07/07/hilton-hotels-chain-profile-by-numbers/

Starwood Hotels – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/07/09/starwood-hotels-profile-by-numbers/

Hyatt Hotels – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/07/09/hyatt-hotels-profile-by-numbers/

Enough of the pedantic overview of hotel brands and on to the main topic of earning points with IHG, Hilton, and Marriott.

(This is my schoolteacher nod to Louis Sacher and his “Wayside School” books. These posts were published in reverse order so they will read directly from one to the other only if you are on the Loyalty Traveler homepage.)

 

 

 

Thousands of Hyatt Gold Passport members are half-way to a free night after checking out of a Hyatt Hotel today, October 1, 2009. Hyatt Gold Passport’s “The Next Big Thing” promotion is huge this year with Faster Free Nights, Stays Count Double, and bonus United miles available in combinable promotions.

In August, I was speaking with Barbara DeLollis of USA Today and discussing with her the current hotel loyalty program climate of 2009 as the best year in the past decade for hotel loyalty program promotions.

I’ve had the equivalent of $3,000+ in free hotel nights over the past six weeks with Starwood Preferred Guest staying at the St. Regis San Francisco, St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, W San Francisco, and Westin Napa Verasa. The hotel stays in May during Starwood’s Stay 2 times and earn a free weekend night only cost me $1,800 for the 16 hotel stays to earn 8 free nights.

And now Starwood is offering double elite credit for the remainder of 2009 for current SPG elite members. My SPG Platinum elite status provided added value, including full two-room suites at several hotels.

In August, I stayed in some low cost Holiday Inn hotels while traveling.  Priority Club’s Stay 2 nights and earn a free night allowed me to redeem a free hotel stay at the $300 per night InterContinental San Francisco. Too bad their promotion was limited to four free nights.

As a Hyatt Diamond elite member (25 stays or 50 nights) I recently received a free night credit for a Hyatt Place or Summerfield Suites to use by the end of 2009. As a SPG Platinum member (25 stays or 50 nights) I received a free night credit for any Starwood Hotel up to a Category 5 to use by the end of 2009. Ken Burns’ National Parks documentary has really stoked my interest in driving through Yosemite to stay at the Westin Monache in Mammoth Lakes this month before snow season begins.

I have stayed twice this past year for free at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands Inn. That is truly my staycation destination. The Highlands Inn is just a short 8 miles south of my home in Monterey. Kelley and I think it is one of the most beautiful locations in the world. Of course we are biased locals.

My point is not to espouse on my great travel trips.

I am simply a loyalty traveler and you can be one too.

Seriously, this Hyatt Faster Free Nights offer with Stays Count Double elite credit is truly an offer not to be missed.

And now that Gold Passport has opened Faster Free Nights to members who choose miles rather than points for earning preference, this promotion is a no-brainer if you are a United 1K member (and perhaps even if you are just a 1P, 2P, or general UA member like myself).

Whether your travel plans take you to London, Paris, Tokyo, Aruba, New York, or to a Hyatt resort just over the hill, the opportunity to earn free nights while attaining elite status and building up your frequent flier miles is an unprecedented hotel loyalty opportunity.

Priority Club had an earning limit of 4 free nights during their spring/summer promotion and SPG only allowed free nights to be redeemed for Friday, Saturday or Sunday this summer. Hyatt will allow you to book your winter 2010 7-night free vacation in a resort if you earn the nights and find the availability.

Here are some Loyalty Traveler tips for Hyatt Hotels Faster Free Nights planning:

1.       Chart the rates for your regional Hyatt Hotels and plan discretionary trips to hotels when rates are low. For example, during Starwood’s Free Weekend nights promotion I was able to stay in every Starwood Hotel in San Francisco and only once did I pay over $125 for a hotel room. This coming weekend most of these hotels are in the $300 per night range.

 

I find creating a spreadsheet helpful in plotting my stays during low rate nights at the Hyatt Hotels in my region. If you don’t have computer spreadsheet skills, then just draw out a grid on paper and track hotel rates. You will see patterns and with a little effort and research you can save hundreds of dollars on hotel rates.

 

Compare rates on Hyatt.com to online travel agency (OTA) rates. I like to check Kayak.com to get a meta-search view of rates. Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee allows a member to make a claim over the phone without having to book a room first. If you see a rate discrepancy with a lower rate on another OTA site and Hyatt approves your claim, then Hyatt will match the lower rate and take an additional 20% off. Discrepancies are more common than you might think.

 

Look for Gold Passport G Bonuses when making reservations. A simple check for a G Bonus link to the hotel you are planning to stay can increase your points earning by 1,000 to 2,000 points.

 

 

2.       Vary your stays to make the acquisition of free nights more pleasurable. Hyatt Place Fremont is my local cheap night hotel at just $70 all-in on most weekends, but no upgrades, fewer Diamond amenity points, and no lounge.

 

$20 more can put me in the Hyatt Santa Clara where there is a lounge, a breakfast restaurant, and the opportunity for nice upgrades.

 

In 2008 I only stayed in half of the Hyatt brand hotels in the San Francisco Bay region during an elite fast-track Stays Count Double promotion. This fall I will try and make at least one stay in the hotels I missed last year and check in with more Hyatt Hotels in southern California. I hear San Diego calling me.

 

3.       Be persistent and be flexible when it comes time to redeem your free nights. Starwood Lurker reported St. Regis Monarch Beach was the most requested free night property during the SPG promotion. I found availability over half the weekends in summer during my regular periodic checks. Sometimes availability lasted less than an hour. Westin Napa was a difficult property to get. I got it.

Hyatt Carmel Highlands is one of the more difficult hotels to get with FFN. I stayed twice this past year using FFN credits there.

Related Boarding Area blogger posts for Hyatt’s fall 2009 promotion:

One Mile at a Time – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2009/09/30/13500-united-miles-and-one-free-night-at-any-hyatt-for-every-second-stay-united-1ks-only/

View from the Wing – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/2009/10/01/the-best-hotel-promo-ive-ever-seen-13500-united-miles-and-a-free-night-for-every-two-cheap-one-night-hyatt-stays/

Loyalty Traveler – Analysis of Hyatt FFN and Stays Count Double (Sep 17, 2009)

Related Loyalty Traveler posts:

Loyalty Traveler – Carmel Highlands Inn review (Jan 5, 2009)

Loyalty Traveler – Hyatt Regency San Francisco Review and Stays Count Double Economic Rationale (March 22, 2008)

Finding a good email hotel rate offer is hard work. I want to rant about the crap offers that regularly come into my email inbox. Most of the hotel special rate offers I analyze are offers I never write about since they are such blatantly poor value for money. Today I will share the latest offers I found in my email inbox from the major hotel chains.

Marketing sales is a science I have not studied from a seller’s perspective. From a consumer perspective as a traveler who will stay in hotels several days over the next month I have to ask the question. Why do hotels regularly send me emails promoting poor value room rate special offers?

The email special rate offers are generally so bad that I tend to go no deeper than skim my hotel email. After many years of email offers from Hilton, Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG –  I still think I can count the good value offers I’ve received in the past five years in low double digit numbers. My general evaluation of emails from hotel chains is 95% of the time the rate is not a good value compared to what you would find by a simple search for better rates on the hotel’s website.

AAA rates are the first place to start for better value. Special offers on a specific hotel’s website will usually find a better special offer rate than the national or regional rate offers sent from the hotel corporate office to your email box.

I actually just pulled that 95% estimate out of the air. A systematic approach to hotel email analysis would have more consumer validation. So, here are recent package offers I have received from Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Priority Club, and Starwood in emails this past month.

Hotel Deals for Stupid People

Hilton Hotels Doubletree is first on the rate analysis block since their Doubletree promotion email for the Fall Getaway Package $50 Food & Beverage Credit put me on this rant today.

 

First – the fine print, that tiny font at the bottom of the promotion ad states this offer is only valid with a two-night stay.

Why not put that detail in the clearly visible print?

This promotion made me recall fond memories of a stay at the Doubletree Sonoma in Rohnert Park back in 2001. The hotel upgraded me to a suite with a Jacuzzi tub that took 90 minutes to fill. I paid a $75 room rate. And I was only Hilton HHonors Gold. I wouldn’t mind staying there again.

Rate check: Doubletree Sonoma in Rohnert Park

December 4-6, Friday-Sunday

 

Fall Weekend Getaway Rate = $154 per night (cancellation policy 24 hours before arrival)

Best Available Unrestricted rate (BAR) = $129 per night (cancellation policy 24 hours before arrival)

Internet nonrefundable rate = $74 per night.

 

Are you kidding me?

 

Doubletree is actually running a promotion for a $50 food and beverage credit on a two night stay that has a room rate exactly $50 more than the rate otherwise available for the same room type and same cancellation policy.

Actually the Fall Weekend Getaway rate is even slightly higher since the 14% hotel tax on the $50 Food & Beverage credit is higher than the 9% state sales tax if you just go to the restaurant and pay for the meal.

 

Better yet for me as a consumer is my option to book a nonrefundable rate and have $150 for dining and beverages anywhere I please over the weekend, including alcohol which is excluded from the $50 F&B credit in the special offer rate.

 

Hyatt’s Balance Spa Credit Package

 

Hyatt Spa Package includes breakfast daily, $100 spa credit and 5,000 Gold Passport points. Since Hilton has me thinking about Sonoma County I decided to check this offer for the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa. I checked hotel rates for Monday and Tuesday, November 16-18 since these tend to be the lower rate nights for Sonoma County hotels where Bay Area getaways drive rates up on weekends.

 

Hyatt’s Balance Spa Package costs $598 for 2 nights and I get $100 spa credit and 5,000 Gold Passport points.

 

$376 all-in is the Best Available Rate (BAR) for the same room with the same cancellation policy of 24 hours before arrival.

 

The spa package is an additional $222 for the weekend for a $100 spa credit, breakfast for two, and 5,000 points. Since the spa credit has a $100 value for a guest using the spa, the package differential is the extra $122 for 5,000 points and breakfast for the two mornings. Points are generally worth between 1.5 and 2.5 cents per point when redeeming for a free night meaning the 5,000 points have a potential value in most hotel redemption cases of $75 to $125.

 

Hyatt’s Balance spa package is a decent value compared to a comparable best available rate (BAR) since it essentially provides complimentary breakfast for the hotel stay considering the equivalent value of the Spa credit and bonus points in this one example.

 

$320 all in for the same room on the same weekend is for risk takers who are willing to accept the terms of a nonrefundable rate.

 

In this comparison the difference in rates at $280 less for a two night stay is nearly half-off if you just buy the room and forget the package concept of a $100 spa credit, free breakfast, and 5,000 points.

 

The question becomes, “Is breakfast for two mornings and 5,000 points worth $180?”

 

In my opinion the answer is no.

 

Priority Club Points & Cash for Flights

 

This was actually a Priority Club marketing person who read this blog and sent me an email to check out the Points & Cash option for flights.

 

I haven’t evaluated many flights yet.

 

Priority Club Points & Cash Flight Sample

 

Monterey, CA – Denver, CO

Fri, Oct 23- Mon, Oct 26

1 Adult Coach Class ticket

 

83,000 Priority Club Points

Delta/Northwest (2-stops)

Fare on Kayak.com = $289

 

131,000 Priority Club points

American Airlines (1-stop)

 

174,000 Priority Club points

United Airlines nonstop

Priority Club Cash & Points rate reduces to $600.60 + 20,000 points.

United.com rate = $590.00 all-in

 

Redemption rate for Priority Club points is $3.39 per 1,000 points just using points for a United Airlines nonstop flight. Only a stupid person would pay use Priority Club for this ticket and spend 20,000 points + $10 more than a ticket purchased directly from United Airlines.

 

I like to get a minimum of $10.00 per 1,000 points with my redemptions. My last Priority Club free night redemption was worth over $20 per 1,000 points when I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express on a 5,000 points Points Break free night.

 

Delta Airlines is a $289 fare or 83,000 PC points. The redemption value for the Priority Club member is only $3.48 per 1,000 Priority Club points. This is a poor use of points. You can easily get a redemption value of $15 per 1,000 Priority Club points using your points for hotel redemptions by waiting for better opportunities to spend your points.

 

Starwood Hotels sent a W Hotels 40% discount offer using promotion code “Daily21”. I checked Scottsdale and the code wasn’t valid for a 4-night stay I tried using November dates.

 

$203 per night was the lowest rate I saw for the four nights. That is a nonrefundable, no changes rate. AAA quickly lowered the rate to $179 per night. In fact the next higher category room was only $202, one dollar less than the nonrefundable discount rate. And I didn’t even delve into the multi-night discount codes to look for free night rates which would likely take at least another $100 to $200 off a 4-night stay.

 

Marriott Free Night in the Caribbean or Mexico

 

Sep 7-Dec 12, 2009 Marriott Sand Dollars package (promotion code M11)

-Free night (stay requirements vary by resort)

-Breakfast for two daily

-$100 resort credit per stay

 

First, I checked Aruba and I didn’t see any information regarding the minimum stay requirement since I couldn’t find this special rate using the link from the email.

 

I did find a similar rate on the Marriott Aruba special offers page.

Dates checked: Sun, Nov 22 – Fri, Nov 27

Special rate “S29” with free night, breakfast, and $100 per stay resort credit

Lowest S29 special offer rate: $289 per night. With free night this would mean pay 4 nights = $1,156 (before tax).

 

AAA rate for same room type is $145 per night. 5 nights = $725.

 

The Free Night + $100 Credit Rate is $431 more (before tax) for a $100 credit and five days of breakfast. $331 is some expensive breakfast tabs over 5 days.

 

My preference is to book the ocean view room at $220 per night for my stay. $1,100 for five nights. Checking out the ocean view while staying at a resort hotel in Aruba holds a lot more value to me than free breakfast with the S29 rate.

 

The best hotel email in my inbox lately is from Accor A-Club. I registered Kelley as a new member a couple of weeks ago and she received a 2,000 points registration bonus. Last week Accor A-Club sent Kelley a Happy Birthday email with another 500 points birthday gift. After earning 2,500 loyalty points in September 2009, Kelley is now an A-Club Silver elite member eligible for a 50% elite bonus on her Accor hotel stays.

 

Happy Birthday from your A|Club team!

This is the ideal opportunity for us to thank you for your loyalty by offering you a birthday bonus of 500 A|Club points !

Maybe you’ll be able to use this exceptional bonus to order an A|Club rewards gift voucher to pay for all or part of your next stay at one of the 2,000 Accor hotels participating in the program, or to convert your points into airline miles to get your free ticket and head off to your dream destination even sooner!

To earn even more points, take advantage of the many promotional A|Club offers listed on
www.a-club.com.

See you soon on www.a-club.com and at the 2,000 participating Accor hotels around the world!

Your A|Club team

 

Now that is an email with value.

The more complex programmes become, the harder it is for consumers to compare them.

 

“The average consumer will not try and work out return on spend (the monetary value of earning points), never mind factoring in the value of value-added services, such as, early check-in or access to an executive lounge,” Conradie maintains.

 

– Razor’s Edge Business Intelligence press release for the Multinational Hotel Rewards Programmes 2009 report. http://www.razorsedgebi.com/

 

Thank goodness there is Loyalty Traveler for the average consumer.

 

I received an email the other day regarding Razor’s Edge Business Intelligence recently published report on Multinational Hotel Rewards Programmes 2009.

 

The altered spelling of ‘Programmes’ may clue you in on the fact that this report is not published in the USA. Razor’s Edge Business Intelligence is a South Africa company.

 

The report sounds like a great resource for Loyalty Traveler.

 

12 major hotel loyalty programs are profiled in detail.

 

·         Accor A|Club

·          Best Western Gold Crown International

·          Carlson Goldpoints Plus

·          Choice Hotels Choice Privileges

·          Golden Tulip Flavours

·          Hilton HHonors

·          Hyatt Gold Passport

·          InterContinental Priority Club Rewards

·          Marriott Rewards

·          Sol Meliá Mas Rewards

·          Starwood Preferred Guest

·          Wyndham Rewards

 

 

Loyalty Traveler has written about all these hotel loyalty programs in the past year, except for Golden Tulip. I hold a grudge against Golden Tulip Flavours. I am not convinced Golden Tulip Flavours ever got their act together. 

 

Soon after the Flavours program was launched a few years ago I had Golden Tulip stays in Amsterdam and spent time educating the staff at each hotel’s front desk on their own chain’s hotel loyalty program. I never received credit for any of my stays. Follow up emails with the company came back with replies that I would not receive any benefits or a membership card until I completed a hotel stay.

 

Those Dutch customer service representatives at Golden Tulip understood my English perfectly well, they just didn’t understand their hotel loyalty program.

 

Golden Tulip hotels are fine and I do not hesitate recommending these hotels to guests. Actually, I did include a little piece with photos of the functional and well-designed little space of my Golden Tulip Amsterdam Art 160 square feet room in this June 2009 Loyalty Traveler blog post.

 

 

The 200-page Hotel Loyalty Programmes 2009 report by Razor’s Edge is only US$1,900 if purchased by December 31, 2009. US$2,200 after that date.

 

I double-checked hoping it was priced in South Africa Rand.

 

Hey Razor’s Edge. Can you cut Loyalty Traveler a free slice?

 

Loyalty Traveler is free hotel loyalty program business intelligence for consumers.

No deep pockets here.

 

 

 

 

 

Marriott Rewards offers a PointSavers discount whereby the rate for a free night using points is reduced by one category level for participating hotels. UK hotels are heavily featured for 2009. The PointSavers participating hotels list is up-to-date.

The PointSavers advertisement is up to 33% savings. This is true if you book a Marriott Rewards category 3 hotel participating in PointSavers. The regular rate of 15,000 points per night for a free night at a Category 3 hotel will be reduced by 33% to 10,000 points per night. In effect you can redeem 3 nights at a Category 3 hotel for the normal price of 2 nights.

33% is the maximum savings using PointSavers.

The savings is reduced as you go higher in category level using PointSavers.

Here is a table to show the savings by hotel category level for Marriott Rewards PointSavers.

Marriott Rewards Hotel Category	Regular Points for Free Night	PointSaver Rate	Discount
Category 1	7,500	6,000	20%
Category 2	10,000	7,500	25%
Category 3	15,000	10,000	33%
Category 4	20,000	15,000	25%
Category 5	25,000	20,000	20%
Category 6	30,000	25,000	17%
Category 7	35,000	30,000	14%
Category 8	40,000	35,000	12.5%

 

Marriott Rewards feature of “Redeem 4 nights and get the 5^th night free” is applicable for PointSaver redemptions.

 

Ritz-Carlton PointSavers

Ritz-Carlton Hotels are part of the Marriott Hotels chain. You can redeem your Marriott Rewards points for Ritz-Carlton hotel stays, however, you do not earn Marriott Rewards points for Ritz-Carlton stays.

A great feature of Marriott Rewards is the participation of Ritz-Carlton Hotels in PointSavers. In fact, the advantage of Ritz-Carlton PointSavers is the per night rate for multi-night stays still decreases for longer stays just as the old Marriott Rewards chart did for Marriott brand hotels.

A free night using Marriott Rewards points for a Tier 2 Ritz-Carlton Hotel for a 1-night stay will cost 70,000 points regularly. A 7-night hotel stay will cost just over 35,000 points per night. The per night cost using points decreases by almost 50%.

There are four main Marriott Hotels in San Francisco all at Category 6 or 30,000 points per night. The 5^th night free award saves 30,000 points. A Marriott Rewards guest will spend 180,000 points for 7 nights on a regular award at one of these San Francisco hotels. None of these hotels are currently participating in PointSavers for discount award nights.

PointSavers for 7-nights reduces the cost for a free night at a higher level Ritz-Carlton Hotel to just over 27,000 points per night for a hotel like the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco and Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, 35 miles south of San Francisco. A Marriott Rewards guest will spend 190,000 points for a 7-night PointSavers stay available through September 30, 2009. An additional 10,000 points will upgrade the guest from a Marriott or Renaissance to a Ritz-Carlton in the San Francisco area.

 

Ritz-Carlton PointSavers Table

Marriott Rewards Ritz-Carlton Hotel Category	Regular Award Points for Ritz-Carlton	PointSavers Award for Ritz-Carlton	Discount
Tier 1 – 1 Night	45,000	35,000	22%
Tier 1 – 2 Nights	75,000	60,000	20%
Tier 1 – 3 Nights	100,000	80,000	20%
Tier 1 – 5 Nights	150,000	120,000	20%
Tier 1 – 7 Nights	175,000	140,000	20%
Tier 2 – 1 Night	70,000	50,000	28.6%
Tier 2 – 2 Nights	110,000	80,000	27.3%
Tier 2 – 3 Nights	150,000	110,000	26.7%
Tier 2 – 5 Nights	200,000	150,000	25%
Tier 2 – 7 Nights	250,000	190,000	24%

 

Marriott Rewards Ritz-Carlton Hotel Category	Regular Award Per Night Points for Ritz-Carlton	PointSavers Per Night Points for Ritz-Carlton
Tier 1 – 1 Night	45,000	35,000
Tier 1 – 2 Nights	37,500	30,000
Tier 1 – 3 Nights	33,333	26,667
Tier 1 – 5 Nights	30,000	24,000
Tier 1 – 7 Nights	25,000	20,000
Tier 2 – 1 Night	70,000	50,000
Tier 2 – 2 Nights	55,000	40,000
Tier 2 – 3 Nights	50,000	36,667
Tier 2 – 5 Nights	40,000	30,000
Tier 2 – 7 Nights	35,714	27,143

 

Ritz-Carlton Hotel stays are a great value for Marriott Rewards points.

Here is the link to the Summer 2009 participating hotels through September 30, 2009.

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/ritzCarltonPointSavers.mi#summer2009pointsaversrewards

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Marriott! PointSavers webpage update is overdue.

Marriott Rewards has not updated the PointSavers FAQ page. The webpage describing PointSavers has been out-of-date for all of 2009 since the Marriott Rewards program changes in January 2009. The FAQ provides an incorrect example for the first question:

“What type of value does PointSavers provide?

The PointSavers value is exceptional. Members may receive up to a 33% savings on point redemptions depending on the hotel category and number of nights requested.

Locations participating in PointSavers are discounted by one category in Marriott Rewards point requirements.*

For example, members can stay in a Category 5 hotel while redeeming points for a Category 4 hotel. So, to stay at a Category 5 hotel for two nights at a standard redemption would require 46,000 Marriott Rewards points. The same stay with PointSavers would be 38,000 points or a 21% savings.”

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/marriottRewardsPointSaversFAQs.mi

Using the current Marriott Rewards free night redemption table the example should read:

“For example, members can stay in a Category 5 hotel while redeeming points for a Category 4 hotel. So, to stay at a Category 5 hotel for two nights at a standard redemption would require 50,000 Marriott Rewards points. The same stay with PointSavers would be 40,000 points or a 20% savings.”