Loyalty Traveler » Hotel Rate Discounts

Hyatt Hotels Free Time is still good free night discount rate

Ric Garrido — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:29:24 +0000

There are so many deals I have written about on Loyalty Traveler that I lose track. Sometimes I start to write articles a second time. This week I saw a press release on a Hyatt discount rate and made a note to blog it.

Turns out I already blogged about the Hyatt Hotels Free Time offer back in March. So here is the article again that I posted in March analyzing the Hyatt Hotels Free Time Rate.

Today I am immersing myself in John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie and even a little Bruce Springsteen thrown into the mix at the 32nd annual Steinbeck Festival at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California. I’ll try and toss out some tweets and photos from the event on Twitter @LoyaltyTraveler.

The National Steinbeck Center comped me a festival pass to the event and I am sharing the experience through social media.

By the way there are two Hyatt Hotels in the Monterey/Salinas area with Hyatt Regency Monterey and Hyatt Highlands Inn in Carmel Highlands.

Repost of Hyatt Hotels Free Time Offer (March 21, 2012)

Hyatt Hotels launched a new rate offer this week called Free Time that gives a free night rebate at checkout. This rate is available for booking from March 20 through November 30, 2012 for stays through December 30, 2012.

Most participating hotels offer the third night free and the rate includes full breakfast for two and some hotels offer 2pm late checkout.

This offer is only for participating hotels in the US, Canada and Caribbean. Hyatt House and Hyatt Place are not participating brands.

The rate code is FRTIME. There is a website Hyatt.com/freetimethat describes the promotion offer and participating hotels.

Not all hotels are participating, but my quick check of six hotels showed the FRTIME rate available for five properties.

Rate Analysis

The pattern I saw for five hotels I checked is the FRTIME nightly rate is $20 more than the Hyatt Daily Rate (BAR). The Hyatt Daily Rate allows refundable cancellation. The FRTIME rate cancellation policy appears to be the same as Hyatt Daily Rate terms. Surprisingly the FRTIME rate is not a prepaid, nonrefundable rate.

Note: Hotels I checked for FRTIME rate allow refundable cancellations. This is not a prepaid, nonrefundable rate which is a common term for third night free rates.

Andaz West Hollywood May 10-13, 2012

FRTIME Rate = $279/night. 3 night total = $837 – $279 = $598 for 3-night stay.
Hyatt Daily Rate (BAR) = $259/night. 3 night total = $777.
AAA rate (10% discount) = $233.10/night. 3 night total = $699.30.

All three rates have same cancellation policy of day before arrival.

FRTIME 3rd night free rate is $100 less than AAA and also includes free breakfast for two daily and 2 pm late checkout.

FRTIME is a significant rate savings for all Gold Passport members and free breakfast for two adults is likely a $200 value for six breakfasts over 3 days. This is a huge breakfast value for members who do not hold Gold Passport Diamond status.

Finding hotels with Free Time Rate Offer

You can try this link: Hyatt.com/freetimeand see if it works yet for a list of participating Hyatt hotels.

Alternatively, search for the hotel you want and look for the special offers tab on the left side of the Hyatt hotel’s homepage. The Free Time offer was listed first for every hotel I checked.

Hyatt FRTIME Free Time Rate Terms:

Offer valid at participating hotels in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean for minimum 3-night stays beginning on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Stays must be booked between March 20, 2012 and November 30, 2012 and completed between March 20, 2012 and December 30, 2012. Guest must book and stay at least two (2) paid nights to receive one (1) additional free night. Offer also includes free breakfast each morning at participating hotel restaurants for up to two (2) people. Not valid for room service.Offer also includes 2:00 p.m. check-out (local time). See general terms below for additional details.

Advance reservations requesting offer code FRTIME required. Offer varies by property. Contact each property Hyatt.com/freetime for specific terms. For a list of resorts, visit hyattresorts.com. Not valid at Hyatt Place or Hyatt House locations. Specific restrictions may apply at various hotels. Contact each hotel for specific terms and conditions.

Booking window begins at 12:00 a. m. CDT on March 20, 2012 and ends at 11:59 p.m. CST on November 30, 2012. The additional free night must be used on the same stay. Limit one (1) free night per stay. Two or more consecutive nights at same hotel are considered a stay regardless of whether guest checks out. Offer subject to availability. A limited number of rooms are allocated to this offer. No refunds or credit will be issued for unused portions. Offer not valid for groups or convention, award stays, travel agent rates, Hyatt employee rates or stays booked through third parties and may not be combined with other promotions. Additional charges may apply for additional guests or room type upgrades. Blackout periods may apply due to seasonal periods or special events, and normal arrival/departure restrictions apply. Local tax regulations apply.

Valid only for Friday-Tuesday arrivals at Hyatt French Quarter.
Valid only for Sunday-Tuesday arrivals at Hyatt Regency Newport.
Valid only for Saturday-Wednesday arrivals at Hyatt Regency Savannah, Avia Savannah, and Hyatt Santa Barbara.
Four-day length of stay required for free night at Hyatt Regency Mission Bay from June 15-September 7, 2012.

Hyatt reserves the right to alter or withdraw this offer at any time without notice. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts® encompasses hotels managed, franchised or leased by subsidiaries and affiliates of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Hyatt®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt HouseTM, Hyatt Gold Passport®, and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. ©2012 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

Hotel Loyalty Promotions Update April 6, 2012

Ric Garrido — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:16:41 +0000

2012 HELP SHEET #4 – Hotel Loyalty Promotions. April 6, 2012 Update (previous update March 6).

Daily Getaways April 9-May 11, 2012.

One of the most important events of the year happens April 9-May 11with the U.S. Travel Association’s Daily Getaways sponsored by American Express. This is an opportunity to buy hotel loyalty points in several programs including Hilton HHonors, Priority Club, Wyndham Rewards and probably Hyatt Gold Passport and Choice Privileges. Marriott has travel cards at up to 20% discount. Several hotel brands offer discounted stay certificates.

Loyalty Traveler posts:

Daily Getaways Analysis for Week 1 Offers(April 5, 2012)

Daily Getaways: Buy Priority Club points Monday April 9(April 2, 2012) – this is an opportunity to buy up to 500,000 points at $60/10,000 points.

Why are Daily Getaways Dealing Travel April 9-May 11?(April 2, 2012)

2nd Quarter 2012 promotions from Top Ten hotel loyalty programs:

Links to my Loyalty Traveler posts provide more detail and promotion analysis for each offer.

Most hotel loyalty promotions are two to four months in duration.

The easiest way to quickly see a list of all hotel loyalty promotions discussed on Loyalty Traveler is to check my Loyalty Traveler Facebook page. All Loyalty Traveler post links feed into Twitter and all my tweets feed into Loyalty Traveler Facebook.

Loyalty Traveler Five Star Promotion Rating

The major offers from each hotel loyalty program are listed first. The number of asterisks from 1-5 indicates my rating for this offer with 4 or 5 being the best value offers in my opinion.

Le Club Accor - this Europe-based program officially changed its name from A|Club to Le Club Accor on March 28, 2012. Accor Hotels offers a variety of global regional bonusesand rate discounts. The program tends to have regionalized rate and bonus points promotions.

Until May 31, 2012 earn 1,000 miles per stay with Delta or Aeroplan.

*** Best Western Rewards – April 15 – June 3, 2012

Earn a $50 Best Western Travel Card after 3 stays. Elite members earn 1,000 bonus points for each stay, up to 3,000 bonus points.

Best Western FMJUMP12 promotion registration required.

*** Best Western Gold elite after one stay for new members choosing to earn Southwest points. Loyalty Traveler post March 22, 2012.

**** Choice Privileges – March 8 – May 8, 2012 – Earn 8,000 points after two stays.The promotion states earn one free night, but the offer is actually 8,000 bonus points which is sufficient for a free night at the two lowest tiers of hotels in the Choice chain. Top tier Choice brand hotels require 20,000 to 25,000 points for a free night.

The best aspect of this offer is there is no limit to the number of bonus points for US and Canada Choice Privileges membersand other countries have a 48,000 bonus points limit.

I bumped the rating up to 4-stars based on a recent analysis finding widespread availability of $200+ Choice hotels in Paris for 8,000 points in May and June. This is a better offer than Best Western and Wyndham offers for April 2012 with their low maximum earning limits and Choice Hotels has the competitive advantage of being in so many places around the USA and Canada, yet also having a big presence globally. Loyalty Traveler post March 7, 2012.

****Club Carlson – Club Carlson should be launching a new promotion in the next couple of weeks. The Triple Points offer ended March 16. Currently the primary offer is a 3-for-2 rate discount in Asia Pacific and a great car rental bonuses for Avis and Budget(LT post March 16, 2012).

3rd night free Asia-Pacific Hotels. Book by April 30 for stays through July 31, 2012. (LT post March 19, 2012)

9,000 Club Carlson bonus points for 3 or more days AVIS car rentalthrough April 30, 2012.

9,000 Club Carlson bonus points for 3 or more days Budget car rentalthrough April 30, 2012.

*** Hilton HHonors – April 1 – June 30, 2012 – Double Points or Double Miles. Registration required. Loyalty traveler post March 21, 2012.

**** Hyatt 3rd Night Free Rate is a rate discount for bookings through November 30, 2012 for stays by December 30, 2012. Rate includes breakfast for two and 2pm late checkout. My Loyalty Traveler rate analysis March 21 showed this is a good value and usually lower than AAA rates.

****Hyatt Gold Passport – February 1 – April 30, 2012 offers a progressive bonus every 4 nights starting at 4,000 bonus points after 4 nights; 8,000 more points after 8 nights (Total = 12,000 bonus points); 12,000 more points after 12 nights (Total = 24,000 bonus points); and 20,000 more points after 16 nights (Total = 44,000 bonus points).

Hyatt Visa card members earn 25% bonus each time for up to 11,000 additional points (Total = 55,000 points). You only need to be a Hyatt Visa card member for this bonus. You do not need to charge hotel stays to your Hyatt Visa to earn credit card 25% bonus points.

Hyatt promotion registration deadline is March 31.

This is a 4-star promotion for credit card members and frequent guests going for 16 nights. 3-star offer if not going all-in to stay at Hyatt for full bonus.

This is a high value deal if you go all in for 16 nights. This offer allows all types of travelers to benefit. This offer will earn at least two free nights at any top tier Hyatt Hotel (two category-6 hotel nights = 44,000 points for places like Maldives, Paris, London, New York). Regular points earned from hotel stays can put you in the 60,000+ points range.

Loyalty Traveler post January 26, 2012.

Hyatt Gold Passport 16 nights 44,000 points analysis. (Feb 3, 2012)

Gold Passport Diamond Challenge- Most beneficial perhaps is to tie this offer into a Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond Challenge for 12 nights in 60 days (normally 25 stays or 50 nights in calendar year). As Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond for 2012 you also will receive 4 confirmed suite upgrades. Start the Gold Passport Diamond Challenge first and then get the credit card once you have Diamond status to get confirmed suite upgrades for your credit card free nights. FlyerTalk discussion threadon Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond challenge.

*** InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards – January 23 – April 30, 2012 Double Points or Double Miles. You must register for this offer before your stays. Double points or double miles begins on second stay unless your first stay is Candewood Suites or Staybridge Suites. LT post January 13.

**** IHG Priority Club 2012 Quarter 2 Stay promotions – Priority Club members may register for one of the quarterly stay promotions running April 1-June 30, 2012. You can only register for one offer, so pick the target you are most likely to reach. Loyalty Traveler post March 16, 2012.

Stay 3 nights = 5,000 bonus points.
Stay 7 nights = 10,000 bonus points.
Stay 15 nights = 15,000 bonus points.

***** IHG Priority Club PointBreaks hotel rewards to May 31. These are hotels for 5,000 points. Priority Club points are only $30 through Daily Getaways sale April 9. Priority Club also has discount rates for buying points through April 30. Loyalty Traveler post March 30.

**** Marriott Rewards – MegaBonus 2012 February 1 – April 30, 2012. Earn one free night every two stays; maximum two free nights. Select Marriott Rewards members received targetted offers for three free night maximum and 25,000 to 50,000 points after 15 to 25 nights. LT post Jan 7, 2012.

**** Marriott Rewards MegaMiles January 1-April 30, 2012 earns 2,000 bonus miles per Marriott brand stay beginning with second stay. Maximum 50,000 bonus miles. Loyalty Traveler post December 7, 2012.

Note to Marriott Rewards members:You must have your Marriott Rewards account earning preference set to miles in order to see Marriott Rewards miles promotions.

***** Ritz-Carlton Rewards February 1-April 15, 2012 earn one free night after two stays. Limit of two free night certificates. Promotion is open to new Ritz-Carlton Rewards enrollees or RCR members as of January 13, 2012. Current Marriott Rewards members are not eligible for this offer. Promotion registration required by March 1, 2012. Loyalty traveler post Jan 31, 2012.

Starwood Preferred Guest should announce a new promotion next week as Better by the Night ends April 8.

*** Starwood Preferred Guest – Better by the Night – January 9-April 8, 2012 offers double points (2 bonus points/$1) for two night stays and triple points (4 bonus points/$1) for three night and longer stays in addition to the 2 base points/$1 normally earned. LT post Jan 9, 2012.

Register by March 15, 2012.

Sheraton Club Lounge bookings earn 1,000 bonus points when paid with any American Express card for stays February 21 to May 31, 2012. LT post February 24, 2012.

Wyndham Rewards

*** March 29-July 8, 2012 – Double Points or double miles for first four stays and movie tickets. This offer is for members in US, Canada and Mexico. Loyalty Traveler post April 1, 2012.

**** March 29-July 8, 2012 – Wyndham Rewards 10,000 points every 2 stays, up to 30,000 bonus points after 6 stays. This is a better promotion offer for members who do not reside in US, Canada and Mexico. Loyalty Traveler post April 3, 2012.

5-Star Promotion Scale

Loyalty Traveler ranks the consumer value of some hotel loyalty promotions on a Five–Star Scale.

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

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

Three ***= good value hotel loyalty promotion or rate offer

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

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

Rate discounts and loyalty program bonusesare 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 rank I take into consideration the following factors and probably more:

The opportunity for significantly high-value return on hotel spend in terms of future hotel rebate in free nights and discounted hotel nights.
Past loyalty program offers and rates for the specific hotel chain and loyalty program.

Loyalty Traveler Research

Hotel Points to Airline Miles Conversion Tables

American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for 9 Hotel Programs.(Feb 5, 2012)
American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for Elites and Credit Card members(Feb 6, 2012)
Delta Skymiles hotel points-to-miles rates in 9 hotel programs. (Feb 7, 2012)
United Mileage Plus hotel points-to-miles rates favor Marriott, Club Carlson, Wyndham(Feb 8, 2012)
Hotel Loyalty Program Airline Partners: 10 programs compared on one spreadsheet. (Feb 9, 2012)
Why Change hotel points into airline miles? (Feb 9, 2012)
Hotel points conversion into Southwest Rapid Rewards points favors Marriott, Choice and Hyatt (Feb 10, 2012)

Accor Hotels – Le Club Accor

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

Le Club Accorhotels replaced A|Club loyalty program for Accor on March 28, 2012. Ibis incorporates All Seasons and and Etap to become mega-brand. Loyalty Traveler post on changes Sep 18, 2011.

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

Accor Hotels is globally the largest chain of hotel brands outside of the USA. Accor also has the largest proportion of hotels as non-participants in its loyalty program compared to all other major global hotel chains. Hotels in economy and budget hotel market segments do not participate in Accor’s hotel loyalty programs.

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

Accor Hotels A|Club bonus offers

Amtrak Guest Rewards (loyalty program allows transfers to Choice Privileges and Hilton HHonors points)

Best Western Hotels – Best Western Rewards

Best Western Hotel Brand Tiers: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier.
Best Western Redeem Free Night Rewards Vouchers.
Best Western Earn Points.
Best Western International Offers.
Best Western Special Rate Offers.
Best Western Hotel Specific Bonus Point Offers in U.S.

***** Best Western Rewards – February 6 – April 8, 2012 Free night after 3 stays. This offer is limited to one free night voucher after 3 stays. All hotels globally participate. Must register for promotion before stays. The free night voucher expires June 30, 2012 which is the biggest limitation for this offer. LT post January 23, 2012.

***** Elite Status Match: Best Western Rewards Elite Status Match Offer (February 19, 2010) This offer is ongoing and still available. Best Western is a particularly useful loyalty program when traveling outside the USA. LT post Feb 19, 2010.

Loyalty Traveler Research – Aspirational Best Western Hotels for Free Night Certificates(March 28, 2012)

Best Western Brand Tiers Change– Best Western in 2011 designated about 25% of the chain’s higher quality hotels in the 4,000+ hotel chain as Best Western Plus (about 800 hotels) and Best Western Premier (about 100 hotels, mostly outside U.S.).

Carlson Hotels – Club Carlson
(formerly Goldpoints Plus loyalty program)

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

Club Carlson online booking bonus – Club Carlson general members earn 1,000 bonus points for online booking. Silver and Gold elite members earn 2,000 bonus points for online booking. Concierge elite members earn 3,000 points. Club Carlson Benefits table link.

Club Carlson Gold Elite member exclusive 2-for-1 hotel weekend rates and 4-for-2 discount rates for Europe, Middle East and Africa. LT post January 27, 2012. These rates earn points.

New Business Program – Club Carlson for Businessoffers small to medium businesses a special program for hotel rate discounts and a Club Carlson business account for earning additional points from employee hotel stays. Employees also maintain their own personal accounts and earn points normally as a Club Carlson member.

Overview of Club Carlson loyalty program(Feb 23, 2012)

These Loyalty Traveler posts describe changes with Club Carlson launch March 31, 2011:

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

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

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

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

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

Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

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

Choice Privileges Hotel Reward Partners:
Preferred Hotels Group, Barcelo Resorts

*** Choice Privileges – March 8 – May 8, 2012 – Earn 8,000 points after two stays.The promotion states earn one free night, but the offer is actually 8,000 bonus points which is sufficient for a free night at the two lowest tiers of hotels in the Choice chain. Top tier Choice brand hotels require 20,000 to 25,000 points for a free night. Loyalty Traveler post March 7, 2012.

Choice Hotels Best Rate Guarantee policy offers one free night for approved claims. Loyalty Traveler analysis March 12, 2012.

Choice Privileges Facebook Sweepstakes for 100,000 points and $2,000. Loyalty Traveler post March 27, 2012.

Loyalty Traveler Research – Choice Privileges: Booking High Value Reward Nights in Europe(March 26, 2012)

Choice Privileges reward night cost analysis. Using a spreadsheet of 2010 reward cost, I calculated the percentage of hotels in various reward levels worldwide from 6,000 points to 40,000 points. This is the only breakdown of hotel reward tiers I have ever seen for Choice Hotels. Loyalty Traveler post May 1, 2011.

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

Program enhancements for elites.

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

Reward night booking window extended for Choice Privileges elite members:

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

Nordic Choice Club hotel loyalty program covers 140 Choice hotels in Scandinavia and Baltic regions of Europe. Choice Privileges members currently do not earn points for hotel stays in Scandinavia, although hotel stays are available for points. Nordic Choice Club offers points and benefits for hotels in this region. Choice Privileges members planning frequent travel in Scandinavia may want to compare the benefits of Nordic Choice Club to Choice Privileges. (LT post Sep 9, 2010)

Drury Hotels – Gold Key Club

Drury Hotels are the #1 rated midscale limited service hotel brand by J.D. Power Guest Satisfaction Survey six consecutive years including 2010 and 2011. This hotel brand is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri and properties are primarily located in Midwest and South.

1,000 bonus points for enrollment in Drury Gold Key Club(ongoing).

*** 500 points Online Booking Bonus Promotion January 1-April 30, 2012. Normal rate is 100 points per online reservation.

E-Saver Discount ratesfor Drury Hotels.
Vacation and Hotel Discount Coupons for Drury Hotels in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbus, San Antonio and Atlanta. There are $10 and $15 per night discounts at select hotels on this page.

Expedia.com – Expedia Rewards

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

Expedia Rewards offers the ability to earn points when booking travel for other people like family members and friends. And Expedia vacation packages often allow a hotel night to be added for the same price as airfare alone; particularly when traveling to Las Vegas. Loyalty Traveler Analysis March 28, 2011.

Fairmont Hotels and Fairmont President’s Club

Fairmont Hotels offer upper-upscale and luxury hotels in fewer than 100 hotels globally.

Fairmont President’s Club Benefits and Elite Levels.
Fairmont Hotel Locations.

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

Four Seasons Hotels

Four Seasons Special Offers website link

Global Hotel Alliance – GHA Discovery – Hotel loyalty program alliance for 14 independent hotel brands including Omni Hotels, Pan Pacific, Kempinski Hotels, First Hotels, Mirvac, Anantara Resorts, Tivoli Hotels, The Doyle Collection, Marco Polo Hotels, Park Royal, The Leela Palaces, Shaza Hotels, Mokara Hotels & Spa, and Lungarno Collection.

Overview of GHA Discovery, elite membership benefits and local experiences, Loyalty Traveler post January 30, 2011.

Hilton Hotels – Hilton HHonors

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

Earn HHonors Points and Miles
HHonors Double Dipping
HHonors Airline Partners
Redeem HHonors Hotel Rewards
HHonors VIP elite Rewards
HHonors American Express AXON 4-night Awards.
MilePoint.com HHonors Primer.
HHonors Miles-for-Points(unique to HHonors is ability to change miles into points.)
HHonors Points-for-Miles(poor exchange rate for most airlines)
HHonors Purchase Points

**** Embassy Suites 366 Days of More Sweepstakes – Each day through February 28, 2013 one person wins two free night certificates. Loyalty Traveler post March 24, 2012.

Hilton Worldwide by Numbersprovides data on the number of hotels in each Hilton brand and geographic distribution. LT post April 6, 2012.

Program Change: HHonors Diamond elite enhancement guarantees breakfast, room upgrade, executive lounge access and welcome amenity points. LT post Jan 26, 2012.

***** Hilton HHonors – December 1-April 30, 2012. Must book hotel stay by Jan 31, 2012. Resort Escapes offers one free night globally after 5 consecutive nights at participating Hilton Resorts December 1-April 30, 2012. Must book hotel stay by Jan 31, 2012. Maximum two free nights. LT post Dec 4, 2011.

Program Change: HHonors – Southwest Airlines partnership ends January 1, 2012. No more earning Southwest Rapid Rewards points with HHonors. LT post October 14.

Redeem: HHonors Points & Money Rewards Analysis – Loyalty Traveler post October 3. This post shows the HHonors Points & Money rate table that was removed from HHonors website within a few hours after publishing this Loyalty Traveler post.

Redeem: HHonors Premium Rewards Analysis – Do HHonors Premium Room Rewards Prevent GLON/AXON Rewards at some Hilton Hotels? – Loyalty Traveler post October 13. This October 10 post also looks at using HHonors flexible dates tool to find low Hilton rates and Premium Room Rewards. Loyalty Traveler Research October 10.

HHonors Representative responds to Hotels only offering Premium Room Rewards issue. LT post October 14.

HHonors Redemption tip: A unique feature of HHonors is the ability to buy all needed point for a reward stay at time of booking hotel through Hilton reservations.

***** Elite Status Promotion: Hilton HHonors Gold elite fast-track for Carlson Wagonlit Travel customers. Earn HHonors Gold elite after four stays within 90 days of promotion registration. This offer has an end date of 12/31/2013 so might be best to wait until January 2012 to register for Gold elite through 2013. Loyalty Traveler post Sep 6.

***** Elite Status Promotion: HHonors Gold VIP elite after 4 stays or 9 nights in 90 days at U.S. hotels with Hilton HHonors MVP. Promotion registration required.

Hotel News: Hilton Hotels in 2011. Loyalty Traveler survey of 34 Hilton Hotels recently opened (LT post Sep 14).

Hotel News: Doubletree Hotels in 2011. LT post Sep 17.

Program Change: HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards discontinued for 2012. Point Stretchers required 40% fewer points than standard HHonors rewards. No official word yet on HHonors web site, but FlyerTalk thread indicates these rewards are dead and have been replaced with Points & Money Rewards. LT post Jan 6, 2012.

Hotel News: Home2Suites, Hilton’s second extended stay brand, opened its first hotel in 2011 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Unfortunately this new hotel brand becomes the first HHonors brand with a lower earn rate for points and miles. Loyalty Traveler post March 21, 2011.

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

Hotels.com Welcome Rewards

Earn a free night for every 10 nights.

Hyatt Hotels – Hyatt Gold Passport

Hotel Brands: Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Vacation Club, Hyatt Resorts, Andaz, Hyatt House (AVIA and Hotel Sierra acquired Sep 1, 2011. Hotel Sierra and Hyatt Summerfield Suites were rebranded as Hyatt House in 2012. Four AVIA upper upscale hotels are currently still called AVIA.)

Hyatt Gold Passport Membership Levels and Benefits
Hyatt Gold Passport Airline Partners and Earn Miles.
Hyatt Gold Passport Purchase and Transfer Points.
Hyatt Gold Passport Reward Nights and Hotel Reward Category Lists
Hyatt Gold Passport Paid Night Upgrades for points.

Hyatt House Sweepstakes and Facebook Contest through May 3, 2012. Loyalty Traveler post March 14, 2012.

*** Earn Hyatt Gold Passport for dining and spa services as a non-guest at participating Hyatt Hotels. Loyalty Traveler post April 4, 2012.

****Hyatt Gold Passport – February 1 – April 30, 2012 offers a progressive bonus every 4 nights starting at 4,000 bonus points after 4 nights; 8,000 more points after 8 nights (Total = 12,000 bonus points); 12,000 more points after 12 nights (Total = 24,000 bonus points); and 20,000 more points after 16 nights (Total = 44,000 bonus points).

Hyatt Visa card members earn 25% bonus each time for up to 11,000 additional points (Total = 55,000 points). You only need to be a Hyatt Visa card member for this bonus. You do not need to charge hotel stays to your Hyatt Visa to earn credit card 25% bonus points.

This is a 4-star promotion for credit card members and frequent guests going for 16 nights. 3-star offer if not going all-in to stay at Hyatt for full bonus.

Gold Passport Enhancement – Diamond members receive 50% bonus on Welcome Amenity pointsif points do not automatically post after stay. Loyalty Traveler post November 5.

Program Update: Hyatt House new brand to replace Summerfield Suites. LT post Sep 20.

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite member enhancements and 43 hotel reward reassignments (25 hotels went up in reward cost, 18 went down) effective September 1, 2011. LT post July 28, 2011.

Hyatt adds annual anniversary free night benefit for Hyatt VISA card renewal members valid for one night in category 1 to category 4 reward hotel. LT post August 5, 2011.

InterContinental Hotels Group – Priority Club

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

Priority Club Membership Levels and Benefits.
InterContinental Ambassador membership.
Priority Club Reward Nights.
Priority Club PointBreaks for only 5,000 points per night.
IHG Hotel Locations.

***** Europe Rate Discount through August 31, 2012 offer high discounts, but these rates do not earn Priority Club points. LT post January 27, 2012.

35% off weekend breaks (UK)

Use the 35% off link to go to UK site for IHG discount rates. This site allows search of hotels in Europe for 2 nights for price of 1 rates and 3 nights for price of 2.

2-for-1 rates in UK and Europe
3-for-2 rates in UK and Europe

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

Program Change: Priority Club Reward Tiers Change on January 18, 2012. Over 1,000 hotels will increase in reward price. Members will have 60 days to March 18 to redeem points at the old reward level for hotel stays. Loyalty Traveler post Jan 3, 2012. Loyalty Traveler analysis of changes at InterContinental Hotels January 20, 2012.

IHG First Night Free Best Rate Guarantee new policy. LT post Sep 22.

IHG Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights are posted the week before the first weekend of the month. Hotels are only posted for a few days and must be booked by Thursday prior to the Friday through Sunday first full weekend of the month dates. LT post February 28, 2012.

IHG Priority Club partnership with Las Vegas Resorts – The Venetian and The Palazzobecome InterContinental Alliance hotel partners as of April 1, 2011. Priority Club points can be earned and burned for hotel stays and InterContinental Ambassador benefits apply.

InterContinental Ambassador Accelerator - 20,000 points after 15 nights at InterContinental Hotels. Registration required.

Kimpton Hotels – Kimpton InTouch

How to Earn free nightsat Kimpton.
Inner Circle elite qualification and benefits.
Kimpton Hotel locations.
Kimpton Hotels promotions page.

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

La Quinta Hotels – La Quinta Returns

***** La Quinta Gold Elite after 2 nights within 60 days for new members. Offer valid through December 31, 2012. Loyalty Traveler post April 2, 2012.

**** Using La Quinta points for Waldorf-Astoria luxury hotel stays – Loyalty Traveler analysis March 19, 2012.

Hotel chain and hotel loyalty program overview by Loyalty Traveler April 12, 2011.

La Quinta Returns elite qualification and benefits.
La Quinta Returns free night rewards.
La Quinta Returns Purchase Points.
La Quinta Hotels Special Deals.
La Quinta Hotel Locations.

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

LHW Hotel Locations.
American Express Membership Rewards redeem LHW rewards.

Leaders Club Rewards program changes: Membership fees for Leaders Club Rewards dropped to $100 annual for Access level. You can also buy Access level membership for 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards points. Access membership includes complimentary breakfast for two each day of stay and free internet.
Unlimited membership is $1,200 annually. Loyalty traveler post Feb 3, 2011.

LHW Hotel Special Offers link

Marriott Hotels – Marriott Rewards

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

Marriott Rewards elite levels and benefits.
Earn Marriott Rewards points.
Redeem Marriott Rewards points and Hotel Reward categories.
Marriott Vacation Club rewards.
Marriott Rewards room upgrades.
Marriott Rewards airline partners and earn rate for miles.
Marriott Rewards points-to-miles exchange.
Marriott Rewards 7 Hotel Nights + Airline Miles Travel packages.
Marriott International Hotel Directory.

Marriott Platinum Elite fast-track challenge. Loyalty Traveler post March 15, 2012describes the terms for a Marriott elite challenge.

Loyalty Traveler Opinion Piece: My Take on the Value of Marriott Rewards Points- (March 26, 2012)

**** Marriott Rewards MegaMiles January 1-April 30, 2012 earns 2,000 bonus miles per Marriott brand stay beginning with second stay. Maximum 50,000 bonus miles. Loyalty Traveler post December 7, 2012.

Marriott Rewards Program Change: All-inclusive Resort Rewards discontinued. LT post October 21.

New Autograph Collection Hotels are joining Marriott Rewards with six Boscolo Hotels in Italy, Prague and Budapest. LT post August 1.

AC Hotels is Marriott’s newest hotel brand. AC Hotels are a Madrid-based hotel chain now partnered with Marriott and brings 90 new upscale hotels in Spain, Italy and Portugal into the Marriott Rewards system. This brand is projected to expand in Europe and Latin America. Loyalty Traveler post March 27, 2011. AC Hotels earn Marriott Rewards points as of November 8, 2011.

Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Assignment Changes for 2012

Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Changes March 15, 2012 (LT Feb 27, 2012)
Marriott Hotels Dropping in reward category(Feb 27, 2012)
Marriott Hotels rising in Category 5-8. (Feb 27, 2012)
Burn MegaBonus free nights before 96 hotels rise to Category 5 March 15. (Feb 29, 2012)

Marriott Rewards PointSavers –PointSavers reduce the points cost of a free night by one hotel category. For example, category 5 hotel requires only 20,000 points per night priced at category 4 rate. 5^th night free rewards rate also applies to PointSavers rate. LT post Marriott PointSavers hotels updated this week(March 4, 2012).

Marriott Points Redemption Strategy using $1,000 in Marriott Cheques. This post explains how Marriott elite members may buy $1,000 Marriott Cheques for 135,000 points. You can then pay for hotel stays and earn points and elite credit on paid stays you actually purchased indirectly with points. Loyalty Traveler post Jan 27, 2011.

Marriott Rewards Elite Rollover Nights extended for 2012. This is the fourth year Marriott Rewards offers elite rollover nights for elite qualifying nights over your earned elite membership. For example: Silver elite requires 10 nights in calendar year and Gold elite takes 50 nights. Stay 25 nights in 2012 and the 15 nights above Silver elite rollover to 2013 membership year. You will have earned Silver elite for 2013 from your 15 extra nights in 2012 rolled over to 2013. This applies to Marriott credit card nights too. Rollover nights from 2011 to 2012 are deducted from 2012 end-of-year total nights to determine rollover nights for 2013. Confused? Don’t worry. This is a great benefit for elite members. (Loyalty Traveler 5-key offer. LT post Jan 6, 2012.

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

Program Change: All Marriott Rewards members receive complimentary internet at Asia-Pacific region hotels. Loyalty Traveler post May 2, 2011.

Omni Hotels – Omni Select Guest

Member benefitsinclude complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, shoe shine and morning beverage delivery.
Omni Select Guest Airline Partners.
Earn a free night after every 10 nightsor earn 500 miles per hotel stay.
Omni Hotel Locations.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts – I Prefer

Hotel brands: Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Preferred Boutique, Summit Hotels & Resorts, Sterling Hotels, Sterling Design.

I Prefer benefits include complimentary internet, room upgrades and early check-in, late checkout.
Preferred Offers I Prefer and Preferred Hotels Group special offers page. Members of Choice Privileges and Red Lion R&R Club can use points in those programs for free nights at participating hotels within Preferred Hotels Group.

Red Lion Hotels – R&R Club (44 hotels in western U.S.)

Red Lion R&R Club membership benefits.
Red Lion R&R Club elite levels.
Red Lion R&R Club earn points or miles.
Red Lion R&R Club rewards.
Red Lion R&R Club loyalty program changes in September 2011. LT Post October 21.
Redeem points for Preferred Hotel Group stays.
Red Lion Hotel locations.

Red Roof Inn – RediCard

Red Hot Deals.
15% off military friends & family rateto March 31, 2012.
RediCard earn and redeem for free night or Delta miles.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards
(Marriott Rewards partner brand. You may only hold membership in either Marriott Rewards or Ritz-Carlton Rewards, not both programs.)

Ritz-Carlton Hotel locations.
Ritz-Carlton Rewards earn points or miles.
Ritz-Carlton reward nightsand hotel tier lists.
Ritz-Carlton Rewards elite member benefits.

***** Ritz-Carlton Rewards February 1-April 30, 2012 earn one free night after two stays. Limit of two free night certificates. Promotion is open to new Ritz-Carlton Rewards enrollees or RCR members as of January 13, 2012. Current Marriott Rewards members are not eligible for this offer. Registration required by March 1. Loyalty traveler post Jan 31, 2012.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards Visa – 50,000 points enrollment offer and Gold elite first year. Maintain Gold elite with $10,000 annual spending. Three confirmed Club level upgrades per year and other benefits. Loyalty Traveler post June 13.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards loyalty program launching Sep 15, 2010 (LT post Sep 14, 2010.)

Reward Changes in new Ritz-Carlton Reward Tiers(LT post Sep 15, 2010.)

Ritz-Carlton rewards Hotel + Air Packages Analysis(LT post Sep 16, 2010.)

Starwood Hotels – Starwood Preferred Guest

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

*** SPG Restaurants and Bars – a new feature offers 10% to 20% discounts for dining and drinking at participating Starwood Hotel restaurants and bars. Loyalty Traveler post April 3, 2012.

*** SPG Hear the Music, See the World Sweepstakes April 3-30, 2012. There are 9 grand prizes for two nights with paid economy flights to a Starwood brand hotel for a music event. Loyalty Traveler post April 5, 2012.

SPG Program Changes effective March 1, 2012:

SPG Gold members

· Hotel Stay Welcome Gift – Choose from Starpoints (up to 250 points/stay) or free internet or free beverage.

SPG Platinum members

· Hotel Stay Welcome Gift – Choose from Continental Breakfast for entire stay or Starpoints (up to 500/stay) orlocal gift.

· 50+ nights Platinum members only – 10 Suite Night Awards. This is in addition to the existing and continuing policy of complimentary upgrades upon arrival for SPG Platinum elites that has been a long time competitive edge of Starwood preferred Guest.

· 75+ nights Platinum members only – Earn 4 points per dollar on hotel spend. Lower tier Platinum members earn 3 points/$1 on hotel spend.

· 75+ nights Platinum members only – Your24 check-in at any hour and maintain room for 24 hours. Check in at 9pm and the room is yours until 9pm 24 hours later.

· 100+ nights Platinum members only – Personal Starwood Hotels Ambassador to help travel planning.

Ongoing Starwood Hotels & Resorts Rate Discounts:

**** Pay Your Birth Year Rate -This promotion has been extended through 2012. Rates can be an incredible 5-key savings or no savings depending on the hotel and your birthyear. LT post 4/28/2009. LT post Jan 30, 2012.

**** Starwood Hotels Discount Rates for hotel stays 2 to 6 nights.

**** Starwood Resorts Discount Rates for hotel stays 2 to 6 nights.

These Starwood extended stay discount rates for 2 to 6 nights have been around for several years, but are not well advertised on Starwood site. Third Night Free tends to be the best discount rate. Important to check other rates (AAA, Senior, Special Offers) as these discounts are generally based on the Best Available Rate (BAR) and may not be the lowest overall rate for some hotels. Loyalty Traveler rate analysis Sep 21, 2011 – Better Know a Rate Z3H and Z3R and other extended stay promo codes.

BeattheTimer.com for discount Starwood rates in Europe, Middle East and Africa (Starwood EMEA Discounts at BeattheTimer.com).

Starpicks discount rates for following three to six weeks post each Tuesday. Prepaid, nonrefundable and no changes. Must book by Friday each week.

Website Change – Starwood Hotels webpages now include Guest Reviews. Loyalty Traveler Oct 22 post shows how to post a hotel review from your Starwood Hotel stay.

New SPG Member Benefit – Award Stays Earn SPG Elite Qualification Credit as of October 1, 2011. Loyalty Traveler analysis Sep 29.

Loyalty Traveler Research on using SPG website Compare Rates and Calendar Tools to find low Starwood rates. LT post Oct 10.

Loyalty Traveler analysis of Starwood Preferred Guest Airline Direct Deposit program for Mileage Plus members and others interested in earning miles rather than points from hotel stays. (August 4, 2011)

Starwood Preferred Guest Hotel Category reward assignment changes for 2012 took effect on March 1, 2011. 183 hotels went up and 138 went down. My LT post “Analysis of SPG Hotel Category Changes March 1, 2012” (Feb 21, 2012) has a list ordered by city, state and country for changes.

Starwood Hotels data on number of hotels in each brand and average rates by brand and global region. Loyalty traveler post Feb 4, 2011.

Starwood Preferred Guest – American Express credit card changes effective October 14, 2010. The annual fee increased to $65 from $45 for renewals Oct 14, 2010. Benefit changes included 5 elite nights and 2 elite stays credit each year. The SPG50 certificate was discontinued in favor of a 3^rd night free offer at Sheraton Hotels. Loyalty traveler post (August 24, 2010); Sheraton 3^rd Night Free Analysis(Nov 12, 2010)

Stash Hotel Rewards

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

Stash Hotel Specialsfor Bonus Points and Low Redemption Rate Hotels

Swissotel Hotels and Resorts – Swissôtel Circle

Swissôtel Circle is the newly relaunched loyalty program for Swissotel Hotels and Resorts as of August 15, 2011. The Swissotel Circle loyalty program includes 30 Swissotel Hotels, Fairmont Hotels and Raffles. This Sep 9, 2011 Loyalty Traveler postis an overview of the hotel loyalty program, elite levels and benefits.

Voila Hotel Rewards

Loyalty Traveler profile of Voila Hotels programinternational loyalty program for 250 independent hotels.

Wyndham Worldwide – Wyndham Rewards

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

*** March 29-July 8, 2012 – Double Points or double miles for first four stays and movie tickets. This offer is for members in US, Canada and Mexico. Loyalty Traveler post April 1, 2012.

Loyalty Traveler Research Articles

Hotel Points to Airline Miles Conversion Tables

American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for 9 Hotel Programs.(Feb 5, 2012)
American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for Elites and Credit Card members(Feb 6, 2012)
Delta Skymiles hotel points-to-miles rates in 9 hotel programs. (Feb 7, 2012)
United Mileage Plus hotel points-to-miles rates favor Marriott, Club Carlson, Wyndham (Feb 8, 2012)

Hotel Points Buy, Gift and Transfer Rules for major hotel loyalty programs. Loyalty Traveler post December 5, 2011.

Tingo.com to corner hotel booking market with rate refunds?(March 22, 2012)

PointHub.com gives loyalty travelers Cash vs. Points Hotel and Airline Recommendations (August 11, 2011). This new beta version website shows the cost in loyalty points for a free hotel night alongside the hotel rate and makes a recommendation for your travel dates. Airlines are also rated.

Room77.com hotel room views compared to my photos. Loyalty Traveler website analysis June 22.

Comparing the value of hotel program points - compares Hyatt, Priority Club and Hilton programs, then discusses how I planned summer travel using free night promotions. (May 2, 2011)

Hotel Loyalty Credit Cards and the Value of Hotel Points

Best Hotel Credit Cards for Low Spenders (August 5, 2011)

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

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

Priority Club Flash Sale Rewards discontinued, and no new PointBreaks yet

Ric Garrido — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:26:30 +0000

March 29 and the current list of 5,000 points PointBreaks reward nights ends in 48 hours with no new list of hotels posted yet.

Priority Club did a trial run of Thursday flash sales in February and March 2012 where participating hotels offered discount reward nights, but last Thursday when I checked for a new set of one-day flash sales, this message appeared instead:

Thanks for checking out our special One Day Only Hotels Deals. This offer was only a test, so we don’t have any more 24-hour deals lined up, but we’re using the results to develop new discounted Rewards offers for the future. In the meantime, check out our special deals like Last Minute Reward Nights and PointBreaks, or explore the hundreds of options available to you for redeeming your points.

The flash sales only included a dozen hotels around the world, but at least there was a long reservation period even if the booking period was so short that I missed a couple of the sales. These sales were up to 75% off standard reward rates.

I have an itchy reservation finger and several trips planned over the next two months.

I need some PointBreaks!

Last Minute Reward Nights should be back next week for stays Friday, Saturday and Sunday April 6-8 at 50% off reward rates.

Starwood Element Hotels $89 from Apr 1-Sep 15

Ric Garrido — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:52:28 +0000

Starwood’s Element extended stay hotel brand has a TravelZoo special offer rate of $89 per night for a studio suite for stays from April 1 through September 15, 2012. Reservations must be booked between March 21 and April 6.

All hotels showed $89 rates for most dates I checked, except for Element New York Times Square West where the lowest rate I found was $199. There might be lower rates for New York, but I didn’t see any rates lower than $199 after trying several dates.

Rate plan is TRVLZOO1.

This is a prepaid, nonrefundable rate that does not allow reservation changes. The terms of this sale state bookings can only be made online and I thought it needed to be through a specific website link, but the rate appeared automatically when I checked Element hotels on SPG.com.

Participating Element Hotels

Element Denver Park Meadows, Lone Tree, Colorado

Element Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida

Element Arundel Mills, Hanover, Maryland

Element Lexington, Lexington, Massachusetts

Element Omaha Midtown Crossing, Omaha, Nebraska

Element Las Vegas Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada

Element Ewing Princeton, Ewing, New Jersey

Element New York Times Square West, New York, New York

Element Houston Vintage Park, Houston, Texas

Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North, Irving, Texas

Element Hotels Special Offer Rate terms & Conditions.

Bottom line is this rate is a great deal for many of these hotels. I stayed in Denver Park meadows last July for $71 so not all locations will be a significant bargain.

Element Hotels are a cookie-cutter design. The two rooms I had at two different hotels look exactly the same in my room photos. They are nice rooms with energy efficient design. The concept is green living in an extended stay hotel. Breakfast is complimentary.

Here is a Loyalty Traveler detailed review from 2009 of the Element Las Vegas Summerlin.

Shout out to LoyaltyLobby.com where I learned of this sale. I highly recommend this blog as one of my favorites.

Tingo.com to corner the hotel booking market with rate refunds?

Ric Garrido — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:30:20 +0000

Travel media is buzzing over the new hotel booking site Tingo.com that launched yesterday. Tingo.com is a hotel booking site that lets a person book a hotel and then receive an automatic refund if the hotel rate drops before the hotel stay’s cancellation date. Some press articles are calling this site a major game change for consumers that could “potentially corner the travel/hotel booking market”.

The Tingo.com concept is simple and a radical shift from other online travel agency hotel booking sites.

Let’s say I book a 1-night hotel stay for June 15, 2012 in Monterey, California for $150 per night on Tingo.com. The website promises to automatically recheck my hotel stay date and rate and automatically rebook my stay at a lower rate if the price drops before my stay.

If the rate drops for my $150 per night hotel booking to $130 per night before my stay, then I get a $20 refund to the credit card I used to book the stay on Tingo.com. There is no need for me to watch rates for rate drops. Tingo.com takes care of that chore and automatically refunds my card.

Tingo.com has a chart showing a typical rate refund based on bookings from September 2011-January 2012.

The graphic shows that four out of six bookings made 4 weeks before the hotel stay date received a refund with an average savings of $53 on a 2-night stay.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis of Tingo.com

I think Tingo.com is one of the most interesting developments to appear in the hotel industry in the past several years. Timing a hotel stay booking is a challenge and I spend plenty of time rechecking rates for most of my hotel stays to look for price drops.

Here are the Tingo.com limitations as far as I can tell:

1. Money Back Rates are based on the Best Available Flexible Rate. This means there might be lower prepaid nonrefundable rates, but they don’t apply for Money Back refunds since these low rates do not allow cancellation.

Tingo.com uses flexible cancellation policies to rebook your hotel rate if the rate drops before your stay and refunds you the difference in rates.

This is a win-win for Tingo.com and the consumer. Tingo.com still makes money on all the hotel bookings whether the rate drops or not. Online travel agencies like Expedia.com take about a 20% cut on the published room rate for hotel bookings. That is why major hotel chains have loyalty programs offering points and hotel stay benefits to members who book directly through the hotel chain’s channels.

2. Tingo.com hotel rates are based on Expedia.com rates.

There are hundreds of online booking sites. Kayak.com is the site I like for comparing rates on multiple online travel agency hotel booking sites. Apparently Tingo.com uses Expedia rates when checking rates and rate drops.

Major hotel chains offer Best Rate Guarantee stating the lowest price will be found on the hotel chain’s own websites. That is true 99% of the time. I have filed dozens of BRG claims with hotel chains. Hotels.com, an Expedia company is one OTA I’ve used for successful BRG claims. Most of my BRG claims are based on much smaller sites. Expedia.com does not come to mind as one of the hotel booking sites where I have found many BRG eligible lower rates.

Most hotels give a 10% AAA discount on best available rate (BAR). You can generally expect to save at least 10% on the flexible rate given on most online travel agency sites using a group rate like AAA or senior rate. You can often save 20 to 35% compared to an OTA flexible rate buying prepaid nonrefundable rates for hotels directly from the hotel’s website.

Unless you get a refund of 10% or more on the Tingo.com rate you book, then you really are not saving compared to other rate discounts you could have booked directly with the hotel.

Questions and insight to Tingo.com booking process

Monterey, California where I live is a vacation destination. There are about 200 hotels within ten miles of my home and probably 50% or more of these hotels are not a member of a major hotel chain brand. Monterey seemed like the perfect place to check out Tingo.com rates.

Carmel Wayfarer Inn, Carmel, California April 24 – April 26, 2012

The Tingo “Money Back” symbol indicates this hotel booking is eligible for the automatic refund program if booked on Tingo.com.

Dare to Compare!

I found it interesting that the website has a link for checking hotel rates on other online travel agency sites like Expedia, Orbitz, Booking.com, Hotels.com and Travelocity.

I clicked this link and compared the hotel rate for the Carmel Wayfarer Inn on these other sites.

Dare to Compare rates shown for Expedia.com are same as Tingo.com.

Travelocity.com rates are same as Tingo.com.

Orbitz.com rates are same as Tingo.com.

Booking.com rates are lower than Tingo.com by $12 for the lowest priced room. The rate is $8 less for the King Room and $12 less for the King suite.

What site(s) does Tingo.com use for determining a hotel rate drop?

I was on the phone with Tingo.com customer service within 30 minutes of examining the site and not finding answers on the Tingo website to many of my questions.

The customer service agent tried to answer my questions, but was well out of her depth when trying to tell me how Tingo.com determines there has been a rate drop for a hotel booking.

I questioned why there is a “Dare to Compare” link on the website that allows me to find a lower rate, yet a lower rate on a site like Booking.com has no bearing on my ability to get an automatic hotel rate refund with Tingo.com.

She stated that Booking.com as a Priceline company is not considered a rate drop even though the rate is lower than Tingo.com for the Carmel hotel I checked. She said Orbitz hotel rates are also not a factor in determining hotel rate refunds.

Expedia is the world’s largest travel company and owns Hotels.com and Venere.com shown in the Dare to Compare! link. Travelocity is owned by Sabre who operates the Sabre global distribution system used by travel agents worldwide for booking airlines and hotels. Orbitz.com is another major travel booking site. Kayak.com was created by founders of Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz to compare airline rates and hotel rates across multiple sites and is still the most valuable site to me personally for finding low hotel rates.

What is Tingo.com’s affiliation with consumer travel industry?

Tingo.com is a company owned by Smarter Travel Media. Some other companies owned by Smarter Travel Media include SmarterTravel.com, BookingBuddy.com, SniqueAway.com and AirfareWatchDog.com.

TripAdvisor is the parent company of Smarter Travel Media. TripAdvisor.com was a corporate spin-off in 2011 from parent company Expedia.com.

Basically Tingo.com is a hotel booking site based on Expedia.com hotel rates as far as I can tell from press releases and news stories. Interesting though to me is the FAQ on Tingo.com and all the information on the Tingo “How it Works” automatic refund process does not have any mention of Expedia anywhere on the website.

Consumers are left to take the word of Tingo.com that an automatic refund will happen if the hotel rate drops without providing the consumer any insight into where Tingo.com checks for a hotel rate drop or how often this check is performed.

Social Media News or Opaque Business Advertisement?

There were two articles on Huffington Post yesterday about Tingo. The first article caught my attention with the title “Tingo, New Hotel Booking Site, Promises Users Hotel Refunds”.

Then I noticed an article by George Hobica, founder of airfarewatchdog.com: These Websites Watch Your Travel Booking And Refund You If The Price Drops that describes Tingo, Yapta and Autoslask as sites for staying on top of travel discounts.

I returned to these articles after spending time looking over Tingo.com. The interesting things I noted were the first article on HuffPo has no author credit. I left a comment asking if the article is a sponsored advertisement for Tingo.com.

Rereading George Hobica’s article a second time I noticed he had a disclosure statement at the end of his paragraph describing Tingo.com:

Just launched, there’s now a website that will do the price-check-and-refund work for you automatically, rebooking you at the lower rate, and checking for further drops up until the day of your arrival or until the rate becomes non-refundable (usually a day or two before arrival). There’s no work on your part. Each time the rate goes down, Tingo.com sends you an email with a new booking number at the lower price. Key here is that another consumer doesn’t have to book the same room category and dates at a lower rate for the refund to kick in, unlike Orbitz’ “Price Assurance” program, which also refunds hotel price drops but requires another Orbitz customer to book the same room type, check in/out dates, number of guests, and restrictions in order to trigger a refund. (It’s worth disclosing here that I’m the president of Airfarewatchdog.com, which is a subsidiary of Smarter Travel Media, which also operates Tingo.com.)

After reading another article in ibtimes.com about the launch of Tingo.com, I left a comment to the HuffPo article questioning whether George Hobica provided adequate disclosure about his relationship with Tingo.com.

Smarter Travel Media, a company that came to fruition in 1998, saw an opportunity to save travelers time and money by providing them with the Tingo service, according to Hobica.

“We just made our debut on the Web today,” Hobica said. “But soon enough we are going to have an app so that people can easily access the site with their smartphones and tablets.”

When asked what he thought the best feature about Tingo was, Hobica said, “it’s like our slogan says, ‘You just can’t lose.’”

Tingo.com looks like it has an innovative booking scheme for consumers. I just question the way the site has been unveiled to the public.

The launch of Tingo.com shows how social media like Huffington Post is used to advertise a company in a way that does not look like sponsored advertisement. George Hobica writes about three companies in a consumer oriented article without really revealing the extent of his involvement with one of those companies. He discloses his company has the same parent company as Tingo.com, but the other story in ibtimes.com reads like he has a role and financial interest in promoting Tingo.com.

I left a comment on the HuffPo blog post:

Apparently my comment was not approved as it does not appear on the HuffPo article comments today.

Tingo.com advantage to traditional Best Rate Guarantee Claims

Tingo.com has the advantage of letting a member book a hotel and then Tingo.com does the work of checking if the rate drops before the hotel stay.

Sounds great. Right?

As the writer of Loyalty Traveler, I focus on hotel loyalty programs of major hotel chains. Hotel loyalty programs do not award points or elite stay credit for bookings on third party online travel agencies like Tingo.com. Marriott and Hyatt though supposedly honor elite benefits even on third party bookings.

Tingo.com can probably be used by loyalty program members as a kind of insurance policy since there are no cancellation fees for Tingo.com bookings cancelled within the hotel’s policy for the rate. You can always book a hotel through Tingo.com and then sit back and see if better rates come along. Tingo will rebook your reservation and email you whenever there is a rate drop.

For example: I can book a hotel in March on Tingo.com for a stay in September and keep track of the rate changes by Tingo emails. Book a loyalty program hotel like Hilton or Marriott this way and I am notified when the rate goes down without needing to go back and check the hotel website periodically. An email from Tingo.com when a good discount comes along allows me to cancel the Tingo.com booking and rebook directly through the hotel’s website for loyalty benefits, points and stay credit.

Conclusion: Tingo.com looks like a site with great potential value for some consumers booking hotels. This site is less useful for loyalty travelers interested in earning points and elite status with major hotel chains.

Tingo.com is primarily a site I recommend if you are booking an independent hotel or a chain hotel where you do not expect to have much in the way of hotel loyalty program benefits for your stay.

I’d love to hear readers’ thoughts on Tingo.com.

Hyatt Hotels Free Time is good free night discount rate

Ric Garrido — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:24:05 +0000

Most participating hotels offer the third night free and the rate includes full breakfast for two and some hotels offer 2pm late checkout.

This offer is only for participating hotels in the US, Canada and Caribbean. Hyatt House and Hyatt Place are not participating brands.

The rate code is FRTIME. There is a website Hyatt.com/freetime that should describe the promotion offer and participating hotels, however, the link is not active at the time of writing.

Not all hotels are participating, but my quick check of six hotels showed the FRTIME rate available for five properties.

Rate Analysis

Note: Hotels I checked for FRTIME rate allow refundable cancellations. This is not a prepaid, nonrefundable rate which is a common term for third night free rates.

Andaz West Hollywood May 10-13, 2012

FRTIME Rate = $279/night. 3 night total = $837 – $279 = $598 for 3-night stay.
Hyatt Daily Rate (BAR) = $259/night. 3 night total = $777.
AAA rate (10% discount) = $233.10/night. 3 night total = $699.30.

All three rates have same cancellation policy of day before arrival.

FRTIME 3rd night free rate is $100 less than AAA and also includes free breakfast for two daily and 2 pm late checkout.

Finding hotels with Free Time Rate Offer

You can try this link: Hyatt.com/freetime and see if it works yet for a list of participating Hyatt hotels.

Alternatively, search for the hotel you want and look for the special offers tab on the left side of the Hyatt hotel’s homepage. The Free Time offer was listed first for every hotel I checked.

Hyatt FRTIME Free Time Rate Terms:

Valid only for Friday-Tuesday arrivals at Hyatt French Quarter.
Valid only for Sunday-Tuesday arrivals at Hyatt Regency Newport.
Valid only for Saturday-Wednesday arrivals at Hyatt Regency Savannah, Avia Savannah, and Hyatt Santa Barbara.
Four-day length of stay required for free night at Hyatt Regency Mission Bay from June 15-September 7, 2012.

Conrad New York now open

Ric Garrido — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:49:57 +0000

Conrad Hotels is the Hilton hotel brand that has been slow to grow over the past decade. Yesterday the Conrad New York opened and brings the hotel brand up to four hotels in the USA or five including Puerto Rico. There are only 21 locations worldwide.

Conrad New York has a Welcoming Weekends Package available for booking through April 30, 2012 for stays from March 23 to May 31, 2012.

The rate includes double HHonors points and free internet. My rate check for April 27, 2012 showed $349 and after taxes the nightly rate is $406. This is a prepaid, nonrefundable rate. That is 3,490 bonus points with this offer if you want to accept a no refund policy for the special rate offer. This hotel is a participating property in Hilton HHonors double points or double miles. This deal means at least 35 points/$1 for a Points & Points earner.

A check showed the AAA rate is also $349 for this date and may be canceled up to day before arrival.

Hilton’s flexible dates calendar allowed me to quickly find the low rate $216 for the night of March 31 with a rate change for April 1 for the weekend March 31-April 2, 2012.

Conrad New York Hotel Photos

The main reason I am writing about the Conrad New York is a piece I came across today in the Tribeca Citizen with 17 beautiful photos of the hotel. These photos are far nicer than ones shown on the hotel website and actually inspire me to want to see this hotel in person.

I find it interesting that hotel websites generally do not include many relevant photos of the hotel. I like to say that the average traveler with a camera can provide far more detailed and accurate photographs of a hotel in a one hour visit than the hotel itself does for its prospective guests. Check for yourself and look at the Conrad New York hotel website photos and the TribecaCitizen.com photos.

Cheap value Waldorf Astoria stays with La Quinta Returns

Ric Garrido — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:20:56 +0000

Gary Leff spouted off this morning about La Quinta Inns being an unsuitable hotel chain for the way he likes to travel. My god, they don’t even have room service!

And even though he has never slept at a La Quinta Inn, he implies the housekeeping staff does not clean the rooms to the same standard a guest will find at a full-service hotel chain like IHG, Hilton or Hyatt.

Yet, he has no problem being a member of La Quinta Returns loyalty program to collect free points.

Here is my rebuttal for you Gary and a reason to build your account balance beyond 300 points.

Waldorf-Astoria Resorts – here we come with ice coolers.

Here is a Loyalty Traveler lesson in cheap value for travelers who can get by without room service morning coffee for hotel stays at La Quinta Inns & Suites.

The parent company of La Quinta Inns is the private equity firm Blackstone Group. Hilton Worldwide is owned by the same parent company Blackstone. La Quinta Returns points can be used for many Waldorf-Astoria Resorts.

Using La Quinta Returns for stays at Waldorf-Astoria Hotels

La Quinta Returns has a special deal right now for discount hotel rewards at resorts. Many of the luxury hotel partners of La Quinta are actually Waldorf-Astoria Resorts available for as few as 20,000 points per night. Other hotel partners of La Quinta Returns are part of Destination Hotels & Resorts.

Edgewater Beach Hotel – a Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Naples, Florida.

La Quinta Returns members can book the Edgewater Beach Hotel for 20,000 points per night for stays through May 31, 2012. La Quinta Returns members earn 10 points/$1 for La Quinta stays. $2,000 in hotel spend earns 20,000 points.

Edgewater Beach Hotel Naples, Florida

20,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Now to earn points

La Quinta Returns has a 20% discount sale on points purchases through March 31, 2012. La Quinta Returns members can buy 40,000 points in a calendar year. Points are normally $11 per 1,000 points.

20,000 points = $176 with this sale. A couple can buy 80,000 points between two members for $704.

80,000 La Quinta points is sufficient for four nights April 19-23, 2012 at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

This same stay will cost 120,000 points + $400 with HHonors Points & Money or 240,000 points for a standard reward (or 204,000 points VIP elite reward) or more than $1,200 to pay the published rates for this Waldorf-Astoria hotel stay.

Buying La Quinta hotel points can save over $500 for a couple on a 4-night stay at this Waldorf-Astoria property.

$500 in savings will be more than enough to buy room service coffee.

Hey Gary Leff!

There is no need to qualify your La Quinta post title “La Quinta: cheap, or value?”.

La Quinta Returns is cheap value that can place a budget traveler in a Waldorf-Astoria beach resort on points for less hotel spend than Hilton HHonors.

Other Waldorf Astoria Hotels available through La Quinta Returns include:

Boca Beach Club, a Waldorf Astoria Resort – Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton Resort and Club, a Waldorf Astoria Resort – Boca Raton, Florida
Casa Marina, a Waldorf Astoria Resort – Key West, Florida
The Reach Resort, a Waldorf Astoria Resort – Key West, Florida
Naples Waldorf Astoria – Naples, Florida
The Boulders Resort, a Waldorf Astoria Resort – Carefree, Arizona
El Conquistador Resort, a Waldorf-Astoria Resort – Fajardo, Puerto Rico

Hotels and resorts available with La Quinta Returns points at discount rates for 2012 dates.

Arizona

The Boulders Resort Carefree, Arizona

30,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Royal Palms Resort and Spa Phoenix, Arizona

20,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

California

Resort at Squaw Creek™ Lake Tahoe, California

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Miramonte® Resort & Spa Palm Springs, California

20,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

35,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Terranea Resort™ Ranchos Palos Verdes, California

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

L’Auberge Del Mar San Diego, California

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Paradise Resort & Spa San Diego, California

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

50,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Colorado

The Inverness Hotel Denver, Colorado

25,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

35,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

The Stonebridge Inn Snowmass Village, Colorado

25,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

35,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Vail Cascade Vail, Colorado

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

The Madison Washington, D. C.

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Florida

Boca Beach Club Boca Raton, Florida

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Boca Raton Resort Boca Raton, Florida

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

South Seas Island Resort Captiva Island, Florida

25,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

30,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Casa Marina Resort Key West, Florida

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

The Reach Resort Key West, Florida

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Miami Beach Resort & Spa Miami Beach, Florida

20,000 Points (per night)

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Edgewater Beach Hotel Naples, Florida

20,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Naples Grande Beach Resort Naples, Florida

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Buena Vista Palace Orlando, Florida

20,000 Points (per night)

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Sanibel Inn Sanibel, Florida

20,000 Points (per night)

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Sundial Resort Sanibel, Florida

25,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

30,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

New Mexico

Inn and Spa at Loretto Santa Fe, New Mexico

25,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

35,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

New York

LaGuardia Airport Hotel East Elmhurst, New York

20,000 Points (per night)

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Oregon

Sunriver Resort® Sunriver, Oregon

25,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

35,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Puerto Rico

El Conquistador Resort Fajardo, Puerto Rico

30,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

San Juan Condado Plaza San Juan, Puerto Rico

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

El San Juan Hotel & Casino San Juan, Puerto Rico

30,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

40,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

South Carolina

Wild Dunes® Resort Charleston, South Carolina

35,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Texas

The Driskill Hotel Austin, Texas

20,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

45,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Washington

Skamania Lodge® Stevenson, Washington

20,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

35,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

Suncadia Resort® Cle Elm, Washington

25,000 Points (per night) from 1/1/12-5/31/12

35,000 Points (per night) through 12/31/11 & 6/1/12-12/31/12

Resort Details | Join Nowto earn points

La Quinta Inn 2x and 3x points Dec 12-Jan 8, 2012 (LT post – this promotion could have reduced the hotel spend to earn a free Waldorf-Astoria hotel night down to $667 to earn 20,000 points.

La Quinta Returns Loyalty Program Profile (LT post April 12, 2011)

La Quinta Inns & Suites website.

La Quinta Returns loyalty program.

Sheraton Lisbon 40 EUR rate for 2012

Ric Garrido — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:17:56 +0000

Sheraton Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal) is celebrating 40 years with a special 40EUR rate available for a maximum 2 nights per stay. Four Deluxe category rooms (the hotel’s basic category) are set aside for each day of 2012. This rate is prepaid and nonrefundable. Use it as booked or lose your payment. The rate includes tax so comes out to US$52.66 at today’s rate of exchange for this SPG Category 4 hotel.

Sheraton Lisboa hotel website link.

There are still numerous dates available throughout the year as of 7am Pacific time today.

The website limits the stay to two days. I do not see any wording prohibiting booking multiple stays, but that might not be good karma if you hog too many nights for yourself at this special discount rate.

This offer is really a great deal for SPG Platinum members who receive free internet and breakfast. The rate is a published rate that qualifies for points and benefits.

Sheraton Lisbon regular rates are 133EUR to 172EUR BAR for dates in April, and rates rise to over 400EUR for a 60 sq meter (646 sq. ft.) suite.

FlyerTalk thread on this deal has a couple of comments describing the hotel as being in good condition and the tallest building in Lisbon with easy access to metro lines. The location is not the center of the tourist area, but is described as a decent neighborhood of shops, apartments and grocery stores.

At $53 per night you can’t go wrong if Lisboa, Portugal is in your sights.

TravelZoo discount rate for Atlantis Resort Bahamas

Ric Garrido — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:41:41 +0000

TravelZoo currently has a discount offer for Atlantis Resort. The rates quoted here are likely 25% or more higher than shown once taxes and fees are added.

NATIONWIDE–MARCH 05, 2012–

The Bahamas’ Atlantis, ParadiseIsland launched a sale today knocking as much as 60% off regular rates,
including popular spring and summer dates.

In addition, Atlantis stays April 15 – June 13 include an Atlantis Experience Pass — offering as much as $600 in perks such as a dolphin interaction, golf and spa credit.

Air-and-hotel packages of at least four nights through October get an immediate $250 airfare credit — $400 with a six-night stay (one per booking).

Nightly room-only rates April 15 – Oct. 31, including weekends — which usually cost a premium — are:

- Beach Tower: $199 (reg. $509)

Family friendly and closest to the beach

- Coral Towers: $249 (reg. $549)

Located by Marina Village shops and the casino

- Royal Towers: $299 (reg. $649)

Atlantis’ iconic tower, near the water park

- The Reef Atlantis: $369 (reg. $699)

Deluxe waterfront studios and suites with a kitchen

- The Cove Atlantis: $449 (reg. $849)

Luxury oceanfront suites with exclusive adults-only pool

To book an Atlantis stay and to see terms, conditions and restrictions, click below or call 888-440-9497.

http://www.travelzoo.com/newsflash/70999771-1198549/

These deals are part of a Paradise Island sale including

Comfort Suites Paradise Island, which offers access to Atlantis’ amenities and breakfast for $150 nightly, and the Best Western for $138 nightly. The air credit also applies.

All deals include $25 free slot play at Atlantis. To book, click or call 888-440-9497.

http://www.travelzoo.com/newsflash/70999771-1198498

This reads like the Best Western does not include free acess to Atlantis waterpark.

Loyalty Traveler note: Typically I do not post TravelZoo or individual hotel sales and I have no kickback interest with Atlantis. These rates are much lower than rates I saw when staying at Atlantis Resort in February. I include this sale on my blog just in case my recent posts might have you interested in visiting the property.

Here are pieces I wrote on Atlantis:

Dispatch from Cable Beach, Nassau, Bahamas (Feb 14, 2012)

Dispatch from Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas (Feb 16, 2012)

Photo: Rest day on Paradise Island (Feb 18, 2012)

Nassau Bahamas Resort Traveler: 5 things to know (Feb 22, 2012)

Atlantis Resort Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas (Feb 25, 2012)

Aquaventure Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas (Feb 26, 2012)

Atlantis Bahamas Marine Habitats (Feb 29, 2012)