La Quinta Returns Gold elite status after only 2 nights in 60 days is an opportunity to earn 20% bonus points and upgrades on future stays. The enrollment page for this offer states new members can sign up for La Quinta Returns offer through December 31, 2012, but history shows elite fast-track offers can disappear before the stated end of the promotion period.

La Quinta Returns Gold elite after two nights special offer enrollment page.

La Quinta Gold normally requires 10 nights in a calendar year and comes with the benefit of two free room upgrade certificates per year. I don’t know if those are one certificate valid for a one night upgrade or a multiple nights stay upgrade? I would appreciate a description of the upgrade certificate terms if any reader knows.

You also get free FAX up to 15 pages per FAX as a Gold elite member if you long to fax someone while staying at a La Quinta hotel.

There are 800 or so La Quinta Inns and Suites around the USA and the brand is starting to grow in the Americas. There were some towns in the remote western US on my road trips last year where the hotel brands are Wyndham, Choice, Best Western and La Quinta, unless you want to drive another 50 to 100 miles. We have a La Quinta Inn in Monterey by the Holiday Inn Express and Embassy Suites.

This offer looks like an easy elite fast-track, if La Quinta is a two night option for your hotel stay.

Related post: A couple of weeks ago I wrote about using La Quinta Returns points for cheap partner hotel rewards at expensive Hilton luxury brand Waldorf Astoria stays.

Cheap Value Waldorf Astoria Stays with La Quinta Returns (March 19, 2012)

Looking at the title now I think it should real “High Value Waldorf Astoria with La Quinta Returns”.

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.

Read More…

La Quinta Inns and Suites are a large midscale brand with over 800 hotels in the United States, Canada and Mexico. La Quinta Inns operates its own independent hotel loyalty program. In April 2011 I profiled La Quinta Returns on Loyalty Traveler.

La Quinta Returns offers double points at about 50 hotels and triple points at new La Quinta hotels for check-in dates from December 12, 2011 through January 8, 2012. This is 20 points or 30 points per dollar.

About 80% of La Quinta Inns and Suites are in the lowest three tiers of a six tier reward system. Reward nights start at 6,000 points and go up to 24,000 points. $200 in hotel spend at a triple points property will earn 6,000 points. Read More…

Most major hotel loyalty programs offer members the choice to earn airline miles instead of points and Amtrak Guest Rewards generally is included as a travel partner under the miles option. The ability to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points from hotel stays and the option for Amtrak credit card members and Amtrak elite members to transfer Amtrak points to Choice Privileges, Hilton HHonors or Continental OnePass miles makes Amtrak Guest Rewards a useful currency.

Amtrak points will get you a train ticket starting at 1,000 points, but typically 5,500 points for a one zone coach ticket. A sleeper bedroom with toilet and shower and meals included for 20,000 Amtrak points can be a much better deal than earning air miles for that 25,000 mile plane ticket from your hotel stays.

Amtrak Guest Rewards Hotel Partners

• Choice Privileges = 250 Amtrak Guest Rewards points per stay.
• Hilton HHonors Points and Fixed Miles = 500 points per stay, except Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites earn 100 points per stay.  Home2Suites does not offer Points and Fixed Miles earning option.
• Hilton HHonors Points and Variable Miles = 1 point per $1 in hotel spend. Home2 Suites earn a maximum limit of 100 points per stay.
• Hyatt Gold Passport = 500 points per stay.
• La Quinta Inns & Suites = 250 points per stay.
• La Quinta Inns & Suites Promotion Special June 1-September 30, 2011 = 750 points/stay.
• Omni Hotels & Resorts = 500 points per stay. (Omni offered a promotion from March 21-Sep 5, 2011 for 5,000 bonus points after three stays.)
• Starwood Preferred Guest = Direct Deposit conversion of Starpoints to Amtrak Guest Rewards points on 1:1 basis is an option. Note that this is not a good option as SPG points have better value in my opinion. SPG members can convert Starpoints 1:1 to Amtrak points with transfers required to be in 5,000 point blocks, however, this option does not include a 25% bonus given with airline miles for 20,000 Starpoints transfer.
• Wyndham Rewards = 2 points per dollar at Ramada^®, Days Inn^®, Super 8^®, Wingate^® by Wyndham, Baymont Inns and Suites^®, Microtel Inns & Suites^®, Howard Johnson^®, Travelodge^® (US hotels only) and Knights Inn^®.  Stays at Wyndham Hotels earn 500 points per stay.

Best Western Rewards, Club Carlson, IHG Priority Club Rewards and Marriott Rewards do not have travel partner agreements with Amtrak Guest Rewards.

Related posts:

Amtrak Guest Rewards 50% bonus on purchased points Sep 1-30 (Loyalty Traveler Sep 2, 2011).

Amtrak Guest Rewards Fall Double Points Promotion September 7-November 23, 2011.

La Quinta Returns has a new member offer for Gold elite after just two hotel nights by August 31. La Quinta Gold elite normally requires 10 nights in a calendar year. Primary benefits of Gold elite are 20% elite bonus points and two room upgrade certificates per year. Note La Quinta Returns Gold elite offer is for two hotel nights and not hotel stays so this can be knocked out with one two-night hotel stay.

La Quinta Returns Fast-Track to Gold Elite after two nights by August 31, 2011

La Quinta one million points Sweepstakes (May 31-August 14, 2011)

La Quinta is in the middle of a ten weeks sweepstakes with ten weekly prizes for 50,000 La Quinta Returns points and 50,000 Best Buy Reward Zone points. Grand Prize is 1,000,000 points comprised of 500,000 La Quinta Returns points and 500,000 Best Buy Reward Zone points.

• Open only to U.S. residents.
• Earn one entry for every La Quinta hotel stay.
• Earn one entry through Facebook Like registration submission.

La Quinta Sweepstakes rules.

La Quinta Returns Summer Sweepstakes

 

La Quinta Inns & Suites

La Quinta Inns & Suites are a midscale hotel chain of 800+ hotels, almost all in the U.S. and in the same market segment as Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn and Holiday Inn Express. This is a pet-friendly hotel chain with no additional fees for pets.

My road trip planning for summer travel has revealed some towns like Ely, Nevada on U.S. Highway 50 (dubbed the ‘Loneliest Road in America’) where La Quinta Inn is ranked #1 on TripAdvisor.com and the only other loyalty hotel options are Best Western, Ramada and Motel 6.

In my trip last month from California to Vancouver I found La Quinta to be one of the more popular hotels in several small towns I checked on TripAdvisor.com like Grants Pass, Oregon. La Quinta gets decent reviews in other places like Bend, Oregon and Wenatchee, Washington. 

Related Post: Loyalty Traveler – La Quinta Returns Loyalty Profile (April 12, 2011)