Hilton HHonors is far and away the biggest program for airline partnerships. That can be a major factor for a frequent guest earning miles from hotel stays in a frequent flyer program where there might be few opportunities to earn miles other than flying.

• Hilton HHonors = 57 airline partners
• IHG Priority Club = 43 airline partners
• Marriott Rewards = 36 airline partners
• Hyatt Gold Passport = 35 airline partners
• Starwood Preferred Guest = 34 airline partners

There are 8 airlines that only partner with one of these ten programs.

[click on image to see full-size in new window]

I will follow up this post with comments and details on airline miles differences in earning rates between different programs.

This seemed like a useful table to create as I work on my series of hotel points-to-miles exchange rates across loyalty programs for a selection of major airlines.

Loyalty Traveler – Airline Tables for Hotel Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates

United Mileage Plus hotel points-to-miles rates favor Marriott, Club Carlson, Wyndham(Feb 8, 2012)

Delta SkyMiles hotel points-to-miles rates in 9 hotel programs(Feb 7, 2012)

AAdvantage Miles for Hotel Elites with Credit Cards: SPG, Club Carlson, Wyndham and HHonors lead the pack(Feb 6, 2012)

American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates Compared for 9 Hotel Programs (Feb 5, 2012)

Delta Skymiles members have an advantage over members of the other major U.S. airlines in that eight of nine major hotel loyalty programs allow points-to-miles transfers at each program’s best exchange rate.

Hilton HHonors members have a lower points-to-miles transfer rate at only 1,000 Skymiles for 10,000 points compared to American Airlines AAdvantage at 10,000 points = 1,500 miles. You are likely better off keeping the HHonors points for hotel stays rather than use points-to-miles exchanges for Delta Skymiles.

Most hotel stays earn only hotel points or only frequent flyer miles with the exception of Hilton HHonors ‘Double Dipping’ policy that allows members to earn both miles and points on the same hotel stay.

In general, earning points with hotel loyalty programs and transferring points-to-miles results in more miles compared to earning miles directly from a hotel stay.  Many hotel brands allow a member to earn 250 or 500 miles per hotel stay. Hilton HHonors is the exception to this general rule due to its low points-to-miles exchange rates. HHonors Points & Miles earners earn miles at a higher rate and HHonors runs regular bonus miles promotions to improve the rate of earning miles from hotel stays.

The methodology used to compare points-to-miles exchange rates in different hotel loyalty programs:

I have created three tables to compare points earned at set levels of hotel spend for three types of hotel loyalty members:

• hotel loyalty member has no elite status or hotel program co-branded credit card.
• hotel loyalty member has top-tier elite status, but no hotel program co-branded credit card.
• hotel loyalty member has top-tier elite status and the highest earning hotel program co-branded credit card.

TABLE 1 – Hotel program comparison of points-to-miles exchange rates for Delta Airlines using base points earning rate.

TABLE 2 – Hotel Top Tier Elite earner hotel program points-to-miles comparison for Delta Airlines.

TABLE 3 – Hotel Top Tier Elite Earner and Co-branded Credit Card member hotel program points-to-miles comparison for Delta Airlines.

Commentary:

Tables are set up in columns to show how many points are earned at set levels of spend for $1,000; $2,000; $3,000; $5,000; $7,000; $10,000 and $13,000 in hotel stays counting only points earned from hotel spend base points, top-tier elite bonus points and highest earning credit card bonus points for each program.

The hotel spend amount is not the important number in these tables. The dollar amounts are simply a way to align different hotel programs to make a comparison of points-to-miles rates.

When I show $10,000 earns 50,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, that is the maximum spend needed to earn 50,000 points. Actual spend to earn 50,000 Hyatt points will likely be far less than $10,000. I have shown in a recent post how a Hyatt Gold Passport member can earn over 50,000 points from real travel for under $1,250.

The hotel spend needed to earn points depends on the types of hotel promotions available, welcome amenity points, and other points earning offers and partner activity.

Observations on Table 1:

• Wyndham Rewards, Club Carlson and Marriott Rewards have the best points-to-miles exchange rates.
• Wyndham Rewards has the highest earning fixed rate for hotel points-to-miles exchange. $800 in hotel spend at Wyndham Rewards earns 3,200 Delta SkyMiles.
• At $1,000 in hotel spend the different programs are remarkably similar in points-to-miles exchange rates. Differentiation between programs comes at higher levels of spend. Most programs have a fixed points-to-miles exchange rate regardless of the number of points being transferred to miles.
• Variable points-to-miles exchange rates with Marriott Rewards and Club Carlson give a higher rate of miles at higher levels of points transfer. Starwood Preferred Guest (20,000 points) and Hyatt Gold Passport (50,000 points) both give 25% more miles at the specific transfer level shown here.
• Starwood Preferred Guest does not have a points-to-miles advantage to other programs based on its points-to-miles exchange rate giving a 25% bonus when transferring a block of 20,000 Starpoints. Wyndham, Marriott and Club Carlson have better points-to-miles exchange rates than SPG. The competitive advantage to SPG for miles earners is the 50% bonus for mid-tier Gold elite (10 stays or 25 nights in a calendar year) is the highest elite bonus for the lowest level of hotel stays. SPG American Express credit card spend at Starwood Hotels earns 100% base points. Even more impressive is the high rate of earning points for everyday spend at $1 = 1 point = 1 mile in many frequent flyer programs. This rate exceeds all other hotel loyalty credit cards for miles earning rate, although Wyndham Rewards Visa is close to SPG with $1 = 2 points = 0.8 miles. Wyndham Rewards has fewer airline partners than SPG, but Visa is accepted in places where American Express will leave you stranded.

What about Residence Inn and Staybridge Suites and hotel brands that earn fewer base points per dollar?

Marriott Rewards is probably the program most impacted by lower points earn rates at Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites where stays earn only 5 base points/$1 compared to 10 base points/$1 used in table. The miles shown in these tables will be reduced by the proportion of hotel spend at lower earning hotel brands. About 25% of all Marriott hotels are Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites.

Marriott Rewards – Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earn 5 points/$1.

IHG Priority Club – Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites earn 5 points/$1.

Choice Privileges – Rodeway Inn, EconoLodge, Mainstay Suites, Staybridge Suites earn 5 points/$1. Other brands earn 10 points/$1.

Wyndham Rewards – Hawthorn Suites earn 5 points/$1.

The tables do not consider promotion bonus points. The idea is to keep these tables simple and evergreen (until the next program change). Hotel loyalty promotions are constantly changing.

Table 2: Commentary: Elite Status

Club Carlson, Marriott Rewards and now Starwood Preferred Guest have a 75-night top-tier elite. The points earned are high rates, but the loyalty required to reach that level of membership is a small portion of hotel travelers.

Club Carlson Concierge at 75% bonus points sets that program apart for miles earners. The advantage Club Carlson has over Marriott Rewards is a standard points earn rate across all its hotel brands. The miles shown for Marriott Rewards will drop with hotel stays at Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earning a lower rate of base points.

Wyndham Rewards does not have elite tiers or elite bonus points and drops in ranking when elite bonus points are a factor. Most hotel programs offer 50% bonus points for top tier elite members. These elite bonus points increase the earning rate of hotel points and make other programs more attractive than Wyndham Rewards for points-to-miles exchanges as an elite member with loads of points. Still, it is nice to know that the budget traveler can pull in miles at rates comparable to the best elite programs even while sleeping at Days Inn.

Hyatt Gold Passport drops noticeably in rank compared to SPG when top-tier elite status is factored. Hyatt and Best Western only offer 30% bonus points for top tier elite hotel spend. SPG offers 50% bonus points for Gold and Platinum and 100% for Platinum-75 members as of March 1, 2012.

The elite tables do not factor welcome amenity points for top-tier elites typically earned on hotel stays.

Why are there no tables for low-tier and mid-tier hotel elite levels?

I have not created tables for mid-tier and low-tier elites due to the difficulty of comparing these elite levels across different programs. Are SPG Gold and Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum comparable elite levels?

These tables only show top-tier elite to allow a comparison of programs for the most frequent guests and highest earning members in each program.

I will likely add tables comparing credit card members and the associated elite status since most credit cards give some elite level of membership as a cardmember.

Table 3: The Credit Card Factor

One tip to share is my observation that rates for earning credit card bonus points are generally equivalent to the rate of earning bonus points as a top tier elite member.

Hyatt Gold Passport Visa, Hilton HHonors American Express Surpass, SPG American Express and Best Western MasterCard earn bonus points at an even higher rate per dollar than hotel stays as a top-tier hotel loyalty program member earning bonus points. In terms of earning points, members in these programs are better off having a cobranded credit card than being a top-tier elite member.

That is the sad state of the hotel industry that bank loyalty is more rewarding in hotel point bonuses than hotel stay loyalty. Of course most programs offer hotel stay benefits for their top-tier guests that are the primary value-added component for hotel loyalty members besides points.

Perhaps I’ll have to start promoting hotel loyalty program credit cards and pick up some referral cash. Or not.

Why Hilton HHonors is difficult to compare with other programs

The tables show the number of points earned based on hotel spend and then the miles earned from a points-to-miles transfer. Hilton HHonors is the exception since members can earn both points & miles for hotel stays.

Most hotel loyalty programs will earn more miles overall when the member earns points for a hotel stay and then makes a points-to-miles exchange into the frequent flyer program. Hilton HHonors has a low points-to-miles exchange rate compared to other hotel programs and the HHonors member will likely earn more miles choosing HHonors Points & Fixed Miles for hotel stays when the hotel spend is under $500 per stay.

I provide an estimate of miles earned for HHonors Points & Fixed Miles earner. This is a rough estimate based on an average hotel stay costing $200 and earning 500 miles.

Hilton HHonors Points & Variable miles is a more precise comparison of miles earning to other hotel programs, however, the member staying at Hilton brands other than Home2 Suites, Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn will earn more miles choosing Fixed Miles for any hotel stay under $500.

The miles shown for HHonors Points & Fixed Miles is likely at the high end of a typical traveler’s earning pattern since it excludes any stays at Hampton Inns. Also a person with an average stay rate over $200 will have a lower miles earning rate.

The precise miles earned for a Hilton HHonors member is likely between the Variable Miles earning rate at the low end and the Fixed Miles rate near the high end in these tables.

Related Posts:

American Airlines American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates Compared for 9 Hotel Programs (Feb 5, 2012)

American Airlines AAdvantage Miles for Hotel Elites with Credit Cards: SPG, Club Carlson, Wyndham and HHonors lead the pack (Feb 6, 2012)

The next post in this series will look at United Airlines Mileage Plus miles earning rates across these nine hotel loyalty programs.

My Loyalty traveler series on hotel points-to-miles exchange rates for frequent flyer miles continues with a look at 9 major hotel loyalty programs and points-to-miles exchange rates. These tables look at the miles earned at set levels of hotel spend. Top-tier elite hotel status and the best earning hotel cobranded credit card for hotel stay payment are additional factors in the miles calculations.

Table 1: Comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows the actual exchange rate based on hotel spend for hotel stays. Credit cards and elite status are not considered.

Table 2: Top-tier elite membership factor when comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows how top-tier elite membership earning rate alters the total number of points earned at each level of hotel spend.

Table 3: Co-Branded Hotel Credit Card with hotel loyalty top-tier elite membership when comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows the influence of top tier elite and credit card spend.

Basic Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates Compared to Rate Points Earned from Hotel Spend without consideration of:

• Elite Status
• Cobranded Credit Card

Table 1: Comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table was discussed in my Loyalty traveler post yesterday.

The main point I’d like readers to see is Wyndham Rewards is a great program for earning small levels of points for points-to-miles exchange. Wyndham Rewards has a high rate of exchange at 10 points = 4 miles. The minimum transfer is 8,000 Wyndham Rewards points = 3,200 miles. This is $800 in hotel spend at Wyndham Hotels.

Most programs take $1,000 in hotel spend to earn the minimum number of base points for a points-to-miles transfer.

Club Carlson is the minimum hotel spend leader for its ability of a base member (no elite status) to earn 2,000 points for the minimum points-to-miles transfer at 2,000 points = 250 miles after just $100 in hotel spend.

SPG Platinum members have no minimum exchange rate and even 1 Starpoint can be exchanged into 1 mile in several programs. This is useful for some promotion offers where partner activity earns a bonus and 1 Starpoint can be transferred into a frequent flyer program for that partner activity.

Table 2: Top-tier elite membership factor when comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

Table 2: Discussion

The numbers here do not factor additional points for online booking bonus (Club Carlson) or Welcome Amenity points earned per hotel stay in many of the programs.

Club Carlson is one of the top three highest standard points-to-miles exchange rates among the 9 leading hotel loyalty programs. Club Carlson has the second highest top tier elite bonus at 75% base points earning rate.

SPG Platinum-75 (sounds radioactive) earns 100% elite bonus points as of March 1, 2012 and moves up in ranking for this AAdvantage miles comparison.

SPG asterisk * in the $13,000 column for SPG Platinum/Gold elite is due to using $13,334 since this small $334 incremental hotel spend raises the points earned from 39,000 to 40,000 points and increases miles earned by 5,000 miles.

Hilton HHonors has so many earning variables that predicting how many AAdvantage miles you will earn after $5,000 in hotel spend is mind-boggling. But guaranteed Hilton is better than Marriott Rewards for earning AAdvantage miles. Marriott Rewards and American Airlines cut their ties in 2010 so you can’t earn any Advantage miles through Marriott hotel stays.

Choice Privileges and IHG Priority Club sit in the middle of the pack, but pale in comparison to the Club Carlson miles earner.

Hyatt Gold Passport and Best Western Rewards top-tier elites both suffer from the lowest elite bonus points percentage at just 30% when most programs are 50% and Club Carlson at 75% and SPG at 100% leap-frog ahead in points-earning ability.

Table 3: Co-Branded Hotel Credit Card with hotel loyalty top-tier elite membership when comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

Here is a comparison of major hotel loyalty programs for the fastest earning AAdvantage Miles from hotel stays for the high elite frequent guest using a hotel co-branded credit card to pay for hotel stays.

Non-hotel spend on the cobranded hotel credit card is not considered in this analysis. It is far easier to compare earning for non-hotel spend in isolation from hotel stays.

SPG jumps to the top for American Airlines AAdvantage miles when the credit card is added to the mix. Earning 2 points/$1 for Starwood Hotels spend is a 100% base points bonus and no other hotel program offers that high a proportion of base points as a credit card bonus for hotel spend.

Hilton HHonors American Express Surpass is close at 90% base points. Hyatt Visa is 60% base points. The other chains are 50% bonus for credit card spend at hotels.

Club Carlson is the only program without a co-branded credit card. Supposedly a credit card deal is in the works for 2012 and that will push Club Carlson higher in the ranking. Club Carlson still fares well against SPG considering the Club Carlson program does not even have a cobranded credit card to help its position in this race.

Concluding comments:

These tables tell me that American Airlines AAdvantage members seeking miles from hotel stays are in one of the best frequent flyer programs for maximizing miles earning.  Hilton HHonors looks impressive in this matchup, but lower points-to-miles transfer rates will lower its ranking for most other airlines. Marriott Rewards will take a top rank place for several other airline frequent flyer programs with its high points-to-miles exchange rates.

American Airlines AAdvantage miles can be earned at a high rate from hotel stays regardless of your market segment with Wyndham Rewards, Club Carlson and Starwood Preferred Guest all offering high points-to-miles rates.

This series will continue with a look at Delta Airlines SkyMiles. This is a program where the rankings will change as Marriott Rewards shows its competitive edge and Hilton HHonors reveals its poor points-to-miles exchange rate for most frequent flier programs.

P.S. There is a load of data here. Hopefully no math errors. Please leave a comment if something doesn’t look correct.

Feel free to ask questions and carry on a discussion in the comments.

The basic offer is 6,500 bonus points after the 2nd, 4th and 6th stays during the promotion period for a potential 19,500 bonus points. There is also the option to earn 1,000 airline miles instead of 6,500 bonus points, however, the excellent exchange rate for Wyndham Rewards points-to-miles means members who desire miles will earn more miles by choosing the points bonus and then converting points to miles at a later date (6,500 points = 2,600 miles in most programs).

There is also an online booking bonus of 1,000 points for your first three bookings after promotion registration. And if you have a Wyndham Rewards VISA card there is an additional 500 points bonus on your first three bookings for a maximum 1,500 bonus points with VISA payment.

Wyndham Rewards Hotel Brands:

• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®,
• Ramada®,
• Days Inn®,
• Super 8®,
• Wingate by Wyndham®,
• Baymont Inn & Suites®,
• Microtel Inns & Suites®,
• Hawthorn Suites® by Wyndham,
• TRYP by Wyndham™,
  Howard Johnson®,
• Travelodge®
• Knights Inn®

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Assume you book six one-night hotel stays online and do not pay with Wyndham Rewards Visa during the promotion period. Wyndham has some of the lowest rates around with its economy brand hotel chains. Assume you choose hotels with an average nightly rate of $60. All Wyndham brands earn 10 points per dollar with the exception of Hawthorn Suites at 5 points/$1.

• Stay 1 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points = 1,600 points.
• Stay 2 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 8,100 points.
• Stay 3 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points = 1,600 points.
• Stay 4 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 7,100 points.
• Stay 5 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) = 600 points.
• Stay 6 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 7,100 points.

Total Points earned = 26,100 points for $360.

26,100 points can be converted into 10,000 airline miles or one to four hotel nights depending on where you choose to stay with your Wyndham Rewards points. I rank this offer as a good value 50% rebate potential if you plan your stays to maximize the promotion value of this offer. There are over 7,000 hotels in Wyndham Rewards and many hotels will offer savings over $100 on a 10,000 or 14,000 points reward night.

Redeeming Wyndham Rewards points

Most hotel rewards in Wyndham brands in the US and Canada are divided into four tiers:

• Tier 1 = 6,000 points
• Tier 2 = 10,000 points
• Tier 3 = 14,000 points
• Tier 4 = 16,000 points

These reward tiers cover most of the hotel brands except Wyndham Hotels and Resorts rewards which are as low as 10,000 points per night for Wyndham Oklahoma City up to 45,000 points per night for one of the two Wyndham Hotels in New York City (the other is only 25,000 points). Most Wyndham Hotels in the US are 15,000 or 20,000 points per night.

Wyndham Rewards Gift Me Promotion is a high value hotel stay rebate.

Tryp New York City Times Square South is currently taking online reservations for January 1, 2012, but not accepting dates in December 2011.

The hotel loyalty program situation with Tryp is a bit confusing as older properties are part of MAS Rewards affiliated with the parent chain Sol Melia Resorts, yet Tryp properties opening since 2011 are part of Wyndham Rewards. The website simply says ask at the Tryp Hotel for loyalty points and the staff will get you signed up for the correct program for that hotel. Tryp Hotels has a page of special offers and an email sign-up for weekly discount rates posted on Wednesdays.

Tryp Hotels Get a Free Night promotion (must book by today, November 13)

Today is actually the last day to book a special rate offer for a free night when staying 3 or more nights at a Tryp Hotel for stays through February 15, 2012. These are prepaid, nonrefundable rates based on Best Available Rate.

I checked this offer and found it to be a straight 3 nights for the price of 2 nights rate at Tryp Leon Spain where the 60EUR per night rate drops to 40EUR per night on a prepaid, nonrefundable 3-night stay.

Remember Sunday, November 13 is the last day to book this special free night rate offer.

Tryp Hotel, Leon Spain - 3rd Night free rate drops rate to 40EUR from 60EUR.

Tryp is a brand to know for travel in Spain and South America. The hotel brand is classified as Upper Midscale in STR Global Chain Scale Directory.

Tryp Hotel Locations (link)

• Argentina (1)
• Brazil (9)
• Colombia (1)
• Uruguay (1)
• Costa Rica (1)
• USA (1)
• Spain (57)
• Portugal (7)
• France (3)
• Germany (11)

Tryp by Wyndham New York City Times Square South

The “Cash Back every Two Stays” component of the promotion provides a $20 Visa gift card for every two stays during the promotion, up to $60 cash back after six stays.

Wyndham Rewards $20 Cash back with every two stays terms:

• Wyndham Rewards members must register for promotion at wyndhamrewards.com/cash or call 1-866-996-7937 to register.
• Complete two separate stays between September 15 and November 18, 2011.
• Earn a US$20 VISA gift card after the second (2nd), fourth (4th) and sixth (6th) stays.
• Member will receive an email after each qualifying stay with instructions to complete an online redemption form for $20 VISA gift card.
• VISA card online redemption form must be completed within 60 days of email.
• Maximum $60 in VISA gift cards per member.
• Checkout date after November 22, 2011 will not count for this offer.
• Double points or miles can be earned for up to three rooms for each of first three stays.
• Only residents of the U.S., Canada and Mexico are eligible for this offer. See below for a separate European residents promotion.
• Super 8 China properties are not participating in this offer.
• Double miles are only available with select airlines: American, Aeroplan, Aeromexico, Amtrak, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country, United, US Airways.

Wyndham fall 2011 US-Canada-Mexico promotion for Double Points or Miles and Cash Back.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

Wyndham Rewards has more hotel members than any other hotel loyalty program with over 6,500 hotels in the following brands:

• Wyndham Resorts
• Wyndham Garden
• Wingate
• Days Inn
• Ramada
• Super 8
• Baymont Inn & Suites
• Microtel Inn & Suites
• Howard Johnson
• Travelodge (Hotels in Canada do not participate in Wyndham Rewards)
• Knights Inn
• Hawthorn Suites

Too bad this offer is limited to double points or miles for only three stays and a cash back rebate for six stays. The ability to earn double points for up to three rooms on the first three stays is probably the most valuable feature of this promotion.

The high exchange rate of points-to-miles transfers with Wyndham Rewards generally makes earning points the better value during promotions.

Earning Double Miles vs. Double Points Comparison

Assume you spend $400 for three stays during this promotion. Wyndham Rewards members earn 10 points/$1 at all Wyndham hotel brands, except Hawthorn Suites at 5 points/$1.

• $400 in hotel spend with double points earns 8,000 points = 3,200 miles.
• $400 in hotel spend with double miles earns 1,600 miles.
• Choosing double points and exchanging points-to-miles earns miles at twice the rate of double miles.

Wyndham Rewards points to miles exchange rate is static meaning the rate is the same regardless of the number of points transferred to miles. 10 points = 4 miles in most programs. Points-to-Miles transfers must be made in 8,000 or 17,500 or 30,000 blocks of points. Wyndham Rewards has the best exchange rate for points-to-miles transfers of any hotel loyalty program for smaller points transfers.

17,500 Wyndham Rewards points = 7,000 miles for American, Continental, Delta, United, US Airways.

European Version of this offer

European residents of Wyndham Rewards have a slightly different offer during the same promotion period of September 15 – November 18 for 8,800 bonus points after every two stays and bonus may be earned three times. The promotion advertises this as bonus points that may be exchanged for a 20GBP or 30EUR VISA gift card.

As shown above the points have better value for points-to-miles exchange or hotel stays. A European member in the states can get six stays at inexpensive Wyndham hotel brands for under $500 and earn over 30,000 points. Wyndham brands in New York City like Wingate and Ramada often have rates over $300 per night and the points can be redeemed for one or two nights at these locations.

Register at wyndhamrewards.com/freegift or wyndhamrewards.de/freegift.

Wyndham Fall 2011 European member promotion for 8,800 bonus points every two stays.

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.

Some people plan out every aspect of their vacation prior to leaving home. On this road trip I tended to book hotels on my iPad while sitting in some roadside McDonalds a few hours before arrival. Or in the case of Ely, Nevada and the Ramada Copper Queen I booked the hotel five minutes before arrival.

McDonalds free internet is a great marketing scheme. Those $1 McChicken sandwiches and $1 drinks provided cheap stops for food, hotel reservations, ice and toilets. I found the internet connections in McDonalds more responsive than several of the hotels where we stayed.

Fortunately, I accumulated hotel loyalty points and free nights over the past few months to apply for the major expense of travel lodging for several weeks of summer excursions recently with my road trips from Monterey to Vancouver, B.C. and Denver, Colorado. The Vancouver trip was nearly three weeks and the Denver road trip was 11 days.

Hotel loyalty programs reduced the cost of ten hotel nights on this Denver trip to about $300 for three nights of paid rooms.  The other nights were paid with points accumulated over the past year. These are the future hotel rebates I refer to in Loyalty Traveler posts when analyzing hotel promotion value.

Buy Low, Redeem Later

Over the past year I have purchased some 60,000 to 80,000 points from Priority Club when booking Points & Cash reward nights. I almost always use Points & Cash reward nights when redeeming hotel rewards with Priority Club for the opportunity to buy 10,000 points for $60. These purchased points help me maintain sufficient points for the option of booking nights at InterContinental Hotels Group properties like Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza hotels.

We stayed three nights this trip in Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels on one standard reward (15,000 points) and two PointBreaks reward nights (5,000 points each) spending 25,000 Priority Club points in all ($150 in points for three hotel nights).

DiscoverUSA Daily Getaway Points Sale in spring

In May 2011 I spent about $300 for 114,000 Wyndham points from the DiscoverUSA Daily Getaway sale in May offering discounted points in several hotel loyalty programs. Even the most remote towns we passed through tended to have a Wyndham Rewards hotel option at the 14,000 points or 16,000 points level. I ended up using 16,000 points for the Ramada Copper Queen Casino in remote Ely, Nevada.

Starwood Free Resort Nights

Two nights in Starwood Resorts rounded out the free nights redeemed this trip with stays at Westin Monache Mammoth Lakes, California in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains and St. Regis Aspen in Colorado. Denver consisted of paid nights at three Denver suburban Starwood Hotels on cheap rates to earn another free Starwood Resort night.

Day 1 - Westin Monache Mammoth Lakes, California = Free Starwood Resort night equivalent to 12,000 points.

• Upgraded to one bedroom suite with preferred view. (Room value = $250)

Westin Monache, Mammoth Lakes, California elevation 8,000 ft.

High elevation of the day = 9,945 ft. at Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park (Highway 120 across the Sierra Nevada.

Google Maps: Monterey to Mammoth Lakes via Yosemite National Park (300 miles).

Day 2 - Ramada Copper Queen Casino, Ely, Nevada = free night for 16,000 Wyndham Rewards points.

• Hotel room value = $120 (many of the highway motels in Nevada and Utah cost as much as a major city upscale hotel.)
• Hotel elevation = 6,437 ft.
• Unique aspects of hotel: First time I ever saw a swimming pool surrounded by slot machines. After checking us into the hotel, the receptionist’s other duties included calling BINGO numbers. Kelley loved this place for Americana Nevada kitsch.

Indoor pool surrounded by slots at Ramada Copper Queen Casino, Ely, Nevada

High elevation of the day – Sagehen Summit (Highway 120 California) 8,139 ft.

Loyalty Traveler post – Highway 6 Nevada, Even Lonelier than the Loneliest Road in America (July 15, 2011).

Google Maps - Mammoth Lakes to Ely, Nevada via CA-120 and US Route 6 (320 miles).

Day 3 – Holiday Inn Express Green River, Utah = free night for 15,000 Priority Club points.

• Hotel room value = $120 at a sold out hotel.
• Hotel elevation 4,079 ft.
• Hotel receptionist went on and on about my upgrade as a platinum member. My observations over the past year indicate major effort by IHG staff at hotels to promote Priority Club. I’d put Best Western as number two this past year for hotel  loyalty talk by staff in hotels. Not really sure about the upgrade since the room size looked fairly standard, but bottled water in the middle of the flooding desert was appreciated. Green River had been under a flood watch as recently as four hours before our arrival at this hotel in a small town 100 miles from anywhere except the popular outdoors location of Moab, Utah some 50 miles away south of the I-70 interstate and the Green River some 200 yards away with visibly high water. Photographers walked the town concrete bridge near the Holiday Inn Express to photograph the actually greenish color swiftly flowing river pushing high up the riverbanks.

Holiday Inn Express Green River, Utah

High elevation of the day = 10,167 ft. Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive in Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Loyalty Traveler post – Earth’s Oldest Trees in Great Basin National Park (July 17, 2011).

Google Maps - Ely, Nevada to Green River, Utah via Highways 50 and Interstate-70 (330 miles).

The fourth day of our trip we reached Denver.

High elevations of the day: 10,617 ft. at Vail Pass where we stopped and hiked around a little and photographed some mountains.

Vail Pass Trail sign at 10,617 ft. in Colorado

Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 is the actual high elevation we drove in our car at 11,158 ft.

Google satellite maps Green River, Utah - Denver, Colorado (343 miles)

Brokeass Mountain Road Trip, July 2011

Monterey, California – Denver, Colorado

• Yosemite’s Tioga Pass Road across the Sierra Nevada Mountains
• Westin Monache Resort Mammoth for year round vacations
• Even Lonelier than the Loneliest Road in America
• Earth’s Oldest Trees in Great Basin National Park Nevada
• Less extreme than 127 Hours in Utah
• Brokeass Mountain Tour eastbound – Hotel Value at High Elevation
• Brokeass Mountain Tour visits Starwood in Denver
• Driving by the 14ers South Park to Aspen, Colorado
• Top of the Rockies on the High Road to Aspen – Independence Pass 12,095 feet.
• St. Regis Aspen – Too Late to Cancel
• Aspen, Colorado to Park City, Utah: Ghost lands of Buffalo Soldiers, Utes and Dinosaurs
• The California Trail across Nevada
• Homeward Bound – Carson Pass Highway 88 over the Sierra Nevada to Monterey

Yesterday I drove from Mammoth Lakes to Ely, Nevada on Route 120 past Mono Lake. The 13,000 and 14,000 ft peaks are a beautiful sight on a clear day.

Boundary Peak NV at 13,147 ft. is highest peak in Nevada

My camera broke yesterday morning at Mammoth Lakes so few pictures to show. Learning how to use my phone camera and after taking 60 or so photos and then emailing them to myself, I saw that only five photos successfully attached to the emails. I deleted all my phone photos so few visuals to share from the drive.

There are only three places to get gas along the 300 mile route that took us by Mono Lake on Highway 120 in California to Highway 6 past Tonapah to Ely, NV.

Several miles of pine forest are located near the southern side of Mono Lake before continuing into the desert. Highway 120 is literally a roller coaster ride for several miles where the road dips deeply causing our car to ride up to the crest of the road at such an angle that there is no road visibility, only sky, and then quickly drop down the other side so steeply that our stomachs felt like we were riding on a rollercoaster. This is some serious dipping that goes on for several miles and is rather unnerving with the lack of forward road visibility when cresting each road wave.

Mono Lake, California

Tonapah is a mining town. Tonapah looks like a mining town. This was only a gas stop for us. Seeing a sign just east of Tonapah ’167 miles to next gas’ is rather alarming. There were only a couple of places between Tonapah and Ely where structures exist and there are no services at all.

Wild horses and shades of desert green entertained our eyes for the next 167 miles. Having spent the past decade only seeing the Las Vegas area of Nevada I was reminded during this drive that Nevada actually has remarkable natural beauty in its remoteness and wilderness. I was surprised to see such intense color with various shades of grays and greens as we passed through each desert valley between the north-south mountain range crossings. There is plenty of life in these valleys and hills.

The road of Highway 6 is well paved. We had hours of driving with rarely another car in sight. I said to Kelley at one point that we were probably farther away from another human than we ever have been in our lives.

The road was so deserted that we nicknamed this one bird species the “suicide birds” for their habit of sitting on the road pavement and flying up in front of the car as we approached. Hundreds of these birds flew up in front of our windshield as we drove through the desert around Warm Springs midway between Tonopah and Ely.

Three suicide birds of Highway 6 flying up from pavement (left side of photo)

About 60 miles from Ely a roadrunner bird swooped down on the road and then ran in front of our car. Fortunately that roadrunner was fast. I read these birds are so fast that they actually are rattlesnake predators.

Humboldt National Forest 50 miles west of Ely was an unexpected pleasure of woods and mountain streams after 200 miles of no trees since leaving the Mono Lake area of California. This is an area of great beauty filled with the small desert Utah juniper trees deep in the Nevada wilderness. In the evening sun of the Nevada Great Basin desert, the forest looked to be a National Park quality region. My biggest disappointment of the day was losing my photos of the forest with the missing email attachments.

US Highway 50 is nicknamed “The Loneliest Road in America”. Highway 6 and Highway 50 join up in Ely to become the same lonely road to Great Basin National Park at the eastern edge of Nevada and then on to Delta, Utah another 150 miles to the east of Ely.

Highway 50 Nevada poster at the Ramada Copper Queen Casino in Ely, Nevada

US Highway 6 is a more southerly road than Highway 50 and the road even less traveled than Highway 50.

Highway 6 is even lonelier than the loneliest road in America.

Brokeass Mountain Road Trip, July 2011

Monterey, California – Denver, Colorado

• Yosemite’s Tioga Pass Road across the Sierra Nevada Mountains
• Westin Monache Resort Mammoth for year round vacations
• Even Lonelier than the Loneliest Road in America
• Earth’s Oldest Trees in Great Basin National Park Nevada
• Less extreme than 127 Hours in Utah
• Brokeass Mountain Tour eastbound – Hotel Value at High Elevation
• Brokeass Mountain Tour visits Starwood in Denver
• Driving by the 14ers South Park to Aspen, Colorado
• Top of the Rockies on the High Road to Aspen – Independence Pass 12,095 feet.
• St. Regis Aspen – Too Late to Cancel
• Aspen, Colorado to Park City, Utah: Ghost lands of Buffalo Soldiers, Utes and Dinosaurs
• The California Trail across Nevada
• Homeward Bound – Carson Pass Highway 88 over the Sierra Nevada to Monterey

This Loyalty Traveler post is the 8th update for 2011 hotel loyalty promotions  and includes about 25 new promotion offers since the June 7 list. Offers marked with an asterisk (*) were added since the last update June 7.

Accor Hotels -  A-Club

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

* Motel 6 is the primary Accor Hotels brand in USA, however, extremely limited A-Club hotel loyalty program participation. A|Club repeats last year’s promotion allowing redemption of A|Club vouchers for stays at North America Motel 6 hotels from June 1-October 31. LT post June 29.

Accor Hotels is the largest chain of hotel brands globally outside of the USA.

Accor 10^th Anniversary World Tour Giveaway – One monthly trip consisting of Round the World flights and hotel stays in 10 cities over 30 to 40 days. Ten prizes each month for a hotel stay. (11 prizes each month from March through December 2011). LT post March 30. 

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

Accor Hotels A|Club bonus offers

Best Western Hotels – Best Western Rewards 

Hotel Brand Tiers: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier  

5-Key promotion – Best Western free night after three stays from June 19 to August 14, 2011. Limit one free night during promotion. Loyalty Traveler post June 4.

Best Western International Offers webpage link. The link provides a variety of promotions internationally for Best Western hotels.

Best Western Rewards Elite Status Match Offer (February 19, 2010) This offer is ongoing and still available. Best Western is a particularly useful loyalty program when traveling outside the USA. Best Western and Accor A-Club have more hotels outside the USA than all the other major hotel programs combined including Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Starwood.

Program Change for Elites: Elite members earn 250 bonus points for stays in US/Canada or a welcome snack. (Aug 3, 2010)

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

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

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

* Club Carlson does not currently have a major bonus points promotion since the free night after two stays promotion ended June 15. There appear to be some good discount rates (35% off two day Radisson stays – book by July 12) and Park Inn 20% off two or three night weekend stays in North America through August 31.

There are also some good values with Club Carlson double points rates where members earn 40 points/$1 for room rate. This is an extra 2,500 points on a $125 room rate that may only be $10 more than otherwise lowest rates.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

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

Hotel Reward Partners: Preferred Hotels Group, Barcelo Resorts 

Stay two times for 8,000 points May 19-August 11. This promotion awards members with 8,000 total points after two stays. Four brands require a two-night stay for this promotion ay Rodaeway Inn, EconoLodge, MainStay Suites and Suburban Suites. This offer is a variable bonus offer since two $60 stays that normally earn 1,200 points ($120 x 10 points/$1) receives 6,800 bonus points for 8,000 total points, yet two $300 hotel stays that earn 6,000 base points will result in 2,000 bonus points for 8,000 total points. This offer is best bonus on low cost hotel stays. Loyalty Traveler post May 16, 2011.

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

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

Program enhancements for elites. 

• 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

* 1,000 bonus points for enrollment in Drury Gold Key Club.

Expedia Rewards –

Double Rewards points for Expedia Vacation Package paid with MasterCard through August 31. Registration required. 

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

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

Fairmont Hotels and Fairmont President’s Club

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

Four Seasons Hotels

Four Seasons Special Offers website link

Global Hotel Alliance – GHA Discovery – Hotel loyalty program alliance for 12 independent hotel brands including Omni Hotels, Pan Pacific, Kempinski, First Hotels, Mirvac, Anantara Resorts, Tivoli Hotels, The Doyle Collection, Marco Polo Hotels, Park Royal, The Leela Palaces, Shaza Hotels.

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

Hilton Hotels – Hilton HHonors

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

* Double HHonors Points or Double Miles for stays worldwide from July 1-September 30, 2011. List of about 250 excluded hotels, mostly in U.S.. Promotion registration required. Loyalty traveler post June 24.

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

* Free HHonors Gold VIP elite  to August 31, 2011 for U.S. resident Visa Signature cardmembers. Complete three stays by August 31 to extend Gold VIP status through March 2013. Existing Gold and Diamond members receive 5,000 bonus points. Loyalty Traveler post June 10.

Great Getaway Hilton Summer Sale with discounts from 15% to 40%. Book May 13 to August 31 for hotel stays May 27 to Sep 5. Prepaid rates and must book 14 days in advance. Loyalty Traveler post May 19.

HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards posted for hotels through November 2011. Point Stretchers require 40% fewer points than standard HHonors rewards. Use the drop-down menu to see participating hotels in different Hilton brands. The Point Stretcher hotel awards were updated in early June.

HHonors Points & Money – Loyalty Traveler reward analysis indicates these are good value. Loyalty Traveler post May 9.

Home2Suites opens first hotel of Hilton’s new extended stay brand in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Unfortunately this new hotel brand becomes the first HHonors brand with a lower earn rate for points and miles. Loyalty Traveler post March 21.

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

Cheaper Hilton Reward nights using Priority Club points – this Loyalty Traveler analysis developed from the Priority Club Anywhere Challenge. Hotels Anywhere allows Priority Club members to spend points for hotels in other chains. My study shows there are numerous Hilton Hotels requiring fewer Priority Club points than Hilton HHonors charges its members in HHonors points for the same reward. (LT post Sep 17)

HHonors Program change: Gold and Diamond members receive complimentary internet at all Hilton Worldwide hotels beginning September 1, 2010. (Hilton – Aug 2 press release)

Hotels.com Welcome Rewards

Earn a free night for every 10 nights.

* Double points (up to 4 bonus points) through July 31 for new Welcome Rewards members.

Hyatt Hotels – Hyatt Gold Passport

Hotel Brands:  Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Vacation Club, Hyatt Resorts, Andaz, Hyatt Summerfield Suites

* 2,500 Aeroplan miles per Hyatt stay July 1-September 30. Maximum bonus is 25,000 miles after 10 stays.

* Welcome credit and 2,500 bonus points for stays paid with American Express at 75 international hotels. Loyalty Traveler post July 2. 3-key promotion.

Earn 19,000 Southwest points after 5 Hyatt stays June 1-August 31. Loyalty traveler post June 5.

Program Change – Hyatt Property Specific Bonuses: Jeff Zidell Hyatt VP, told me on March 8 the ‘property level bonus’ program is being evaluated and reinvented. We will probably only see regional hotel bonus offers until July. Specific property level bonuses that typically offered 1,000 to 2,000 points in G1, G2, and G3 offers may be gone for good. We’ll see.

InterContinental Hotels Group – Priority Club

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

* Limited Time Rate Discount Europe – Up to 35% off for weekend stays in Europe through August 31. These rates are prepaid and nonrefundable with no changes allowed. T&C also state no points.

* Limited Time Rate Discount Europe – 2 nights for the Price of 1 – LT Note: Promotion page states this offer expired June 30, 2011, but I still found available 2-for-1 rates for August dates on July 7. This is a recurring rate promotion for several years and offers one of the greatest discounts on hotel rooms in Europe; particularly London. LT 5-key rate offer.

* Pack Your Points Tweetstakes July 1-July 31. Retweet @IHG_Deals daily message for entry. One entry per day. Prizes are 15,000 or 30,000 points for daily winners chosen in August. LT post July 4.

* IHG Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights are posted the week before the first weekend of the month. Hotels are only posted for a few days and must be booked by Thursday prior to the Friday through Sunday dates. LT post June 30.

$75 MasterCard Gift Card for 2-night weekend stay worldwide at any IHG hotel May 19-August 31, 2011. Limit of four cards per member. Only for U.S. residents. Loyalty Traveler post May 18. 4-key offer.

IHG Double Points or Double Miles (May 16 – August 15, 2011) – 2-key offer. LT post April 21.

InterContinental Hotels in Europe 5^th Night Free rate July 14 – Sep 11, 2011. These rates are about 20% off Best Flexible Rate and equivalent to Advance Purchase rate. Loyalty Traveler post March 16.

Priority Club PointBreaks through July 30, 2011 are probably the best hotel loyalty program reward night value available at 5,000 points for a free night. Many of the hotels are discounted 80% from their normal 25,000 points for a reward night. The current list had 133 hotels on May 9 and only 27 hotels on July 6. Look for a new list of hotels posting in July.  Loyalty Traveler post May 9. (5-key offer.)

Complimentary InterContinental Ambassador membership ($200 value) after three stays at InterContinental Hotels by July 31, 2011. My Loyalty Traveler post argues for spending 32,000 points or $200 for Ambassador membership and earning benefits on three stays.

IHG Priority Club relaunch previews new reward option for Last Minute Hotel Nights at 50% points of standard reward night. Other changes are primarily cosmetic with new mobile apps, card redesign and website changes. Loyalty traveler post March 29.

IHG Priority Club partnership with Las Vegas Resorts – The Venetian and The Palazzo become InterContinental Alliance hotel partners as of April 1, 2011. Priority Club points can be earned and burned (40,000 points per night) for hotel stays and InterContinental Ambassador benefits apply. Earn 6,000 bonus points for a three night stay booked by June 30 (Loyalty Traveler April 11 post).

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

Priority Club Any Hotel Anywhere American Express gift cards.

      New Price for Any Hotel, Anywhere Cards  Loyalty Traveler post Jan 25.

• $100 = 33,000 points (formerly 29,000)
• $125 = 39,000 points (formerly 34,000)
• $150 = 45,000 points (formerly 39,000)
• $200 = 60,000 points (formerly 49,000)
• $250 = 72,000 points (formerly 59,000)

3-key offer IHG Sweetheart Deal – $100 Visa card rebate for a three-day or longer stay at any IHG hotel worldwide within 90 days of 2011 wedding in U.S. or Canada. (LT Jan 11)

Points & Cash Program Change:  Priority Club Points & Cash Reward nights increased the cost of 5,000 Priority Club points to $40 from $30. The cost to buy 10,000 points remains unchanged at $60. Loyalty Traveler post (Nov 19)

Cheaper Hilton Reward nights using Priority Club points – Hotels Anywhere allows Priority Club members to spend points for hotels in other chains. My study shows there are numerous Hilton Hotels requiring fewer Priority Club points than Hilton HHonors charges its members in HHonors points. (LT post Sep 17)

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

Program Change: Ambassador Annual Membership Fee Increased from $150 to $200 as of July 1, 2010. You can also buy Ambassador membership for 32,000 Priority Club Rewards points (formerly 24,000). Renewal fee is still $100.

Priority Club Points Exchange Value and Points.com – Loyalty traveler research (Jan 20) into the exchange value of Priority Club points into airline miles through Points.com

Kimpton Hotels – InTouch

* Kimpton “Summer Like a Local Rate” offer gives a $25 nightly dining credit for a rate $10 over BAR May 26-September 5.

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

La Quinta Hotels – La Quinta Returns

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

* New La Quinta Returns members earn Gold elite after two nights within 60 days of enrollment. Two nights may be one stay. Gold elite promotion offer for new enrollments through August 31, but keep in mind these offers are sometimes withdrawn early.

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

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

Earn a free night after every 5 stays with stays in at least two LHW properties by December 31, 2011.

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 Earn one free night at a category 1 to 4 hotel reward after two hotel stays June 1-August 31. Registration deadline for this promotion was June 30, 2011. This offer may be earned two times during promotion. Active Marriott Rewards members may have a points offer based on 15 to 25 nights. Loyalty Traveler post May 16.

Marriott Rewards 4x miles for hotels stays June 1-August 31. Earn 8 miles per $1 or 4 miles per $1 with 13 participating airlines depending on Marriott hotel brand. Loyalty Traveler post May 27.

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

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

Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Assignment Changes for 2011 (Loyalty Traveler March 2)

Marriott Rewards PointSavers –PointSavers reduce the points cost of a free night by one hotel category. For example, category 5 hotel requires only 20,000 points per night. 5^th night free applies to PointSavers rate. http://www.marriott.com/rewards/marriottRewardsPointSavers.mi

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

Marriott Rewards Elite Rollover Nights extended for 2011. This is the third year Marriott Rewards offers elite rollover nights for elite qualifying nights over your earned elite membership. For example: Silver elite requires 10 nights in calendar year and Gold elite takes 50 nights. Stay 25 nights in 2011 and the 15 nights above Silver elite rollover to 2012 membership year. You will have earned Silver elite for 2013 from your 15 extra nights in 2011 rolled over to 2012. Confused? Don’t worry. This is a great benefit for elite members. (Loyalty Traveler 5-key offer. LT post Dec 23.)

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

Omni Hotels – Omni Select Guest

Member benefits include complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, shoe shine and morning beverage delivery.

Earn a free night after every 10 nights or earn 500 miles per hotel stay.

Preferred Hotels Group – I Prefer

I Prefer and Preferred Hotels Group special offers page.

Red Lion Hotels – 44 hotels in western U.S.

* Red Lion Double Points and Free Breakfast promotion code = RLDOUBLE (through Dec 31, 2011)

Ritz-Carlton Rewards

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

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

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

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

Starwood Hotels – Starwood Preferred Guest

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

* $40 gas card for two-night or longer stays at Four Points, Aloft or Element hotels in North America through September 15. Must book hotel stay by July 31 using rate code SSBGAS. LT post July 6.

* Four Points $25,000 contest for best story submitted on Four Points Facebook page between June 15 and August 10. Contest open to US  and Canada (except Quebec). Also weekly prizes for two-night stay and $50 in beer credit. Contest Rules.

* 3x points for Starwood Hotels in Japan for stays and dining June 1-August 31. LT post June 26.

Starwood Preferred Guest – Stay 3 and get a free Starwood Resort hotel night from May 1-July 31, 2011. Note: Promotion registration ended June 30, 2011, so too late if you are not already registered. Free nights are good for over 200 Starwood Resorts including several category 6 and one category 7 resort. Free nights are valid until December 21.  LT post April 15. (5-key promotion)

FourSquare 250 bonus points for mobile check-in at Starwood Hotels May 1-July 31, 2011. Loyalty Traveler post May 12. Note: Most of these bonuses have quickly posted for me. I need to follow up on a couple of missing bonuses.

Starwood Preferred Guest Hotel Category reward assignment changes for 2011 took effect on March 1. My LT post (Feb 22) has a list ordered by city, state and country for changes.

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

Starwood hotels Website Enhancement – Website now allows comparison of four different rate types side-by-side for hotels in one location including promotion rates, AAA, breakfast rates, senior, government and reward nights. There are monthly calendars to locate days when Cash & Points nights are available at a specific hotel Loyalty Traveler post Nov 23, 2010. 

SPG Peak Season Rates Return for 2011. Category 5, 6 and 7 hotels relaunch peak season dates and a calendar of dates and participating hotels is posted here. Book by January 9 to lock in lower rates for your hotel stays. Loyalty traveler post Dec 6. 

Starwood Hotels Policy Change: Sheraton Hotel Club Lounges will be open 7 days a week in 2011.

Starwood Preferred Guest – American Express credit card changes effective October 14, 2010. The annual fee is increasing to $65 from $45 for renewals beginning Oct 14. Benefit changes include 5 elite nights and 2 elite stays credit each year. This will have no effect for members who qualify on stays. The SPG50 certificate will be discontinued in favor of a 3^rd night free offer at Sheraton Hotels. Loyalty traveler post (August 24); Sheraton 3^rd Night Free Analysis (Nov 12)

3-key or sometimes a 5-key promotion SPG link: Pay Your Birthyear Rate -This promotion has been extended through 2011. Rates can be an incredible 5-key savings or no savings depending on the hotel and your birthyear.   LT post 4/28/2009

3-key or sometimes a 5-key discount rates Starwood Hotel Rate Discount Codes for Multiple Night Stays.

These offers are for rate discounts on stays of 2 to 6 nights. Third night free tends to be one of the best discount rates. Important to check other rates (AAA, Senior, Special Offers) as these discounts are generally based on the Best Available Rate (BAR) and may not be the lowest overall rate for some hotels. 

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

Stash Hotel Rewards

Stash Hotel Rewards New Member Enrollment 1,000 bonus points link.

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

Stash Hotel Specials for Bonus Points and Low Redemption Rate Hotels

Voila Hotel Rewards

Loyalty Traveler profiled Voila Hotels program in light of the recent signing of two New York former Starwood W Hotels as the initial hotel members in the USA for this international loyalty program for 250 independent hotels.

* 2,500 Voila bonus points per stay through August 31 and entry into 500,000 points sweepstakes.

* Double elite credit for Voila member hotel stays through July 31. Registration required.

Wyndham Worldwide -  Wyndham Rewards

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

1,000 bonus points per Wyndham stay from June 1 –September 5, 2011. Loyalty Traveler post June 2.

* European residents only – 15,000 bonus points for two hotel stays worldwide by September 30 at most Wyndham brands. Stays must be booked by August 31. Bonus may be earned four times for 60,000 points. Loyalty Traveler post July 6.

Loyalty Traveler Research Articles

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

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

Hotel Loyalty Credit Cards and the Value of Hotel Points

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

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

Hotel Credit Cards Comparison by Value of Points (September 2, 2010) 

Hotel Credit Card Comparison using NerdWallet.com Value of Points (Sep 5, 2010) 

Loyalty Traveler’s Three Rules for the Value of Hotel Points (Sep 7, 2010)

Hotel Points to Airline Miles Conversion Tables

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

Hotel Market Segments and Hotel Brand Profiles based on JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study

Overview JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study (Aug 10)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power Luxury Segment and luxury hotel brands  (Aug 11, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power Upscale Segment Hotel Brands (Aug 11)

Loyalty Traveler Comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Full Service Brand Ratings (Aug 13, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Limited Service Brands (August 15, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Economy/Budget Hotel Brand Ratings (August 16, 2010)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Extended Stay Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 17)

Hotel Rates Survey for USA States, Cities, and Average Hotel Rates Worldwide

Hotels.com 2010 – Full Year 2010 – Global Hotel Price Index – This is a great resource for finding where hotel rates are high and low around the world. There are tables of USA average hotel rates by state and major cities.

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

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

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

Three Keys = good value hotel loyalty promotion or rate offer

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

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

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

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

• The opportunity for significantly high-value return on hotel spend in terms of future 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 hotel location and travel industry.