Via Gary:

Hat tip to bhatnasx on Flyertalk, you’ll receive 200 free Marriott Rewards points if you become a fan of the Fairfield Inn Las Vegas Airport on their Facebook page by August 31st and send an email to fairfieldinnrewards@hotmail.com with your Facebook Name and Marriott Rewards number. They promise points to be credited in 4-6 weeks.

Free points are free points!

If you join Marriott Rewards and stay twice between May 1 and July 31 you can earn a free night certificate good for a stay at a category 1-4 hotel. This is a very nice deal if you’ll be staying at Marriott properties anyway, although I don’t think it’s worth switching stays from other brands for since the certificate can’t be redeemed at the highest end hotels. I’d rather stick to Hyatt’s Big Welcome Back.

(Tip of the hat to Loyalty Traveler)

Beginning May 7, Marriott will start offering Gold and Platinum elite members free internet, but only in the US (excluding Hawaii and US territories) and Canada. Obviously they’re following Hyatt and Starwood’s lead here, although both of those chains provide free internet globally. This is better than nothing, although Marriott has a long way to go before they have a competitive loyalty program, in my book.

Following Hilton’s lead, Marriott is now making it possible to earn top tier elite status exclusively through credit card spend. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), it’s not nearly as lucrative as Hilton’s offer, whereby $40,000 of spend on their American Express Surpass card will get you Diamond status. Instead, Marriott is offering one elite qualifying night for ever $3,000 spent on their credit card. You already get Silver status and ten qualifying nights just for having the card, so you’d need to spend $120,000 for Gold status (which requires 50 nights) or $195,000 for Platinum status (which requires 75 nights), taking into account the 10 night “head start” you get.

Unless you spend millions of dollars a year on credit cards, this probably isn’t worth it just for the status. Marriott has the highest qualification tiers of any program and I would argue the fewest benefits (although it’s a tight race between them and Hilton). But if you otherwise stay at Marriott hotels and consistently find yourself just below the next tier, this is very tempting.

Loyalty Traveler has the full breakdown here.

Lufthansa is currently offering new Miles & More members that register through this link 2,000 bonus miles. Furthermore, Lufthansa is offering the first 2,500 Miles & More members that sign up a $100 certificate good at Renaissance hotels for a minimum of a two night stay. The coupon is good for three months from the date of issue.

(Tip of the hat to Gary)

Thanks to all who participated in the SpringHill Suites Video Memory Challenge. I picked a winner using sophisticated technology random.org, with 1 as the minimum and 101 as the maximum (posts 102+ were made after the deadline). The “result” was 94, which, if my math is correct, would be a post by Zachary. He was contacted via email last night and claims he’ll put the gift card to good use. 

Thanks also to the Marriott folks for making this possible!

Marriott has given me a $300 gift card to give to a reader in conjunction with the relaunch of SpringHill Suites properties and their Video Memory Challenge. Given that it’s the holidays, it seems like there’s no better time for this.

So here’s how it works:

1. Visit the SpringHill Suites Video Memory Challenge website, watch the short video, and then take the 90 second quiz to see how much you recall
2. Post something regarding the Video Memory Challenge in the comments section below and be sure to include your valid email address (which only I can see) so that I can contact you if you win. You can post something you liked, something that surprised you, something that made you laugh, the score you received (copied and pasted off the results page), etc.

Basic guidelines:

• Using a random number generator I’ll choose one of the comments as the winner
• You can post as often as you’d like, including posting the score you received in the Video Memory Challenge (although if you do that I expect you to take the quiz each time you enter and post your score… yeah, honor system)
• Only comments posted before midnight EST on Sunday, November 29 will be considered
• The winner will be notified via email on Monday, November 30 and the winner’s name (as displayed on the blog) will be posted
• The winner can expect to receive the gift card the week of December 21, 2009
• This is a giveaway, so let’s approach this with holiday spirit. I plan on giving this card away fairly, so please let’s not get technical about rules, comments, etc. Just have fun.

Many thanks to Marriott for this generous offer! I’ve gotta say I’m pretty impressed by the new SpringHill Suites properties, if that’s how they’ll actually all look.

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving and many thanks to all those that continue to read the blog. Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with bumps, upgrades (air and hotel), and time with family and friends!

You can earn 500 Marriott Rewards points just for signing up to receive special offers regarding the Boston area Courtyard Marriott hotels.

(Tip of the hat to The Gate)

Marriott is offering new members that stay twice by November 15 a free night certificate. As far as I can tell this can be earned from stays at any of Marriott’s brands, but unfortunately the free night can only be redeemed at a maximum of a category four property.

(Tip of the hat to Loyalty Traveler and Gary)

Nothing beats innovation, and it’s sad that sometimes it takes a recession to cause companies to get creative. Marriott is essentially allowing all nights beyond what’s required for status qualification to “rollover” to next year. Furthermore, they’re running a double night credits promotion.

Every night you stay above the 50 nights needed to maintain your current Gold level in 2009 is yours to keep and count toward your 2010 Elite status.

It’s the only rollover night enhancement we know of – anywhere.

Plus, we’ll give you a head start with double nights. Stay at any
participating Marriott® hotel between May 11 and June 26, 2009, and earn double nights, starting with your first stay. Plus, we’ve already preregistered you for this great promotion.

So get twice the nights with this double deal. And since every night this year counts, it’s easier to maintain your Gold status – and achieve the next Elite level in 2010.

Well done, Marriott! I doubt we’ll see the airlines do this, as they’d be seeing some passengers with status for a decade.