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Daily Getaways: Buy Priority Club points April 9

Priority Club points packages for sale Monday April 9 are the first offer of the five weeks of Daily Getaways travel sales sponsored by the U.S. Travel Association and American Express. This post covers details of how Daily Getaways sales work and analyzes the value of the Priority Club points offers.

Friday, March 30 I published a way to buy 60,000 points and Priority Club Platinum status for $460. On Monday, April 9 you can buy 75,000 points and Priority Club Platinum status for about $451 through the Daily Getaways offers. Priority Club points purchased through the Daily Getaways offers are elite qualifying points. You can buy just 60,000 points and lower the cost of Platinum status to $361 if you want to take a gamble there will be availability to buy from two different Priority Club offers during the Daily Getaway sale.

It is possible to buy 500,000 points for $3,000 through the Monday April 9 Daily Getaways, but perhaps an unlikely probability that you can be fast enough to buy the maximum set of points from each of the four offers before they sell out.

Although Priority Club points in the past two years did not sell out as quickly as other hotel loyalty points that do not have backdoor options for cheap points purchases. I explained the Points & Cash procedure for buying 10,000 points for $60 in the March 30 post. Daily Getaways is a good opportunity to acquire a large number of Priority Club points, up to 500,000 points, at relatively low cost ($60 per 10,000 points) in perhaps a more acceptable method than booking and cancelling Priority Club Points & Cash reward stays to build your account balance.

 

Buy cheap Priority Club Rewards points at Daily Getaways April 9, 2012

There are four offers to buy points from Priority Club on the first day of this year’s Daily Getaways beginning at 1:00 pm eastern time April 9.

Presale starts at 12 noon ET. You only need to Like IHG Facebook to gain access to Presale where a specific number of sets of points are available.

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4 Priority Club points offers. You may buy up to 5 sets from each offer. 

  • Priority Club 10,000 points (generic offer) = $67.
    • 650 sets and 130 presale sets.
  • Priority Club 25,000 points (Holiday Inn offer)= $167.
    • 420 sets and 90 presale sets.
  • Priority Club 25,000 points (Crowne Plaza offer)= $167.
    • 125 sets and 25 presale sets.
  • Priority Club 40,000 points (InterContinental offer)= $267.
    • 300 sets and 75 presale sets.

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This Daily Getaways offer is advertised as “Stay 1 night at a Crowne Plaza for $167.” The sale is for 25,000 points and these points can be used for any Priority Club reward you choose. The points are valid for reward nights at 4,500+ hotels in all IHG brands: InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. Priority Club and other hotel loyalty programs selling points use the Daily Getaways to promote their hotel brands within the loyalty program

 

Presale Registration through Facebook Likes

A new feature of the Daily Getaways sales for 2012 is the opportunity to register for a Presale by liking the Facebook pages of participating vendors. This is really easy since the link is right on the sale page. The Presale offers begin at noon eastern time zone for one hour before the regular sale. There are a specific number of packages offered in the presale hour and the regular sale.

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Priority Club Points Offer #1 – 10,000 points for $67 (AmEx = $60.30)

650 sets of points. 130 sets of points available during pre-sale.

Buy 10,000 points for $67 or AmEx $60.30. The price for all Daily Getaways offers is 10% less if payment is made with an American Express card.

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You can buy up to 5 sets of points for 50,000 points with this offer.

Priority Club Holiday Inn Offer #2 – 25,000 points for $167 (AmEx = $150.30)

420 sets of points. 90 sets of points available during pre-sale.

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The Holiday Inn sale has more sets of points so this is the best link if you want to buy a large quantity of points. You can buy 25, 50, 75, 100 or 125,000 points through this single offer. The Crowne Plaza deal below is the same offer and price, but fewer items for sale so your chances are better to try this link first, unless you want more than 125,000 points, in which case, you should try the offers with fewer items first and then come to this sale.

Priority Club Crowne Plaza Offer #3 – 25,000 points for $167 (AmEx = $150.30)

120 sets of points. 25 sets of points available during pre-sale.

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This Crowne Plaza page sale has the fewest items for sale. Start here and buy fast if you want to maximize purchases and try to buy more points from the other offers. Remember you can use the points for any IHG brand hotel and there is no requirement to Crowne Plaza your hotel stay.

Priority Club InterContinental Hotels Offer #4 – 40,000 points for $267 (AmEx = $240.30)

300 sets of points. 75 sets of points available during pre-sale.

This is a good offer if you want a quick 80,000 points and Priority Club Platinum elite without messing around in two Daily Getaways Priority Club sales. This is also the offer if you want to buy big at $1,200 and go for 200,000 points in a single purchase.

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200,000 points is a nice safe deposit box of points for hotel stays. I generally recommend you have a plan in place when buying points. But since IHG Priority Club just increased the points needed for hundreds of hotels in January 2012, you can be fairly confident the points won’t devalue much this year. There are several hotels around the globe where 200,000 points will save far more than $1,200 on a 4 or 5 night stay.

Priority Club also regularly offers discount hotel reward nights at 50% and more off with PointBreaks, Last Minute Reward Nights, and the one day sales they tested in the past couple of months.

Here is the calendar that currently displays the first two weeks of Daily Getaways offers. I’ll blog about many of these offers over the next six weeks.

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Strategies for the Daily Getaways sales:

The aspect of these sales I did not see mentioned in most of the blog posts this morning is how few people can take advantage of these deals. If there was a one item limit per person, then about 1,800 different people could buy some Priority Club points at a discount through the Daily Getaways.

The actual rules allow a single person to buy 5 sets of points from each of the four offers. Everyone trying to maximize these offers could result in fewer than 400 travelers buying these cheap points.

My point is you need a plan and be quick on the mouse when the sale starts if you want to get the best deals.

Last year when Hyatt points were on sale for $250 ($225AmEx) for 24,000 points, the sale was locked up within seconds and the points sold out within a minute. It then became a matter of reclicking and a few people got into the sale over the next few minutes while for most buyers the Hyatt Daily Getaways were over by 1:01pm.

Daily Getaways Strategy

1. My experience from the past two years suggests once you click on the Daily Getaway offer to purchase an item and you actually get into the purchase webpage, then you are locked in with the option to buy up to the maximum number of items for sale with the offer. Usually once you access the purchase page, then you can relax and breathe as you make your purchase, unless you are speed buying and planning to try and buy from more than one offer.

It appeared to me the past two years that getting access to the purchase page is the primary challenge, but once you are in, then at least one set of points is reserved for you while you enter your credit card payment information.

2. There are a limited number of points sets available and a maximum quantity limit for each offer. The number of items plays a strategic role for the buyer. If you want to maximize points purchases then try for the items with fewer sets for sale first and then go to the items with more sets. Some of these sales are gone within the first minute and you may find it difficult to buy the maximum number of items before they sell out.

3. Some offers suggest points are for a specific hotel brand like Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn or InterContinental Hotels. These are brand marketing efforts only and when you buy Priority Club points you are free to use the points for any hotel brand reward stay on points or other purpose you choose.

4. Daily Getaways prices are 10% less when payment uses American Express card, the travel sale co-sponsor.

Related Post:

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

21 Comments

  • […] Daily Getaways: Buy Priority Club points April 9 […]

  • caveman April 2, 2012

    Thank you for such a detailed information. Just out of curiosity can you share about your own plans. Do you have a shopping list of your own?

  • Ric Garrido April 2, 2012

    @caveman – I probably will not buy Priority Club points this year since I already have some. I purchased Priority Club points in past years of Daily Getaways.

    Most of the hotel programs that have sold points in the past like Hyatt, Choice and Wyndham are prices lower than just about anywhere I saw the rest of the year. I bought Hyatt points in 2010.

    I find value in the Choice Privileges and Wyndham points since there are many places where these are the only hotel brands in places I travel in the rural western states.

    Priority Club points at $60 per 10,000 points are a good value. I do not have unlimited money to buy points. My priorities are buying some clothes and a new computer this month. But perhaps I will go for 50,000 Priority Club points too.

  • Ric Garrido April 2, 2012

    In 2011, somehow Dan’s Deals, http://www.dansdeals.com got the entire Daily Getaways list of sales before I saw it anywhere else.
    Here is last year’s list of Daily Getaways 2011.

    There is no guarantee these same companies will participate, but this list gives an idea of what to expect for 2012 Daily Getaways:

    April 11: Marriott Travel Cards: $50 for $44, $100 for $89, $250 for $222, $500 for $445, $1,000 for $890.

    April 12: Visit any Sea World or Busch Gardens for $39, Swim with dolphins at Discover Cove Orlando for $175

    April 13: Avis car rental (good for up to Premium size, in the US/Canada, excluding NYC) for $33, Avis Chairman status through 07/31/12 for $1,115.

    April 14: Various Caesars/Harrah’s hotel packages from $264

    April 15: 24K Hyatt points for $250, 30K Hyatt points for $333,  36K Hyatt points for $415, 69K Hyatt points for $778.

    April 18: 5K Hertz points (enough for a 1-week rental of a standard vehicle) for $280, 9K Hertz points (enough for a 4 day rental of a prestige collection vehicle like Mercedes Benz E Class) for $440, 15K Hertz points (enough for a 1 week rental of a prestige collection vehicle) for $720.

    April 19: 32K Choice Privileges points for $134, 36K Choice Privileges points for $156, 40K Choice Privileges points for $166,

    April 20: CityPass, choice of 5 cities for $59-$79.

    April 21: 1 Night at Country Inns & Suites in the US for $56, 1 Night at Radisson in the US for $89

    April 22: One 2-night stay at select Best Western hotels AND a voucher for one free night at all Best Western Hotels for $333, Michael Waltrip Experience $2,200, Cesar Millan VIP Experience for $5,555.

    April 25: 1 Night in a Suite at a Loews Hotel for $222, 1 Night in a Suite at a Loews Resort for $300, 1 Night in a Luxury Suite at a Loews S. Monica for $350, 1 Night in a Luxury Suite at a Loews Regency New York for $350, 1 Night in a Beachfront Suite at a Loews Miami Beach for $350

    April 26: Universal Orlando Resort 3-Day Admission Ticket for $87, Universal Orlando Resort Family Trip for $1,665, Universal Studios Hollywood Family Trip for $2,000.

    April 27: 10,000 Priority Club Points for $67, 1-2 Nights at Holiday Inn for $167, 1 Night at a Crowne Plaza for $167, 1 Night for $267 At InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

    April 28: Omni Weekend Getaway For $190, Omni Weekend Escape For $280 1 Night for $275 at Omni Berkshire in NY, Omni Luxury Weekend Escape for $385

    April 29: Escape to Excalibur for Only $280, Experience the Magic of the Luxor for $280, VIP Getaway at HOTEL32 for Only $555, A Suite & a Show at Bellagio for $1,115, Getaway for 4 to Mandalay Bay for $1,390.

    May 2: 100K Hilton HHonors Points for $550, 150K Hilton HHonors Points for $825, 250K Hilton HHonors Points for $1,375

    May 3: Various Harrah’s hotel packages from $413

    May 4: 1 Night at a Super 8 for $50, 2 Nights at a Days Inn for $69, 2 Nights at a Ramada for Only $100, 2 Nights at a Wyndham Hotels & Resorts for $130, 3 Nights at a Days Inn for $150

    May 5: Save $25 on Your Next Alamo Car Rental

    May 6: 2 Nights for $255 at Gaylord Hotels

    May 9: The Venetian Las Vegas, TBA.

    May 10: Stay and Play at Circus Circus for $140, 2-Night Getaway to New York-New York, Las Vegas for $280, Escape to SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand for $1,110, Stay, Play and Relax at ARIA for $1,110, The Ultimate Getaway: The Mirage for $1,110

    May 11: Weekend at The Plaza NYC for $834, 6 Night Hawaii Vacation at the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui or The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii for $1570

    May 12: Fly anywhere in the USA on United for $280

    May 13: 5 Nights Stay at a Diamond Property Worldwide for $665

  • thrashsoundly April 2, 2012

    The cheapest way to get PC platinum now is by just getting the Chase PC Visa card. $49 a year to keep status.

  • BostonFlyer April 2, 2012

    Ric,

    I am assuming that Marriott gift cards are good at Ritz-Carlton Hotels as well? The thread on FT is a little clouded.

  • Steve April 2, 2012

    Yes, but what’s the point? You still pay $60 per 10000 points with the Points/Cash option (that’s what I always do when the pointbreaks are suitable; $30 for an IC sometimes is great); $7 less than the offer! So you tell me you really want to lose $7 for each purchase? Well then have fun! I go the old way, without neccessity to freak out at 1pm on Apr9. And I save $7 (or, at least, $0,67 when using Amex option); besides as I am in Europe I can purchase when the dollar is lower to the Euro…

    But please, explain the point why someone who is as intelligent as I am should lose $7 each time!!! Makes absolutely no sense, so you wasted a lot of time posting crap! Thank you.

  • Ric Garrido April 2, 2012

    @Steve – I post crap for the readers who are not as intelligent as you.

  • Ric Garrido April 2, 2012

    @BostonFlyer – I do not know if Marriott gift cards are valid for Ritz-Carlton stays. I will have to research that fine point since I have never bought Marriott gift cards myself.

  • Steve April 2, 2012

    By the way – there were a lot of rate codes, or, promotional codes, that saves me 10% of the points when redeeming. This still has to exist somewhere as you still have to log-in when checking for reward nights. Please post the code… thanks 🙂

  • Ric Garrido April 2, 2012

    @Steve – I don’t know that code.

  • Charles Clarke April 2, 2012

    @Steve – as was pointed out in the comments on Ric’s post about buying Platinum and 60K points (http://loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2012/03/30/buy-60000-priority-club-points-and-platinum-elite-status-for-460/), folks have had their accounts frozen for abusing the back door for buying points. As long as you are smart about it, doing it your way shouldn’t be a problem, but for folks that aren’t comfortable with that, this is a good way to do it. Being smart enough to use an AMEX to purchase also means you are about at parity, not $7 more.

    As for saving 10% on redemptions, there may be other ways, but an easy way is with the Priority Club Visa.

    Insulting Ric while reading his blog, but not comprehending what he has written shows folks exactly how intelligent you are, which probably is less intelligent than you think.

  • Charles Clarke April 2, 2012

    @Steve – BTW, if you are intelligent enough to know when the dollar is lower versus the euro than it will be in the future, you probably earn a lot more from trading currencies than you save by trading PC points.

  • burmans April 2, 2012

    @Steve – aside from the fact this is a more legitimate way to buy points (i.e. no worries about possibly getting cancelled) for the extra 30c ($67-$6.70 = $60.30, not sure how you calculated 67c) you can get status.

    So for an extra $1.80 on my 60K points I can get Plat status.

    I’m not sure if I’ll do this but certainly not crap.

  • Ric Garrido April 2, 2012

    Priority Club Visa members do get 10% back on reward stays, up to 100,000 points per year.

    I was trying to think of a promotion offer for 10% back on reward stays.

    Priority Club Visa card is one of the best hotel cards along with Hyatt Gold passport Visa and Marriott Rewards Visa for the low annual spender since card members get one free night every year. Hyatt and Marriott limit the free night to Category 1-4 hotels in their respective programs.

    Priority Club members get one free night for any IHG hotel worldwide. And an additional benefit is 10% back in points redeemed for reward nights each year.

    And now there is a benefit of annual Platinum status with the Priority Club credit card.

  • Andy April 3, 2012

    Do these points count for elite qualifying points?

  • Ric Garrido April 4, 2012

    @Andy – I purchased Priority Club points before in teh Daily Getaways and they did count as elite qualifying points.

    One of the few ways to get points that does not count for elite qualification is when you buy points for a Cash & Points reward. Even if you cancel the reservation and keep the 5,000 or 10,000 points, these points are not elite qualifying points when earned from a Cash & Points reward cancellation.

    The Daily Getaways points are bascially the same price as buying points for a Points & Cash reward and cancelling the reward. The difference is points bought through Daily Getaways count for elite and there is no issue that Priority Club may flag your account for booking and cancelling Points & Cash rewards as a backdoor way to cheap points.

    True that Priority Club Chase Visa can be a cheaper way to earn Platinum elite.

    Daily Getaways is another way to accumulate a large collection of points while also earning Platinum elite if you do not want the credit card option.

  • […] Daily Getaways: Buy Priority Club points April 9 […]

  • […] 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. […]

  • […] I analyzed this Priority Club offer in detail last Monday in this April 2 Loyalty Traveler post. […]

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