Last time, I explained how joining hotel loyalty programs, even if you stay only once, is worthwhile, because it allows you to credit points to your favourite airline frequent flier program.
Of course hotel programs can be valuable for themselves, especially if you are loyal to one chain. Wyndham (Ramada, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Days Inn), Marriott, and Best Western each have several thousand properties worldwide, which makes it easy to find one in the location you're staying. And if the rate is competitive, earning points toward a free night might be the deciding factor. I belong to all these programs (of course), but only in order to credit stays to airline plans. I focus on two plans for actually collecting points: Starwood and Priority Club.
I've told you that I have a Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) American Express card. Before Amex, it was affiliated with MBNA, a division of Bank of America that issues credit cards in Canada. It was a no fee card then and was the best travel rewards card on the market, given the value SPG points have both for redeeming for hotel rooms and for swapping (with bonuses) into airline plans. Over the last five years, I've earned over 150K SPG points, which I've redeemed for flights, airline miles, and hotel stays. I've also earned points for stays at Starwood hotels (Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien) when the rate was a better deal than burning points. And sometimes bonus offers, like last year's "Stay twice, get a free night" offer make paying for a room worthwhile.
I've just done that again recently, something points hounds call a "mattress run". The idea is to find a rate which earns points or rewards that are more valuable than the rate paid. Here's what I did. I recently received two offers from Starwood: one was the current general offer of double points for each stay; the other was a targeted offer (since I hadn't stayed at a Starwood property in a while) of 25% off my next reward redemption if I had a stay by October 31. So I went to the Starwood site and looked for a low rate. I found the Four Points by Sheraton Niagara Fallsview for $69 night. And then I found a package deal for $99 a night which included a $45 dinner credit, so I booked that.
Here's how it works out for me. I earn 2 SPG points per dollar spent, so I'll get 200 points. But double points means 400. Taxes, parking ($20), and anything I spend on dinner over $45 (perhaps a glass of wine?) also earn points. And since I'm charging everything to my SPG Amex card, I'll earn another point for every dollar. I expect to get over 700 points. But at that rate I'd have to stay 10 times to get a free night at the Westin Harbour Castle, so that's not the real reason for our little jaunt.
When you redeem your SPG points for a 5-night stay, you receive the fifth night free. But that 25% discount offer earns another free night. Remember Palm Springs? The Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa (I know, sounds swank) is 10K points a night, so a 5-night stay will cost me 30K points, not 50K. Put another way, since a night the Westin Mission Hills etc. is a little over US$300, my night in Niagara more than pays for itself.
I'll really hate it if I have to give up the SPG Amex next spring. I'm hoping that if the droves of former MBNA cardholders, like myself, who accepted the card because the annual fee was waived for the first year threaten to cancel, Amex either will reduce the annual fee or give a retention bonus.
Looks like I've gone way over my 500 words, so there'll have to be a separate post on Priority Club. That's only fitting, because Priority Club was where points collecting all began for me.
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