A faithful blog reader recently gave me some feedback about my monthly posts of hotel and airline points and miles offers. Basically, she told me she found a long list of deals too daunting to be useful.
And that got me to thinking. So, look for January's roundup next week; today I'll offer some advice on how to find the best offers for your winter holiday.
Start your vacation planning by deciding where to go. And base your decision on your desire to go there. Our blog reader is correct: unless you're looking for a last-minute weekend getaway, it's too confusing to begin making travel plans based on this month's offers. For today, I'm going to ignore airlines and focus on hotels, mainly because airlines offer few incentives on flights to vacation hotspots during peak seasons.
Say you want to spend a week in the Orlando area. All the major hotel chains are represented there, so start by going to an online travel agency site like Expedia or Hotels.ca to see which hotels are available and what rates they are charging. These sites are also useful because they provide traveler ratings as well. All things being equal, the best price is your best deal.
However, sites like Expedia and Hotels.ca also have two major disadvantages: they don't list all hotels in an area, and you won't earn points if you book your hotel through them. No problem: you can always get the same rates at the hotel chains' websites. So earning points won't cost you extra and you'll also see all the properties the chains have in the area.
Once you've found a few hotels in the right location and price range, check this month's list of offers. An offer for bonus points, or a stay X nights, get Y nights free deal, could not only help you decide in favour of one hotel over another, but also earn points toward your next holiday.
Even if you don't think you'll ever use those hotel points, you can always elect to earn airline miles instead (if you belong to a frequent flyer plan). I explain how that works in this blog post.
And don't forget to double-dip by using a credit card that earns points or miles. Many cards even offer double points for travel-related charges, so check to see which of your cards offers you the biggest bang when you pay for your hotel, airfare, and car rental.
One final point: the major hotel chains have many brands in their portfolios. You may not know that you can earn Hilton HHonors points at a Hampton Inn or Doubletree, Wyndham Rewards at a Travelodge or Howard Johnson, Priority Club Rewards at a Crowne Plaza or Staybridge Suites. Check out your hotel's corporate website to see which chain and loyalty program it belongs to.
Next Thursday, I'll tell you about the offers the major hotel chains have for January-March, all specially geared to reward the winter leisure traveler.
Follow me on Twitter: @AeneasLane
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