Earning hotel points...

[tRidiot]

Every company has a gimmick these days with "reward points".

The wife has been having us stay with IHG Hotels when feasible, so we can get their rewards. This is the Holiday Inn group, Candlewood, etc. I stayed about 10 hours in one the other day, just to sleep, cost me $130 with taxes, base rate was $111. So I earned 1,110 of their rewards points for that stay. Looking things up, a room in Fort Lauderdal in July will cost me 35,000 to 45,000 points. For one night. So... I'd have to stay a minimum of 32 nights at that rate to get a free night for the summer. So, 32 nights at $130/night = $4,160. Yikes. Spend 4 grand+, spend an entire MONTH in the hotel, so I can get a free night. Doesn't sound too great.

Of course, we can get their credit card and use it for daily stuff and make points, too. That would add up some more. Meh. $49 annual fee, waived the first year. I ain't paying a fee for a credit card, whether it gets me points or not. Prolly end up canceling and jumping to the next "points" card after a year or so.

I don't travel alot on business, and certainly not on the company dime, so I can't rack up points that way like some people do.

Just curious what, if any, systems you guys use. It seems to me all these companies tout their rewards programs, and give you thousands and thousands of points, so they SOUND like you're really racking them up, and it really doesn't mean much in the longrun.

So I've got about 35k points with IHG - good for one night.
I've got about 75k points with HHonors, the Hilton group - good for about 1-1.5 nights.

We recently stayed in Tulsa and our rate was 109 a night (x2 nights) at Holiday Inn, we booked another room for my parents for one night and the clerk gave us the AAA rate, which dropped it down to $85. I was pretty impressed with that... so now we're looking into getting AAA, but of course, that's another annual fee. But would save its own cost in a few nights of hotel stay.

More locally, I can get cheaper rates using less points. But it's all just an example. I can get 60,000 points by signing up for their credit card, 5x points booking rooms, 2x points at convenience stores, 1x on gas, etc.

Do any of you use these, and which specific cards/programs/deals do you use?

We're just looking to start earning some points, and everyday purchases are a great option, but I'm just looking around trying to figure out what the best card for this stuff is. I've got a Crapitol One and Amex and I'm going to look into what theirs are all about, too. I know I had something like 30-40k on Amex points at one time years ago, but never saw anything in their shopping list that interested me... maybe it'll be different now, I'm 10 years older. lol

 

[nofearfactor]

I travel alot with my work- been halfway living at the W Hotel in NYC the last few months- but on my own dime Im in the Hilton Honors program and it seems like a decent deal sometimes when earning points towards room rates. My wife likes Hampton Inns when we travel together and its in the system. I havent used it alot myself tho since my work catches alot of my stays. And I didnt get their card- which would have let me earn points on tons of regular purchases but I do just fine with my own card(s).

 

[tRidiot]

I'm liking the redeemable points with AmEx I'm looking at... for essentially gift cards to use on lots of stuff.

Stupid HHonors and IHG (Holiday Inn group) have NO WAY to add your spouse to your account. So since my wife signed up for the IHG account, it's under her name with all our points. If I want to apply for the rewards credit card with them, I'll have to open a new account and everything will be credited there - there is no way to merge them, or add me to the account. When I go to Holiday Inn to book a room they switch it to her name, since the rewards number is under her name. Stupid.

 

[nofearfactor]

Yep. Opposite for us tho, our stuff is in my name since she rarely travels with me. I get to earn a few extra points by booking my kids and my out of town friends and coworkers or clients in at the Hampton Inn or the Holiday Inn Xpress&Suites just off the BA Xpressway in BA alot since its only a few miles from our house and theyre more comfortable there.

 

[Backstrap]

I've been with Marriott Rewards for many years; I like their rewards plan and their hotels. We go to Texas at least every other month and stay 1-3 nights in a Marriott, so we rack up quite a few points each year. Got enough for three free nights in a Marriott on the beach in Florida last fall, plus a few free nights during the year. They run bonus specials several times each year - such as, stay 3 nights from April - June and you get an additional X no. of points. Those specials can add up if you're staying in a hotel anyway.

 

[beardking]

I'm with Hilton Honors and I sporadically travel large amounts for work. This past year I spent almost 2 months total in one of their hotels. I'm also an American Airlines frequent flyer and I used them on 99% of those trips (had to fly Delta once). On top of that, I had signed up for a Chase Sapphire card that gave me a 50,000 point bonus if I spent $4K+ within the first 3 months. I used that to pay for all of the hotel stays, so I hit that mark in no time. With all of those rewards programs I sent my wife and a friend of hers to Vegas for 3 days for my wife's birthday last month. It didn't cost me a thing because all of those expenses were reimbursed by the company I was travelling for. Plus, with the credit card usage, it boosted my credit score a few points which made buying our house in December a little easier.

 

[dennishoddy]

Before I retired I had to spend a lot of time traveling on the company dime. 13 weeks a year average for training, seminars, etc. I did the Hilton honors. Also have the American Airlines rewards card. I booked all the rooms, car rental and airfare on my AA card for those traveling with me. Company didn't care, so I took advantage of it. We haven't paid for airfare in many years, and the Hilton honors points got us a free week in the Carib at a 4 star resort.
We chase those AA air miles through their online shopping, restaurant promotions, and the point per dollar spent buying all our fuel, groceries, and bill paying. Doesn't take long to get enough miles for a pair of tickets.

 

[Wheel Gun]

I typically log 100,000 in air miles annually and usually spend about 150 nights in hotels. The loyalty programs are really designed for the business traveler who is funding travel with an expense account. I think it would be pretty hard for an individual to justify high-fee airline/hotel credit cards, frequent air travel and/or long hotel stays to earn points from infrequent personal travel. As cited above, it would rarely ever be cost justified. Over a decade of personal travel, one might earn a measurable benefit. But unless you're a reimbursed regular business traveler, these plans just don't help that much. They're designed for the road warrior. That's my $.02.

 

[Shoot Summ]

I put every dime I can on a Chase Southwest Airlines card.

Every year I get a companion pass for my wife, she flies free with me anytime I fly. Plus I accumulate a lot of points, last year we flew to Aruba for $150(fees), and Cancun for about $60 in fees. Plus I flew a couple of my kids for fees only to different places.

I used to stay overnight enough that HH paid off for me, now I don't.

 

[YukonGlocker]

The programs that are only good for one hotel chain end up not being great because at any given time there may be another chain's hotel on sale for a substantial amount. Therefore, I seem to get the best deal with hotel.com's rewards program where you stay 10 nights (anywhere) and then get 1 night free (anywhere). This allows me to always find the best deal regardless of chain/company, but still get a free one in a predictable manner.