Earning hotel points...

[tRidiot]

I ended up getting a Discover card that pays 1.5 miles per dollar, and they double that for the first year. No limit on miles, no expiration, no fees. Can be used for any travel reimbursement - airline, hotel, car, gas, etc. So I can utilize it for all the sales and discounts which alot of rewards programs exempt, too.

 

[tRidiot]

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.

And this I could do, too, and utilize my new Discover card to pay for it, and get rewards from both.

 

[YukonGlocker]

I ended up getting a Discover card that pays 1.5 miles per dollar, and they double that for the first year. No limit on miles, no expiration, no fees. Can be used for any travel reimbursement - airline, hotel, car, gas, etc. So I can utilize it for all the sales and discounts which alot of rewards programs exempt, too.

Yes, this is a good one too.

 

[tRidiot]

If we use it for as much as we can, we can get some pretty good cash back. Was looking at some utilization possibilities and in the next year, we COULD pretty easily earn back almost 3k to spend however or towards a vacation. I like that.

 

[Biggsly]

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.

You can share your IHG points. I have been a member for a long time. I am a member of several hotel group clubs. They are all pretty much the same. I went for years without a credit card, when I finally got one, I got the IHG card. I buy a few things a month and than pay off the bill each time. You will get bonus points for using the card when you book your IHG hotel. You do have to pay the $49 fee each year to renew, but they give you a free night stay for renewing. I figure $49 is a cheap room. A lot of times they will give you bonus points for staying at their other hotels. I always ask for what bonuses they have when I book. They will tell you, if you ask. I think I have around 90,000 points right now. We are going to save them up and go back to New Orleans with them. "Unless something changes."
I also have La Quinta points and Sheridan points. Sheridan is no better. La Quinta is probably the best points system I have found, but I only stay there when I have too.
If you do get the card, or your wife. Keep it about a month and then add the other person to it. They will give you 5000 more points.
I figure by the time I have to renew my card again, I will have a week of free rooms.

 

[adamsredlines]

Its great for business travelers...and the more you check in and out the better, as it upgrades you to different levels where you get more points.
I didnt play the game when I spent 6 months in a hotel...I just stayed checked in and got enough points for about a week free as well as cashed some in for gift cards. I also now get free room upgrades, better parking and a few other goodies when I use the program.
My buddy on the other hand checked in and out weekly, just moved to a different room so he acquired about 3x the points and made a killing.
Yep...its not for the guy who stays one or two nights a year in a hotel.

 

[Biggsly]

Its great for business travelers...and the more you check in and out the better, as it upgrades you to different levels where you get more points.
I didnt play the game when I spent 6 months in a hotel...I just stayed checked in and got enough points for about a week free as well as cashed some in for gift cards. I also now get free room upgrades, better parking and a few other goodies when I use the program.
My buddy on the other hand checked in and out weekly, just moved to a different room so he acquired about 3x the points and made a killing.
Yep...its not for the guy who stays one or two nights a year in a hotel.

This is very true. If I didn't travel some for work, it would probably not be worth it. I also forgot to mention the upgrades. That is also nice. I decided to leave early and stay in Springfield Mo last week on my way to STL. As soon as she seen I was a platinum member, she told us that she would put us in the suite for the same price. She also told my kids not to buy from the vending machines. She told them to just get their snacks and drinks from the snack room.

 

[Nifrost]

I used to travel ALOT for a former employer and stayed exclusively at Holiday Inns. Needless to say, I amassed a ton of reward points.

For the past few years I redeemed enough points for 1-2 nights per year for an occasional overnight trip. Last month I logged on to their website and found they had erased/deleted/stolen the remainder of my points. I had enough points to cover 14-15 nights. When I called them, they explained that it was due to my non-activity on their website. I went as high as I could over the phone and talked to 3 different supervisors. None of them would reinstate my points.

Recommend that those of you who also think you have a lot of IHG points to check your balances......I'll sleep in my truck before I ever stay in another IHG-owned hotel.

 

[tRidiot]

Another reason I like the idea of my Discover card... points never expire and I can use them for reimbursement for any travel-related expense, or just extra cash if I want.

 

[MadDogs]

With my work, my company picks up everything and I don't get billed but I do get the "rewards" points from air and hotels. I don't do the credit cards enough to rationalize any annual fee but as to programs ... for hotels I prefer Marriott properties. When one stays one to three nights every week for as many years as I have the perks add up (and they tend to be really nice folks).

Same with air. Because I have to fly so much and absolutely hate to fly United, American and Delta tend to be my choice for commercial flying. My company handles the tickets and upgrades so I never burn miles unless we want to take a vacation ... which is rare because I really like to stay home every now and then.

Because I tend to plant myself at home when I have time off, we donate miles back to AA. They have some cool programs where you can flip miles back to vets or parents who need to fly their kid somewhere.