Mile Nerd

I’ve been getting a lot of similar questions lately. A bunch of things that were covered long ago, which confused me. Then I realized an obvious fact…there’s an entire “generation” of newbie readers who need help. I’d like to get you all past the noob level asap…so over the next few weeks, I’m going to sprinkle in topics that might be a little more newbie-friendly. Today, I’m going to talk about the basics of saving money on hotel stays.

• Points – If all you’ve done is pay money for hotels in the past, point stays almost seem too good to be true. Well, when you become a jaded old fart like me, that kind of enthusiasm will be refreshing. Yeah, points are worth getting more excited about. Some hotel brands with points include: Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), Club Carlson, InterContinental (IHG), and Fairmont. The most valuable hotel points are with Hyatt and Starwood. At the moment, the most disappointing point program is Hilton. All examples listed have credit cards. Of course, credit cards = points.
• Free Nights – I like hotel points, but I love free night certificates. Among others…Fairmont, Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott have credit cards which offer free nights.
• Priceline – Bidding on Priceline is old news. It’s hard to remember the world of hotels before Priceline was around. With bidding, you name your own price and see if your offer gets accepted. I’ve had TONS of success with this feature. It’s not that complicated, but if new to you, a quick Google search brings up plenty of results. It’s really, really helpful to get comfortable with Priceline bidding. Betterbidding tracks some of the bid results.
• Codes – Only suckers pay the standard room rate. Don’t be a sucker. Between using corporate codes (often very valuable), coupon codes, AAA rates, and more…you can/should bring down the rate if you’re paying for a room.
• Miles – You can redeem airline miles for hotel stays. I haven’t ever done this. The methods above have always been better options.
• Cash + Points – Again, this is where Starwood is better than most. By using some cash, you’ll  burn fewer of your valuable points. It takes a little number-crunching, but can sometimes work in your favor.
• Point Transfers – Your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (from Ink and Sapphire cards) will transfer to hotel points. In my experience, Hyatt is the only hotel brand worth transferring these points to.
• Other Websites – Hotel Tonight  gives out free money all the time, so you can save a little there. RocketMiles keeps offering bonuses for your first stay, so that’s another option. I talk about both of them a lot, but still haven’t booked with either. Probably just a matter of time, especially with RocketMiles.
• Email Lists – If you find a specific hotel you love, it’s good to get on their marketing list. In Lake Tahoe, I like to stay at the Hyatt. They send me monthly flyers with a casino rate that’s hard to beat.