Hotel Stays

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.

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Dining Deals

One way to get surprised with miles is by registering your cards with the rewards network. I’m bad at remembering this. But it’s just a matter of signing up cards and eating at participating restaurants. Right now, there’s a bigger bonus than I remember ever seeing. It’s for 10,000 American miles if you dine 10 times ($40 or more per meal). Remember, it has to be restaurants in their network and this has to be done by August 15th. United has the same offer, but you’ll need to check and see if you’re targeted. If you weren’t targeted for United, you can always click on “Bonuses” and see what comes up.

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2 Good Changes

  1. Bluebird just increased their daily load limit. By a lot. It JUMPS from $1,000 to $2,500 a day. This is definitely good news for some of you guys. Should save you time and gas if you’re making regular rounds. Keep in mind, the small print says, “Up to $1,999.99 per day at WalMart registers.”
  2. This is a temporary change but a good one. In July, we get a 20% bonus on the already-valuable transfers from Starwood to American Airlines. So 20,000 Starwood points is now 30,000 American…60,000 SPG is 90,000 American…etc. It’s a good deal. I still prefer Starwood points being used for quality hotels around 3,000 points per night. And, of course, I love their Cash + Points hotel options. But, if you do need American miles, this is a good option. (Actually, now that I think about it…why would anyone need American miles? Remember that handy 100,000-mile card offer that everyone keeps getting?)

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Amex Business Gold Card

The 50,000-point American Express Business Gold Rewards offer is back. It comes and goes, and is occasionally for 75,000 points. Spend $5,000 in 3 months for the bonus. Read the offer terms about not having certain cards in the last 12 months.

(Yeah, my Uber ban is done. I’m over it. Thanks to everyone who emailed me about code 10r62014. That’s for $10 off a ride before July 10, whether you’re new or not. If you are new to Uber, look at yesterday’s post for $50).

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Monday’s Deals

  • Get $50 off your first hotel booking of $200+ from Expedia’s app here.
  • Same thing, but $40 off $100 from Travelocity.
  • I’m pausing my Uber speaking/blogging boycott for good reason – a possible free $50. Try code LASFF144 if you’re new to Uber. It’s the highest I’ve seen (much more than the current $30 referral bonus). Lyft is only offering $25 and needs to step it up.
  • Sign up for 4% cash back at a bunch of restaurants if you have a MasterCard business credit card.
  • As always, credit card offers aren’t written in stone. Southwest just did their usual dance from 50,000 to 25,000 points. Freedom, Lufthansa, and Starwood are going back down today. The Best Credit Card page will show all changes in the July update. Remember, what goes down will eventually come back up.
  • The strong US Airways Share Mile offer ends today. It’s a good price to buy these miles, in my not-very-humble opinion. If you’re new to this one, the description is here.

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