Booking Hotels through Qantas Site

[egeaher]

hey all. Long time reader, first time poster.
I have only recently discovered that all my stays (HH and SPG), that I have been booking through Qantas website, did not accrued any hotel points at all. Basically, those stays weren't counted as a stay.
I wonder, did anyone has bothered to calculate if Hotels bookings even worth Qantas points at all.
I had a brief look and it looks to me as it absolutely not worth it. With SPG, if I'll book direct, it would take approximately 6 nights of stay to receive a free night. With Qantas points it's about 60 nights (at best).
Anyone else has any feedback? Or am I doing something wrong here?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

hey all. Long time reader, first time poster.
I have only recently discovered that all my stays (HH and SPG), that I have been booking through Qantas website, did not accrued any hotel points at all. Basically, those stays weren't counted as a stay.
I wonder, did anyone has bothered to calculate if Hotels bookings even worth Qantas points at all.
I had a brief look and it looks to me as it absolutely not worth it. With SPG, if I'll book direct, it would take approximately 6 nights of stay to receive a free night. With Qantas points it's about 60 nights (at best).
Anyone else has any feedback? Or am I doing something wrong here?

This comes down to the individual hotel program and the ability to earn points. QF hotels is the same as any other on-line travel agent in this case - be it Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity etc etc. If you can't earn points through those booking sites then the QF site is likely to be the same. The relevant hotel program terms and conditions will have specific details.

I always book direct with the hotel where necessary for the points and benefits. Weighed up against the cost, of course. It might be that QF hotels has a super special deal!

 

[samh004]

I had a brief look and it looks to me as it absolutely not worth it. With SPG, if I'll book direct, it would take approximately 6 nights of stay to receive a free night. With Qantas points it's about 60 nights (at best).
Anyone else has any feedback? Or am I doing something wrong here?

I think the question here is what are you using the points for/how much are the points worth to you?

In your example, if your only goal is to convert paid hotel nights into free hotel nights, then you are probably best sticking with the hotel for direct bookings, but if you're saving for an F or J RTW trip on points (or some other special premium cabin trip), you may get more bang for your buck if you booked through Qantas or any other third-party during a bonus point promotion (I think the standard rate is 3 points/$1 but this can sometimes increase to 9 points/$1)!

Then you also have to factor in how much the points are worth getting them direct as oppose to getting the night for a cheaper rate (rare but not unheard of). Say in your example a standard night is $60 direct and 6 of them give you a free one... but if you go indirect you spend $50/night and save $60 overall... the equivalent of your free night. Of course, as others will point out there are other factors, such as you generally don't get status benefits if not booked direct (unlike airlines).

Ultimately, it's all a numbers game, and only you will know what numbers you are aiming for, and that can help decide how to proceed.

 

[cjd600]

In a recent example for me, the cost savings on Qantas over Hhonors direct , together with 9 QF points per dollar were enough to persuade me to forgo HH points + benefits

 

[ric_melb]

Good evening and welcome to AFF.
Basically if you book with Qantas Hotels for HH and SPG you get Qantas points for the amount paid. So generally the rate is 3 Qantas points per AUD1. Sometimes you can get bonus points.
If you book with SPG you get 3 points per USD1 paid, if you have Gold or Platinum status.
After allowing for GST and exchange rate this is around 2 points per AUD1. This is excluding any bonus points.

If you take a room rate of AUD200 a night you would receive 600 Qantas points, or 400 SPG points.

I am curious how you calculate your earning rate with SPG points. You state you could receive a free night after 6 nights of stay.
Four Points Docklands require 7,000 points for a free night. That would take 17.5 night to achieve.
Sheraton Melbourne require 12,000 points for a free night. That would take 30 nights to achieve.

Your calculation of 60 nights to get one free night with Qantas seems about right. The best use of Qantas points is for flights.

Happy for anyone to correct my calculations.

 

[Lynda2475]

I generally find the best price plus benefits to be had is booking directly with the hotel as a rewards program member, but then double dip by paying with a ff points earning credit card.

But as others have said you need to weigh up the benefits (free wifi, water, late/early check-out) or a discount or free night on a future booking (only if you know you will be able to use it before expiry) vs contributing points for a flight goal.

If travelling in Australia free wifi not much benefit, as I have internet on my phone, but internationally it is a plus.

Recently I wanted to book a specific hotel in Croatia which wasnt part of any international hotel rewards program that I could see, a promotion on the Qantas site got me both the best price and bonus reward points, so Qantas got my booking. However this only worked out to be be best for 2 nights out of the 30 nights Im away.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There are sometimes benefits by booking direct - wifi can be free, which at some of the big chains in the USA can add up otherwise. But also with Hilton, they will often extend my stay for two or three hours free of charge - which can be a huge benefit in terms of convenience (and cost too!).

 

[nickfromeastryde]

I quite valued my SPG points, found I was easily able to get 3 to 4 cents per point value and sometimes even more especially by focusing on the 5th night free offers. Didn't always add up but often especially with the mid range hotels, the points equation was really attractive especially in countries that had high taxes as using the points allowed us to avoid them. Not being a frequent traveller we have used these points well combining with the Mastercard deals that saw us get Gold status for some of our big holidays over the last few years.

A couple of years ago in Peru, we booked at the last minute a room at the Tambo del Inka for 5 nights I think for 48K points that would have cost over 4K dollars and were upgraded with free breakfast included, close to 10c a point value

My trouble is being able to accrue enough SPG points to make it worthwhile and not having been away since 2016 not sure how the Marriot merger has impacted. Something to look into as we have 2 big trips coming up

In my opinion, the hotel programs are a viable alternative to the airlines but you do need to make your bookings through their site rather than Qantas

 

[drron]

As a plat I would get 600 SPG points on a $200 booking.As well as 250-500 welcome amenity points.Plus any promotion going on.
Our favourite Sheraton doesn't,for most,give SPG benefits if a non SPG booking portal.When I have checked other sites I can often get it $30 cheaper.But then I forfeit the restaurant breakfast,free wifi,up to 4 hours drinking complimentary wine,some laundry and the chance of a suite upgrade.A no brainer for me.
And I value SPG points at 4-6 cents which is a lot higher than the value of QF points for me.

 

[Mattg]

I've found that the earn rates are similar - perhaps a little higher if crediting to a decent hotel loyalty program.

It comes down to how you want to spend the points. Redeeming for hotels is usually a very good use of hotel loyalty points. Redeeming for hotels is a very poor way to spend airline miles.

 

[egeaher]

I am curious how you calculate your earning rate with SPG points. You state you could receive a free night after 6 nights of stay.
Four Points Docklands require 7,000 points for a free night. That would take 17.5 night to achieve.

ahhh yes, apologies. You are correct. It's 16-17 nights with SPG for one free night for me at my current rate. I usually stay in three nights blocks. But it is still significantly better then booking through Qantas site and getting Qantas points.

 

[egeaher]

Thank you all for your feedback. Everyone made good points. So the summary for me is: Because free Hotel nights are important to me, I better book direct with HH and SPG to maximise my points, instead of small run of Qantas points.

 

[Bindibuys]

Yes,we all have different goals. My husband would spend around 15 nights a month in a hotel room. BUT all his travel is intra-state, there are no Hiltons, SPG's at Dubbo or Cooma.
I make all his bookings through Qantas (note no Qantas hotels in Griffith.....) only for the QF points, which we then use for Award flights.
So for us, using Qantas Hotels is the way to go.

 

[aerotravel]

I don't spend enough nights in hotel to find earning hotel points or status to be worthwhile. Unless one is a road warrior for work, then perhaps it's good to get those status.

If you play with few Frequent Flyer programs, then look for deals where there are bonus points to earn for your programs rather than trying to earn all under a frequent flyer program.

So, Agoda Points MAX is a good way (BA, SQ, AA miles) and also AA booking (partnership with Booking.com) can earn some pretty decent miles rather than banking all on Qantas (during non-promo period / no bonus points offered) for hotels that do not have hotel programs or looking for that extra bonus points top up.

 

[RoMambai]

I tend to always stick with Honors or SPG but I use the Qantas site when booking for family as it helps keep their accounts active (unlike me they've not been bitten by the bug). I have found Qantas hotels is never cheaper and occasionally significantly more for some reason.

My suggestion is to always crunch the numbers.

 

[blaz]

Be careful with price matching...often the guarantee is only offered if you have already booked with the hotel direct. Then you have to prove it is for the same room type etc. However, if you shoot off an email directly to the hotel, before you've made the booking, with a screenshot of the cheaper rate, they will readily match it, and give you all your benefits as well...much safer.

 

[BudgetFly]

So, Agoda Points MAX is a good way (BA, SQ, AA miles) and also AA booking (partnership with Booking.com) can earn some pretty decent miles rather than banking all on Qantas (during non-promo period / no bonus points offered) for hotels that do not have hotel programs or looking for that extra bonus points top up.

Yes, I'm an Agoda guy also and recently used Trivago to check I was getting the best possible price. My Agoda "Points Max" is currently earning VA points and I can switch for each and any booking. Agoda often offers 2 prices on the same booking where VA points might be 340 or for $9 more 1000 points this could be useful if a few extra points are needed. VA points seem more generous on Agoda compared to SQ. Importantly, Agoda also offers "Guest Dollars" on top of the points earned. These guest dollars differ depending on value of booking mine vary between $5 to 10 per hotel and can be redeemed at any time.

 

[blaz]

Yes, I'm an Agoda guy also and recently used Trivago to check I was getting the best possible price. My Agoda "Points Max" is currently earning VA points and I can switch for each and any booking. Agoda often offers 2 prices on the same booking where VA points might be 340 or for $9 more 1000 points this could be useful if a few extra points are needed. VA points seem more generous on Agoda compared to SQ. Importantly, Agoda also offers "Guest Dollars" on top of the points earned. These guest dollars differ depending on value of booking mine vary between $5 to 10 per hotel and can be redeemed at any time.

Great tip...my points on Agoda currently fall to Etihad, so I haven't bothered, but Virgin points would be very handy. Having said that, Agoda does not always give you the cheapest rate, and valuing a 1,000 VA points at roughly $30(in business class fares) you have to do your homework. I do find though, that if Qantas has a points special , and you luck out on a reasonable hotel rate as well, you can do quite well out of the transaction. I managed to get a Clubroom at the Intercontinental Singapore for $290 (aus.) plus about $25 of Qffp. $265 effective rate.

 

[BudgetFly]

I tend to always stick with Honors or SPG but I use the Qantas site when booking for family as it helps keep their accounts active (unlike me they've not been bitten by the bug). I have found Qantas hotels is never cheaper and occasionally significantly more for some reason.

My suggestion is to always crunch the numbers.

Thanks for the reminder! I'm going to switch my Agoda points to PAL (Mabuhay Miles) to stop some points expiring.... Agoda has 47 points partners and you can switch between them for each individual booking - ideal for keeping expiring points alive or making up that few points needed for an award!

 

[samh004]

So the summary for me is: Because free Hotel nights are important to me, I better book direct with HH and SPG to maximise my points, instead of small run of Qantas points.

Further to this, it's worth considering whether you can switch to just one program and move yourself from dual-Silver to Gold, or dual-Gold to Platinum/Diamond. In doing so, you'll increase your chances of getting room upgrades, lounge access and other benefits. This can then make booking direct even more rewarding, despite the sometimes slightly higher prices. Having all your points in one program will also make it quicker to earn free nights.