Newbie for hotel loyalty programs - Getting cheap hotel stays with award points etc

[casanovawa]

I'll confess, when i travel i used to be totally value conscious, so pretty much cheapest airfare to get me there etc and hostels or couchsurfing etc.. I'd rather go away for the maximum time and see as much possible every year without coming back with a massive debt to pay off...

Since finding USDM i have now moved to buying miles for J class travel and have done one US-EU redemption and have another one coming up this year with more USDM miles in the bank which i will have to decide what to do with with the merger...

But i saw someone talking about buying HH points or whatever they are and redeeming for staying in hotels... Now for most of my needs hostels and AirBnB will be sufficient, but are there any good tricks similar to USDM/AAdvanatge for buying miles/points etc for getting some nice hotels that would usually just seem crazy... Maybe just the odd stay at a nice place as part of a bigger trip... Say that hotel in the Maldives with the bed under the aquarium, or places in Dubai or somewhere, you know the rooms you see on websites or FB of amazing places to stay or bucket lists etc...

I don't travel for business and so don't build up hotel points in any scheme and have a direct QF Amex that i use so no MR points to transfer so would probably either need to buy them or see if any of the airlines miles/points are useful for this and good value... Any good threads on FT that also come up with offers that i should look for, Shayne2233 seems to always talk about great offers he finds?

Anyway, any tips from people who know much more about this area than me would be appreciated... Understand if its something to keep a bit more private...

 

[Pumbaa]

Re: Newbie for hotel loyalty programs - Getting cheap hotel stays with award points e

There used to be a really good deal going with Priority Club. You can read about it, but basically, you were able to buy as many points as you liked, for a very good price. It was 10 000 points for about $60. At that time, the most expensive Intercontinental was 40 000 points, but the Holiday Inns and Crowne Plazas were really cheap. I used this method to book most/all my hotels when I travelled to USA 2 years ago. I was able to book nights at the Intercontinental Times Square in New York for $240 a night, and I was able to use my Gold Ambassador status benefits as well. Good times!

Since then, they've increased the points required for their best Intercontinentals to 50 000 points and it costs $70 for every 10 000 points. So now it costs about $350 a night. This is still pretty good considering normal nights cost $500+.

I think there are some good value deals out there for hotels, but nothing like the US/AA miles. I'll list some and you can do a google search for more information.

- Priority Club Friends and Family redemption
- Starwood cash and points redemptions
- American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts
- SPG Platinum challenge / Or basically any hotel challenge
- Starpicks.com
- Beatthetimer.com
- Priority Privledge
- Hilton Macquarie Credit Card
- Cafe at the Hyatt Program

That should get you started, I only seriously looked into the hotel programs a year ago, and find they as rewarding as airline programs. Have a look at my thread of best hotel program on AFF for extra information.

 

[casanovawa]

Re: Newbie for hotel loyalty programs - Getting cheap hotel stays with award points e

Thanks Pumbaa, will check it out...

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Re: Newbie for hotel loyalty programs - Getting cheap hotel stays with award points e

i saw someone talking about buying HH points or whatever they are and redeeming for staying in hotels...

HH points are US$.01 off the HH site. Generally speaking, they do not represent good value as a cash purchase can often be done considerably cheaper. That particular thread was discussing a small window to book an expensive hotel (circa AU$2300/night) before the point value decreases dramatically, rather than suggesting buying points as a way to cheap deals. The hotel referred to, at AU$2300 a nite, makes a point redemption good (even if one were to buy all points, it would currently make it US$500/night). Shortly, to buy points will make it US$950 a nite so still arguably good value, except I have seen peak rates at that hotel down around $700-$800 a night........so value is in the eye of the beholder.

The real issue with that thread, was being able to burn points wisely and quickly before the HH devaluation rolls around in a months time.