Rocketmiles and other alternative hotel program's

[markis10]

Did my first booking this week with Rocketmiles, as a result I will be staying at a hotel for $150 and not using their program. That's the downside, the upside is 5000 USDM miles will be credited after the stay.

I noticed they pop up in a few threads but we don't really have a thread for discussing them, so I thought I would create one so we can share opportunities etc.

 

[newmarket]

Please let us know how it goes. My travel doesn't really suit any particular program well and I'm looking for an alternative to get some value for my hotel dollar!

 

[basso]

Off to research what a rocket mile is.

 

[drivatruk]

I have a few stays under my belt now using Rocketmiles. Just beware that it is usually dearer than booking elsewhere....If using a work credit card its not so bad.

 

[newmarket]

Have you tried agoda? They are slow (very slow) to post, but I have been using them and their prices seem ok in comparison at least for VA points. The points seem to be quite variable but in general I seem to warn 1,200 to 1,700 VA points per night.

i have only tried them on four occasions and so far so good....with the exception of one dodgy hotel, but that can happen anywhere.

 

[paultiffen]

Another option is a one night stay for 3000 miles first booking bonus. Harder sell for us airways miles but 3500 virgin America miles is enough for one way syd Mel etc so not bad at all for one stay especially at non chain properties

 

[markis10]

Another option is a one night stay for 3000 miles first booking bonus. Harder sell for us airways miles but 3500 virgin America miles is enough for one way syd Mel etc so not bad at all for one stay especially at non chain properties

Good suggestion, I went with that and now have a BNE SYD flight courtesy of my $120 hotel stay last Sunday night.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

Other options are to sign up to starthere.com.au or Qwibble - Australia's Best Cashback and Voucher Site and you'll get a % of the booking back in cash a couple of months later. You might also be better off with hotelclub or hotels.com and their rewards schemes as well.

I suppose it depends what the $ difference is between rocketmiles and other sites and if the difference makes the miles cheap or expensive.

 

[markis10]

Other options are to sign up to starthere.com.au or Qwibble - Australia's Best Cashback and Voucher Site and you'll get a % of the booking back in cash a couple of months later. You might also be better off with hotelclub or hotels.com and their rewards schemes as well.

I suppose it depends what the $ difference is between rocketmiles and other sites and if the difference makes the miles cheap or expensive.

I don't consider cash back sites an alternative to hotel program's, they are an adjunct. FWIW the local program's are rubbish in terms of the ROI with ebates etc often closer to 10% and covering a larger amount of chains inc IHG, Hyatt, Accor and SPG.

I suspect Rocketmiles will find it hard to be attractive in the long run, but with promos or towns without a heavy chain presence they can work. For me spending $150 to get a hotel and a $150 worth of reward points, it was a no brainer, nothing comes close to that except for IHG and their codes, and that gravy train is EOL, same goes for the Hertz gravy train which basically meant a $30 rental was a night in a hilton.

 

[paultiffen]

Was the Hilton points option a good one for hertz?

 

[markis10]

Was the Hilton points option a good one for hertz?

Hertz points credited to VS then washed through to HH

 

[paultiffen]

Was it 1000 a day?

 

[quokka77]

I got 12000 AA miles through Rocketmiles for a one night work stay in SYD. It was a combination of their extra miles on Australia Day facebook offer and double miles for your first booking targeted email offer. Pretty good but they're still sitting in my AA account many months later. I considered using Rocketmiles for an upcoming work trip but in the end went with the 10x Amex bonus points offer for spend > $350 with hotelclub.

 

[markis10]

Was it 1000 a day?

No, it was over 5000 per rental.

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks for starting this thread markis10, I just discovered the Rocketmiles program via Alaskan Airlines promotion. It looks to be a good alternative where you do a bunch of hotel stays, but never enough to earn decent status in any of them (say because client puts you in a hotel not of your choosing, or the only realistic location is yet another brand, or the desired brand doesn't exist in the city ... ie that's me ).

I have a few stays under my belt now using Rocketmiles. Just beware that it is usually dearer than booking elsewhere....If using a work credit card its not so bad.

Can you give an approx. figure for the differential ... say book direct vs book via Rocketmiles, which would be the real cost of the miles - can compare direct with purchased miles?

 

[quokka77]

RooFlyer, this difference is variable. For some dates Rocketmiles (or PointsHound, or HotelClub Amex 10x, etc etc) is competitive (ie I have seen it be the *cheapest* online rate). However, for other dates it is much more expensive (like 20 to 30%) than the alternative. You just have to do the search for the specific dates and location you need and see what it turns up.

 

[smit0847]

FINALLY made use of one of these programs. 2400 AA miles for a 2 night AKL stay through pointshound (vs about 1100 VA points if booked through Agoda). Was a whole $1 a night more. With the currency deval the AA points are worth at least $70 so happy with that!

Rocketmiles have 5000 US or AA mile promos for first booking but prices for everywhere are much higher than Agoda.