Diners Club Comparison of Redemption Value Across Hotel Points Programs

Loyalty Traveler Original Research –
Diners Club Comparison of Redemption Value Across Hotel Points Programs

Hotel Points can be earned through credit card points exchanges with Diners Club/MasterCard Club Rewards points. Club Rewards points can be a valuable asset when planning the hotel component of a trip.

Loyalty Traveler is always seeking good hotel value. An analysis of Diners Club shows value is relative to the hotel program partner and the particular time and place of points redemption for a free hotel night.Diners Club Rewards points can be exchanged into hotel points for 7 major hotel loyalty programs at the following exchange rates for 1,250 points (transfers must be multiples of 1,250 Club Rewards points):

Best Western Gold Crown Club = 3,300 points
Choice Privileges = 2,400 points
Hilton HHonors = 2,000 points
Hyatt Gold Passport points = 750 points
Marriott Rewards = 1,500 points
Priority Club Rewards = 1,500 points
Starwood Preferred Guest = 750 points

In addition to point exchanges, Diners Club Rewards points can be used for free night redemption offers with Fairmont Hotels, Ritz-Carlton, and various luxury villa properties in Europe and hotels in Hawaii.


By the Numbers

Points Redemption Value
Summary of results based on an extrapolation of value for 50,000 Diners Club Rewards points exchanged into hotel points and redeemed for a free night in a particular location (San Francisco) and date (Tuesday, July 15, 2008) for a hotel stay using points.

Best Western = $1,399 for 4.7 room nights
Starwood = $1,197 for 3.0 room nights
Hyatt = $1,080 for 2.5 room nights
Choice = $905 for 6.0 nights
Priority Club = $811 for 2.4 nights
Hilton = $660 for 2.0 nights
Marriott = $270 for 1.0 nights (Marriott Redemption Value affected by Stay Anytime reward as only available option for July 15, 2008 San Francisco).

Assume a Diners Club member has 50,000 Club Rewards points and wants to exchange these for a good hotel value. $50,000 in purchases earns 50,000 Club Rewards points under normal earning rules.


50,000 Club Rewards points exchanged into hotel points for:

Best Western Gold Crown Club = 132,000 points
Choice Privileges = 96,000 points
Hilton HHonors = 80,000 points
Hyatt Gold Passport points = 30,000 points
Marriott Rewards = 60,000 points
Priority Club Rewards = 60,000 points
Starwood Preferred Guest = 30,000 points


Calculating Hotel Points Redemption Value

Calculating the value of hotel points across programs is a complex analysis. There are too many variables: specific hotel program terms, hotel location, time of year, weekday vs. weekend nights, promotions, and redemption special offers for free nights using hotel points. That being said, the reality is -

hotel points have no value until redeemed.

Ultimately, the final decision for hotel travelers becomes whether to pay cash or use points for your all or part of your stay. Therefore, it is a valuable exercise to see real numbers for hotel free nights in a sample scenario. There will likely be hotels around the globe and the USA offering better value and hotels offering lesser value than the hotel points redemption sample.


Methodology for hotel program comparisons and the value of 50,000 Diners Club Club Rewards points.

Hotel points redemption value is based on using the same city and same dates for comparison across programs. I use San Francisco as a model for comparing hotel programs due to the large number of hotel members in a large number of hotel corporations in a highly concentrated area of downtown San Francisco. I frequently use international locations for redemption value options due to the high cost of hotels in most major international cities around the globe.

The limitation of the analysis that follows is I only look at one sample date for hotel rates and all data is extrapolated based on hotel rates for Tuesday, July 15, 2008 in downtown San Francisco. This analysis gives a snapshot of the comparative value in a real-time analysis of what kind of reservation could be booked with hotel points on July 1, 2008.

The points redemption values for the one night San Francisco stay are extrapolated to provide a common relative value across hotel programs. This allows a comparison of the relative redemption value for total hotel points earned through an exchange of 50,000 Diners Club Rewards points.

Obviously, a person cannot book 2.4 nights using points and I did not actually try to book 2 or 3 night stays using points. The total points redemption value found for San Francisco for Tuesday July 15 is extrapolated at the same rate to determine an overall points value for an exchange of 50,000 Club Rewards points.

Marriott is the only program that has skewed data because in this real time situation using July 15, the Marriott Rewards program was the only program requiring extra points for a free night (double points for a Marriott Rewards Stay AnyTime reward).

In real travel the probability that one program will be less favorable than another is common. The real value of Diners Club points is the ability to transfer your points into a variety of hotel programs and take advantage of the best opportunity for points redemption for the particular trip and hotel stay.


Example of Calculating Points Redemption Value for Free Rooms Using Points:

JW Marriott San Francisco is a Category 7 hotel in the Marriott Rewards program. Your points redemption value is determined by how many points you actually save when you redeem points for a free night.A free night for a Category 7 hotel costs 35,000 points using Marriott Rewards points. This next Friday night, July 4th, the lowest available room rate for this hotel is $199. After 14% hotel tax, your 35,000 points save you $227 for a free night in San Francisco.

The value of 1,000 Marriott Rewards points is about $6.50/1,000 points if used for a free room night to save $227 at JW Marriott San Francisco, July 4th Friday night.

A weekday Tuesday free night on July 8th is an entirely different value for 35,000 points. The midweek rate for the JW Marriott San Francisco is $319 per night and the value of your points redemption increases to $364 after 14% hotel tax. Your points redemption value is 60% higher at $10.40/1,000 points when redeeming 35,000 points for a $364 savings.

A good rule of thumb is to try and redeem your points at a value higher than the purchase rate of points through the hotel program.

Caveat and analytical limitation:
The analysis shown here does not take into account the value of points not earned by not paying for a room.

For example, a paid room at $199 base rate will earn 1,990 Marriott Rewards points plus promotional and elite bonuses. The points not earned will likely be 2,000 to 4,000 points that need to be included in a calculation of the value of your points when redeeming for a free night.
A more precise valuation for a $227 JW Marriott room savings would be 35,000 + 1,990 (points you would have earned if $199 base rate paid instead of hotel points reward).

$227 hotel savings / 36,990 points = $6.14/1,000 points redemption value for July 4.
$364 hotel savings / 38,190 points = $9.53/1,000 points redemption value for July 8.

Actual points redemption values will also be dependent on the date, location, current promotions, and elite status within the hotel loyalty program, so the points not earned will be higher than these basic calculations and result in points redemption values slightly lower than these given above. As you can see it is complex to calculate the value of points with a single hotel program and comparisons across programs are more complex.

The value* of 50,000 Club Rewards points exchanged for hotel points:
*calculations for redemption value do not consider points not earned for a paid stay.

Points Redemption Value = money saved/points for free night x 1,000

Best Western Gold Crown = 132,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $1,399.20 for 4.7 free nights

Best Western Hotel California, San Francisco
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Best Western, The Hotel California
28,000 points or $260.10 + 14% hotel tax = $297/night
or $10.60 redemption value/1,000 points.

Best Western members must be Platinum (15 nights) or Diamond (30 nights) elite to purchase points at rate of $10/1,000 points. ($1,320 points purchase value)


Choice Privileges = 96,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $905.28 for 6 free nights at Rodeway Inn Downtown San Francisco

Choice points purchase value ($10/1,000 points with 10,000 points annual limit)

Rodeway Inn Downtown San Francisco
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 16,000 points or $131.99 AAA rate or $151 after tax
$151/16,000 = $9.43/1,000 points


Hilton HHonors = 80,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $660 redemption value for 2 nights at Hilton San Francisco Financial District

Purchase Value: $800 for 80,000 HHonors points

All 3 San Francisco Hilton properties are Category 6 hotels costing 40,000 points for a free night.

Hilton San Francisco Financial District
Tuesday July 15
$289 base rate. $330 after hotel tax.
$330/40,000 points = $8.25/1,000 points


Hyatt Gold Passport = 30,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $1,080 redemption value for 2.5 nights at Grand Hyatt San Francisco

Grand Hyatt San Francisco, A Hyatt Gold Passport Category 3 hotel = 12,000 points for a free night.

Tuesday July 15
$379/night or $432/night after tax
$432/12,000 points = $36/1,000 points x 30,000 = $1,080 redemption value


Marriott Rewards = 60,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $270 redemption value for 1 night at San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf

1 night Stay Anytime Category 6 hotel reward for San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf = $270 value.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008
San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf
Category 6 Stay Anytime award = 60,000 points

$237 internet only 14-day advance nonrefundable rate = $270 after tax.
$270/60,000 points = $4.50/1,000 points

This would be a quite poor redemption value for 60,000 Marriott Rewards points.


Priority Club Rewards = 60,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $811 redemption value for 2.4 nights at Holiday Inn San Francisco Golden Gateway

$811.12 redemption value for 2.4 nights at Holiday Inn San Francisco Golden Gateway
San Francisco charges 40,000 points for the Mark Hopkins and the new InterContinental San Francisco adjacent to Moscone Convention Center. The InterContinental hotels are not available for the July 15 date, however there is availability for the Holiday Inn San Francisco Golden Gateway on Van Ness Street for 25,000 points per night.

$296.65 + tax = $338/night
July 15, 2008
$338/25,000 points = $13.52/1,000 points


Priority Club PointBreaks

Priority Club has a special redemption offer called PointBreak for a 5,000 points free night award. There is a revolving list of participating hotels around the globe that is updated with new hotels every couple of months. There is potential to get 12 nights on PointBreaks awards at 5,000 points per night.

Example night: PointBreaks Reward for France at the Holiday Inn Toulouse Centre for July 15, 2008 where the regular rate is 99€ per night and a 5.5% tax is included in rate. The value of this PointBreaks redemption is about $160/5,000 points or $32.00/1,000 Priority Club points. With 60,000 Priority Club points from 50,000 Diners Club Rewards points the redemption value in the range of $1,920 value is possible. This is nearly a 4% return on the Diners Club credit card purchases of $50,000.

Purchase Value: $690 value for 60,000 Priority Club Rewards points.

Priority Club points purchase limit is 40,000 points per 12 months at rate of $11.50/1,000 points for purchases of 20,000 points or more.


Starwood Preferred Guest = 30,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $1,092 redemption value for 3 nights at Westin Market Street
or
$1,197.00 redemption value for Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf

Purchase Value: 30,000 Starpoints x $35/1,000 = $1,050 value

This type of comparison for the relative value of using points compared to booking a paid reservation is facilitated by the simple design of the Starwood hotel rate search returns that also show availability of free nights using points or the even more valuable Cash & Points option.

The best value for July 15, 2008 is the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, a Category 4 hotel available for 10,000 points or a paid rate of $350 + tax/night.
The Westin Market Street is also available for points at $319 + tax/night or 10,000 points.

Westin Market Street
$364/10,000 points = $36.40/1,000 points

Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf
$399/10,000 points = $39.90/1,000 points

Marriott Rewards Hotel and Air Vacation Packages

JW Marriott, Camelback Inn, Phoenix, Arizona

Marriott Rewards Hotel and Air Vacation Packages favored by Freddies travelers.

I wrote a blog post March 13, 2008, Diners Club, American Express or Hotel Corporate Affinity Credit Card?

I discounted the benefits of the Marriott Rewards Visa card when compared to Diners Club and American Express Membership Rewards travel points.


Marriott won big at the 2008 Freddies for best loyalty program award with their vacation package for 7 free nights at any Marriott hotel + airline miles. I decided this Loyalty Traveler needed to take a closer look at these awards.

The Marriott Rewards hotel and airline miles packages start at 165,000 points for a 7-night stay at a Category 1 to 5 hotel and either 50,000 airline miles for most domestic airlines and a few international airlines or 35,000 airline miles (most international airline partners) and the award cost goes up to 270,000 points for a 7-night stay at a Category 7 hotel and up to 120,000 airline miles with selected partners.

By the Numbers:

A Marriott Category 7 hotel normally will cost 150,000 points for a 7-night reward stay. The single night stay is 40,000 points. The Marriott Rewards chart offers the largest per night discount using hotel points for longer stays at high category hotels, and approaches a 50% per night discount on a 7-night stay at a Category 7 hotel (think NYC, Paris, London, Rome).

The 7-night Category 7 hotel stay + 120,000 airline miles are essentially an exchange of 120,000 Marriott Rewards point for 120,000 airline miles. There are 13 airline partners participating in this travel package exchange that allows a Marriott Rewards members to exchange their hotel points for airline miles. This is the best exchange rate available for airline miles, next to Starwood Preferred Guest, however, Marriott Rewards are earned at a better rate per $1 spending with hotels and credit card purchases than SPG members earn.

Domestic Airlines:
Alaska, American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Northwest, United, and US Airways

International Airlines:
Air Canada, British Airways, Mexicana, Varig Brasilia, Virgin Atlantic

There are a variety of other international airlines for the Marriott Rewards package award, however, fewer airline miles are exchanged with these airlines at amounts from 35,000 miles up to 85,000 airline miles.

International airlines for hotel and miles packages up to 85,000 airline miles:

Air China, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Emirates, Jet Airways, LAN, Lufthansa Miles & More (SWISS, LOT Polish, Austrian), Qantas, Singapore Airlines, SN Brussels, and TAP Portugal. (Emirates has some incredible cash and miles deals for highly discounted premium cabin flight awards).

Southwest is also an airline partner offering up to 80 credits with a 7-night award for 235,000 to 270,000 Marriott Rewards points.

The easy part of the Marriott Rewards Vacation Package is figuring out where to go stay with the hotel award. The challenge is transferring points to the right airline partner for a comparably valuable airline award to accompany the hotel stay.

I could go into the best value airline mileage awards, but I won’t delve into that angle that deeply in this post.

I want to look at this package from the point of view of a big spender who can potentially earn 270,000 Marriott Rewards points per year, primarily through credit card activity.

A person who spends lavishly and accumulates Marriott Rewards points can easily attain a First Class award ticket (value $10,000) from US to Europe and get a 7-night award stay ($4,000 value) by earning 270,000 points.

How to earn the big awards:

Marriott Rewards VISA card: Say $10,000/year spent with Marriott (5 points/$1 = 50,000 points); $30,000 spent on dining and airlines (2 points/$1 = 60,000 points); $60,000 spent on other = 60,000 points for 170,000 Marriott Rewards points on $100,000 annual VISA spending.

Hotel stays earn 10 points/$ + 20% bonus for silver status (up to 30% bonus if platinum) on $10,000 annual Marriott brands hotel spending = 120,000 points for Marriott hotels.

This Marriott Rewards member earns 290,000 points a year for $100,000 in travel and other purchases. The Marriott Rewards Vacation Package at 270,000 points can be a $14,000 rebate value on $100,000 annual spending ($10,000 with Marriott).

Sample Travel Package:

Marriott Rewards Vacation Package with Virgin Atlantic 100,000 miles and 7-night stay at Category 7 hotel will cost 250,000 Marriott Rewards points.

Virgin Atlantic roundtrip award ticket using 100,000 miles
San Francisco – London
Upper Class cabin (comparable to First Class with airlines like United and American)
July 1-15, 2008
Paid Ticket fare: $10,026 (fare check 5-15-08).
(Award ticket will likely cost around $400 altogether, after taxes and fuel fees)

7 nights at Renaissance Chancery Court, London (Marriott Rewards Category 7) starts at 305 GBP ($600+USD) per night. A 7-night stay July 1-July 8, 2008 using Marriott Rewards points is a $4,000 value.

Summary: 250,000 Marriott Rewards points can be exchanged for 100,000 Virgin Atlantic miles and a 7-night Marriott Hotel stay in a Category 7 hotel. An Upper Class ticket on Virgin Atlantic from San Francisco to London and 7 nights at the Renaissance Chancery Court, London will have a vacation package value of $14,000.

And with all the airline partners available for Rewards points redemption, the traveler can travel most anywhere in the world and have a Marriott hotel waiting for you at your destination.

Marriott Rewards Vacation Packages are a damn good travel reward for the rich.

Marriott Megabonus offers 5,000 points for two stays

Marriott San Francisco

The Marriott Megabonus is now entering the last half of the three month promotional opportunity to earn 5,000 bonus Marriott Rewards points after every other stay, beginning with the second stay.

Members can earn 25,000 Marriott Rewards points with 10 stays between February 15 and May 15. Registration for this promotion is required and can be linked from the Marriott Rewards homepage.

The value of this promotion is the low threshold for earning points at only 2 stays for a 5,000 point bonus. 5,000 points can generally be redeemed for at least $50 in value. I think of this promotion as an additional $25 added value per stay. The low cost of many Marriott brand hotels like Courtyard and Fairfield Inn at less than $100 in many locations makes this equivalent to a 25% or larger rebate per hotel stay.

Diners Club, American Express or Hotel Corporate Affinity Credit Card?

Frequent travelers know that staying with your preferred hotel loyalty program is difficult at times. Hotels may be sold out, some chains are not present in an area (the nearest Starwood hotel to Monterey is 75 miles away while two Hyatts are within a few miles of my home), or the price is just too high.

Over the past ten years I have earned somewhere around 4,000,000 airline frequent flier miles and 1,000,000 hotel points. I seldom write about credit cards as a means of earning hotel frequent guest points. I have never owned an airline frequent flier affinity card.
Less than 2% of those 5 million miles and points were earned from credit card activity. I do not have the kind of money passing through my hands to make the credit card option a major factor. Travel is the fastest way to earn miles and points, unless you are wealthy or have a way to funnel money through your credit card without going into debt.

I have used Diners Club as a credit card, however, for its versatility with points exchange from Diners Club Rewards points to another airline or hotel currency. I have moved hundreds of thousands of miles and points through Diners Club by moving one airline currency into the program and exchanging the Diners Club Rewards points to a different airline currency. It used to be possible until about 2004 to move American and United miles into Diners Club and back out for the same number of British Airways miles during the periodic promotions for double miles when exchanging Diners Club points. Diners Club still has high value for exchangeability options not provided by American Express or Starwood or any other card at a good exchange rate between loyalty programs.

Here is a brief Loyalty Traveler analysis of the value of credit card diversity for your hotel travel options.

Consider 3 credit card options for the Marriott Rewards member:

1. Marriott Rewards Visa offer on website gives 20,000 bonus points for initial purchase, 2 points/$1 on travel/dining purchases, and 5 points/$1 for Marriott-brand hotel purchases, 1 points on other purchases, and a free night certificate each year. Points are good for Marriott awards only.

2. American Express Membership Rewards offers exchange options for Membership Rewards points into Hilton HHonors, InterContinental Priority Club, or Starwood Preferred Guest. Members can also buy nearly unlimited amounts of Membership Rewards points. Not too useful for Marriott, but has options for three other hotel chains.

3. Diners Club/MasterCard Club Rewards points can be exchanged into the major loyalty programs of Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Priority Club, Starwood, and Choice or Best Western.


Marriott VISA card earns 20,000 point bonus, 5 points/$1 at Marriott and 2 points/$1 for travel/dining purchases, and 1 points/$1 on other purchases.
After the first year card-owner bonus, assume the second year spending is $18,000 on stuff (18,000 points), $5,000 on travel/dining (10,000 points), and assume $2,000 spent at Marriott (10,000 points) = 38,000 points.

38,000 Marriott Rewards points for $25,000 credit card spending with Marriott VISA..

Purchase value of 38,000 Marriott Rewards points at $12.50/1,000 points = $475.00 value

The question:

Can you recoup anywhere near the $475 value available from $25,000 spending on a Marriott Rewards card by earning points primarily with a Diners Club or American Express credit card and exchange these points into hotel program points?

Exchange options is the name of the game for the frequent guest.

American Express exchange rates
1, 000 Amex Membership Rewards points = 333 Starpoints
1,000 Amex Membership Rewards points = 1,000 Priority Club points
1, 000 Amex Membership Rewards points = 1,300 HHonors points

Diners Club exchange rates
1,250 Club Rewards points = 750 Hyatt Gold Passport
1,250 Club Rewards points = 1,500 Marriott Rewards points
1,250 Club Rewards points = 2,000 Hilton HHonors points
1,250 Club Rewards points = 1,500 Priority Club points
1,250 Club Rewards points = 750 Starwood points

A comparison of credit cards based on a simple analysis: $25,000 annual spending (calculation is based on spending after first year, so 20,000 Marriott Rewards points bonus does not come into play in head-to-head matchup.)

Diners Club Rewards $25,000 spending = 25,000 points

Exchange 25,000 Club Rewards points for:

30,000 Marriott Rewards or
17,500 Hyatt points or
30,000 Priority Club points or
17,500 Starwood points or
40,000 Hilton HHonors points or

AMEX $25,000 spending = 25,000 Membership Rewards points
Exchange 25,000 Membership Rewards points for

8,325 Starpoints or
25,000 Priority Club points or
32,500 Hilton HHonors

Here are some potential values for hotel points from an exchange of $25,000 in Diners Club Rewards points:

30,000 Priority Club points is sufficient for any Crowne Plaza in the world and most InterContinental Hotels. Typically a $300 value.

It may be possible to book 6 nights of PointBreaks awards through Priority Club that could have a $1,200+ value at certain locations.

17,500 Starpoints can be obtained with 25,000 Club Rewards points. This is good for a 4-night stay, midweek at a Category 2 hotel. This can easily be a $700 savings.

Also, Starpoints can be used for Cash and Points awards. 4,000 points and $60 for a Category 4 hotel or 4,800 points + $90 for a Category 5 hotel can mean a savings of $800 on the regular cash rate for hotel rooms. Category 4 hotels are often $250/night and a Cash&Points award can typically save over $200/night on room rate and tax savings when using Starpoints. A Category 5 hotel award can likely be a $300/night savings. 17,500 points may allow you to save $1,000 on hotel rooms at Starwood.

The purchase value for 1,000 Starpoints = $35.00, so 17,500 Starpoints = $612.50 and this is more than the value of the Marriott Rewards points using the Marriott card for $25,000 in spending ($475.00).

Another factor to keep in mind is when you have to stay in a hotel without elite status. The ability to transfer Diners Club points into hotel programs, along with the ability to buy points from the hotel programs, may make room upgrades using hotel points a high-value alternative to the cost of paying for a better room category at a hotel where you will not be upgraded on elite status.

Flexibility with hotel loyalty points is a high value opportunity and Diners Club provides many hotel brand options for your travels. AMEX is good for the option of purchasing points, but has fewer hotel loyalty partners than Diners Club. Marriott VISA is a good earnings card, but while VISA may be accepted everywhere you want to be, a good-value Marriott may not always be where you want to be.

JW Marriott Ihilani Resort - Price Too High, Just Buy

I was looking back at an article I wrote in October and I used the JW Marriott Ihilani as my example hotel for saving cash by just buying marriott Rewards points. This is text from my article in Hotels-and-Points October 2007. The 12-page newsletter can be downloaded as an Adobe PDF file. It is about 3 MB size so takes a a little bit to download and open. The focus of my October report was purchasing hotel points for room discounts.

[from Hotels-and-Points, October 2007-Ric Garrido]
"Marriott Rewards Points Purchase ― Prices Too High, Just Buy

Marriott Rewards members may buy or receive up to 50,000 purchased points per calendar year ( Jan 1-Dec 31) at the price $12.50/1,000 points. Another program rule allows spouses to transfer points, free of charge, between their accounts at the time of reward stay redemption. These rules mean spouses can buy a combined total of 100,000 points per calendar year and opens up the pos-sibility of buying the best high-value reward stays.

See the possibilities:
$1,250 = 100,000 Marriott Rewards points in 2007.
$1,250 = 100,000 Marriott Rewards points in 2008.

In practical terms, a couple can buy 200,000 Rewards points over the next three months for a vacation goal.

Marriott Buy Points link: http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/tranpurc.mi

The bottom line is:

Does buying points save money overall?


Hawaii Resorts on Marriott Rewards Hotel Points

Example of how to use a "buy points" strategy for Hawaii hotel savings:

JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa at Ko Olina, Kopolei, Oahu, Hawaii
Marriott Rewards Category 7 hotel. 150,000 hotel points for a 7-night Rewards Stay.

JW Marriott Ihilani Resort, Oahu, Hawaii

Regular Hotel Rates
July 10-17, 2008 (Search conducted Oct 2007)
$341 (AAA rate) Quality Room-Mountain View
$389 (AAA rate) Ocean View
$436 (AAA rate) Deluxe Ocean View

When booking Marriott Rewards stay, the website offers an upgrade at JW Marriott Ihilani to Deluxe Ocean View room for an additional $100/night or upgrade to Ocean View room for additional $50/night.

Cost to buy 150,000 Marriott Rewards points = $1,875 = $268 per Reward night

Cost of upgrade to Deluxe Ocean View room is additional $100 per night or an additional $700 for a 7-night Marriott hotel points stay at Ihilani Resort.

Total Hawaii vacation cost is $2,575 for 7-night Marriott Rewards stay with a paid upgrade to a Deluxe Ocean View room at JW Marriott Ihilani.

This is $368/night to buy points compared to AAA rate of $436/night.

JW Marriott Ihilani Resort Deluxe Ocean View room, July 10-17, 2008 (search made Oct 2007)

AAA Paid Rate $436 ($488 with 12% tax) x 7 nights = $3,417

Senior Paid Rate $373 ($418 with tax) x 7 = $2,926 (great savings if you qualify)

Marriott 7-night Reward Stay (Buy Points and upgrade with $700 cash) = $2,575.

Save $842 on this 7-night hotel stay. This hotel savings covers other travel expenses for the week. "

This points purchase vacation option I wrote about in October 2007 is still the best deal for a Deluxe Ocean View room at JW Marriott Ihilani considering my analysis of the Marriott Hawaiian Sand Dollar Vacation value this morning.

Look at the numbers and see the dollars washing away in the sand dollar vacation.

Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay: Public Exclusivity, California-Style

Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, California

Available as a Marriott Rewards Partner Award

1 night = 70,000 points; 3-nights = 150,000 points;

5 nights = 200,000; 7-nights = 250,000 points

Paradise with an Ocean View

Some people have an image in their heads of California Pacific Ocean views. The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay has commanding views of the coastline and ocean. This resort, nestled between golf links, on the cliffs south of the small coastal town of Half Moon Bay, is about 45 minutes drive south from San Francisco.

Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay is oceanfront resort hotel living. Golf, martinis, and Pacific Ocean cliff top weddings. And with a Safeway just a mile down the road, you can even cut some expenses, if you are so inclined.

The half-mile road from Pacific Coast Highway 1 to the coastal resort had a sign that caught my attention. Past the long-settled mobile home park on the left and the newly built gated community luxury homes on the right, the road sign pointed one direction for coastal access parking, but it also stated 25 public Coastal Access parking spaces available at Ritz-Carlton resort. I drove to the hotel gate and inquired. The young guy took my license plate number and gave me an access code to the Ritz-Carlton parking garage gate. I drove in to the open-air, multi-level garage and parked in a space labeled “Coastal Access”. Hotel guests pay $45 + 10% tax per day to park here in the same garage.

What’s up with that?

This is California, baby. Land of the voter initiative whereby the public is supposed to have a voice in the rules we live by. Back in 1972, the voters passed Prop 20, the Coastal Access initiative.

California had a population of about 16 million people when I was born in 1960. The population was over 20 million by 1972 when California voters passed Prop 20, a voter initiative to maintain public access to the coast.

It is said that Governor Jerry Brown in 1976, stayed in a hotel in Monterey built directly on the beach (I assume the hotel being referenced is now the Best Western Beach Resort Monterey). He commented, “That’s why we need a Coastal Act: so we can have more places like this.” “No,” said Bill Press, Brown’s director of planning and research. “We need a Coastal Act so we won’t have more places like this.” http://www.scc.ca.gov/coast&ocean/winter2004/pages/one.html

There seemed to me to be very little development along the Central Coast of California in the 1980s. Back in 1991, I traveled along the California coast for about 1,000 miles from San Diego to Eureka. California's population had topped 30 million by 1991 and had doubled in the 31 years since I was born.

In the past month, I have driven the coast roads from Orange County to San Francisco.

There has been a noticeably sizable coastal housing boom in the past 17 years. California's population is estimated to be somewhere around 36 to 37 million in 2008. What would our coastline look like if the people had not initiated legislation for public access in the early 1970s?

The basic provision of coastal access, according to the California Coastal Commission fact sheet, that applies to the slew of hotel resorts popping up on the California coast in the past decade is:

"On sites with coastal development permit proposals, where investigation shows that public use is substantial enough to create potential prescriptive rights, the Coastal Commission is required to protect those areas of use prior to approving a development project that would interfere with those rights.

The California Coastal Act, Public Resources Code Section 30211, states:

Development shall not interfere with the public’s right of access to the sea where acquired through use, or legislative authorization, including, but not limited to, the use of dry sand and rocky coastal beaches to the first line of terrestrial vegetation."

A feature of several California resorts built directly on the coast in the past 15 years is an improvement of access to the coast for people who want to look at the beach and sea, but not necessarily be on it. Public access visitors can share the grounds of the hotel with the guests.

The St. Regis Half Moon Bay is a beautiful property with incredible views of the California coastline (if you are lucky enough to be visiting on a day without fog or clouds.)

This is hotel coastal resort living California-style where tourist visitors can mingle with local Californians exercising the right to coastal access.

The Super-Affluent Don’t Do Super-WalMart

Laurence Geller listed some interesting data points in a blog from Jan 18, 2008. His piece discusses the widening divide between Generations X and Y mass consumers and the truly “super-affluent”. In 2006, the affluent spent on average $2,400 on hotels and resorts, while the super-affluent spent $61,200. He argues new brands will proliferate as today’s luxury brands become commonplace.
http://www.hotelsmag.com/blogs/insider/20080117.asp?nid=3457&nid=3457

Friday morning on CNBC, a news crew reported from the St. Regis Fort Lauderdale, Florida from a CEO conference. The studio reporters were asking about the age of the hotel and the reporter stated it had been open 9 months. I haven’t looked into those facts.

The report got me to thinking about the super-affluent and the merely affluent. For the Loyalty Traveler the travel is reduced to the numbers. I wondered what the rates are at the Fort Lauderdale St. Regis.

Here are the search results for St. Regis, FLL room rates for Monday, 2-18-08

OceanView
$476.10 (AAA rate)
$479 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com)
$509 Special Offer Page “SRSPG”
$529 (Best Available on SPG.com)
$549 Special Offer AAA rate “XRF”


Ocean Front
$566.10 (AAA)
$579 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com and SPG.com)
$609 Special Offer “SRSPG”
$649 Special Offer AAA rate “XRF”

Pool Terrace
$607 Florida Resident rate
$669 Best Benefits Package special offer “SRSPG”
$689 (Best Available on StarwoodHotels.com and SPG.com)
$709 Pool Terrace Special Offer AAA rate

[special offers accessed from St. Regis Fort Lauderdale hotel web site homepage]

XRF rate includes complimentary valet parking, two Bloody Mary’s, and complimentary room upgrade to next available room type. In this case, contact hotel and find out a good night for booking with a good upgrade potential.

SRSPG rate includes two Bloody Mary’s, triple Starpoints and complimentary internet access.

The super-affluent spender could be looking at about 2 to 3 months of Pool Terrace living over the course of a year at this hotel and comparable properties. The affluent spender on $2,400 is looking at a long President’s weekend holiday and sitting home the rest of the year.


Starwood Cash & Points Award Savings

While checking St. Regis Fort Lauderdale, I came across an example of where loyalty program membership leads you to a much better booking option than a regular search on the hotel chain primary web site.

Westin Colonnade, Coral Gables, FL
Saturday, Feb 16, 2007
Rate = $429/night

www.starwoodhotels.com web site found through a regular search engine search as a hotel guest not participating in Starwood Preferred Guest and not looking for the loyalty program site. Checking

www.SPG.com - I have the option of getting a Cash & Points award at this Category 4 Hotel for $60 and 4,000 Starpoints.

The ability to buy up to 20,000 Starpoints online from SPG at the rate of $35/1,000 points is a strategy to keep in mind if you do not have 4,000 Starpoints. Adding the cost to buy 4,000 Starpoints for $140 and the $60 Cash portion of a Cash & Points award makes a $200 room rate booking possible. The website states purchased Starpoints will be posted to your account within 24 hours.

The corporate-branded hotel websites generally have the lowest rates for their own hotel rooms compared to third-party online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity.

The difficulty for the DIY online hotel reservationist, is the time needed to sift through thousands of pages on the corporate-branded websites to find the lowest rate page. Finding the lowest rate is a matter of knowledge and luck at the time you search.

$485 through Starwood Hotels corporate web site compared to $200 for the SPG member using Cash & Points booking option for a one-night rate at the Westin Colonnade is the differential cost for the guest with a lack of knowledge and time. The Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program gives the member a hotel rate option that is nearly $300 less.

An additional benefit of a Cash & Points stay is the award stay usually does not incur tax. The minor detraction of a Cash & Points award is the hotel stay does not count for elite qualification or promotional offer credit. A Cash & Points award stay also does not earn points for the Cash portion of the award.

Priceline Hotel Bookings

CNBC reported Friday morning Priceline has experienced a surge in bookings. The TV commentator asked, "Does the growth in Priceline indicate a weak economy?"

Priceline is a great resource when hotel room rates are threatening to make your credit card bleed. Last June, I booked the Marriott Key Bridge in Arlington, Virginia for a Sunday night before a Monday afternoon flight to Buenos Aires. I wanted to be in DC, but the major loyalty program hotel rates ranged from $250 to $350/night. I considered renting a car and driving to the Virginia outer suburbs for a $100/night Sheraton rate. Instead I paid $115 total for the Marriott and I was a ten minute walk across the bridge into Georgetown. I had an interior pool view room on the third floor while the preferred rooms look out over DC from 6 to 10 stories up.

Major hotel loyalty program brands on Conde Nast Traveler 2008 Hotel Gold List

The Conde Nast Traveler Gold List describes itself as the "Best Places to Stay in the World, selected by readers of Conde Nast Traveler."

Loyalty Traveler has examined a subgroup from this list to determine the hotels which also are part of major hotel loyalty programs. These hotels have the attribute of being available using hotel points.

Europe

Hilton Gold List Hotels with links to CN Traveler ratings and description.
Reserve Hotels listed in the print magazine do not appear to be online.

Mount Juliet Conrad, County Kilkenny, Ireland
HHonors Category 6
Free night = 40,000 points/night or 175,000 points/6-nights

Rome Cavalieri Hilton, Rome, ItalyHHonors Category 6
Free night = 40,000 points/night or 175,000 points/6-nights

Conrad Brussels, Belgium (Reserve List)
HHonors Category 5
Free night = 35,000 points/night or 150,000 points/6-nights

Conrad Istanbul, Turkey (Reserve List)
HHonors Category 4
Free night = 30,000 points/night or 150,000 points/6-nights
PointStretcher Awards for 18,000 points/night may be available
PointStretcher Dates Jan 1-12; Feb 10-17; Mar 9-16

Hilton Budapest, Hungary (Reserve List)
HHonors Category 5
Free night = 35,000 points/night or 150,000 points/6-nights
My wife commented recently that our stay at the Budapest Hilton was the best hotel room we ever had. That is a big claim. We stayed in the King Duna Suite on a PointStretcher award.

Hyatt Hotels available with Gold Passport Points

Park Hyatt, Milan, Italy
Gold Passport Category 5
Free night =18,000 points

Park Hyatt, Zurich, Switzerland
Gold Passport Category 5
Free night =18,000 points

Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome, Paris, France (Reserve List)
Gold Passport Category 5
Free night =18,000 points

InterContinental Hotels Group

InterContinental Carlton, Cannes, France
Priority Club Rewards Free Night = 40,000 points

Ceylan InterContinental, Istanbul, Turkey
Priority Club Rewards Free Night = 40,000 points

InterContinental Amstel, Amsterdam, Netherlands (Reserve List)
Priority Club Rewards Free Night = 40,000 points

Marriott Corporation Brands

JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, Bucharest, Romania
Marriott Rewards Category 4
Free night = 20,000 points/night to 105,000 points/7-night stay

JW Marriott Tiberio Palace, Capri, Italy
Marriott Rewards Category 7
Free night = 35,000 points/night to 150,000 points/7-night stay

Marriott Berlin, Germany
Marriott Rewards Category 5
Free night = 25,000 points/night to 115,000 points/7-night stay

Renaissance Chancery Court, London, UK
Marriott Rewards Category 7
Free night = 35,000 points/night to 150,000 points/7-night stay

Ritz-Carlton Berlin, Germany
Marriott Rewards Tier 1 Partner Hotel Award
Free Nights = 45,000 points/night to 175,000 points/7-night stay (25,000 points/night)

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Arts, Barcelona, Spain
Marriott Rewards Tier 2 Partner Hotel Award
Free Nights = 70,000 points/night to 250,000 points/7-night stay (35,714 points/night)

Starwood Hotels Brands

Le Meridien Beach Plaza, Monte Carlo, Monaco
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

Le Meridien, Vienna, Austria
SPG Category 4
Free Nights = 10,000 points/night or 40,000 points/5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $60 + 4,000 points

Le Royal Meridien Bristol, Warsaw, Poland
SPG Category 3
Free Nights = 7,000 points/night or 28,000 points/5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $45 + 2,800 points

Hotel Imperial, The Luxury Collection, Vienna, Austria
SPG Category 6
Free Nights = 20,000-25,000 points/night or 80,000 - 100,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $150 + 8,000 points/night

Hotel Kamp, The Luxury Collection, Helsinki, Finland
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

Hotel Villa Cipriana, The Luxury Collection, Asolo, Italy
SPG Category 4
Free Nights = 10,000 points/night or 40,000 points/5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $60 + 4,000 points

Hotel Bristol, The Luxury Collection, Vienna, Austria
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

Hotel Alfonso XIII, The Luxury Collection, Seville, Spain
SPG Category 6
Free Nights = 20,000-25,000 points/night or 80,000 - 100,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $150 + 8,000 points/night

Hotel Maria Cristina, The Luxury Collection, San Sebastian, Spain
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

Hotel Grande Bretagne, The Luxury Collection, Athens, Greece
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

Hotel Gritti Palace, The Luxury Collection, Venice, Italy
SPG Category 7
Free Nights = 30,000-35,000 points/night or 120,000 - 140,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = Not Available

Hotel Goldener Hirsch, Salzburg, Austria
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

Westin Palace, Madrid, Spain
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

Westin Excelsior, Florence, Italy
SPG Category 6
Free Nights = 20,000-25,000 points/night or 80,000 - 100,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $150 + 8,000 points/night

Westin Europe & Regina, Venice, Italy
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

Westin Turnberry Resort, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK
SPG Category 5
Free Nights = 12,000-16,000 points/night or 48,000 - 64,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $90 + 4,800 points/night

The Lanesborough, St. Regis Hotel, London, England, UK
(This Starwood Hotel does not participate in SPG loyalty program).

Blue Palace Resort & Spa, The Luxury Collection, Crete, Greece (Reserve List)
SPG Category 6
Free Nights = 20,000-25,000 points/night or 80,000 - 100,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $150 + 8,000 points/night

Hotel Cala di Volpe, The Luxury Collection, Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy (Reserve List)
SPG Category 7
Free Nights = 30,000-35,000 points/night or 120,000 - 140,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = Not Available

St. Regis Grand, Rome, Italy (Reserve List)
SPG Category 6
Free Nights = 20,000-25,000 points/night or 80,000 - 100,000/ 5-night stay Cash & Points Night = $150 + 8,000 points/night

Westin Excelsior, Rome, Italy (Reserve List)
SPG Category 6
Free Nights = 20,000-25,000 points/night or 80,000 - 100,000/ 5-night stay
Cash & Points Night = $150 + 8,000 points/night

Loyalty Royalty is the Name of the Game

What do I think of Marriott?

- There are 250 Marriott brand hotels in California. They are everywhere and I really liked the hotels I have visited and stayed in. Comfortable rooms and generally lots of seating in the lobby for people to hang out is a common feature. Having said that I like the hotels, I do not like their high level of nights for top-tier elite status.

Courtyard by Marriott,

San Jose Airport

The 75 night threshold for Platinum elite status makes Marriott Rewards a non-starter for me. There is significant added value through complimentary upgrades, bonus points, special offers, and amenity gifts offered to the top-tier elite frequent guest.

The advantage of Hyatt, Starwood, and Hilton is the ability to easily reach top-tier elite status with 25 to 35 paid nights when you have a travel pattern of mostly 1-night or 2-night stays. Hyatt and Starwood require 25 stays or 50 nights. Hilton requires 28 stays or 60 nights for top-tier Diamond elite status.

The way the system works is a frequent guest with 25 1-night stays will earn top-elite status while a guest who has 36 paid nights, but all earned as 3-night stays will only have mid-tier elite status. The nights spent and money spent are not the dominant criteria for elite qualification for Hyatt, Starwood, or Hilton. Hilton does have a spending elite qualification factor that may benefit some high spenders with fewer nights or stays.

IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards count hotel nights, not stays, for elite qualification. Top-tier requires 50 nights with Priority Club and 75 nights for Marriott Rewards.

The high threshold of hotel nights for top-tier elite status keeps most frequent guests outside the inner circle of diamond and platinum amenities and upgrades. The perks are still widespread for Loyalty Royalty frequent travelers.

The ability to change a hotel loyalty program rules at short notice make the current offers for fast-track elite status with Starwood Preferred Guest and Hyatt Gold Passport all the more enticing. The ability for a frequent guest to lock in top-tier elite status for two years, through February 2010, is a financially savvy move.

This could be a dream travel year with a high return on your hotel loyalty investment.

Starwood required registration by January 15, 2008 for the opportunity to earn double hotel stay credit through February 29, 2008.

Hyatt's offer is still available and details were discussed in previous Hotels-and-Points posts.

Instant Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum Elite Offer for New Members:
http://www.goldpassport.com/gp/en/benefits/join.jsp?me02_mbr_src=INT16

Stays Count Double registration
www.goldpassport.com/SCD08