Hotels and Points, Loyalty Traveler blog: Priority Club

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Tuesday, July 1, 2008

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

Friday, June 13, 2008

Priority Club Increases Annual Purchase Points Limits and Prices

Priority Club increased the purchase limit for Priority Club points from 20,000 in a 12-month period to 40,000 points in a rolling 12-month period. Unfortunately, the price also increased from $10/1,000 points to $11.50 per 1,000 points, a 15% increase.

This still means a Priority Club member can just buy points for a PointsBreak room for about $57.50 per night. On the flip side, an InterContinental Hotel reward room for 40,000 points may sometimes be a better deal at $460 cash to purchase 40,000 points.

A side benefit of purchasing Priority Club points is the eligibility of purchased points to count towards elite status. Priority Club requires 50 nights or 60,000 points earned to qualify for platinum membership. Purchased points can take you two-thirds of the way to Priority Club Platinum Elite and a few well-planned stays with promotional bonus points can easily put a member over 60,000 points.

Priority Club Summer PointBreaks Hotels List

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites Offer Free Hertz Car Rental Promotion

Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites Offer Free Hertz Car Rental
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/sb/1/en/c/2/content/dec/teaser/sb/1/en/lp/hertz.html

Some hotels are enticing guests with free gas. IHG Priority Club Rewards is offering members who complete a 3 nights or more stay at a Staybridge Suites hotel or Candlewood Suites hotel in the USA or Canada a free weekend day car rental with Hertz. A 6 nights or more stay earns 2 free weekend days car rental with Hertz.

Promotion Period runs through July 31, 2008.

It appears that the Priority Club member must register separately with each IHG hotel brand for this Priority Club offer.

Registration for Staybridge Suites is required prior to hotel stay for promotion credit eligibility. Registration for Candlewood Suites Hertz rental car promotion.

Maximum of 2 free rental car days per stay.

This means 15 consecutive nights at a single Candlewood or Staybridge hotel earns only two free rental days, whereas, four 3-night stays at Candlewood Suites or Staybridge Suites would earn 4 free rental car weekend days with Hertz.

Days 1-3 Staybridge or Candlewood (one free car rental weekend day)
Day 4 – another hotel
Days 5-7 Staybridge or Candlewood (one free car rental weekend day)
Day 8 – another hotel
Days 9-11 Staybridge or Candlewood (one free car rental weekend day)
Day 12 – another hotel
Days 13-15 Staybridge or Candlewood (one free car rental weekend day)

The Priority Club member would need to estimate the potential value of two extra car rental days compared to the time and cost of changing hotels to earn extra car rental certificates.

Unfortunately, there are no terms and conditions provided for the Hertz rental certificate except for a statement that rental certificates cannot be combined. This leads me to conclude that the free rental car certificates are only good for a single 24 hour rental.

I interpret the promotion terms as the member will receive two free day certificates for a 6-night stay and not a two-day free rental car certificate with Hertz. The promotional offer does not provide details to the expiration date of the Hertz free rental certificate. Certificates should be received 4 to 6 weeks after qualifying Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites stay.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Points Concierge - IHG Priority Club 20,000 Bonus Points

Holiday Inn Express, Cannery Row, Monterey

IHG 20, 000 bonus points promotion

Offer: Earn up to 20,000 Priority Club Rewards points or 5,000 airline miles.

Details: 2,000 bonus points or 500 airline miles after every 2nd eligible night.
Promotional period: eligible paid stays between May 12 and August 31, 2008 at any IHG hotel worldwide. Registration is required and no retroactive credit will be applied for stays prior to registration.
Earnings preference must be set for miles to earn airline miles.

This Priority Club promotion allows a member to earn on average 1,000 bonus points per night for IHG hotel stays through the summer months. Think of this as a $10/night rebate.

This offer is more favorable to travelers on vacation with multi-night stays because a 4-night stay will earn the 2,000 points bonus twice for 4,000 bonus points. An 8-night stay would earn 8,000 bonus points.

The 4,000 points bonus offer from Jan 14 – April 30, 2008 for every 2nd stay was not as good a bonus for extended hotel stays. The one-night stays were best for maximizing that bonus at the least cost.

Summer travel strategy: Priority Club members can earn points from this bonus, possibly save cash with IHG 2-for-1 offers, and also buy up to 20,000 points for $200 in a calendar year.

Points earned from the 20,000 points bonus opportunity and through purchases, if used for PointBreaks 5,000 points/night awards, may be redeemed for a substantially higher value in the range of $20 to $40 per 1,000 points.

The current set of PointBreaks awards are available through June 9, 2008. A week-long hotel stay in Brno, Czech Republic or Moscow, Russia for 35,000 Priority Club points is a high value opportunity that can be easily secured with points purchases and/or hotel stays. Moscow has the distinction of having the world's most expensive hotels for 2007 and this deal for the Crowne Plaza Moscow can save well over $1,000 on average hotel rates for a 3-night stay in Russia.

Expect a new batch of PointBreaks hotel offers for summer months to come out around late May-early June. In conjunction with IHG’s 2 nights for the Price of 1 offer for some European hotels, IHG and Priority Club are one of the best ways to cut the cost of European hotel travel. The new set of 2-for-1 hotels should be coming out soon as the current web offer expires on April 30.

Last summer there were incredible savings available with the IHG 2-for-1 offer and the PointBreaks hotels in Europe. These two offers from IHG and Priority Club can easily cut $1,000 off the hotel cost for a 10-day trip out of the country. PointBreaks have more than half the hotel offerings in the USA, Canada, and Mexico to provide some cost relief for USA summer excursions.

April -June 9, 2008
Europe PointBreaks
5,000 points/night

Belgium, Mechelen
Express by Holiday Inn Mechelen City Centre

Czech Republic, Brno
Holiday Inn Brno

France, Toulouse
Crowne Plaza Montauban Toulouse North

Germany, Baden-Baden
Express by Holiday Inn Baden Baden

Germany, Minden
Holiday Inn Minden

Germany, Zwickau
Holiday Inn Zwickau

Italy, Siracusa
Express by Holiday Inn Siracusa-North

Italy, Cosenza
Holiday Inn Cosenza

Italy, Rome-Pomezia
Holiday Inn

Netherlands, Eindhoven
Holiday Inn

Russia, Moscow
Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre

UK, Aylesbury
Holiday Inn Garden Court

UK, Hull
Express by Holiday Inn Hull City Centre

Monday, April 14, 2008

Entertainment Card Rate and Priority Club web bookings

Most websites do not allow you to check for 50% off rack rate deals. Priority Club Rewards website has a reservations page allowing the user t check for Entertainment Card rates online. This is a valued feature since most hotels do not offer an Entertainment Card rate and the user is able to browse quickly through the IHG hotels offering an Entertainment Card rate and quickly compare to the AAA rate.

In general, my experience has been that 50% off rack rate deals do not provide a lower cost room rate than available through hotel website group rates like AAA or special offer rates. The terms usually require a phone reservation and a discount on the rack rate (the highest room rate for that category room).

An exception is the Entertainment Card discount rates available through online reservations at the Priority Club website. These hotel rates may be a good strategy for bringing the cost of a hotel room during weeknight stays back down to a reasonable level. In all cases where an Entertainment Card rate was found, the rate matched or was lower than the AAA rate. In the case of the InterContinental Buckhead hotel in Atlanta, the Entertinment Card rate came in at a whopping $224 per night savings over the AAA rate for the date checked.

The cost of an Entertainment Card membership is only $15 and your membership makes you eligible for the IHG Entertainment Card discount at any participating location in the USA.
Here are some examples of savings:

Hotel Reservation Date Checked: Wednesday, April 30 for 1 night stay.

New York, New York area
Crowne Plaza Secaucus Meadowlands, Secaucus, NJ
$135 Entertainment Card rate
$160 AAA rate
Entertainment Card rate saves $35 on AAA rate

Boston, MA area
Holiday Inn, Boston Logan Airport
$134 Entertainment Card rate
$162 AAA rate
Entertainment Card rate saves $28 on AAA rate

Atlanta, GA
InterContinental Buckhead
$195 King Deluxe (Entertainment Card rate)
$419 King Deluxe (AAA rate)
$275 Club Level (Entertainment Card rate)
$469 Club Level (AAA)
Entertainment Card rate saves $224 on AAA rate

Minneapolis, MN
Crowne Plaza Minneapolis North
$89 (Entertainment Card rate)
$119 (AAA rate)
Entertainment Card rate saves $30 on AAA rate

Dallas, TX
Crowne Plaza Market Center
$98 (Entertainment Card rate) Entertainment Card rate saves $28 on AAA rate
$126 (AAA rate)
Entertainment Card rate saves $28 on AAA rate

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Traveling to Europe? Look for IHG 2-for-1 rates.

Priority Club has one of the best promotions available for travel in Europe with the Stay 2 nights for the Price of 1 Night. This promotion takes rates down to as low as $50/night for some locations and even 5-star properties like the InterContinental Carlton in Cannes can be under $200/night using this promotion.

There is a discussion on FlyerTalk on whether these rates earn points or not. It seems that some members always get points and some members need to request points for the 2-for-1 stay, and some members are refused points for the 2-for-1 stay.

“No Points Given for “2 Nights for the Price of 1” is a good FlyerTalk thread to read regarding IHG 2-for-1 promotional rates in Europe. Regardless of the points situation , this 2-for-1 offer has some incredible deals for hotels in Europe. There are some InterContinental hotels participating in this offer.

One of the more interesting FlyerTalk posts in this thread states that back-to-back 2-for-1 reservations at the same hotel have been honored for an extended discount stay.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

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.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Spring Break or Spring Broke?

An article appeared today in PR Newswire for Journalists, Economy Foreclosing on Spring Break?, based on a survey by AccessAmerica, a travel insurance company. “Access America survey finds half of American families scaling back spring break plans...or forgoing their vacations altogether”

The not-so-surprising conclusion of the data is poorer families are cutting back on vacation spending this March 2008. The website says the full report is available upon request.

My observation, as someone who has traveled nearly every Easter to Europe for the past ten years, is airfare to Europe is dirt cheap right now for long-haul travel this Spring 2008. The fares are comparable or lower than commonly available fares at Easter time since 2000. Airfare is probably near a record low right now for purchasing trans-Atlantic travel in just 14 days or so from today.

I have seen fares from Monterey, San Francisco, and Los Angeles hovering around $500 all-in to Frankfurt and London. The fare was $541 Monterey to Frankfurt last week, 21 days before Easter travel. I think that airfare has to be near the record low over the past five years for a ticket purchase from Monterey this close to Easter. There were flights costing less from Monterey to Europe than San Francisco to Europe. The flights route from Monterey to San Francisco and then on to Europe. $100/barrel oil doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on airfare prices.

I commented a couple of months ago that trans-Atlantic travel was down 2006 to 2007 year-over-year. American Airlines reports February passenger loads have increased to Europe. The low prices are getting people across the ocean, but are you prepared for the $7.00 Coca-Cola and $18 fishs & chips pub tab?

Hotel Tips from the Loyalty Traveler –
Planning a Spring Break European hotel stay?

Here are links to some of the best hotel opportunities for a lower-cost trip. I provide a hotel sample, but there are many choices of hotels and locations offering these reduced hotel stay awards. And there is good news for those of you not banking enough points at the moment for a free hotel stay this Spring trip. Hotel points can be purchased and there is a possibility you can save money by just purchasing the hotel points you need to book a free hotel stay.

Hilton Point Stretchers and London.

Hilton London Canary Wharf has PointStretcher dates from March 16-28 and May 1-7. This 40,000 HHonors point/night Category 6 hotel can be booked for 24,000/points/night with an HHonors Point Stretcher reservation.

HHonors members can buy 40,000 HHonors points in a calendar year. Purchases of 10,000 points reduce the price to $10/1,000 points.

Hilton London Canary Wharf can be booked for 24,000 points. If you don’t already have the points, you can buy 24,000 points for $240.

March 20, 2008 rate check of Hilton London Canary Wharf
The nightly rate ranges from $454 low to $500+ for most rooms. This would be a high value use of a PointStretcher night, if you could get a reservation. In contrast, the Friday night rate at the London Canary Wharf is under $175/night.
S
ample trip for a couple: Each person purchase 24,000 Hilton HHonors points and redeem for one free Point Stretcher night ($480 total cost). Pay for two weekend nights when rates drop to about $175/night from the $400 to $500 midweek rates. Friday and Saturday night will cost $350. Four nights at the Hilton Canary Wharf London for a little over $200/night.

Other HHonors Point Stretcher hotel opportunities

Marriott PointSavers
Marriott has several UK hotel properties available for Spring break trips at reduced points rates.

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club PointBreaks

These awards are an unbeatable deal if you have a trip to a hotel location where IHG Priority Club is offering a PointBreaks award. The cost is only 5,000 points per night. Priority Club members can purchase 10,000 points for $100, up to 20,000 points per calendar year.

Sample Award night:
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Caserta, Italy (near Naples)
March 19-21, 2008 for 10,000 points (=$100 for 2-night stay)
Paid rate for a 2-night stay March 19-21, 2008 = 77EUR/night or $230 for 2-night stay.

Another incredible deal with IHG Priority Club is their Pay 2 Nights, Get 1 Free offer. Dozens of hotels in Europe are participating this Spring season. Check the link and search for a hotel.
Naples, Italy Holiday Inn for March 19-21 is only 45EUR/night. That is a budget saver.
If you are lucky you may save hundreds of dollars between this offer and a PointBreaks stay.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

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

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