Between Cash & Points, Birth Year rates, and the 24-hour Hyatt sale today, my parents trimmed their 7 nights of upscale hotel stays in Florida from over $1,000 to under $600 for the week. A free night at Hyatt will be earned and Starpoints earned from paid stays will offset the cost for an SPG Cash & Points night.
My parents scored another nice deal using the Pay your Birth Year rate at Starwood Hotels. The rate dropped the cost of the hotel from $385 for three nights to $163 using the birth year rate for a 3-night hotel stay in Florida.
The Pay Your Birth Year rate is a great deal for older people and generally a savings for younger travelers in Starwood Hotels where the rate is offered. There is a set rate for the first night; often a higher rate than otherwise available (Luxury Collection Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa at Hallandale Beach was $60 over otherwise lowest $189 rate for first night). The Birth Year rate savings kick in on the second and third nights (2-night minimum, 3-night maximum stay) when you pay the rate of your 19xx birth year.
My parents were born in the 1930s. While $250 for one night is higher than the average guest might want to pay, the 3-night rate of $320 using the Birth Year rate for someone in their 70s makes going upscale not such an extravagance in cost.
And no, you can’t use your third grade child born in 2001 to get a birth year rate of $1 per night. Guest must be 18 or older for the birth year rate. And the rate is adjusted by the hotel for the 2nd and 3rd night billing, so your identification and proof of age will certainly be verified at check-in.
Here is a link to an April 28, 2009 Loyalty Traveler post about the Birth Year special offer rate with more details and strategy for using this promotion. I’ll repeat the strategy here. The promotion allows you to book higher category rooms so your best value is to book the highest category you can afford since the 2nd and 3rd nights will be a set low price. You can take the cost of a $1,200 suite for 3 nights down to below $600 for 3-nights in some hotels.
Starwood website Pay Your Birth Year link.
Starwood Preferred Guest
New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.
