Loyalty Traveler March 2015 Hotel Promotions Guide

March 2015 news is the high number of hotels increasing Marriott Rewards category on March 19, 2015. 1 in 3 hotels worldwide are changing category with 75% up in reward category and 25% down. Of those going up, nearly 90% are located in the USA. Starwood also announced hotel category changes effective March 10 with much more favorable changes, including all SPG category changes for Europe going down.

Loyalty Traveler – My geographic lists for SPG category changes March 10, 2015

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott Rewards March 19, 2015 hotel category changes are bad news.

Marriott also introduced a policy that points expire after two years of inactivity beginning January 1, 2016. This means you will lose your points earned before January 1, 2014 if you do not have any Marriott Rewards activity in your account between then and next January 1.

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott Rewards points expire after two years of inactivity effective February 1, 2016

2015 sees expanded free internet access in Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Starwood Hotels. Pretty much every major hotel chain, even Hilton, now has a free internet access worldwide policy for loyalty members across more than a dozen hotel chains. Hilton free internet access for all HHonors members begins August 2015.

Loyalty Traveler – Hilton Free Wi-Fi for all HHonors members begins August 2015 (March 2, 2015)

Loyalty Traveler – Free Internet Rules for 2015 across major hotel brands (Feb 5, 2015)

2015 Cancellation Policy changes with Hilton, Marriott and Starwood.

The other major trend is a change in cancellation policies with Hilton, Marriott and Starwood announcing Day Before Arrival policies worldwide for hotel reservation cancellation without penalty. Hilton and Marriott require cancellation by 11:59pm day before arrival and Starwood requires 6pm day before arrival.

Hyatt Guest of Honor Diamond elite benefit

Hyatt introduced new benefits for Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members on March 1, 2015. Hyatt’s Guest of Honor benefit allows guests staying on a reservation booked with a Diamond member’s points to receive the Diamond member benefits for the hotel stay. This means I can book my parents into a Hyatt Hotel using my points and they will receive Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond benefits like late check-out, room upgrade and free breakfast.

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members also receive two United Airlines one-time Club Passes annually.

Loyalty Traveler – Hyatt New Diamond Benefits (February 18, 2015)

March 2015 Hotel Promotions

Best Western Rewards

Best Western February 2 – March 15, 2015 Stay two times and earn a choice of

• $35 Best Western Travel Card
• $25 gift card Amazon,
• $25 gift card Best Buy,
• $25 gift card iTunes or
• $25 gift card Dunkin’ Donuts.

This is a global promotion with residents outside USA, Canada and Caribbean automatically earning 6,500 bonus points every two stays. There is no gift card option for Best Western Rewards members outside the USA, Canada and Caribbean. There is also no option to choose 6,500 bonus points if you reside in the Americas regions offering the gift card choices.

Best Western Feb 2 to March 15 2015 $35 BW Gift Card for 2 stays or unAmerican 6,500 points (Feb 2, 2015).

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Best Western Aeroplan 2,000 miles per stay to April 30, 2015. This is 8x the normal 250 miles per stay at Best Western hotels. Valid for stays in USA, Canada or Caribbean. This looks like better value than $35 travel cards for Aeroplan miles collectors.

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Hotel Rate Discount: Best Western Great Britain Winter Sale has 280 hotels for 30% or 40% or 50% off Best Flexible Rate for stays December 15 to March 31, 2015. These rates are prepaid and nonrefundable.

Choice Privileges

Choice Privileges 8,000 Points After Two Stays February 19 to April 22, 2015. This is a recurring promotion from Choice Privileges and a good points earning offer for low cost hotel stays.

Loyalty Traveler – Choice Privileges 8,000 points after 2 stays Feb 19 to April 22, 2015 (Feb 23, 2015)

Choice Privileges Points Plus Cash Reward Nights – the concept is simple. You need 8,000 points in your account and you can pay $7.50 per 1,000 points for additional points needed. A hotel reward night at 16,000 points can be bought for 8,000 points + $60.

Loyalty Traveler – Choice Privileges launches Points Plus Cash rewards (Jan 23, 2015)

Loyalty Traveler – Choice Privileges Points Plus Cash Trick (Jan 30, 2015)

Choice Privileges Points Plus Cash model is closest to the IHG Rewards Club model. This also means members can build points balances buying and canceling hotel reward stays at the rate of $7.50 per 1,000 points, rather than the normal purchase price of $11 per 1,000 points. Members can buy up to 250,000 points per year using Points Plus Cash Rewards.

Nordic Choice Club is the loyalty program for Nordic Choice Hotels in Scandinavia and Baltic region. Choice Privileges members in North America can redeem points for Nordic Choice Hotels, however, earning points requires membership in Nordic Choice Club. Nordic Choice Club has more hotels than any other hotel chain in the region and partners with Sokos in Finland to provide over 230 hotels in Nordic Europe for earning loyalty points.

Loyalty Traveler – Nordic Choice Club Guide for North Americans

Club Carlson Promotions

Extend Your Stay Bonus Points: 15,000 bonus points for 2-night stay and 30,000 bonus points for 3-night and longer stays at any Club Carlson participating hotel January 12 to March 29, 2015.

Loyalty Traveler – Club Carlson Jan 12 to March 29, 2015 stays earn 15K for 2 nights, 30K for 3 nights (Jan 5, 2015).

Extend Your Stay is the best hotel bonus points offer during this period among the major hotel chains.

Radisson Hotel MegaPoints rate for 10,000 bonus points per night allows Club Carlson members to potentially pick up 10,000 bonus points for as little as $20 more per night. My post lists all the participating Radisson Hotels for this offer.

Loyalty Traveler – List of Radisson hotels with Club Carlson MegaPoints rate for 10,000 bonus points

Loyalty Traveler – Hotel stay examples stacking Club Carlson promotions to rack up points and miles (September 22)

Club Carlson Gold elites 2-for-1 and 4-for-2 rates in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Loyalty Traveler – May 29, 2014.

http://www.clubcarlson.com/2for1

Club Carlson Car Rentals

AVIS – Earn 9,000 to 10,000 Club Carlson points with an AVIS 4-day rental through December 31, 2015.

Alamo Car Rental – Earn 1,500 Club Carlson points per day through December 31, 2015. Use Contract ID 7015940. The rate went up $3.00 with a frequent flyer points fee for earning Club Carlson points.

National Car Rental – Earn 1,500 Club Carlson points per day through December 31, 2015. Use Contract ID 5030270. The rate went up $3.00 with a frequent flyer points fee for earning Club Carlson points.

AVIS Airport Location Rentals

AWD Number for Club Carlson = G639300

9,000 points Coupon Code = MUHA021

• Offer of 9,000 total Gold Points is valid on rentals of three days or longer at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.
• Bonus Gold Points are in addition to the base points you receive each time you rent with Avis. 9,000 total Gold Points offer reflects 8,250 bonus points plus 750 base points earned.

FrequentFlyerBonuses.com and LoyaltyLobby.com list a 10,000 points rental car bonus points offer from Club Carlson. The primary offer on the Club Carlson website is 9,000 points on a 4-day or longer Avis rental. This is 8,250 bonus points + 750 normal rental points for 9,000 Club Carlson points.

I did not find a direct link to the Club Carlson Avis offer, but it works. I checked Kelowna, British Columbia Canada and found the 10,000 bonus points offer for a 4-day car rental by entering MUHA002 in the coupon code box.

Here are main T&C as posted on Loyalty Lobby.

• 1,750 bonus points is valid on rentals of 1 day in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• 4,250 bonus points is valid on rentals of 2 days in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• 6,750 bonus points is valid on rentals of 3 days in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• 9,250 bonus points is valid on rentals of 4+ days in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Bonus Gold Points are in addition to the base points you receive each time you rent with Avis. 10,000 total Gold Points offer reflects maximum of 9,250 bonus points plus 750 base points earned.
• Rental must begin by December 31, 2015.

Hilton HHonors Promotions

Hilton HHonors Double Points or Double Miles March 1 – May 31, 2015

Hilton HHonors repeats its standard promotion offer for double points or double miles. I analyze the three earning options during the promotion period in my article.

Loyalty Traveler – Hilton HHonors Double Points or Miles March 1 to May 31, 2015

HHonors News: Hilton HHonors announced in January 2015 it will only run two global promotions per year and focus on targeted member promotions. Some HHonors elite members have reported lucrative promotion offers like 100,000 points and double elite credit. You may want to check for emails from Hilton HHonors and look over your account for targeted offers.

Hilton news: Hilton purchased Parc 55 San Francisco in February, along with four other hotels in Florida for $1.76 billion using the proceeds from the sale of Waldorf Astoria New York to Chinese investors.

Loyalty Traveler – Parc 55 San Francisco Hilton Hotel part of Hilton $1.76 billion purchase of five hotels

Hilton free internet access

for all HHonors members begins August 2015.

Loyalty Traveler – Hilton Free Wi-Fi for all HHonors members begins August 2015 (March 2, 2015)

@Play – Hilton HHonors lined up with Live Nation to bring concert tickets as an option for your points. Currently there are concerts like Maroon 5 in Washington D.C. on Monday, March 2. Two tickets are 150,000 HHonors points.

As an old-timer in Hilton HHonors, I think back to the days in 2002 when 150,000 points bought six nights at any of the top Hilton brand hotels in the world.

Loyalty Traveler – Hilton and LiveNation band together for five years (Jan 16, 2015)

Hyatt Gold Passport promotions

Hyatt Stay More Play More January 15-April 30, 2015 has five targeted promotion variations from 2,000 bonus points to 65,000 bonus. Login to your account to find which offer you received or join Hyatt Gold Passport.

Loyalty Traveler – Hyatt Gold Passport Stay More Play More Jan 15 to April 30, 2015 registration (Jan 9, 2015)

Hyatt Hotels – Free Wi-Fi for all Hyatt guests around the world as of February 2015. Free internet benefit does not require Hyatt Gold Passport membership and there are no Hyatt booking channel restrictions. All Hyatt guests get free Wi-Fi access on an unlimited number of devices. Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond and Platinum elite members receive complimentary upgrade to premium Wi-Fi service, where available. Hyatt’s reach is 573 hotels.

Hyatt Gold Passport News: Loyalty Traveler – Hyatt Award category changes Jan 22, 2015 with 22 hotels up and 48 down (December 10, 2014)

Hyatt Gold Passport News: Loyalty Traveler – Hyatt drops My Elite 20% Discount Rate and 5,000 points Bed Type Guarantee (Dec 11, 2014)

Hyatt Mobile app promotion page and download links Expired bonus points offer, but I’ll keep the link up for Hyatt mobile app download. Hyatt mobile app earned 1,000 points per booking Oct 1- Dec 31, 2014.

Loyalty Traveler – Mobile apps for hotel discounts and bonus points: Hyatt, Club Carlson, Expedia, TravelPony (Oct 5)

IHG Rewards Club

IHG PointBreaks February 25-May 31, 2015 are one of the best deals in hotel loyalty with every hotel 5,000 points per night.

Loyalty Traveler – IHG PointBreaks list Feb 25-May 31, 2015

IHG Set Your Sights January 1, 2015 to April 30, 2015 earns up to 50,000 bonus points for completing tasks in your targeted offer. My tasks require a minimum 6 nights with two 2-night weekends and 2 stays at Crowne Plaza. Kelley’s tasks require a minimum 3 nights including one weekend stay at a Holiday Inn.

Loyalty Traveler – Our IHG Set Your Sights tasks for 50000 points Jan 1-Apr 30, 2015

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Loyalty Traveler – IHG mobile app and bonus points breakfast package for Into the Nights. This post has the link for finding bonus points and breakfast package rates for hotels where they may not appear in a regular search. Some hotels offer 5,000 points for as low as $10 more than Best Flexible Rate.

IHG link to find hotel package rates for Bonus Points with Breakfast. Offers are generally 1,000 bonus points + breakfast; 5,000 bonus points; 5,000 bonus points + breakfast. These are often a good deal for a one-night stay to buy 5,000 points at a discount (rate is generally $20 to $40 more) if you need breakfast for the hotel stay.

 

Kimpton Hotels and Kimpton Karma Rewards

Kimpton Hotels was purchased by InterContinental Hotels Group recently. There are currently no plans to merge Kimpton Karma Rewards with IHG Rewards Club. The two loyalty programs continue to function separately and IHG Rewards Club members receive no elite recognition at Kimpton Hotels. It remains to be seen how closely Kimpton Hotels will integrate with IHG loyalty programs.

Kimpton offers evening wine social, complimentary bicycle usage, pets stay free and now has introduced Nightcap Program for 17 hotels with more to join program in 2015.

Loyalty Traveler – Kimpton Hotels Nightcap Program free liquor social

Marriott Rewards Promotions

Marriott Rewards News:

Marriott Rewards category changes effective March 19, 2015

Some 1,400 Marriott Rewards hotels, about 1 in 3 hotels worldwide, are changing category with 75% up in reward category and 25% down. Of those going up, nearly 90% are located in the USA.

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott Rewards March 19, 2015 hotel category changes are bad news.

Loyalty Traveler – Checking out 52 Marriott brand hotels going down March 19, 2015 in reward night category

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott Rewards category increases March 19, 2015 are 90% USA hotels

26 Protea brand hotels in South Africa join Marriott Rewards

Loyalty Traveler – 26 South Africa hotels joined Marriott Rewards February 23, 2015 

Marriott announced its plans to double size in Europe by 2020 primarily through Moxy and Courtyard brands.

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott to Moxy and Courtyard Europe

Marriott Rewards Points Expiration Policy Announced

Marriott introduced a policy that points expire after two years of inactivity beginning January 1, 2016. This means you will lose your points earned before January 1, 2014 if you do not have any Marriott Rewards activity in your account between then and next January 1.

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott Rewards points expire after two years of inactivity effective February 1, 2016

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott Rewards free WiFi worldwide begins January 15, 2015 (December 10, 2014)

Marriott Rewards Promotions

Free Night offer for New Members of Marriott Rewards, Earn one free category 1-5 hotel night certificate after two stays within 90 days of enrollment. This offer is reported stackable with MegaBonus free night offer. Loyalty Traveler post: New Marriott Rewards members earn one category 5 free night certificate after two stays in 120 days (Feb 6, 2014). Category 5 hotels include several hotels around the world that will run $300+ per night.

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott MegaBonus offers for Feb 1 to April 30, 2015 (Dec 19, 2014)

Spring MegaBonus February 1 to April 30, 2015 targeted offers:

• Earn 3,000 points on every paid stay that includes a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday — up to 24,000 bonus points (maxes out after 9 stays over weekend day)
• Earn 3,000 points on every paid stay, starting with your second stay, up to 24,000 bonus points (maxes out after 9 stays)
• Earn 2,500 points on every paid stay, starting with your second stay, up to 25,000 bonus points (maxes out after 11 stays)
• Earn 2,000 points on every paid stay, starting with your second stay, up to 24,000 bonus points (maxes out after 13 stays)
• Earn 10,000 points after 10 paid nights plus 2,000 points with every additional night, up to 24,000 bonus points (maxes out after 17 nights)
• Earn 25,000 points after 20 paid nights plus 2,000 points after every additional night, up to 35,000 bonus points (maxes out after 25 nights)
• Earn 15,000 points after 15 paid nights plus 2,000 points with every additional night, up to 35,000 bonus points (maxes out after 25 nights)
• Earn 25,000 points after 15 paid nights plus 2,000 points after every additional night, up to 45,000 bonus points (maxes out after 25 nights)

Marriott MegaMiles is an alternative to MegaBonus that might be a more valuable earning option for some members. You need to change your earning preference to miles in your Marriott Rewards account to register for this offer.

Loyalty Traveler – Marriott MegaMiles Feb 1 to April 30, 2015 2500 bonus miles every other stay

 

Ritz-Carlton Rewards

Double Elite Nights for Ritz-Carlton stays in 2015.

Loyalty Traveler – Ritz-Carlton Rewards double elite nights in 2015 for Ritz-Carlton hotel stays (Jan 15, 2015).

Starwood Preferred Guest

SPG Double Play January 5 – April 15, 2015 earn double points on 2-night stays and 1,000 bonus points after every five nights, up to 4,000 bonus points for 20 nights.

Loyalty Traveler – SPG Double Play Jan 5 to April 15, 2015 is double weak (December 30, 2014).

Starwood News: Best Rate Guarantee changed to a 20% discount on lower rate for approved claims or 2,000 bonus Starpoints and match lower rate.

Loyalty Traveler – Starwood Best Rate Guarantee now cuts 20% off lower rate (Jan 6, 2015)

 

Wyndham Rewards

Wyndham Rewards Weekday Double Take February 2 – April 30, 2015.

Wyndham Rewards Double Take promotion registration link.

Members earn double base points, 20 points/$1 for weekday stays. Monday to Thursday are eligible weekdays. Participating Hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait and Qatar count Sunday to Wednesday as weekday nights.

 

Loyalty Traveler Research and recent info:

Global Airline Passenger Traffic Data 2014 (Dec 12, 2014) Europe and Asia have more airline traffic than North America.

Average rates for most and least expensive hotel chain brands in Q3 2014 (Dec 8, 2014)

Difficulty of getting IHG Best Price Guarantee claim approval for international hotels

Which Hotel Programs count award stays for elite membership?

Hyatt and Starwood brands average room rates compared (based on 2014 Q-1 average rates by brand)

Average Hotel Rates for Hilton and Marriott brands

Use Google Flights to find low cost routes around Europe

Finding low airfare routes with Skyscanner

Norwegian Air USA to Europe under $500 round trip August-September 2014 (July 24, 2014) Norwegian Air $89 checked bag fee OAK-Stockholm comes with assigned seat and meals

InterContinental Chicago O’Hare rebranded to Loews Chicago O’Hare and YouFirst Benefits (July 25, 2014)

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Below are brand profiles, continuing promotions among major hotel chains and some past promotion offers from 2014. There are some good discount rates to be found below.

Accor Hotels – Le Club Accorhotels

Hotel Brands: Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, Suite Novotel, The Sebel, Ibis, Ibis Styles, Adagio, Thalassa Sea & Spa.

Accor Hotels Brand Profile – Loyalty Traveler

Accor Hotels offers numerous promotions by global region and country that can be found on their website.

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Best Western Hotels – Best Western Rewards

Hotel Brands: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier

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Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group – Club Carlson

Hotel brands: Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson Red, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Country Inn & Suites, Quorvus Collection.

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Club Carlson Gold elites 2-for-1 and 4-for-2 rates in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Loyalty Traveler post May 29.

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Club Carlson Hotel Brands Profile by Loyalty Traveler (Jan 8, 2014).

Club Carlson Hotel Loyalty Program Basics by Loyalty Traveler (Jan 8, 2014)

Analysis of Club Carlson award category increases at 114 hotels on March 15, 2014 (Feb 24, 2014)

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Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

Hotel Brands: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, Ascend Hotel Collection, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn.

Choice Hotel BRG free night claim

Choice Hotels free night with approved Best Rate Guarantee. Here is a post on my experience claiming a successful Best Rate Guarantee with one free night (Feb 28, 2014).

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Hilton Worldwide – Hilton HHonors

Hilton hotel brands: Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Conrad Hotels, DoubleTree, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites.

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Hilton HHonors Loyalty Traveler Guide (July 16, 2014)

Loyalty Traveler post: Loyalty Traveler Hilton HHonors Points and Money Rewards table (July 16, 2014) – Hilton does not post a table for Points and Money Rewards on its website.

Loyalty Traveler post: Warning: Do Not Trust HHonors Rewards Pricing Tool (July 3, 2014)

Loyalty Traveler post: Marriott beats Hilton for category 1 and 2 hotels in USA (July 7, 2014)

Loyalty Traveler post: Hilton HHonors Seasonal Reward Rates clarified (Jan 24, 2014).

Loyalty Traveler post: Tutorial: Finding HHonors Points & Money and Standard Rewards (Jan 28, 2014).

Loyalty Traveler table: Hilton HHonors Points & Money Rewards table (there is no table on the Hilton HHonors site showing the cost of Points & Money Rewards by hotel category. I created this one.)

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Hyatt Hotels – Hyatt Gold Passport

Hotel Brands: Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Park Hyatt, Andaz

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Loyalty Traveler Guide to Hyatt Gold Passport – Overview

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Guide to Hyatt Gold Passport Airline Partners

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Hyatt beats Starwood in USA for category 1 and 2 hotel awards

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Hyatt Gold Passport introduced Points + Cash Rewards Jan 7, 2014.

Loyalty Traveler post Jan 7.

The main problem is Points + Cash availability is not an online function. You have to call Hyatt to book Points + Cash reward stays. Anecdotal reports suggest availability is very good.

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InterContinental Hotels Group – IHG Rewards Club

Hotel Brands – InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Hualux (China), Even.

Loyalty Traveler overview of IHG Rewards Club (Jan 6, 2014) – IHG Rewards Club in 2014: History, Award Nights and Elite Status

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IHG Into the Nights (Expired Promotion)

I am leaving up links this month to my articles on IHG Into the Nights since this was the major promotion I concentrated on for hotel stays during the last two months of 2014. Kelley and I picked up four free nights good for any IHG hotel worldwide in 2015. The promotion was a hassle with unclear terms and changing tasks, yet we persevered and earned four free nights after six paid nights and about $650 in spend, the last stay being December 30, 2014.

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Marriott International – Marriott Rewards

Marriott hotel brands: Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites, Residence Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Autograph Collection, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott Vacation Clubs

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Marriott Rewards Refer-a-Friend for up to 50,000 points (August 1, 2014)

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Atlantis Resort Bahamas joins Marriott Autograph Collection (July 7, 2014)

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Marriott PointSavers hotels has about 60 hotels in USA and UK offering reward nights at one category discount. A category 5 hotel at 25,000 points per night is only 20,000 points with PointSavers award. These award discount rates also apply to 5th night free.

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Loyalty Traveler post: Marriott beats Hilton for category 1 and 2 hotels in USA (July 7, 2014)

Loyalty Traveler post – Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air Package Rewards for United and other airlines (Feb 5, 2014)

Loyalty Traveler post – Tutorial: Marriott’s Cash + Points Rewards with 5th Night Free (Jan 28, 2014)

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Marriott Points & Miles Deals – http://www.marriott.com/specials/mesSearchResults.mi

There are hundreds of discount rates, package deals and points and miles bonus offers at Marriott hotels worldwide. My advice is to check the Marriott specials site and search your destination city for special offers at marriott brand hotels.

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Loyalty Traveler post – Marriott International hotel numbers by brand 12-31-13

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Starwood Hotels – Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG)

Starwood brands: Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, Aloft, Element, Luxury Collection, St. Regis, W Hotels, Le Meridien

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Loyalty Traveler post: Tutorial: SPG Browse Dates and Rates Feature (Jan 30, 2014)

Loyalty Traveler Guide to SPG Airline Partners, Transfers and Airline Direct Deposit program (July 1, 2014)

Starwood Preferred Guest Cash and Points Awards Guide

Hyatt beats Starwood in USA for category 1 and 2 hotel awards (July 3, 2014)

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Starwood Hotels Birth Year rate can be a great savings at some hotels. Pay a set rate for the first night of your hotel stay and get the second and for select hotels third night at the nightly rate of your birth year. For example, born in 1975, then the room rate is $75. At some hotels this will be the lowest rate possible and can save a $100 to $300 on a hotel stay.

http://americas.starwoodoffers.com/payyourbirthyear

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Starwood Preferred Guest And Caesars Total Rewards Partnership

SPG has teamed up with Caesars Entertainment to reward points to each other’s members. This deal allows members to earn SPG points at Caesars properties. Redemption rates are generally poor using SPG points for Caesars Hotels.

Loyalty Traveler posts on SPG and Caesars partnership:

Caesars and Starwood Preferred Guest partner for points earning (Jan 21, 2014)

Redemption Value analysis using SPG points for Caesars award stays in Las Vegas (Jan 21, 2014).

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Wyndham Hotel Group – Wyndham Rewards

Wyndham Hotel Brands: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Wyndham Grand, Wyndham Garden, Tryp by Wyndham, Wingate by Wyndham, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, Microtel Inn & Suites, Dream Hotels, Night Hotels, Planet Hollywood, Ramada Worldwide, Baymont Inn & Suites, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn.

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Wyndham Rewards points-to-miles exchange rate was cut by half for hotel points transfer to frequent flyer program miles on January 31, 2014 without any prior member notice. Loyalty Traveler post: Gone with the Wyndham Rewards: points-to-miles rate cut by half Jan 31, 2014 (Feb 1, 2014).

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Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.

Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests.

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