Normally, I would not pay much attention to a Nordic Choice Hotels limited time offer sale. Now that I have attained American Airlines Executive Platinum status, my thoughts turn to how to maintain my Lord of the Rings-like elite power.
Scandinavia is in my dreams as a safe European home to spend much of my travels in 2016, while taking advantage of $400 round trip fares to California from Norway and Sweden on American Airlines.
Increased travel to Scandinavia has me thinking about how to use Nordic Choice Hotels for paid stays to earn points in Nordic Choice Club loyalty program, rather than simply spending Choice Privileges points for free nights redemption.
Choice Privileges members can redeem points for Nordic Choice Hotels, but you can’t earn Choice Privileges points for paid stays in Scandinavia and Baltic Nordic Choice Hotels. You need to join Nordic Choice Club to earn points for paid stays. Earn rate is 1 point per 1 NOK/SEK spent on room rate.
More on my Scandinavia travel thoughts will come in another post on low airfare deals between Scandinavia and California.
Nordic Choice Hotels Crazy December Sale
Bookable 13 October to 16 October
Stay Dates are Friday, Saturday and Sundays during weekends in December.
(Prepaid rate, nonrefundable after 24 hours)
The deal is Nordic Choice Hotels has dozens of hotels as low as 590 NOK or SEK per night. The ad pitch states 295- per person, but the lowest price is 590 per night, whether one person or two persons booking. More hotels are available for 690 and 790 NOK/SEK per night. All hotels include breakfast and Clarion Collection hotels include dinner buffet.
Norwegian Krone and Swedish Krone are almost identical exchange rates to the US Dollar at around 8.10 = $1.00 USD. This means the 590 NOK and 590 SEK hotel rooms are less than $73 USD per night.
Quality Hotel Globe – Stockholm, Sweden
Friday, December 11 for 2 nights SEK 1,180 = $145.02 USD ($72.51 per night).
Of course, Stockholm has just a little over six hours of daylight in mid December with sunrise at 8:30 in the morning and sunset before 3:00pm in the afternoon. I spent a week in Stockholm during January a couple of decades ago with fond memories walking cobblestone streets wandering Gamla Stan (Old Town) in the dark nights lighted by streetlamps.
Warning: Watch out for those falling icicles. They can be deadly.
Comfort Hotel Holberg – Bergen, Norway
Friday, December 4 for 2 nights NOK 1,180 = $144.70 USD ($72.35 per night).
Nordic Choice Club as a points strategy for Choice Privileges members
Nordic Choice Club members receive 750 points per night for hotel stays outside Scandinavia and Baltic countries. This can be a good strategy for earning more points on stays in the USA where a $50 EconoLodge night earns only 250 Choice Privileges points.
A hotel like Ascend Collection Skt. Petri in Copenhagen, Denmark is only 10,000 Nordic Choice Club points for Friday, Saturday or Sunday compared to 20,000 points with Choice Privileges points. Rates are frequently $250 USD and higher at this hotel. I stayed there last week for 8,000 Choice Privileges points + $90 per night on a Points Plus Cash award.
Nordic Choice Club Free Nights with Points tables.
Loyalty Traveler – Skt. Petri Hotel Copenhagen, Nordic Choice Ascend Collection (July 6, 2015).
