NDN

I booked A MVC property at $229 a night. They had all options: guest room, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom rooms.

TTT103

The most expensive I've booked through the fourth night free program is $509 per night, which was actually the least expensive room type at the property.

Kagehitokiri

good to hear, if suggests anything in GDS

tohams

Does anyone know if Accenture employees can still get the Accenture rate through this (and still receive the 4th night statement credit)?

Thanks!

BrianMinn

I'm more into the $100-150 range rather than $500 a night. Is it possible to use this 4th night free at places like Ibis or Holiday Inn Express? Obviously not every pension in Europe can be done this way (or can it?). How do I find information on what is available before signing up for the card?

FederalFlyer

This is exactly what I want to know. Is there a number we can call to check rates at a certain hotel (without having the card)? If I can book at around the same rate the hotel itself is charging per night, the 4th night free will essentially cover the $450 annual fee on this card.

TTT103

They can book any of the major hotel chains, including Holiday Inn, and price does not matter. I just booked an $89 Hilton on Monday with the fourth night free.

When a hotel does not appear in Carlson's booking system, they might possibly call the hotel directly; however, I am not familiar what extent they will go. My guess is that the hotel must pay travel agent commission for Carlson to book, so this may exclude mom and pop properties. I did have them book a domestic property for me that wasn't in their booking system. They had to call the hotel directly to obtaining pricing and ultimately make the reservation.

I thought this thread contained a link to the Carlson website that let's you search hotels, but I couldn't find it during my quick glance. Although you can't book through the website, it gives you an idea what is in their system.

Aristophanes80

Here's the link: http://www.cwtvacations.com/home.aspx?search=hotels

The search engine is not the best. For many hotels, the only way I can get them to come up is to search for the whole city and page through to find the one I want. More specific searches often just cause no results to be returned.

Kagehitokiri

"carlson system" sounds like GDS

not sure about commission, there is a cost to providing free night when its not a published offer from hotel, not sure who is paying who what

Joe1690

I have also looked at the hotel websites directly to find the best available rate and then call the Citi Concierge and most of the time they quote the same rates as the hotel website. I find that with Holiday Inn or IHG properties in general the rates they quote are much higher than the best available rate. However, every time I have used the 4th night free at a Holiday Inn property they have matched the rate to the best available rate on the IHG website. This could be a prepaid rate or a flexible rate with breakfast. It doesn't matter as long as it is available to the public. This means no AAA rates, AARP rates, senior rates, IHG Rewards Club Member rates, and the sort since not everyone off the street is eligible but only individuals meeting select criteria.

I have used this benefit 3 times since it was launched in November without any issues. I have stayed at 2 different brands of hotels and the rates have always been the best available for that property in the marketplace.

rihc55

I booked a Holiday In Express in Canada and got the 4th night free. It was the exact rate available on IHG.com.


Their travel agents seem to be getting slower and slower at turning around quotes though. I think this card has created too much volume for them. The last two times, the Prestige Concierge rep suggests itll be a 24 hour turn around.. The next day I get an email saying it'll be another 24 hours. This last time, after 4 days they asked me a question they had asked me 2 days before so I just let them off the hook on the request.

So... as many other people have said, this is a great benefit if you have time to book in advance. If you need a really quick turn around, its probably not going to happen.

monkeycard

I agree with the slow turnaround time.

took over 24hrs for the first request.

Took almost another day to finally get it booked.

TTT103

It would be so nice to just be able to book on-line.

Deemo21

In January I booked a room at an adventure resort on another credit card. I got the Citi Prestige earlier this month when the 50k TYP first started. I called to find a way to rebook this vacation through Citi prestige. It took several days and multiple phone calls and lots of waiting on the phone. In the end, the benefit will save me $251 and cover my $3,000 min spend for the TYP. I added the all inclusive package to my reservation and it includes an airport transfer and pickup and activities for 5 days, etc. Citi won't cover that portion. The base room rate for this beachfront room is $251/night so that is what they reimburse. The hotel is already sold out for the dates that I want so I waited until all places were open and cancelled my reservation and immediately rebooked with a citi concierge+travel agent. It took some time on the phone, but it was done. I will use this benefit frequently.

klepton

Received my prestige card yesterday, and immediately called to make a reservation for next month. Phone agent was courteous, took my information and said I'd get an email within 24 hours. Almost exactly 24 hours later I got the proposal.

Called about 8:00 tonight and let them know I wanted to proceed. Citi concierge put me on hold to connect the travel agents, but she said it would be too long so took my info and I was able to leave. She called me back when she got someone on the phone, maybe 45 minutes later. Got everything booked an received the confirmation number. All in all, this is saving me $511 for just this stay, so I'm already ahead of the annual fee. This stay should take a big bite out of the $3k spend I need too. I'm a pretty happy camper right now...