UAzip

Just tried this late last night (after midnight actually) and the 50 miles already posted to HH....much faster than I thought it could be.

Already logged in to Facebook, I went to Topguest and clicked on "Already a member? Sign in" even though I was not yet signed up. The next page offers two options; "Connect with Facebook" is what you would use. You have to allow it to start the Facebook app and then once it's connected to Facebook you go to "Settings". There, make sure Facebook is "On" under Connected Services and then enter the rewards program numbers you want to credit. Finally, to find the Doubletree or other location you want to check in at, you can click on the "Top Spots" at the top of the Topguest page and search by city, zip code, etc. and click on the map pointer...that was enough to trigger the mileage posting process, at least in my case.

Now the one thing that I still don't know is whether the 50-mile posting counts as activity to reset the expiration date, which is what a lot of folks want to know. Does anyone know by experience?

goodtricks

I believe any activity will prevent points from expiring.

I have been doing this every day for the past 4 months, points post the same day or the day after every time.

Jamjaw

Just found this... A nice little earner as long as it lasts!

Travel K

So all I need to do is click on the icon on the map when I find a hotel that I want points for? Thank you for the directions! I was able to follow that.

Madinat

How are you guys getting this to work with foursquare? It keeps askin for a Facebook login...

dameee

Ive been using fourquare/topquest for the last 3 days. Nothing has posted yet in my Hhonors but I've received 75 points already in my Virgin America account.

I like what I'm seeing so far.

y2chen

Anyone else having problems getting check-ins from either facebook or foursquare to post on a daily basis?

I'm finding their definition of one day (as in when the "day" starts and ends) differs from my time zone. For example, if I check in the night before around 8pm, a check-in that following morning doesn't register as a check-in for that next day, and seems to be ignored as having been the same "day" as the previous check-in.

Another thing I'm seeing is just that sometimes it just doesn't register my check-ins. I'm used to seeing them picked up within an hour or two within TopGuest, not posted to my HHonors account, though that tends to happen pretty quickly too.

gof

I'm not sure I get the "true" value of this. I see the potential for points, don't get me wrong, it's just the effort level.

I've got both a hampton and double tree close by home. It would probably be a 2 mile total detour if I swung past there on the way each day. Let's assume 24mpg city and (for convenience) $4 gas. So I get 12 check-in credits per $4 or 600 points per $4. That works out to 0.7 cents per HH point. But it also adds 5 minutes to my commute each time (since I'll have to pull into the parking lot and fire up whatever app I'd need), so that same 600 points requires an hour of my time.

A "cheap" stay of 25,000 HH points would thus need an investment of about 42 hours of my time, and $166 in gas (ignoring wear & tear). It doesn't add up.

Now I guess if you commuted and directly passed a property on foot anyway, it might be an earning proposition, but otherwise? Nope.

seychellesbound

You don't have to be anywhere near a DT.....I checked into a DT from my office every morning that is 20+ miles away.

My effort level is a 30 seconds of finger pressing.

Jack Burton

Hey there. Just found this thread. Looks like you have been doing this sucessfully for some time now, good going!

But,...Don't actual stays need to coincide with these "check-ins"? I would think these "check-ins" would be cross-referenced with actual stays before the 50 points are awarded. I guess not, since you are receiving the points everyday,...but maybe later, after an audit, points will be removed?

I guess I better read the TOS.

Jack Burton

Thanks for the info. Followed the sign-up info posted earlier in the thread, but not sure how to check-in to a location I want, when the mobile app, like Fourquare is saying I'm somewhere else. Do I need to disable GPS, or disbale Foursquare from accessing it?

Thanks.

seychellesbound

On the 4S app go to the PLACES icon and search Doubletree, then proceed to check-in.

Jack Burton

Thanks. Using Fourquare on the BB, I searched for and selected an IC hotel in NYC, even though my location was a few miles away.

It seemed to allow to me check-in, so all good for now, I guess.

Odd, if these apps are using your phone's GPS, and they know where you are, why then allow you to check-in to a location that is clearly not nearby? Kind of defeats the purpose of the app.

Then again, free points, so all good with me.

ZeppoX

My experience with this over nearly three months is that I cannot detect any rhyme or reason for why a checkin succeeds, or is denied because my phone "thinks yo are too far away." One day, a checkin will work from 20 miles. Next day checkin to the same location will fail from 300 meters.

josephstern

Part of the problem, for me, anyway, is figuring out which listing is the "official" one. I'll get, for example "Hilton" and "Hilton Hotel" and "Hilton Resort Hotel" as options, and only one of the three seems to work. I haven't kept enough track to figure out which is the winning entry for a particular location.

I'm relieved when there's only one option.