Which Hotel Credit Cards are worth MSing?

Old Mar 26, 2015, 2:34 pm
  #91  
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Originally Posted by littlewinglet
Would you have paid $800 or $1000 per room anywhere? And what does $300 cash get you in those same locations?
The Park Hyatt Paris, $300 cash won't get you a room there. It'll probably get you a room at the Radisson Blu. So if i have a choice to spend $300 for a room at the Park Hyatt Paris, or Radisson Blu, I would choose the Park Hyatt.

The Wardof in Rome cost about 85k points a night...about 250-$300 MS cost. But you can book a night on Hotels.com for $250.00 So I would just pay cash for it, or use points from Arrival+ / Venture to erase the charge.
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Old Mar 26, 2015, 2:58 pm
  #92  
 
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Originally Posted by sosamo
The Park Hyatt Paris, $300 cash won't get you a room there. It'll probably get you a room at the Radisson Blu. So if i have a choice to spend $300 for a room at the Park Hyatt Paris, or Radisson Blu, I would choose the Park Hyatt.

The Wardof in Rome cost about 85k points a night...about 250-$300 MS cost. But you can book a night on Hotels.com for $250.00 So I would just pay cash for it, or use points from Arrival+ / Venture to erase the charge.

If you don't mind doing the legwork to MS enough points for the Hyatt vs. paying $300 cash, I guess that's reasonable. I always compare it to the cheapest cash option for a hotel that's of acceptable quality to me. I personally don't value anything above a comfortable bed, nice shower and clean towels. Location ends up being top priority in most cities so I'd pay a little extra for that.
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Old Mar 27, 2015, 12:21 pm
  #93  
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I don't mind the leg work. But yah, it depends on the vacation. If it's just me and my friends doing a road trip to Vancouver, the Radisson in Richmond via cash is fine. But if it's a trip to Japan with the SO, I think I want to splurge and stay at the tokyo Hyatt / Hilton or something like that.

From what I am reading...msing Hyatt points my be more valuable than Hilton points....oh well. I guess I do a little of each, diversify
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Old Mar 27, 2015, 1:24 pm
  #94  
 
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Originally Posted by rtraveler
I agree. What other hotel can you get a top category hotel with $5k of MS'ing which is about $40 in fees for me.
"Top category" doesn't equal "top quality" wrt Carlson. It's all low and mid range. And that's why many aren't interested. If you just want a roof over your head, Carlson can't be beat for 2 night stays.

For one night stays, or the ability to stay at large number of properties with true top tier, Hilton is hard to beat.

Imo, for the Average Joe who doesn't want to bother with multiple programs to make sure they get the "best" redemption possible, HH has to be the program of choice, because of their large footprint, the relative ease and low cost of garnering points, large footprint of low to true top tier properties, and the ability to earn top status without a quadzillion stays under their belt.

But I suspect many on FT don't mind multiple programs. I do SPG, Hilton, Hyatt and Carlson, and stay at the best hotel I can in whatever location I go. Only major cities have Park Hyatts and St Regis (or are in "destination" locations), so Hilton gets most of my second tier location stays (with the occasional Conrad or resort property like Koh Samui included) because of their much larger footprint. I have yet to find a place where Carlson is the best option, so have yet to set foot inside a Carlson.
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Old Mar 27, 2015, 1:42 pm
  #95  
 
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Originally Posted by farwest101
"Top category" doesn't equal "top quality" wrt Carlson. It's all low and mid range. And that's why many aren't interested. If you just want a roof over your head, Carlson can't be beat for 2 night stays.
You know, I don't want to turn this into a hotel loyalist argument, and I have no special affinity with Club Carlson, but I think your continued insistence that they're somehow low quality crap, and barely a roof over your head, is total stupidity, or ignorance.

I don't know how any sane person who has stayed at various Radisson Blus in Europe, and elsewhere, can claim that. They may not have a butler or free caviar in the lounge, but the quality of the beds, showers, interior finishouts and service was on the par with any other so called 5-star hotel.

Sure, there might be one or two of those that suck, but I've also stayed at supposedly high-end Starwood, IHG and Hilton properties that left me unimpressed.

If you're just being ignorant on purpose, I suggest you go stay at some of the better Radisson Blus, it'll change your mind. Or maybe you're a hotel snob and nothing short of a St Regis is good enough, in which I case I pity you since you miss the point of travel.
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Old Mar 27, 2015, 1:56 pm
  #96  
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Originally Posted by littlewinglet
You know, I don't want to turn this into a hotel loyalist argument, and I have no special affinity with Club Carlson, but I think your continued insistence that they're somehow low quality crap, and barely a roof over your head, is total stupidity, or ignorance.

I don't know how any sane person who has stayed at various Radisson Blus in Europe, and elsewhere, can claim that. They may not have a butler or free caviar in the lounge, but the quality of the beds, showers, interior finishouts and service was on the par with any other so called 5-star hotel.

Sure, there might be one or two of those that suck, but I've also stayed at supposedly high-end Starwood, IHG and Hilton properties that left me unimpressed.

If you're just being ignorant on purpose, I suggest you go stay at some of the better Radisson Blus, it'll change your mind. Or maybe you're a hotel snob and nothing short of a St Regis is good enough, in which I case I pity you since you miss the point of travel.
I agree. Not only have I found the Radissons overseas to be excellent properties, my Radisson card is the only hotel card I MS with, solely as a result of the Martinique in NYC. I am flexible with my dates, so I choose dates that the 50,000 points for two nights is available. Everyone's MSing costs are a little different, but at 1.2% per $1, that equates to a large hotel room in a prime midtown location at $60 a night. I have always been upgraded to one of the two upper floors they call Penthouse 1 and 2.

I have run the numbers with other hotel cards and I just can't justify MSing with them except to get sign-up bonuses. The effective cost per night is too high; Priceline (or as you pointed out, using Arrival card points) would be better. But the potential deal on the Radisson Martinique is very good.
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Old Mar 28, 2015, 9:39 am
  #97  
 
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Originally Posted by littlewinglet
You know, I don't want to turn this into a hotel loyalist argument, and I have no special affinity with Club Carlson, but I think your continued insistence that they're somehow low quality crap, and barely a roof over your head, is total stupidity, or ignorance.

I don't know how any sane person who has stayed at various Radisson Blus in Europe, and elsewhere, can claim that. They may not have a butler or free caviar in the lounge, but the quality of the beds, showers, interior finishouts and service was on the par with any other so called 5-star hotel.

Sure, there might be one or two of those that suck, but I've also stayed at supposedly high-end Starwood, IHG and Hilton properties that left me unimpressed.

If you're just being ignorant on purpose, I suggest you go stay at some of the better Radisson Blus, it'll change your mind. Or maybe you're a hotel snob and nothing short of a St Regis is good enough, in which I case I pity you since you miss the point of travel.
I too am surprised of all the club carlson hatred. At this moment it is my chain of choice. I have stayed at some very nice properties that rival the conrad. But lets not be narrow minded, and embrace each program for its best deals. I consistently use the Radisson last night deal, I just used my HH certificates for a premium property, used the last night free at SPG at a beach resort, and had some killer redemption at hyatt place 5K for a $200 room.

Moving on....
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Old Mar 28, 2015, 6:20 pm
  #98  
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Originally Posted by ORD-TGU
I too am surprised of all the club carlson hatred. At this moment it is my chain of choice. I have stayed at some very nice properties that rival the conrad. But lets not be narrow minded, and embrace each program for its best deals. I consistently use the Radisson last night deal, I just used my HH certificates for a premium property, used the last night free at SPG at a beach resort, and had some killer redemption at hyatt place 5K for a $200 room.

Moving on....
It's good to diversify. I would apply for the Carlson card...but don't want to waste an inquiry for another denial.
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Old Mar 28, 2015, 7:21 pm
  #99  
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You can play either chain roulette or priceline roulette. Many of the chains have poor locations, sometimes in the most touristy and overpriced neighborhoods. "Free breakfast" will only get you so far before you buy overpriced and often made-for-dumb-tourist food.

Outside of Asia, 5 star hotels aren't really 5 star. Example: the overpriced $1k hotel room at park hyatt Sydney is way overrated. Lots of Hong Kong or Tokyo 5 star properties would put park hyatt Sydney to shame.

With cash back, I can priceline or rent a studio or apartment that will keep my cost down while not sacrificing location.
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Old Mar 28, 2015, 10:43 pm
  #100  
 
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I'll never understand the allure of these "high end" hotels. What do you guys do in your hotels that makes the value of these places so high? I can understand it in a resort with a great pool and maybe beach access but a city hotel?

A comment above mentioned something along the lines of "if you only want a roof over your head" well I ask what else do you want? What do you get from these 5 star hotels?

I read VFTW report for the much loved park vendome and he mentioned it was the greatest hotel he had stayed at but the pictures and description was just one of a basic hotel room.

If you are going to say service please be more specific. What is this service that is worth many hundreds of dollars more?
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Old Mar 29, 2015, 9:27 am
  #101  
 
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Originally Posted by Domat
I'll never understand the allure of these "high end" hotels. What do you guys do in your hotels that makes the value of these places so high? I can understand it in a resort with a great pool and maybe beach access but a city hotel?

A comment above mentioned something along the lines of "if you only want a roof over your head" well I ask what else do you want? What do you get from these 5 star hotels?

I read VFTW report for the much loved park vendome and he mentioned it was the greatest hotel he had stayed at but the pictures and description was just one of a basic hotel room.

If you are going to say service please be more specific. What is this service that is worth many hundreds of dollars more?
While I can't speak for others, I think part of it is because you're traveling with a spouse or family. It would be nice to have a more upscale room if that's the case, especially if it's a spouse who thinks what we do is a little sketchy.

For me, I usually travel alone and I travel to experience the destination. I usually spend very little time in my hotel room. So as long as the bed is comfortable and it's clean, I'm not looking for much else. This way, the points get me many more nights. I also travel only domestically so far. I just took a solo road trip for a week and every night was covered through IHG points. I stayed at either Holiday Inn Express for 15k points (with free breakfast), or at a Candlewood Suites for 10k points.

I understand not everybody has the same preference as myself, but when I look at the amount of time I spend in an actual room, I prefer quantity over quality when using points. Now I wouldn't stay at a Super 8 or anything similar, but at Holiday Inn or Candlewood the beds, showers, and cleanliness has been fine for me for the limited amount of time I'm in there.
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Old Mar 29, 2015, 10:18 am
  #102  
 
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I have to agree with the poster above on the Holiday Inn Express. With the exception of the actual size of the room the fit and finish of the room is typically on par with chains above its level. It's free breakfast is also a real breakfast, not the sliced fruit and some random pastries that is considered breakfast at higher end chains. And you can typically get the rooms for $75 a night or less. If you're just looking for a "home base" to come back to after your day of exploring whatever destination you're in they are tough to beat for the value.
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Old Mar 29, 2015, 5:03 pm
  #103  
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Originally Posted by ILGfly
I have to agree with the poster above on the Holiday Inn Express. With the exception of the actual size of the room the fit and finish of the room is typically on par with chains above its level. It's free breakfast is also a real breakfast, not the sliced fruit and some random pastries that is considered breakfast at higher end chains. And you can typically get the rooms for $75 a night or less. If you're just looking for a "home base" to come back to after your day of exploring whatever destination you're in they are tough to beat for the value.
Yup. It's the first time my SO is going to europe. I am taking her there for her bday. All with cc sign up and ms. I want to make it memorable. And yes. She is one of those SO that think msing is a waste of time. She kinda think it is dumb. I have been sign up for cc and msing since aug. 2013 for this 19 day europe Trip in april. Hopefully she will realize the fruit of my labor.
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Old Mar 29, 2015, 6:02 pm
  #104  
 
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Originally Posted by sosamo
Yup. It's the first time my SO is going to europe. I am taking her there for her bday. All with cc sign up and ms. I want to make it memorable. And yes. She is one of those SO that think msing is a waste of time. She kinda think it is dumb. I have been sign up for cc and msing since aug. 2013 for this 19 day europe Trip in april. Hopefully she will realize the fruit of my labor.
I know what you mean. Be careful though. Any time we have to fly coach now I hear a load of complaining from my SO.
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Old Mar 29, 2015, 7:29 pm
  #105  
 
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Originally Posted by Domat
I'll never understand the allure of these "high end" hotels.
Remove 'hotels', insert cell phones, cars, houses, restaurants, F vs C vs Y, cameras, furniture, clothes, etc. This same argument against staying in nicer hotels can be used against all consumer purchases.

I remember almost 15 years ago listening to a coworker complain about another coworker who was looking at different high end SLR cameras, trying to decide which one to buy. The non-camera buying coworker went on and on about what a waste of money it was to spend a ton of money for a camera. The camera buyer was an avid photographer who could discern the difference between a high end camera and one that I would buy - for me, a much lesser camera is fine. But I completely understood his desire to buy a high end camera and admonished the coworker who was complaining about the guy wasting HIS money on a nice camera. Just because I don't care about many of the functions in a camera doesn't mean that it was a waste of my coworker's money.

With more than 3000 hotel nights in everything from barely tolerable to some of the best in the world, I could provide a long list of items that make high end hotels worth the money for me. But that would simply be fodder for those that consider anyone who likes high end hotels a snob and/or fool.

I've been a Club Carlson Concierge. Club Carlson is a lower end hotel chain with a very small handful of very nice hotels. I don't hate Club Carlson; it has its place. I even have quite a few CC goldpoints. What I don't like is people misrepresenting CC's hotel portfolio as something it is not - high end, especially when those same people state that they don't understand what's so great about high end hotels. For that reason, it's a terrible fit for what the OP has stated his objective is - a high end European vacation with his wife.
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