Fun Speculation Thread: Does Choice Participate in Daily Getaways & If So, Worth It?

The title says it all. The first couple of weeks of promos are out (see https://dailygetaways.ustravel.org/Calendar.aspx?week=0) and in the hotel field, nothing looks exciting. Marriott has their usual gift cards at 11% off before the 10% Amex discount and CC is offering 100K points for $385 (boy, am I glad I did five stays at about $400 for 220K during their promotions the last couple of years). The usual Omni (hey, get a room in NYC for $265 on a weekend night only), Caesar's, and Las Vegas stuff.

No announcement on Choice, Hilton (they'll get bought but unless it's at a steep discount in comparison to the past several years, FTers will stay away), or Wyndham (which, if in, will get the usual "hey they're great for conversion to airline miles" from the bloggers--which this year will certainly be more true than in 2012).

Choice in or out? I think probably in, but the Club Carlson cost will either drive up the cost of Choice points or if offered at roughly the same cost of the past several years, may make them more attractive--although I note that very few outside this forum seem to value the European redemption options so maybe not so much.

I certainly hope that they're in, since I'm planning a several-week Scandinavian trip next summer, and would prefer buying points to transfering AGR points to Choice.

And that's the way I'd like it to stay.

You can buy points even if not via the Daily Getaways promo -- it just usually won't be as cheap, but it would still provide reasonable value for what you have in mind.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a major re-pricing that hits with Nordic Choice hotels and results in reducing the value gotten out of points redeemed that way. In other words, I am more cautious about hoarding Choice points now than I was a couple of years ago.

This answers the first question, but not the second:

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-...10-908328.html

And, we have the answer to the second half of the question: https://dailygetaways.ustravel.org/Calendar.aspx?week=2. Sleep Inn worst value of the four (20K for ~ $92 with the Amex discount) and strangely enough, the one with the least number of packages offered. The Cambria is the next smallest offering with 325 packages but a good value at 40K points for ~ $150 with the Amex discount. Best value overall is the Comfort Suites package, but the difference in cost per point for the Cambria, Comfort Inn, and Comfort Suites packages is relatively negligible.

Worst part of this deal for me? When it goes live, I'll be two hours into a flight from LHR to IAD. I'm going to have to convince my youngest sister, who's currently with me in Ireland for a trip, to get online at the necessary time to try to buy some packages since she's coming back three days before I do. She's interested in a trip to London in December so I think I know what the bribe will have to be. . .3 nights at the Comfort Inn Hyde Park.

If you pay with Amex:

Comfort Suites
$120.60/32000=$0.00376875 per point

Comfort Inn
$140.40/36000=$0.0039 per point

Sleep
$91.80/20000=$0.00459 per point

Cambria
$149.40/40000=$0.003735 per point

If I made any mistakes, please let me know.

I think the per-point figures are the same as 2012, except for the Sleep offer, which wasn't offered last year.

Those were the numbers I came up with as well. Sleep Inn not as good a value with the other three a close call. Given the fewer number of 40K packages, a reasonable approach to bidding may be to focus on the relatively larger group of 32K and 36K packages. Priority Club points go on sale the same week and I'll be interested to see how much publicity the bloggers give to the Choice part of the DG this year in comparison with PC given that the PC purchase price is favorable even in comparison with the points and cash trick and that you can exceed the normal annual limit on purchasing points.

Choice will get more attention this year and the focus seems to be about the conversion to miles values and the Euro redemptions -- it already has relative to last year and the reason for that may be the slower trickling in of the deals and the later schedule.

Sorry if this is a silly question, but are the Choice selections issued in points or certs for stays? I would rather change my points to WN if I could. I have another question. I am not an American citizen, but I do spend about 5 months in the U.S. annually. I have a U.S. bank and accompanying cc/debit card. Will I be eligible? Thanks.

Points, not certs.

US cards are processed as usual, but sometimes foreign IP addresses (for those logging in from overseas) may have a higher denied transaction probability and thus need another card that gets accepted before the clock runs out and your basket selection gets released back in the open.

Haven't been able to track that so far. I just know that The Points Guy managed to mention all of the offers for that week in his headline concerning that week's promotions--except for the Choice promo (although to be fair, he gives it equal billing in the post itself: http://thepointsguy.com/2013/06/dail...y-club-points/).

There are some family-oriented bloggers who may focus on this deal, but Gary and Lucky are unlikely to think even the best European Choice properties are sufficiently aspirational to plug this deal much. Mileage conversion is an option, but if Wyndham is part of the promotion, the bloggers will go there first, especially given the hotel redemption changes Wyndham made to their program earlier this year--as far as I can tell, the main reason to buy Wyndham now is to convert to airline miles, especially if US decides to do another 50% bonus on hotel point to airline transfers--where 8000 Wyndham became 4800 DM, which will eventually become 4800 AAdvantage miles. In comparison and using the same promotion, 10K Choice would become 3K AA. Southwest offers a better conversion ratio for Choice, but again that's a topic the family-oriented bloggers will more likely push.

Just as last year, these deals will be hard to get, but I think that's basically because DG has become more popular overall.

I used to be very puzzled by Choice, but REALLY like it now because my current travel patterns give me a lot of US earn / EU burn options. Some truly amazing opportunities there. Anyway, my question is about T & C for DG:

Do the points have to be used at a U.S. hotel / is there some mechanism for ensuring this?

If I have already purchased the maximum number of points for this year, can I still purchase points through the DG?

Thanks!

No; and not generally applied. That is just IME (of using a lot of points overseas).

Yes.

Did you miss the word "can"? It doesn't mean "have to", it means "can"! You can do other things with the points, they're just giving an example!

Furthermore, you're quoting from the Sleep Inn promo.

Sleep Inn is just one brand within the Choice family.

Are there really any Sleep Inns outside the U.S.? If not, that may be the simple reason for this "U.S." language.

There are Clarions, and Comforts, and Qualitys, and EconoLodges, outside the U.S. But I've yet to spot a Sleep Inn outside the U.S.

I would never purchase points...but I would like to mention that there is a new brand in the Choice portfolio called Ascend -- which includes some independent and more upscale properties. I am not familiar with any of the hotels included but they may be of interest to some people. Ascend also includes a few hotels in Scandinavia.