Originally Posted by
mnredfox
Well that is my gripe with PS vs PB. Yes PB seem to go quickly at the "best hotels" (eg IC), but I've NEVER had a problem booking a PB hotel in the city I want on the date I want when it is listed on the website. And to be honest, goto the website and there are LOTS of hotels.
I look at that PB list VERY FREQUENTLY!!! And there are almost NEVER any I can make use of -- and the best ones often get snapped up instantly by hoarders who end up not using them.
Compare that to HH where the PS site lists currently NO hotels.
Duh -- that is because the PS program has been suspended!!! It doesn't exist any more (until further notice).
Just to make my point about the PC Point Breaks program and its limitations, here is a current excerpt of the listings:
Priority Club® Rewards is pleased to offer another outstanding redemption option—Priority Club PointBreaks! PointBreaks are available for only 5,000 points per night. And, since PointBreaks are such an incredible value, they are only available at select locations for a limited time. Be sure to check back often. PointBreaks are updated frequently.
Europe
Click on your choice of location below to make a reservation:
CYPRUS
Holiday Inn NICOSIA CITY CENTRE
FRANCE
Holiday Inn TOULOUSE AIRPORT
Holiday Inn PARIS - VAL DE BIÈVRE
GERMANY
Holiday Inn Express COLOGNE - MUELHEIM
Holiday Inn ZWICHAU
Holiday Inn MINDEN
Holiday Inn Express BADEN - BADEN
GREECE
Holiday Inn THESSALONIKI
LITHUANIA
Holiday Inn VILNIUS
ROMANIA
InterContinental BUCHAREST
SPAIN
Holiday Inn Express MADRID - SAN SEBASTIAN D/L REYES
TURKEY
Holiday Inn ISTANBUL AIRPORT - NORTH
UNITED KINGDOM
Holiday Inn Express SWINDON CITY CENTRE
Offer and participating hotels are subject to change at any time, valid for stays through January 31, 2010. Reward night terms and conditions apply.
Even the ones that purport to be in major cities really (in general) are not! And when the really juicy listings show up (such as in central Paris) they disappear quickly. To demonstrate, PARIS - VAL DE BIÈVRE (a current listing) is NOT in the center of Paris, and NOT even in the inner suburbs. It's in a small town, Jouy-en-Josas, that is quite distant from central Paris. So if you don't read the listings carefully, and judge only by the fact that there are, as you say, "LOTS of hotels," you are ignoring the fact that they are, mostly, hotels in locations that most people don't want to visit.
That is precisely why they are on the list in the first place! If you happen to score one that is where (and when) you want to stay, great. But it's not something you can count on. Anyhow, I've looked at those listings frequently, on every single continent, and there is almost never anything that I find worth booking. (Again, if PC would put rules in place that would reduce or eliminate the "speculative" bookings, that would certainly help the most desirable listings remain available longer.)
I do make use of the PC program, and it has a lot of value. (However, the Point Breaks are only of marginal benefit.) HHonors excels in other ways, though; e.g., free breakfast/upgrades for Gold/Diamond, VIP (GLON*) (and AXON) multi-night awards. I had a fabulous 6-night GLON2 award stay at the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya which I could not have duplicated using PC or SPG at my current status (Gold in all 3 programs -- HH, PC, SPG). Not only an upgraded room, but (even more importantly) free access to the executive lounge with good breakfast, evening snacks, drinks, use of computers, etc. It'd be hard to get all that from either PC or SPG, esp. at Gold level. Of course, the GLON* awards will soon cost more points because of the Category inflation, but I still don't see how I could match that level of benefits with the other programs. (There are a couple of SPG hotels that I have stayed at a few times each, that offer Golds benefits normally reserved for Platinums -- exec lounge/breakfast, etc. However, that is NOT the norm for SPG as a whole!)