While I'm normally a points whore, I'd say B&B hands down.

Assumptions:

Let's say you do 100 nights at the FI next year at about $65 a night.

100 nights x $65 night x 10 pts/$ = 65,000 points. Depending on whether you get comped or not, that might rise to as much as ~85,000 points.

Sure, 65,000-85,000 is a nice chunk of points, but think of it this way:

Option A (B&B):
Bed and breakfast that has everything you need
Location is within a few minutes of your client site
You'll probably build a nice personal rapport with the people who own the place (may or may not be a plus for you)

Option B (Fairfield):
Drive an extra 70 minutes a day
Stay some place that isn't that great
If you stay for 100 nights, the most you'll earn is enough for 4 opoint saver nights at a top level (Cat 6) Marriott resort.

Is it worth it? Would driving an additional 70 minutes a day be worth a ARV of $1000-1200 in hotel nights for future redemption? Maybe for some people, but not for me.

As a side note, I wouldn't even consider the BW and the HI. The BW sounds like a dump, and I feel like you need to spend five years at an HI before you get a free night.


P.S. What's the area around where you'll be working like? I suppose I might change the above approach if the B&B is in the middle of nowhere...it might get kind of old after a while. (Then again, I suppose you could drive to civilization if you needed a break.)


[This message has been edited by snorkmaster (edited Dec 11, 2003).]