Originally Posted by
Ken in Phx
That couldnt be further from the actual truth. I stick with Hotel stays only and my points for resort/beach properties than arent 4-5 star but in popular places run 200-300 a night. Using Marriott Hilton and Starwood pts i can easily earn 3-5% return on my dollars to capture a desirable room (OceanView -- Corner room etc etc)
Cash back cards only work if you arent savvy enough or dont want to play the game to travel cheap/free.
I think there must be a misunderstanding here. For me, any hotel at $200-$300 per night isn't low class. It is precisely this category of hotel rate, whatever it may be rated in terms of stars, for which I use points. But I really only use points for hotels when the rate has been jacked up due to relative high demand at a particular point in time. Otherwise, various discounts (such as AARP, etc) usually bring the rate down well below the $200 mark.