[QUOTE=NJUPINTHEAIR]

With respect to your online booking bonus calculations with respect to the programs, I am unclear of your methodology and your total allocation of the number of points earned from this source to your comparison. However, in my brief analysis of the programs and from my understanding of them from review of various threads on them in FT and happening onto each of the sites, I do believe that SPG is probably the most frequent hotel chain that awards these points for bookings.

Satori response - Let me be clear in that I am lumping stay bonuses with online bonuses. All the chains run periodic promotions for bonus points for online booking or for a certain number of stays. A search of any hotel program on Flyertalk will show numerous opportunities. Most require registration. I watch for them and sign up for everything I can.

My calculations when I compared hotel programs was to assume 1000 points/stay earned with Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Priority Club. Over the course of the year if a person has 20 stays with any of these programs I contend that they will in all likelihood earn 20,000 bonus points. The key is to be aware of and sign up for these promotions. Flyertalk is the awareness tool. Most of the bonuses I received for my Starwood stays this past year were from promotions I saw on Flyertalk and then registered. I even changed most of my reservations in Australia while on vacation because a new promo came up after I had taken off on my trip.


[QUOTE=NJUPINTHEAIR]
Hilton's allocation of a booking bonus of 1,000 points to a reservation is paltry in the scheme of things when reviewing the totat percentage that such a bonus would bring to either a reward for one night or more than one night. Same is true for Marriott. Of course, anything that increases your points is welcome, but in the grand scheme of things, the fact that such bookings are few and far and in between is deminimus for those properties.

satori - When I compared programs I was looking at what a typical member will earn in total for a year's stays. Booking and bonus promotions will be earned and since that is the majority of earning for Starwood members, then it was necessary for me to factor in some earning for the other programs.

[QUOTE=NJUPINTHEAIR]
With respect to SPG your analysis is spot on, and it would also be beneficial to Hyatt properties where lower per night point redemption rates are the norm. However, as I had hoped to point out, Hyatt has somewhat built into is award scheme an indirect booking bonus for specifc hotels, so in a sense, Hyatt has some form of Booking Bonus -- albeit not requiring an online booking -- as well.

That said, the hotel guests that most benefit from relatively small "booking bonuses" of whatever the source, are those that stay at either a Hyatt or an SPG property because redemption levels are skewed downwards by the natur of the program, and one's point accumulation in each, respectively.

Satori - I agree. Hyatt and SPG have the inherent complexity in that their earning and redemption rates are markedly different from the other three programs where 10 points/$ is the standard.

[QUOTE=NJUPINTHEAIR]
However, I must disagree with you with your lumping your wife's 50,000 bonus point promotion from Hilton in with this form of booking bonus. Hilton, as most know, regularly offers this sort of promotion, usually at least twice annually, an although in some sense it does award one for staying at Hiltons for a short period of time with an enormous number of points, it is not truly an online booking bonus for one can also satisfy the terms of this promotion by making reservations for your stays over the phone to a Hilton rep.

satori - Again I am looking at what a typical member can be expected to earn over the course of a year. I don't make a distinction between online booking and stay bonuses. I just use a factor to account for extra points that will likely be earned for a hotel stay whether that is booking or a stay bonus.

[QUOTE=NJUPINTHEAIR]
In addition, as I have noted above, the trick with Hilton is not earning enormous number of hotel points, but being able to use them!

satori - I learned that when I started transferring my 1,000,000 LatinPass miles into HHonors points in 2000. That is why I became Hilton diamond in 2001 and I have maintained that status. 2,000,000 HHonors points is no big deal if you can't use them. Most of my award stays are coordinated through the Diamond desk, particularly since I wait until a week or two before travel to make reservations.