FYI, they also have rebate offers @ times (they post them on their home page).

NOTE to anyone who has not booked w/ them before: although overall they issue mileage certs only after 500 miles have been earned (i.e. $500 has been spent in hotel bookings for which 1800USAHOTELS.COM receives a commission), you are GIVEN 500 miles just for booking the 1st time (i.e. in addition to whatever miles are earned from the 1st stay)--after your first stay, call them & provide the relevant info, & they'll issue the bonus mileage cert.

Note to Northwest WorldPerks members: the 500 mile certs are the MilesAbove certs that can be purchased by businesses. One highly annoying reality that I encountered w/ 1800USAHOTELS.COM is that the first mileage cert which was sent to me had an expiration date only 3 DAYS AWAY (from the day I received it [which was ~1 week from the date I called to obtain it])--what a crock--I had to scramble to make a special trip to the Post Office to send it to the designated address. That was crap.

Also, note that they mail you a hard copy of the detail of the record (after sending 1-2 email confirmations w/ relevant detail), though I haven't always received a hard copy (not a problem, just a noted inconsistency).

As for incentive to using their site, aside from the miles, & the fact that the rates are @ times equal to or less than those found elsewhere (including the relevant hotel chain's web site or reservations line), there is no cancellation or change fee associated w/ the reservation--aside from whatever would apply re: the hotel's policy. With many other online hotel booking sites (e.g. HotelReservationsNetwork [aka HotelDiscounts.com, etc.] & Travelocity), you are essentially "locked in" to your reservation (or incur financial consequence to making changes or cancelling).

I have used 1800USAHOTELS.COM when the price is equal to or less than what I can find elsewhere (& for which I would not incur a financial penalty for changing or cancelling the reservation in accordance w/ the hotel's rules) AND when the room description provided on the site includes enough detail for me to be able to discern just what room type it correlates w/ re: the designations made by the hotel in question.

I've recently rethought my approach, however...if I can get better rates w/ the phone reservations folks for the hotel in question (OR get better rates w/ the reservations staff of the hotel itself), I could perhaps just book a room via 1800USAHOTELS.COM and then simply make the relevant change to the reservation over the phone--yes? I assume that the record locator would remain the same, & that 1800USAHOTELS.COM would still get their commission (if anyone knows this for a fact, please confirm/clarify [TIA]), & thus the $ spent would be counted in one's 1-mile-credited-per-$-spent tally.


Here's something else to perhaps keep in mind when booking via 1800USAHOTELS.COM:

I made a reservation via 1800USAHOTELS.COM. I then needed to make an unexpected additional reservation for the same hotel, & for which the rates @ the online sites (including 1800USAHOTELS.COM) & the hotel's worldwide phone reservations & hotel's reservations dept exceeded (by ~$25) what I was going to be paying for the few-weeks-away night which I had previously/recently booked through 1800USAHOTELS.COM.

I then called the hotel & spoke w/ someone in their reservations dept, & asked whether I could have the same rate as that I had booked for the few-weeks-away night--not only was I allowed such, but the rep said aloud, as she was making the change, "I'll just dup the detail of your other record" -- which makes me wonder whether 1800USAHOTELS.COM is slated to receive a commission for that reservation...I'll find out...if so, I get another credit toward the mileage tally...

BTW, I don't know how exceptional my experience was re: the reservations agent duplicating an existing record (someone who stays frequently @ the same hotel would perhaps know [& could enlighten me (please )]), but I'm hoping that I get to consider myself closer to the next 500 mile cert as a result of what occurred.


Lastly, an important FYI regarding the 500 mile certs--it's my understanding that you CAN TRANSFER them (SEE NOTE BELOW[*]). When I called to obtain my 1st cert, I was asked for whose account I would like the cert to be applied (which surprised me...but I was certainly glad to hear it was an option). When the cert arrived, it had part of my name handwritten on it (on the front)--BUT not in the area which is used for redemption, & in which one prints a name & FF account #. I am uncertain as to whether I would have had a problem were I to have written a different name in the redemption area.
[*] Addendum added after initial post: in a phone call initially made to clarify other information, I looked into the cert transfer issue. I was told that the certs are not to be transferrable. As an additional clarifying note, I inquired as to whom the mileage is officially credited--the person who books the reservation, or the person who pays for the stay. Hmmm... the person who BOOKS the reservation gets the mileage credit, regardless of who pays (cool!).

[This message has been edited by ILTE_Miles (edited 05-27-2001).]