I'm glad the hotel bonus worked. I hope the NW bonus also works for you BigLar. It should not come as a surprise to any coupon clipper that applying a cents off coupon to the smallest size possible nets the biggest value. That's why all those toothpaste coupons usually list the minimal size you can apply the coupon to. If not, we would all be getting the travel size for free. The same principle applies to hotels that give awards based on stays versus nights. I changed hotels four times last week in the same city due to Marriott's Megabonus giving credit for stays and not nights. I also used 30 USAIRways miles exchanged through Mypoints last week to get 1 Skymile to count as a transaction toward Delta's 5000 mile bonus program. As with the promotion like you found with Choice hotels that doesn't insist on a minimum transaction amount, they should be aware that people like you (and me) will try to maximize our return based on what the rules will allow. If the NW bonus doesn't work, at least you tried. Hats off to you if it does. If too many figure out the loophole, as we have seen in the past, then NW will change the rules.

-outoftown