chitown85

There are dedicated loyalty points threads on Shopping, Simplimiles, etc but wanted to start one for hotels and earning loyalty points for stays. Today TPG posted a new article on earning via direct bookings or BookAAhotels.com and Rocketmiles.com/aa with some good insights.

I've used both in past and find that the rates are typically within reason of other big booking sites like Expedia or Booking.com but obviously member direct rates with the chains come into play. But the earn rates are so strong in some cases I'm willing to forgo hotel points or elite status earning. In my own experience with Lifetime Titanium on Marriott, whenever Ive booked a third party rate I email or call in advance and put my number in. I dont earn points but 95% of the time I still receive elite benefits like upgrades, breakfast, etc.

I also find this option to be great when booking in cities without good options for my preferred chain, and even more fun to venture out and book boutique or chain hotels without points programs like Four Seasons. YMMV but thought people could share good examples in this thread as well as learnings as the LP program evolves and we get clarity on booster miles, bonuses, etc.

vasantn

I've taken one for the team and made a BookAAHotels reservation for tonight which I have no intention of actually using. This will establish a few things:

1. Will a no-show on a noncancellable booking accrue the full promised miles?
2. Will all the miles post as base miles? There are three "blocks" of miles: the base offer, the "pay more get more miles" offer, and the "boost" offer. OP has indicated based on experience that the answer is "yes" for all the miles. However, another poster has posted that at least with RocketMiles, the extra miles post as "bonus" miles. (BTW, RocketMiles does not have a "pay more to get more miles" option but does have a "boost"-like option.)

I will report back as soon as the miles post.

chitown85

These will be great additional data points thanks for doing that. Mind also tracking how long it takes to post? Mine are usually 3-4 days after check-out. Less relevant today but as the year comes to and end it will be important to time any last minute 'runs' so they count for the right year. I believe Southwest companion pass had similar issues in past where a hotel stay checked out in the right calendar year but the points posted a few days later causing issues.

VegasGambler

He is talking about earning miles and LP in the 10-15 / dollar spent range, which is really not that good given the number of LP that are needed for status. There are opportunities to earn at a 30-35/$ rate with premium economy fares on partner airlines (check the premium fare deals forum if you are interested in these)

I could see how it could be useful for people in some very specific situations but overall I think it's rarely a good deal. Also, I think hotel status is quite valuable (it easily saves me a few thousand dollars a year, even disregarding upgrades) so I would be hesitant to give up the qualifying nights.

Beckles

Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I would not go out of my way spending any extra money to earn LP until we have actual experience of what base miles will count as Loyalty Points, which will not occur until at least March 1, 2022.

I would expect that the 'pay more, get more' offers will not count for LP in the long-term, even if they may be reported as base miles transactions now, and AA can change that at any time without notice, as they did with Bask Bank.

MarkOK

My number 1 priority is keeping World of Hyatt Globalist and points -- AA status and points is much less valuable (for me). But once I am secure my Hyatt renewal I'll probably shift CC spend to the CitiAA card, which I'd never do before.

Anyways, the Rocket/miles AAhotel portals are a tough sell for me. I want my hotel perks/status!

But, I hope the dual points program between Hyatt and AA keep posting as Basepoints and thus Loyalty Points. Thus, for a $1000 stay at Hyatt, I get my ~11K Hyatt points and 1,000 AA points and 1000 LPs towards keeping AA status.

vasantn

I guess we all have different personal situations. I'm Marriott Lifetime Gold and don't really need to be Platinum again. The only perk that I care about that I'm losing is the late checkout. Free breakfast and wifi are now standard and not perks of status. Nowadays I spend maybe 20 nights a year at hotels and I don't really care about upgraded rooms and such.

So I'm probably going to load up on the BookAAHotels bookings!

carlitos

My number one priority is getting to ExPlat to substitute my United 1K. For now, I will keep flying United all year, while getting enough Loyalty Points to get to ExPlat or at least Plat Pro, for the free upgrades (my routes are very leisure heavy, so always good chance for upgrades). The amazing thing this time is that I don't need to fly AA to hit ExPlat so I can keep enjoying easy upgrades with UA until I am ready to shift everything to AA. The beauty of having a place on a UA/AA hub.

At the moment, a couple reservations for All Inclusive Hotels in Mexico from Spanish Brands have gotten me plenty of Loyalty Points. Also, MS with he Citi AAdvantage MileUp at Kroger for 1,000 miles and 500 LP per VGC and we ll be there soon. What still amazes me, is that Rocket Miles will count towards Loyalty Points. It does work for me, as I am Marriott Titanium and almost about to hit Lifetime Platinum with them, so not interested in keeping Titanium really, after all the devaluations.

Raralith

Is BookAAhotels.com and Rocketmiles.com/aa essentially the same for LP? AA website takes you to BookAAhotels.com, and comparing the nightly stay at the Marriott I frequent shows the same mileage earned. TPG article focuses on Rocketmiles though? Is there a difference?

vasantn

It appears that BookAAHotels might be better for more LPs but RocketMiles has a better interface and better customer service. I am running a test and will post the results when available.

supermintyfresh

Booked a hotel in Honolulu for 30,000 miles (and hopefully LPs) for 3 nights on Rocketmiles. Came out to about $600/night net though after taxes and resort fees. Was also able to get a hotel in Prague for 10,000 miles/2 nights on BookAAHotels at around $150/night net. We will see how it goes...

JFKEWR

Same here, booked a leisure trip to Hawaii with a 30,000 miles reservation in Honolulu and another 16,000 miles reservation in Kona via Rocketmiles. Also booked a work trip to San Diego for 19,000 miles via Rocketmiles. If they all turned to LPs, I am almost platinum without any BIS on AA???

js1993

This is why it's hard to see it working that way come March. Too good to be true.

vasantn

The question is: Will they change it prospectively or retroactively?

js1993

They had to see these situations coming, since people here and the blogs have been talking about it since Day 1. I just can't imagine people are going to wake up on March 1 with ~85,000 LP because of a few RocketMiles bookings. (I know the best EXP benefits still require a segment limit, but it's just hard to believe people will be able to make EXP via a few thousand in strategic non-flying expenditures.)