lwildernorva

No official word that Choice is participating yet, but given the continuing partnership with American Express's Membership Rewards, no reason to believe Choice won't be a part of the 2015 promotion. I like the earlier start, too. Easier to plan summer vacations.

Rebelyell

The first three weeks of the Daily Getaways have been posted. The Choice points are offered on April 3.

I dug around a little and found that a couple of packages are being offered for slightly less than last year. Also, two of the packages have increased availability, so that there are about 55 additional packages being offered.

Here's the breakdown, with last year in quote format and this year underneath:

This year: 20,000, $90, 220 available, .45 cents
This year: 32,000, $132, 655 available, .412 cents
This year: 36,000, $155, 785 available, .486 cents
This year: 40,000, $160, 380 available, .413 cents

I've been lucky the past two years and have put the points to good use. I currently have 65,000 points, so a 100,000 or so more would do me good.

BigLar

The last time I bought points from Daily Giveaways, I think I had to use my Amex card.

So, for those of us with poor memories, or just lazy (like me), could we have a short precis of the mechanics of this deal? Do we have to register, is there any restrictions on which card to use, etc.?

BillyBaloney

Meh....Choice points not too good. I think I'll pass.

Rebelyell

BigLar, you don't have to register. The Amex used to give a 10 percent discount, but no more. Since I paid with an Amex, that means if the prices are the same my cost will be 11 percent higher.

On about two-thirds of these deals you need to be at your computer exactly at noon, as they tend to sell out in one to five minutes. Sometimes a deal will show sold out but if you keep pressing the button like a lab rat after cocaine there's a chance somebody will cancel their sale.

You do need to have your Choice member number in front of you. Likewise, make sure you have the right billing address, etc., on your credit card.

I have found the Choice points that I've purchased through Daily Getaways to be one of the greatest values I've ever had. When combined with the occasional Europe sale it's possible to get a $250 hotel room for about $45, and I've gotten plenty of them. I also have used points just traveling about. It's great to have a place for the family to just spend the night while on the road, and the point prices for Interstate hotels tend to be very reasonable.

GUWonder

There are other means to buy Choice points that don't require hoarding large numbers of them purchased via Daily Getaways and then hoping not to get hit by a program devaluation that decimates the value of the points.

I'm going to buy some points for a few accounts this time around too, but the utility to hoard Choice points is just not there like it used to be. And so if I don't pick up as many packages as in the past, it's not as much of an issue as it would be in the past.

Relative to the other hotel loyalty programs, Choice is an outlier in not having subjected it's customers to major, across the board points devaluation in the past several years when it comes to redemption for Choice hotel nights. And that, along with the cash+points award option, has me concerned that we are getting closer to a major devaluation than we have been in past years.

BigLar

Me too.

I usually travel to Europe with at least one, and usually more, of my family with us. Shelling out for multiple rooms with either Marriott or Hilton will quickly drain those accounts.

With Choice, we have, for instance, spent several nights in Paris (4 rooms), or 4-5 nights in Dublin (4 rooms) with points that hardly dented my account. This years, I'm sending my SIL and her SO to Rome and Venice with Choice points (which would have been expiring anyhow!) - total of about 10 nights.

Yep, if you work it right, it can be a huge saving.

GUWonder

The program has worked extremely well for me -- with my own account redeeming 25-150 nights a year at Choice properties in Europe -- and for the accounts of family, friends and other acquaintances. But it's been so good for so long that I can't help but assume that we are now closer to a substantial program devaluation than at any point in prior years. The intro of cash+points is an indicator to me that the program is in for further changes in a way which has not been evidenced before for as long as I've used this program.

The cash+points awards which are then canceled can be used to buy a large volume of Choice points, albeit not at as great a value as via this annual promo; however, this cash+points&cancel method is a way to minimize the odds of hoarding large number of points that get devalued in massive ways. Choice has how much of a history of giving advance notice of changes in award prices, and how much advance notice at that? The program has treated me very well, but I'm betting we are getting closer to a devaluation. I have no idea about how much, if any, advance notice of price changes we'll be given.

BigLar

This is new to me. Never heard of it. Can you enlighten me/us?

GUWonder

Pay particular attention to post 14 and 27 here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/choic...-launched.html

With a small number of points, you can use the method I mentioned to buy up to 250,000 points a year at a reasonably good value of 2000 points per $15 whenever you want without having to risk getting whacked by a big devaluation of a lot more points bought way in advance of intended use.

BigLar

I'm kinda thick, so let me see if I've got it right:

1. You make an award booking using C+P. Suppose it's a 12,000 point/night award. So, you pay 8,000 points + $30.

2. You cancel said award booking, and what goes back in your account is the 8,000 you originally spent, plus the 4,000 points you 'bought' with the $30. Right?

Also, if this post is to be believed, those points go back in with a new expiration date, is if they were brand new points!

They must be expecting this, since they put a limit of 250,000 points on it. If so, this [may be] the 'magic bullet' we've all been looking for to get around the hard points expiration date, to say nothing of maybe cranking up our points totals.

GUWonder

Yes and yes. I don't know about how the expiration date thing works or doesn't work when it comes to cancellation of cash+points bookings, but I've seen CP catch things which surprised me.

Rebelyell

I'm glad to know about the IHG/Priority Club method of buying points through the points & cash option, but .75 cents per point is substantially higher than .45 cents per point. Even with a devaluation on the way, the lower price leaves a lot of room for unwelcome events.

But thanks for the info. I may end up using it!

Firewind

Here's the page that has them...

https://dailygetaways.ustravel.org/Calendar.aspx?week=1

[NB to those who might be starting here and are interested in the bigger picture, "week=1" in the URL could be misleading because the real first week is called "week 0" in the scheme. OK ... "Everybody knows that."]

BigLar

So this is like their 'gas card' or 'free night' thing - you don't actually buy 2 nights in a Cambria Suite or whatever, you actually are buying the points, right?

Is there a standard rate? I.e., is a Cambria Suite night figured at 16,000 points or something like that? BTW, the numbers ($) in post #2 don't seem to agree exactly.

ETA: Never mind - I actually clicked on one of the deals and it shows the points you actually get - also the price and how many packages are available. I assume I can do it right from that website.