pbd456

2 packages are allowed.

lsed

if you use a diff account and credit card yes its possible

the 40K pack still going on. This is a good deal for UA transfers. and it's still cheaper than the US Air sale going on.

For those who can't get into credit card sign up bonuses in the US this is still not too bad.

yerffej201

There are also still the 32k pkg available. Everything else is sold out.

WAS

Agreed, the value is not as great as before, hence e.g. I only bought 1 package whereas before I would try to max out. But I still see value for hotels in remote areas, near national parks in particular. Also, Freeport, Bahamas is a place I am hoping to go in the fall. I also don't have many transferable currencies from credit cards, so I like having some points to top off mileage accounts.

GUWonder

The WR finally sold out. Took a lot longer this year than last year and some of the packages were still available for easy pick-up even if starting well after 1pm EST.

I think a big part of why these eventually sold out is due to: hotel stay plans in rural locations during peak season; hotel stay plans at some international properties; and for transfers to airline miles (Southwest in the main but also UA and US beside perhaps some other airlines).

Aren't all these transactions basically about wanting to get in some kind of arbitrage value play? When the value of the packages is less, the demand for the packages ought to be less (especially demand from the most savvy of players in this game) -- and indeed this seems to be indicated in the ease/difficulty of picking of these packages.

WAS

Arbitrage is one way to say it. Hedging is the way I think about it. And I am actually expecting to redeem these at Wyndham hotels, rather than transfer. I have found myself before in places and situations where having a stash of points was useful. And there has to be opportunity to arbitrage; why else would anyone give Wyndham/Choice/whoever perfectly good green dollars which can buy anything and take points which can be devalued, capacity controlled, taken away, which don't earn interest and are not liquid?

iolairemcfadden

My feeling also, last year $44 for a run of the mill travellodge was ok, at $86 its better to use Priceline/Hotwire unless you have specific plans.

GUWonder

Indeed.

I have found them useful for things like stays at hotels during big event dates in or around smaller cities in the US -- for example, I needed a bunch of rooms in ____ city for one of the ____ big sporting event dates and found WR points was a way to cut costs down tremendously for a stay date where Priceline/Hotwire weren't going to work out in terms of price and/or cancellation terms.

WAS

Exactly. Or there is a convention going on in the city which you didn't know about beforehand. True story. :-)

GenieFlyer

Hertz just devalued their points program, starting October 2013, by 10-15%. Makes their point packages a bit less appealing.

Email:

Dear NAME: June 2013

To continue providing exceptional service to our members, we occasionally make changes to the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® points program. We are pleased to announce that based on member feedback, coming soon we will be enhancing reward redemption options with new locations and expanded choices.

We also constantly strive to maintain industry-leading reward levels and availability. However, in light of rising costs, we find it necessary to implement our first reward redemption point increase since 2008. Beginning October 1, 2013, point redemption levels for Rewards will increase a modest 10–15% in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I. This will allow us to continue providing both the quality and quantity of reward options our members have come to value and appreciate.

We thank you for your participation in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and look forward to serving you at a Hertz location soon.

Sincerely,
Elliot Friedman
Division Vice President CRM
The Hertz Corporation

CalItalian

Much less appealing. At least I will give them credit for telling us BEFORE we purchased.

iahphx

Right. At $44, you'd be certain to save some money. At $86, there's just not the incentive to buy in advance. Something else is likely to work better with more flexibility. An Expedia voucher comes immediately to mind.

A darn shame, because I like having as many lodging deal options as possible, because it seems like a different program works best for every stay. But there's little value in Wyndham at the new level. It's now like the Best Western offer; pretty worthless.

iahphx

This cements my decision not to buy Hertz points this year. Honestly, even at the old levels, using my points -- instead of using a discount code -- works better for only about 1 in 10 of my rentals.

And, candidly, National's Emerald Club is SO MUCH better than Hertz's program. I really dislike renting from Hertz. National lets me pick any car I want and I get great cars. Hertz is stingy and harder to deal with (like they assign me a crappy car and I have to go into the office and try to change it). I'm amazed that ANY frequent flyer would prefer Hertz. If they do, they should rent from National and compare.

That said, it's worth having some Hertz points at these prices for weird rental situations if you're a very frequent car renter.

Fly2LAX

Fully Agree.

pbd456

while it is not as good at before, but now one can do online booking.
as i normally have stays with 3 adults, priceline and hotwire are not really an option. transfering to us airways is still a decent deal consider i book intra region award in J for 30K.

bestwestern is a lot worth as one does know how many points it take and need a voucher. wyndham rewards has not yet sunk to that level.

i used it before for 3 adults in Guam. and i though the deal is still good even at the current rate, just not as screaming deal as before!