Is Hotels.com "free night" better than rewards program?
May 1, 2019, 12:47 pm
#196
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: SFO
Posts: 489
Except for a rebate for free nights + rebates from topcashback. Which are a hell of a lot more straightforward than the hotel loyalty chain dance, and hotels.com at the moment isn't in continuous and steady devaluation mode like Hilton/IHG/Radisson, soon to be joined by Starriott. That's sort of my angle on this: how much messing around with loyalty chains that lead you on and then snatch the football away like Lucy from Charlie Brown do I want to deal with, as opposed to keeping it simple, stupid, knowing I'll occasionally lose an angle but I gain consistency and simplicity?
(My response has been that I burn Hilton, Radisson and IHG pretty readily because I don't trust them to devalue massively five minutes from now, Starriott is too new and it sounds like they'll be devaluing the upper end Real Soon Now™, I trust Hyatt more to the point that I am more OK accruing on them, and hotels.com most. So far. But place no faith in princes...)
(My response has been that I burn Hilton, Radisson and IHG pretty readily because I don't trust them to devalue massively five minutes from now, Starriott is too new and it sounds like they'll be devaluing the upper end Real Soon Now™, I trust Hyatt more to the point that I am more OK accruing on them, and hotels.com most. So far. But place no faith in princes...)
May 1, 2019, 9:31 pm
#197
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 5,867
May 2, 2019, 1:33 am
#198
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: SFO
Posts: 489
Aug 29, 2019, 3:41 pm
#199
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: LAX
Posts: 3,267
Just got this email:
From 11/27/2019, there’ll be a redemption fee of $5 for every reward night redeemed; however no redemption fee will apply if reward nights are redeemed using the Hotels.com app. We’re making this change to cover some of the costs of running the program, so more than 43 million Hotels.com Rewards members can continue to benefit from the program. So, every time you collect 10 nights, you’ll get 1 reward night. You pay the redemption fee, as well as the usual taxes and fees. Also, remember, you won't have to pay a redemption fee when you redeem on the Hotels.com app.
Aug 29, 2019, 4:18 pm
#200
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Aug 29, 2019, 4:47 pm
#201
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: New York
Programs: Navy A-4 Skyhawk, B727 FE/FO, S80 FO, B757/767 FO, B737 CA
Posts: 1,342
Is this really that big a deal? It's only for your reward night, not all bookings. So, every 11th booking, make sure you use your phone app (which I tend to use more any way).
Aug 29, 2019, 4:48 pm
#202
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: LAX
Posts: 3,267
Aug 29, 2019, 5:29 pm
#203
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Charleston, SC, USA
Programs: Avis Pref+, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Life Gold, Honors Silver, IHG Plat via MC.
Posts: 6,786
Boo hiss! to the $5 (or CAD$6) Redemption Fee 
! It's a small amount of money, but it contradicts the promise & principle of a Free Night!
! It's a small amount of money, but it contradicts the promise & principle of a Free Night!
Aug 30, 2019, 3:35 am
#204
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
It’s an issue, no less so when it’s highly conceivable that hotels.com will use the paying of the redemption fee via channels beside the proprietary phone app as an excuse to apply the redemption fee to “free nights” booked via the app too.
Aug 30, 2019, 9:37 pm
#205
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 5,867
I'm not sure I'm following what you're trying to say here.
Aug 31, 2019, 8:17 am
#206
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,765
Regardless, presumably we all only book on hotels.com when the room we are booking is cheaper than elsewhere, right? All you need to do now is to ensure to add an extra CA$0.60/US$0.50/€0.40 "future fee" per night of your booking onto the hotel.com total, and re-assess if you should not switch to a better price from a different provider when booking...
Sep 2, 2019, 6:28 am
#208
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: New York
Programs: Navy A-4 Skyhawk, B727 FE/FO, S80 FO, B757/767 FO, B737 CA
Posts: 1,342
There's an Amazon targeted deal of spending at least one Amex MR point and get $30 off $60. I used it for a 30% discount on a $100 hotels.com gift card. Of course you can buy whatever you want...doesn't have to be gift cards.
Sep 2, 2019, 7:03 am
#209
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,765
they probably want to see how fall sterling falls before setting the fee.
Sep 10, 2019, 2:41 am
#210
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,548
I am a Gold member. In the past I was able to cancel non-refundable reservations without issue. I've just tried to shorten a 2 night stay into 1 of a non-ref reservation and was told not possible. Agent told me the hotel won't let it. In the past, I've been told the same, but hotels dot com will pick up the tab so was able to cancel without penalty.
So Gold status is pretty much worthless then?
Anyone has similar experience lately?
So Gold status is pretty much worthless then?
Anyone has similar experience lately?