50% off Any hotel, Anywhere cards
Nov 26, 2007, 10:41 am
#95
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 23,999
After hours of considering this I decided it was a good deal, especially since I have no plans to go to Europe or Tahiti soon (where points are particularly useful). Cashed in for $750 worth of GC's, which seems like a very nice deal to me!^ Thanks for all the info in this thread.
Nov 26, 2007, 10:49 am
#96
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 26,871
Nov 26, 2007, 11:32 am
#97
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 11,969
............ just a note of thanks to ferd57 for the pointer.
I had some "legacy" accounts with odds and sods in and together they managed to distil £775 of cards which is worthwhile. I find myself not using points for IC stays as most of my stays are now booked in advance mostly using bogof codes. My next 16 nights of bookings except for BKK and SIN are all bogofs, and BKK and SIN seem good candidates for the Anytime cards as the stays are cheap and are booked flex. So this tip has been useful. ^
I had some "legacy" accounts with odds and sods in and together they managed to distil £775 of cards which is worthwhile. I find myself not using points for IC stays as most of my stays are now booked in advance mostly using bogof codes. My next 16 nights of bookings except for BKK and SIN are all bogofs, and BKK and SIN seem good candidates for the Anytime cards as the stays are cheap and are booked flex. So this tip has been useful. ^
Nov 27, 2007, 1:04 pm
#99
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Boxter, MD
Posts: 247
Would a cruise ship be considered lodging?
This may be a dumb question, but do you think these could be used to purchase a cruise? I know this isn't the typical idea of lodging, but the price paid for a cruise is actually for a room on the ship that happens to come with all meals and amenities, just like at an all inclusive hotel resort. The service manager on the ship is even called the "Hotel Manager".
What do you think?
What do you think?
Nov 27, 2007, 10:51 pm
#100
Join Date: Feb 2006
Programs: Delta Million Miler / Plat, ICH RA Plat, Gold Father, Nickel Husband
Posts: 92
There is a range set aside for Hotels. There is a separate range for Cruise Lines. When the Auth would come through it would see that the Cruise Line (or Restaurant or whatever) was not a Hotel and decline. It is in a similar manner CC Issuers can restrict other purchase types (Cash or Casino Cash transactions) or offer Bonus Points if you go to Gas Stations or Super Markets (for example).
Along those lines - here is the scam I tried to pull and still do not know if it will work: We go to WDW once a year. This year we put every charge on our WDW room and used $1000 anytime cards to settle the balance. When you arrive at WDW they pre-authorize a certain charging limit on your bankcard to cover the charges you make on your room!
I also charged some Tickets to my room! And, was ecstatic when it went through! Upon check out I found that the Tickets were immediately charged to my Credit Card. So, I truely do not know if that charge would have gone through if I handed them one of my Anytime Cards as payment.
We own a WDW (owned and managed) Timeshare. We go once a year and the biggest expense we incur are the tickets to the parks! I have tried to use the Shopping service to buy tickets and they said they will not - it is only to be used for retail purchases.
Regardless of the tickets - all of my other purchases settled on the Hotel (Food, Purchases, Water Boat Rental, etc.) were paid by the Anytime Card!
I would be interested if someone does score tickets with the Anytime Card - I would think you would have to present it as payment (at the Hotel) at the time of purchase!
Nov 28, 2007, 12:03 am
#101
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 11,969
Just a reminder nudge for any other forgetfull person like me.
This is an appropriate moment to search the drawers for any of those 5k vouchers you haven't bothered to deposit yet. If you or your best friend, or their best friend or any other suitable and accessible account may have a balance that is within the 5k range of an Anywhere voucher you may have sufficient voucher for nudging it over a threshold to get an Anywhere card at 50% off - which might make the voucher a valuable and worthwhile suprise. A moment when saving them made sense!
This is an appropriate moment to search the drawers for any of those 5k vouchers you haven't bothered to deposit yet. If you or your best friend, or their best friend or any other suitable and accessible account may have a balance that is within the 5k range of an Anywhere voucher you may have sufficient voucher for nudging it over a threshold to get an Anywhere card at 50% off - which might make the voucher a valuable and worthwhile suprise. A moment when saving them made sense!
Nov 28, 2007, 4:24 am
#102
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Princeton, NJ; Lviv Ukraine
Programs: UA 3.6MM, AF/KL Lifetime Plat, BA Gold, AA 1MM, IC Spire RA, Kimpton IC, Marriott Plat, et alia
Posts: 2,732
To anyone who's planning to redeem points for a room at say the Barclay or Willard Hotel:
Instead of redeeming 40,000 points ... redeem $250 + $100 (44,000 points) and actually PAY for a room. This way you still earn 10,000 points (assuming you're RA and you're registered for the 4x promotion) and you still get a room night credit towards RA renewal. You net out spending fewer points and the stay is treated as a real stay ... of course all depends on the room rate you're able to get (unfortunately it won't work without some hassle for with pre-paid rates where they charge your card in advance, but it should work on "guaranteed" rates such as Business Options).
Instead of redeeming 40,000 points ... redeem $250 + $100 (44,000 points) and actually PAY for a room. This way you still earn 10,000 points (assuming you're RA and you're registered for the 4x promotion) and you still get a room night credit towards RA renewal. You net out spending fewer points and the stay is treated as a real stay ... of course all depends on the room rate you're able to get (unfortunately it won't work without some hassle for with pre-paid rates where they charge your card in advance, but it should work on "guaranteed" rates such as Business Options).
Nov 28, 2007, 8:03 am
#103
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 26,871
Just a reminder nudge for any other forgetfull person like me.
This is an appropriate moment to search the drawers for any of those 5k vouchers you haven't bothered to deposit yet. If you or your best friend, or their best friend or any other suitable and accessible account may have a balance that is within the 5k range of an Anywhere voucher you may have sufficient voucher for nudging it over a threshold to get an Anywhere card at 50% off - which might make the voucher a valuable and worthwhile suprise. A moment when saving them made sense!
This is an appropriate moment to search the drawers for any of those 5k vouchers you haven't bothered to deposit yet. If you or your best friend, or their best friend or any other suitable and accessible account may have a balance that is within the 5k range of an Anywhere voucher you may have sufficient voucher for nudging it over a threshold to get an Anywhere card at 50% off - which might make the voucher a valuable and worthwhile suprise. A moment when saving them made sense!
Nov 28, 2007, 1:00 pm
#104
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: SPG Plat, PC Plat, AA ExPlat, LT Gold
Posts: 1,899
Couple of questions
1) Has anyone gotten one delivered (in US) recently? I ordered one last week and it said 2-4 weeks delivery time.
2) From what I've read you need to basically book a flexible rate with these, not something like an Advance Purchase rate?
I imagine it would be hard to get a hotel to refund the credit card that you used to secure a room when you go to check out.
3) Any special process for using them outside your country of residence? I live in US but want to use on upcoming trip to Tahiti. Should I be concerned?
4) What about using multiple cards for one stay? ie, at check out my bill is 1000USD (in local currency) and I have 4 cards valued at 250 each - any problem?
5) And finally, what about when your balance goes over the value that you have on the card? Anyone have any experience with that?
With this 50% off deal it is way better than using 40k points at some of the resorts in Tahiti, especially as I'll be more assured of getting benefits on a paid stay instead of hoping for them on a reward stay.
thanks
2) From what I've read you need to basically book a flexible rate with these, not something like an Advance Purchase rate?
I imagine it would be hard to get a hotel to refund the credit card that you used to secure a room when you go to check out. 3) Any special process for using them outside your country of residence? I live in US but want to use on upcoming trip to Tahiti. Should I be concerned?
4) What about using multiple cards for one stay? ie, at check out my bill is 1000USD (in local currency) and I have 4 cards valued at 250 each - any problem?
5) And finally, what about when your balance goes over the value that you have on the card? Anyone have any experience with that?
With this 50% off deal it is way better than using 40k points at some of the resorts in Tahiti, especially as I'll be more assured of getting benefits on a paid stay instead of hoping for them on a reward stay.
thanks
Last edited by EdV; Nov 28, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Nov 28, 2007, 2:55 pm
#105
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 26,871
2) From what I've read you need to basically book a flexible rate with these, not something like an Advance Purchase rate? I imagine it would be hard to get a hotel to refund the credit card that you used to secure a room when you go to check out.
I reckon (but never tried) that you SHOULD be able to book an AP rate using this card. After all, they do NOT claim to take a guarantee from your card when you book. I'm sure no-one has ever tried booking an AP rate from FT.
3) Any special process for using them outside your country of residence? I live in US but want to use on upcoming trip to Tahiti. Should I be concerned?
No. The only problem is that you have to guess at how much you can charge to the card. If you have a $250 card you need to guess how much you can put through (after accounting for Amex charges, dodgy FX rate etc) without going over.
4) What about using multiple cards for one stay? ie, at check out my bill is 1000USD (in local currency) and I have 4 cards valued at 250 each - any problem?
Shouldn't be a problem as long as the hotels IT can handle it. People often split meals in hotel restaurants across numerous cards.
5) And finally, what about when your balance goes over the value that you have on the card? Anyone have any experience with that?
You tell the hotel to charge $x to one card and the rest to another card. I've done this at a Four Seasons with no problem. I assume the card will be rejected if you try to charge more than the available limit.
I imagine it would be hard to get a hotel to refund the credit card that you used to secure a room when you go to check out. I reckon (but never tried) that you SHOULD be able to book an AP rate using this card. After all, they do NOT claim to take a guarantee from your card when you book. I'm sure no-one has ever tried booking an AP rate from FT.
3) Any special process for using them outside your country of residence? I live in US but want to use on upcoming trip to Tahiti. Should I be concerned?
No. The only problem is that you have to guess at how much you can charge to the card. If you have a $250 card you need to guess how much you can put through (after accounting for Amex charges, dodgy FX rate etc) without going over.
4) What about using multiple cards for one stay? ie, at check out my bill is 1000USD (in local currency) and I have 4 cards valued at 250 each - any problem?
Shouldn't be a problem as long as the hotels IT can handle it. People often split meals in hotel restaurants across numerous cards.
5) And finally, what about when your balance goes over the value that you have on the card? Anyone have any experience with that?
You tell the hotel to charge $x to one card and the rest to another card. I've done this at a Four Seasons with no problem. I assume the card will be rejected if you try to charge more than the available limit.