Has a frequent flier program for booking hotels from the site.
Conversion Rate- 1 dollar booked = 1 mile. (minimun 500).
Converted to most major airline programs.

tuna,

Is this a new program? Sounds like a great deal. I like to use these people and Quikbook.com.

Are all airlines participating?

Thanks,
Dan

Participant airlines:CO,UA,DL,NW,TW and AA.

Terms & Conditions:
* Frequent Flyer miles are computed at the completion of your stay based on the total per night rate. For every one dollar spent you earn one mile toward redemption, not including money spent on taxes, meals or personal items. Miles are redeemable in denominations of 500. Miles are not redeemable for cash.
** Cancelled reservations and no-shows do NOT earn Frequent Flyer Miles **

Now I only have to investigate if I as a Swede could sign up.

FYI, they also have rebate offers @ times (they post them on their home page).

NOTE to anyone who has not booked w/ them before: although overall they issue mileage certs only after 500 miles have been earned (i.e. $500 has been spent in hotel bookings for which 1800USAHOTELS.COM receives a commission), you are GIVEN 500 miles just for booking the 1st time (i.e. in addition to whatever miles are earned from the 1st stay)--after your first stay, call them & provide the relevant info, & they'll issue the bonus mileage cert.

Note to Northwest WorldPerks members: the 500 mile certs are the MilesAbove certs that can be purchased by businesses. One highly annoying reality that I encountered w/ 1800USAHOTELS.COM is that the first mileage cert which was sent to me had an expiration date only 3 DAYS AWAY (from the day I received it [which was ~1 week from the date I called to obtain it])--what a crock--I had to scramble to make a special trip to the Post Office to send it to the designated address. That was crap.

Also, note that they mail you a hard copy of the detail of the record (after sending 1-2 email confirmations w/ relevant detail), though I haven't always received a hard copy (not a problem, just a noted inconsistency).

As for incentive to using their site, aside from the miles, & the fact that the rates are @ times equal to or less than those found elsewhere (including the relevant hotel chain's web site or reservations line), there is no cancellation or change fee associated w/ the reservation--aside from whatever would apply re: the hotel's policy. With many other online hotel booking sites (e.g. HotelReservationsNetwork [aka HotelDiscounts.com, etc.] & Travelocity), you are essentially "locked in" to your reservation (or incur financial consequence to making changes or cancelling).

I have used 1800USAHOTELS.COM when the price is equal to or less than what I can find elsewhere (& for which I would not incur a financial penalty for changing or cancelling the reservation in accordance w/ the hotel's rules) AND when the room description provided on the site includes enough detail for me to be able to discern just what room type it correlates w/ re: the designations made by the hotel in question.

I've recently rethought my approach, however...if I can get better rates w/ the phone reservations folks for the hotel in question (OR get better rates w/ the reservations staff of the hotel itself), I could perhaps just book a room via 1800USAHOTELS.COM and then simply make the relevant change to the reservation over the phone--yes? I assume that the record locator would remain the same, & that 1800USAHOTELS.COM would still get their commission (if anyone knows this for a fact, please confirm/clarify [TIA]), & thus the $ spent would be counted in one's 1-mile-credited-per-$-spent tally.


Here's something else to perhaps keep in mind when booking via 1800USAHOTELS.COM:

I made a reservation via 1800USAHOTELS.COM. I then needed to make an unexpected additional reservation for the same hotel, & for which the rates @ the online sites (including 1800USAHOTELS.COM) & the hotel's worldwide phone reservations & hotel's reservations dept exceeded (by ~$25) what I was going to be paying for the few-weeks-away night which I had previously/recently booked through 1800USAHOTELS.COM.

I then called the hotel & spoke w/ someone in their reservations dept, & asked whether I could have the same rate as that I had booked for the few-weeks-away night--not only was I allowed such, but the rep said aloud, as she was making the change, "I'll just dup the detail of your other record" -- which makes me wonder whether 1800USAHOTELS.COM is slated to receive a commission for that reservation...I'll find out...if so, I get another credit toward the mileage tally...

BTW, I don't know how exceptional my experience was re: the reservations agent duplicating an existing record (someone who stays frequently @ the same hotel would perhaps know [& could enlighten me (please )]), but I'm hoping that I get to consider myself closer to the next 500 mile cert as a result of what occurred.


Lastly, an important FYI regarding the 500 mile certs--it's my understanding that you CAN TRANSFER them (SEE NOTE BELOW[*]). When I called to obtain my 1st cert, I was asked for whose account I would like the cert to be applied (which surprised me...but I was certainly glad to hear it was an option). When the cert arrived, it had part of my name handwritten on it (on the front)--BUT not in the area which is used for redemption, & in which one prints a name & FF account #. I am uncertain as to whether I would have had a problem were I to have written a different name in the redemption area.
[*] Addendum added after initial post: in a phone call initially made to clarify other information, I looked into the cert transfer issue. I was told that the certs are not to be transferrable. As an additional clarifying note, I inquired as to whom the mileage is officially credited--the person who books the reservation, or the person who pays for the stay. Hmmm... the person who BOOKS the reservation gets the mileage credit, regardless of who pays (cool!).

[This message has been edited by ILTE_Miles (edited 05-27-2001).]

dhammer53, it isn't a new program (but I don't know how long it's been around); I've known about it since the end of January 2001.

Okay, I just called them to inquire about the inception of the program--it's been around for @ least as long as the rep w/ whom I spoke has been w/ the company: since January 1999 (!). This date was obtained as an alternate to her response of, "oh, it's been around forever".

dhammer53, do I understand correctly that you have booked w/ 1800USAHOTELS.COM? If so, I'd call them & provide them w/ the relevant detail of the stays booked through them, & get whatever miles you are owed.

Congrats re: the unanticipated bonus miles you may have coming your way.

[This message has been edited by ILTE_Miles (edited 05-27-2001).]

I called 1800USAHOTELS.COM to clarify this. The info is as I expected. I was informed that anyone who books w/ them can earn & be issued 500 mile certs -- whether deposition of the certs is allowed those outside of the US would be determined by the airline FF program in question.