Hotel Programs
 

Not sure where to post this because there are so many hotel programs. But I wanted to get an idea which one could work best for me.

My traveling in the states would be primarily NY, CA, DC and FL. Outside the US Europe and the Caribbean.

Any suggestions?

Hi getdev. FlyerTalk can be confusing in your early days with us. I'm going to move this question on to MilesBuzz, as that is the best forum to compare and contrast loyalty programs.

You've given some ideas of destinations; it would be great if you would add how many nights a year you spend in hotels and what kind of budget you have - low, mid, high. There are definitely different chains for different pocketbooks.

SanDiego1K
Senior Mod

Consider using more that one. Many chains have free credit card offers that can give you one or more free nights when you get the card. They are listed in the Credit Card section > Free Cards page of my website below. So get them all.

I would look at teh hotel web sites and see what choices each has. Pay attention to the total hotel list, not just the higher end.

2 recent threads >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=819348
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=819349

Welcome to Flyertalk! It really depends on the number of stays/nights, class ($$) of hotels, ans other factors. It pays to join multiple programs since the programs are free. That way you can decide which prgram you wany as your main choice, but can also take advantage of special promotions in the other programs as well.

Experiment, then pick the best one for your 'profile'
 

I totally agree on this one - there is no membership fee and it gives you an opportunity to try out several if frequent travel is new to you.

I ultimately settled on Starwood both because I really like their hotels (primarily the Westin brand) and because I find their rooms to be the most comfortable of all of the big 'chains' - but some people find other amenities to be more important than comfort-while-sleeping, so do a bit of experimenting.

One thing I will recommend - purely from a points perspective - is to get whatever hotel program's credit card is offered if you're going to become a VIP-level guest. Not only do you rack up ridiculous amounts of points, but I find that I get extra accommodation upgrades and other unpublished 'perks' when I charge my stays to that card. Have been platinum with Starwood for just over a year now and have almost 90k points racked up between stays and putting the stays on their branded AMEX.

related - i have no idea which program lets you earn the fastest / has the cheapest awards. (most award nights at lowest redemption level) im sure its been figured out somewhere on FT. anyone know?

There is absolute no consensus on FT regarding this. It really depends whether you factor in 'to the point earnings the base earnings only or all the different bonuses/promotions as well.

I am the top tier in all five. Personally I prefer Hyatt, InterContinental, and Starwood. Hilton and Marriott are far less rewarding.

San Diego 1K,

thanks for the advice. Generally 1 international a year and at least 2 domestic a year. My budget is low. Total time in hotels-probably 15 to 18 days inclucing holidays and weekend.

HoltJu2,

Hilton was going to be my first choice. Hyatt is actually second. However, if the rewards are better I'm willing to explore Hyatt a bit more.

Pgary,

What is your website? Someone mentioned to me that you had one. But I thought it was on your tagline when you posted.

UAMike73,

I've been hearing that alot. Not only with airlines, rental car programs and hotels. If you get the card that they sponsor or are behind you will build points much faster. I didn't realize that signing up for them was free. So I think "best sense is bought sense". Try several and figure out what I like. What other brands are in Starwood?

Grlittle,

I appreciate that. I've actually done that now for the past 5 to 6 years, however in my experience I seem to spend 5 to 6 hours in total on the computer for just one trip trying to find the best deals for all and it seems like the difference becomes neglible. Since I can't pay an assistant to do things like that for me I don't know if that is the best way to go.

It is. Just click on it.

I'll plug my own website here since I write primarily about hotel loyalty programs. Besides my blog listed in the signature, I also have www.FrequentGuest.net where I put together pages discussing various aspects of the major hotel loyalty programs.

The main decision for someone who doesn't spend more than 25 nights a year in hotels is to decide whether you are more interested in upgrades or free nights.

Free nights preference favors following the best promotions for bonus points regardless of chain and room upgrades favors going for elite status which is most easily obtained with Hyatt, Starwood, or Hilton and can be purchased from IHG and then focusing stays with one hotel family.

My blog has dozens of analyses on the value of hotel loyalty program promotions.

InsideFlyer has a hotel loyalty programs report as their June 2008 cover story.

Hilton is recommended based on the variables analyzed towards hotel points earning and redemption. HHonors was incredibly easy to earn bonus points for many years with numerous online promotional offers, but as many loyal HHonors members know, the good targeted promotions frequently pass you by these days.

Promotions and special offers make all the difference in the world when it comes to comparing hotel loyalty programs. A simple comparison based on the static earnings of base points, elite bonus points, and standard hotel night redemptions is classic analysis in a dynamic world of bonus points promotions, free nights, and cash and points booking opportunities.

Pgary's website
 

Hi Getdev,
Here is Pgary's website if u hv not already checked it out. Has lotsa great infor. Shld not miss it.

http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm

For 15-18 nights a year, especially if on your own dime, I think I'd be looking at good frequent-flyer miles earning card and book hotel stays on Priceline or Hotwire. This will easily let you stay in properties atleast 1 star-level higher for the same money... i.e. you could likely afford a 4* for what you would pay for a 2.5* booking through Hilton/Starwood/Hyatt websites. For the same money, I'd almost always rather stay at a 4* without an upgrade or points earning than a 2.5* with an upgrade and/or points.

I earn top-tier in HHonors and mid-or-top in SkyMiles from business travel which is paid for by the company. I'm strategic to get as much as I can out of these stays (otherwise I wouldn't be posting here). I fly Delta because I'm based in ATL and want the option to redeem for international travel. I stay at HHonors properties because there are more business-travel oriented properties that my company usually likes to book us in. I also carry their AMEX because it's free and earns 5p/$ when paying for those stays (reimbursed by company).

That said, my personal hotel stays end up being either award redemptions or Priceline/Hotwire. Perfect example of this is the night of July 4... I'm taking my wife out for a night on the town to celebrate our 2-year wedding anniversary. I'm low on HHonors points (6 night ALON in HNL coming up in September) so I started researching paid stays. The best suitable HHonors property I could find in downtown or Buckhead was the Hilton Downtown (3.5*) for $120, and a previous stay there told me it was nothing special. Instead I booked a 4* through Priceline with a bid of $50 and received the Hyatt Regency Downtown. Through a stroke of luck I was able to status-match to Hyatt GP Diamond and they honor GP privileges on consolidator stays (netting us an upgrade to Regency Club level). Even without the upgrade, it was still a far better deal. Other recent wins are Hyatt Place Orlando (3*) for $39/night, Sheraton Safari Orlando (3*) for $37/night, Affinia Manhattan (3.5*) for $88/night, Crowne Plaza Anaheim (4*) for $59/night, Hyatt Coral Gables (5*) for $79/night... For the amount of leisure travel I've done in the last 12 months (12 nights paid, 10 nights award) I have benefited far more from better properties at lower prices than I would have through status recognition or award accrual at higher prices.

Also, with the dollar dropping and the price of oil rising, getting where you're going is going to keep costing more and more... and with less people traveling for the same reasons, staying there is going to cost you less and less. Maximize your earning on what would cost you the most out-of-pocket... right now the trend is pointing towards air-travel. At the same time, spend your money on what is trending down... and right now logic says that's going to be hotel stays. Also, Hotels can't adjust capacity nearly as easily as airlines, so those rooms are going to be empty and available to consolidators like Priceline and Hotwire at much lower prices. UA and CO have shown they'll just park/sell/lease planes, I'm sure other domestic carriers will follow suit (DL and AA MD80s along with NW DC9s are likely casualties).

Based on hotel availability, range in room costs and ease of elite status, associated perk upgrades and access to "free nights", I like Sheraton's SPG and InterContinental/Crown Plaza's IPC.

I second this.
Pgary was the reason I found flyertalk(so blame him for that :eek: :D )
Great website and prettymuch a labor of love on his part.

In the past(say before 2/08)when you still could get reasonable flights and hotel rooms were expensive in many of the places I want to visit,I really paid more attention to hotel loyalty programs.I pretty much stay with 2 chains,Starwood and Marriott because they both offer a nights and flights program where you can get both miles and hotel points.
I have dabbled in a few other chains(Hyatt and Kimpton)but now am back to pretty much SPG and Marriott.The only reason I stick with Marriott is that there is usually a MI property somewhere closeby,not always the case with Starwood-otherwise Marriott,becaise of thier lousy treatment of elites and the fact that you have to spend so many nights to even reach gold(silver is a joke)makes this program next to unusable for me-but it is the best of the rest after SPG IMO.
So get a co branded CC with either of these programs and start earning points/miles that way.
I get the majority of my Airline miles from non-flying earning,and use my milles almost exclusively for premium seats on international flights.

I'd go for Hilton & Starwood. Plenty of coverage in those states, great properites around the globe and both programs are, IMHO, rewarding.

Hm
 

If you value free nights over elite perks, I suggest IHG (Priority Club). IHG has myriad offers and bonuses that make it easy to get free nights. If you sign up for all the promotions you can find, you can rack of free nights very quickly. Case in point: after 4 nights at 4 different Holiday Inn Expresses, I earned over 31,000 (enough for a free night at a Crown Plaza, or two free nights at a lower end hotel, and half of the points required to attain the highest elite level in the program).

That being said, IHG's elite perks leave alot to be desired. This is likely because it's so easy to earn the points required to attain elite status (e.g. the 4 night stay described above). Also, Platinum Elite status at IHG won't get you much in terms of status matches with other chains.

Basically, its a mixed bag.

if your stays are for business (business paid), go ahead and do your research on this board with the various hotel programs.

if your stays are personally paid, then hotel programs usually not worth the money. Use Priceline or hotwire to save the money.

Also not being locked into a chain allows you to stay exactly where you want to instead of settling for a hotel that is not ideally located or is not in prime condition just because it is part of your chain.

When reading about the various hotel spots, take it with a grain of salt as most folks are loyal to one, maybe two chains so they can for the most part only provide a viewpoint on the properties in that chain. A blinders effect to what else is out there.

I would question the above advise from Sweet Willie.
You do not get to stay in "where you want"using priceline.You get to fill the bed that would otherwise go empty in a general area(sometimes a little too"general"for some folks taste)and you have little recourse if the hotel puts you in an undesirable room.
If you do not stay in nice hotels for leisure travel/vacations then perhaps priceline makes more sense than hotel loyalty programs.
I like to stay in nice digs whil traveling thus the free nights I have obtained from SPG and Marriott in Europe and Canada this year have far out valued any savings I might have had using priceline/hotwire.
All of my travel dollars are discretion based,most are leisure stays.I have not used PL in 4-5 years or so after a series of horrible customer service snafus that would have never has happen to a status guest with one of the chains.

I've clarified my statement, I'm not claiming (nor intended to) that PL allows one to stay where they want but I can see how one could interpret that from what I posted originally.

If these stays are on his own dime, I would strongly suggest that the OP keep a log/spreadsheet of where he is staying on paid stays and how much he paid and points obtained. In that log I would also put the hotwire price of a similar quality hotel. Seeing as he is staying within a certain state set, I'd also use PL the next time through to see how much more he might have saved.

That is what I did and points schmoints, if it were not for my business stays I would absolutely not spend my own $$ for loyalty to a hotel program. The return was not there for me.

I actually might try a priceline stay sometime in the near future-If there are no promos going with any of the chains I do buisness with-just to see what is what.
"Points schmoints"Got me over $5,000 worth of free lodging this year in some very nice hotels.I am a very moderate spend as far as my paid stays.Most come in well under $150 a night.I would be hard pressed to have saved that much using Priceline/Hotwire on my stays in 2007(which paid for the stays in 2008)That would mean I would have had to have saved over $125 a night for my 2007 stays.using PL/HW. I don't know much about the current savings but back when I was using PL those savings were not happening.

Also,some hotel loyalty programs(Marriott,Hyatt are the ones I know about-may be others)offer member only/elite only rate specials on certain properties at certain times.This coming week I have to be in Las Vegas-ther is a huge event and rates are very high or hotels are sold out.I got the Ren LV for $129 a night-(a savings over $100 for ther BAR)Plus I will earn 2 $100 Bonus bucks for future FS Marriott stays.

Now I know priceline/Hotwire is sweet for some folks-but for others(such as myself)who have learned to game the systym to our advantage the savings/non-status treament is just not worth it.

And remember that great deal they used to have between Ebay and Priceline :D -when that ended I switched to the hotel loyalty programs

My top two choices as well. There simply aren't enough Hyatt properties available and Priority Club has far too few upscale properties to make either of those programs a good choice. Starwood is aggressively pursuing a major expansion program in the US and building two new chains - Aloft and Element - as well. It also has quarterly promotions available for all of its members.

Marriott might be an option.

They're offering free upgrade to gold right now which will give you good rooms, extra points, and free brekkie. See:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=831454

Platinum or Centurion AMEX
 

Do you by any chance have a platinum or centurion amex. If so you are automatically upgraded to a gold member through SPG. This will allow you to earn extra points as well as possibly recieve a comp upgrade.

this link will take you to the enrollment page. call up amex and they will take care of it over the phone.

https://www143.americanexpress.com/c...ARDS/137/1/0/8

My take:
If you plan to accumulate most of your points through hotel stays, then you have a number of good options - as noted in the insideflyer article mentioned earlier in this thread; they especially liked hhonors, choice, and wyndhem (I agree re hhonors)

But if you will be getting your hotel points through credit card spending, SPG is the best choice. With their CC You get 1 point for $1. hhonors gives you between 3-5, MR 1 (with their premier visa you can earn 2 on airline, dining, car rental), priority gives you 1 per $1.
But 1 starpoint = about 5 points in the other programs (a rough estimation, but still fairly accurate)

For example: to use Marriot own comparison (meant to show the benefit of their program:
http://www.marriott.com/marriott.mi?page=beherefaster

Here You would need $130,000 in CC spending to reach that reward with MR ($280 grand with PC), $72,000 with SPG.