Hotel Quarterly Promos

Here are some bonus promos going on over the next couple/few months from the various hotel chains. Most of my hotel stays are on points which means that chances to earn more points at a cheap cost (especially for stays I already need to make) are a great deal! Some of these deals are ones that I will try to tackle over the course of this quarter. I can always use more points!

Hotel Quarterly Promos

Club Carlson

Stay 3 Nights. Get 1 Free.

• Complete eligible nights between January 6 – April 13
• Can be during one or more stays (the three nights)
• You must register – here
• Eligible night is a night that is a Gold Point eligible night (award nights and points+cash nights are not valid)
• The bonus received is not a free night certificate but 38,000 Gold Points (enough for a Category 1-4 free night)
• Can only earn the bonus once

Summary

While it is disappointing that this promo can only be earned once, I do like that they are giving the points and not a free night certificate. The reason I like that is, for Club Carlson credit card holders, the last night of an award stay 2 nights or longer is free! That means, you actually receive 2 free nights at a category 4 (if you stay 2 nights and have a Club Carlson credit card). If you were to stay in a Category 1, you would actually get 4 free nights (and up to another 4 depending on the length of each stay if you hold the Club Carlson credit card). So, if you have some stays coming up and they could be at a Club Carlson hotel, consider this promo.

Hyatt

Endless Possibilities

• Complete eligible nights between January 15 – April 30, 2014
• Minimum nights required is 5 with the maximum for the bonus is 20
• You must register – here
• Promo awards can be either free nights (1 free night at a Category 1-4 for every 5 nights) or free points (starting at 5,000 points after 5 nights and going up to 50,000 points for 20 nights)
• Eligible night is a paid rate through Hyatt or the new Points+Cash rate
• Free nights must be used by July 31, 2014

Summary

This is a promo that I will be taking advantage of. The main reason is that the new Points+Cash rate is an eligible rate for the promo. I think I have only paid to stay at a Hyatt (at a Hyatt rate) once or twice ever because the ones that were options for me were always too pricey compared to the alternative. With the Points+Cash rate and the new My Elite Rate, it brings the overall cost down significantly.

As for which choice to make for the promo, if you are staying 15 or 20 nights, I would opt for the points. The reason is the flexibility it would give you as well as the Points+Cash option. If you are staying 10 nights or 5 nights, I would go for the free night. The reason for that is a Category 4 costs 15,000 points by itself (staying 10 nights would only give you 15,000 points but would give you 2 free nights if you chose the nights). So, plan out what you may need and choose wisely. Since this is based on nights and not stays, a family on vacation at a Hyatt (or a business traveler on a work trip) could get the minimum required stays on one trip. That would mean an additional free night up to a category 4 (if used by July 31). I still need to see which I will choose as I may be making a run for Hyatt Diamond on their trial (which requires 12 nights in 60 days) and would have to manufacture the extra two nights for the Diamond (which I don’t mind doing). Not sure if I want to manufacture the other three nights (especially since I only have one Hyatt in the entire country – fortunately, it is only a few minutes away).

IHG

The Big Win

• Promo runs between January 1 – April 30, 2014
• Rewards are member specific (you must register for the promo to find out your total bonus offering)
• Bonus points are earned through multiple stays/tasks (stay certain number of nights for each bonus level, book through a mobile device, stay at different IHG brands, etc).
• You must register – here

Summary

My bonus points I could earn top out at 34,000. While that is quite a few points (especially with Point Break hotels at 5,000 points per night), I will not be trying to go for this one. Other people have had well over 80,000 points (which would make me think differently). For me, it does not work out as well since I only have one IHG hotel near me and I would not plan to stay at one in any of my upcoming trips. However, sign-up and sign-in to see what your bonus may be – it may alter some of your hotel stays!

Marriott

Megabonus

• Stays must be completed between February 1 – April 30, 2014
• You must register – here
• Offers differ between members (my offer was 1 free night at a category 1-4 after the 2nd paid stay – up to 2 free nights through the promo)

Summary

This is another offer that has different offers for different members. You must sign-in to see what the offer is for you. Some people get the free night offers while others get the point offers. Depending on which offer you get may change what your goals are for this promo. If I had stays near Marriotts (and not Hyatt), I would consider this due to the free nights I was offered. For me, the Hyatt offer is better so I will be leaving this one alone.

SPG

Bring On The Nights

• Nights must be between January 5 – April 30, 2014
• You must register – here
• You will earn 2,500 Starpoints after every 5 eligible nights up to 20 nights and 10,000 points (you will earn an additional 5,000 Starpoints if you hit 25 nights)

Summary

While something is better than nothing, this offer does not really draw me to nights at SPG hotels. The reason: the most that can be earned through this promo is 15,000 Starpoints for 25 nights. That barely is enough points for most Category 5 hotels (out of 7 categories) and enough for 1.5 nights at a category 4. With the Hyatt promo, 20 nights (not 25) will get you 4 free nights at category 4 level or 50,000 points! That is a significant difference. Now, if you are a loyal SPG customer, obviously sign-up and earn away. But if you are a hotel free agent, I would focus on the Hyatt hotels instead.

Overall Summary

By all means sign-up for each promo. It does not cost anything to sign-up and you never know what kind of travel may come up. If you end up staying at a hotel for a week, that may be enough to earn you the lowest level of points through some of these promos. With IHG and Marriott, the bonuses differ between members so it may affect hotel choices for you based on that. If I had a Marriott near me at a good rate, I would try to get that promo since 2 nights (separate stays) would get me an additional night. The Club Carlson is a great offer if you can find good deals as well. For me, I will be looking at Hyatt for this promo. It works well since I already had a few Hyatt stays upcoming. Since the Points+Cash option counts as an eligible rate, I am just changing those award stays to the Points+Cash so they qualify.