Hotel Reward / Club Programs

[1kabooki]

Hi,

First off, let me say that I love Priceline and I love betterbidding.com. They have saved me lots of money. I do have a couple of comments/questions regarding hotel reward programs such as starwood, hilton, hyatt.

Most hotels do not seem to honor priceline stays for points and other benefits.

Some hotel reward programs will routinely give significant free upgrades to their rooms if you participate in their program. Sometimes the hotel room will be upgraded to a much larger suite. This is not the case for priceline stays, and often you are stuck with the less desired rooms in the hotel.

For those of you that have experience participating in hotel reward programs, do you find that using priceline hurts the value of your stay?

I assume that given the value and low cost of the priceline stay, that it still makes sense to priceline even if you lose the benefits of the rewards program, right?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[thereuare]

I assume that given the value and low cost of the priceline stay, that it still makes sense to priceline even if you lose the benefits of the rewards program, right?

You can put a value on your points or other amenities associated with your reward program. Each person values their points differently, but seldom do the points or perks amount to the savings that obtained by using PRICELINE or HOTWIRE.

[dahammer]

I have this same argument with a friend who is a fan of the Marriott Rewards program, lets say a mid-range category 3 reward at a Courtyard is 15,000 points. Assuming that the average rate is $150, I would need 10 stays to accumulate enough points for a free stay. Using PRICELINE, I can typically save between 25-50% off rack rates, so I can fund my own "free" night in 2-4 stays.

[Will]

You can get upgrades sometimes for just being a member of a hotel reward program, but usually it's a benefit reserved for the elite members. So unless you travel for business, or travel a lot personally chances are you'll never accumulate enough stays to get to the top of a program and benefit from upgrades to suites etc. This leaves hotel programs for getting free nights, and as mentioned the amount you save on PL more than makes up for any free nights they may provide you. If you really want the benefits of a hotel program get a credit card associated with one, and use it for priceline hotel purchases (or anything else...) so you can earn nights free without the cost of actually staying at the full rate. Also some properties you may wish to stay at don't participate in PL, so if you can save points with a CC you can get them for free instead of paying the rack rates.

[thereuare]

. If you really want the benefits of a hotel program get a credit card associated with one, and use it for priceline hotel purchases (or anything else...) so you can earn nights free without the cost of actually staying at the full rate. Also some properties you may wish to stay at don't participate in PL, so if you can save points with a CC you can get them for free instead of paying the rack rates.

I carry the America PRICELINE EXPRESS Starwood Card as it has some good benefits (i don't keep up to date on it but the above was current when i got my card a little over a year ago)...

-no blackout dates (if the hotel has a 'standard' room available on their website you can book it for points... perfect for when you hit tough to win PRICELINE nites)

-convert starwood points to airline miles on most (many?) major carriers... and on some 20K points transfers to 25K miles, so better than the "1 point per 1 dollar spent" many airline cards give (not sure if this is still the case or not)

-starwood has a "cash and points" program where at some hotels you can combine cash and points... we stayed at the Dom Le Meridien last year in Koln for $60 + 4K points (so if you value points at 1.5 cents each then this was a $120 hotel stay... great deal for this property... if value points at 3cents each then the value was $180 which iirc would have still been an excellent deal for this hotel)

-10K miles for signing up, an opportunity for another 15K bonus points, and no annual fee for the first year

Apply: America PRICELINE EXPRESS Starwood Card

[123slb]

If price were the only thing one cared about when staying at a hotel, it would be a no-brainer that a Priceline or Hotwire purchase is the superior booking. But it is definitely the case that you don't get the good rooms. Recent stays in Orlando illustrate this, because when occupancy is high, one gets the view of blacktop and/or the floor that has the mildew odor, if you booked through these discounters.

Even at the (sorta) lowly gold level with Marriott, they give you upgrades and deferential treatment whenever they can, and I don't ever remember getting a blacktop view! Everything is relative, and right now, saving money is more important to my family (sadly). When I hit the lottery, it's back to the best views and top service! In my humble experience, the quality of the stay is affected using PRICELINE and HOTWIRE, but not nearly enough to make me stop taking advantage of the savings.

[meggieprice]

Hello everyone! I am new here...

I just started using Priceline in the last few weeks for hotels and was pleased with three different results.

I wanted to mention here that as a Hyatt Platinum Passport member I was able to request a king bed and get it because that status guarantees your bed request. Our rooms were amazing with fabulous views at the San Diego Grand Hyatt.

I will use the link here from now on for my bids!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I just started using Priceline in the last few weeks for hotels and was pleased with three different results.

Can you please share the details of the three purchases you made by posting a NEW TOPIC for each in the appropriate state category of the board. You can still view your previous purchases by going to PRICELINE and clicking the MY TRIPS near the top of their home page (once you're logged-in)

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay(s) and thanks in advance for using our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links for your future travel purchases.

[cindy324]

I stayed in a Holiday Inn in Somerset, NJ for the last 3 weekends, ended up there with Priceline, and they still honor your Priority Club membership. In fact, they ask you if you're a member at check in, they even give you the complimentary welcome package along with a free cup of coffee every day of your stay. They belong to the Intercontinental Hotel Group. the same as Crowne Plaza hotels and Staybridge suites.

[yode]

Hi everyone !

Thanks to betterbiding.com for existing!

I got a 80$ room in Hilton Chicago ! As I am a gold member, I asked for an upgrade (executive room with lounge access). She told me that it was not possible while buying through priceline. I had however a room with two bathrooms but not a nice view.

I was wondering if the other members got an upgrade in a hilton (or other company) with the silver, gold, platinium card.

I booked the Hilton Venice and I don't want the same to happen to me !

Thank you