2016 Fall Hotel Promotions

It isn’t uncommon for loyalty programs to run seasonal promotions, and hotels are no different. Currently, the larger brands are running some rather profitable promotions. If you are a member at one, or many, of these chains, it is always a good idea to subscribe to the email notifications offered by the chains.

Hilton HHonors

Hilton is running a spectacularly good promotion currently. In fact, it’s an extension of the current promotion given the way it was received by the traveling community at large. There are very few restrictions – largely based on the rate you pay. All hotels and resorts qualify, and there are no requirements for the length of stay. Once you are registered, you earn double points for all stays until December 31, 2016. Simple as that!

Starwood Preferrred Guest

SPG’s new promotion, More For You, won’t be open for registration until September 12th (running until December 18th), unfortunately. However, until then they have a game open where you can win many instant prizes – including Starpoints and free night certificates. Better still, all entries (limited to one per day, per account) goes into a final draw of 5 free nights and 50,000 Starpoints.

Marriott

The 2016 Fall promotion being run by Marriott is similar to Starwood’s game, but instead of entering daily online, you are required to stay. With every stay after your second, however, you earn an additional 2,000 Marriott Rewards points (up to 10,000). Each stay will also enter you in the grand prize drawing of 100,000 points. There can be 100 winners!

Hyatt

Hyatt’s current promotions are for points redemption and purchases instead of earnings, but a full list can be found here. If you find out otherwise, please let me know!

International Hotel Group

For a few seasons now IHG has been running a customized promotion known as Accelerate. What I mean by this is that while the promotion is available for all IHG members, the earnings and criteria are customized for each member. You can find your personalized offer here and register at the same time. Since it is customized, I can’t lay out the specifics, but I can show you what I was offered!

Closing

Regardless of which loyalty program(s) you belong to, it is in your best interest to opt in for their emails and even their physical mailings. They offer quite a few things. I was invited to stay at the Westin Lagunamar for a timeshare pitch thanks to this. Five days and four nights for $499? Yes, please! Happy earning!

Citi Prestige: 4th Night Free Benefit

If you are a work traveler, can book hotels directly, and use your own credit card, the Citi Prestige is a no-brainier. This card is one of the top-tier cards offered today (along with the Platinum Card from American Express, and the soon-to-be-released Sapphire Reserve from Chase). Though it comes with a hefty price-tag by way of a $450 annual fee, it has a staggering number of benefits.

In addition to the $250 annual airfare credit bundled with the card, one of the most advertised benefits of the card is receiving a free night for every booking of four or more nights. There is no limit to the number of times you use this benefit, so you can easily make your money back many times over. This is particularly beneficial when your work reimburses you for any travel you have to do.

To take advantage of this benefit, you just have to call the Citi Prestige Concierge at (561)-922-0158 and tell them that you would like to use the fourth night benefit for your card. They will walk you through the process of identifying where you would like to stay, any special rates (AAA, AARP, government, or corporate booking code), and your frequent guest information (Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards, etc.). They will then make the booking and send you an email detailing how much the entire stay will cost and how much you will be reimbursed. This is key as you will be paying for the full stay and then Citi pays you back the cost of the fourth night including taxes, but not resort fees. Per, TheFrequentMiler, conference rates aren’t bookable this way, but most others are. Be sure to check online through various booking systems (directly to the hotel, sites like Kayak, and others) before calling so you have a general idea of what to expect.

Even though this benefit will be changing over the coming months, so the credit from Citi will be for an average of the four nights instead of the price of the fourth night, the value offered by it easily out-weighs the $450 annual fee.

If you are interested in applying for this card, you can find it on the Citi website [not an affiliate link] with a 40,000 bonus point offer for completing a $4,000 spend in 3 months. I would strongly advise you checking a local Citi branch, however, as there have been reports of local bankers providing the old offer of 50,000 bonus points for completing a spend of $3,000 in the same period of time.

Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC

My girlfriend and I went up to Washington, DC for the long weekend and wanted to spend some time re-discovering the city, since we hadn’t visited since our respective childhoods. I booked our room at the Grand Hyatt given its location, and was pleasantly surprised by everything that came with it!

Location

The Grand Hyatt is located on the corner of 11th street and H street, which is a very short walk from the Metro Center Station. There are many restaurants a short walk away, and many attractions are within a 15 minute walk (the White House, the Washington monument, and the National Mall, for example).

Restaurants

There is a Starbucks Reserve in the lobby, as well as Cure – a restaurant that carefully pairs ingredients for a wonderful experience. Located on the first basement level is the hotel’s main restaurant – Cabinet. I received a daily breakfast pass because of my status, which was a pleasant surprise.

Room Information

I was given a corner room on the 12th floor, with the bed offering a nice view of the city below.

Room entry

The TV was placed on a dresser that contained a safe and mini-fridge, as well as an interface system that allows guests to hook up their own devices.

Hotel Amenities

As mentioned above, the hotel houses two restaurants as well as a Starbucks, so there are many dining options without even leaving the building. Also within the building is a FedEx location – contained within the business center, and a large number of meeting rooms.

Hyatt has a very friendly policy when it comes to forgetting things at home. Simply call the front desk and someone will bring what you need and leave it at the door for you. Depending on what it is, you can keep it, or just borrow it for your visit, allowing you to buy it at check-out.

The hotel also has a spectacular skylight and a chandelier that dangles from the 12th floor to the basement.

Hotel Reviews: Sheraton Ann Arbor and Holiday Inn Tewksbury-Andover

Sheraton Ann Arbor

Location

The Ann Arbor Sheraton is located at exit 177 of I-94. Thanks to its ease of access to the interstate and location in South East Michigan, it is fairly popular for consultants in the region.

Amenities

In addition to a full-service restaurant (with room service) and bar, the Sheraton has one of the best equipped gyms that I have seen at a hotel. It has recently been upgraded with a second bench and full set of free-weights as well as a cable machine. Combined with a compliment of treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes, it is easy to stay active while on the road!

In all seriousness – the gym is one of the deciding factors when it comes to hotels for me. The other deciding factor is the internet access and stability! The hotel offers complimentary WiFi to all guests and while it can be spotty near elevators and when moving between floors, it is dependable within the room itself.

Room

I was upgraded to a Club level room this week, thanks to my status with the Starwood Preferred Guest program, and was given a room on the 6th floor. In addition to a couch, the room was furnished with a cotton robe and extra bottles of water.

Holiday Inn Tewksbury-Andover

Location

The Holiday Inn is located conveniently off of I-495 with excellent access to the interstate itself. It is roughly an hour’s drive away from BOS though it is only about 30 miles away.

Amenities

In addition to a fully equipped fitness center, the hotel offers two different dining options in-house: a full service restaurant as well as a pub. Room service is handled by the restaurant so it is not open until midnight, while the pub is.

Room

The room I was in, 524, was quite spacious with a roomy bed and comfortable couch. Best of all, all the furniture was comfortable! It is far too common to find beds and chairs that are a pain to occupy – literally!