Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites - Raleigh-Cary (I-40 @Walnut St.)

 The pictures below are from my stay in October 2014.  As with my other recent hotel reports, this is a currently a work in progress.  If you have any specific questions, leave me a message in the comments and I'll answer it as best I can.

This was actually one of my favorite things about this hotel stay.  Even though I chose the points amenity, I received a small bag of trail mix and a bottle of water.

It's hard to see in the picture, but the room had a nice moderately sized LCD TV.

View into the room from just inside the door

Microwave and coffee station outside of the bathroom

Another super exciting microwave picture

View into the bathroom

Vanity

Toilet with a busted seat

Shower

I didn't use the hair dryer but it did appear to be fairly new and in working order.

If you think the top of the mattress looks a little bit uneven, you'd be right. There were definitely two permanent impressions.    

This last one shows a close up of the desk, the stains were actually underneath the glass top, so I don't doubt that it was clean but it didn't give me a very good impression of the room overall.  When you add in the loose toilet seat and the worn out bed, it's a hotel I won't be staying at again unless I hear of improvements. 

Holiday Inn Express - North Lima, OH

These images are from a one night stay at the Holiday in Express Youngstown (N. Lima/Boardman) in December of 2014.  I may add more detailed information at a later date but until then, here are the room pictures:

Hilton 24 Hour Sale - Starts Now!

Starting right now at 11:00am eastern Hilton is running a 24 hours flash sale for up to 40% off weekend stays plus 2,500 bonus points.  This is really just an additional bonus on top of the Any Weekend Anywhere sale that runs through the end of the month.  You have to register though Facebook for the bonus points and then book through the sale link HERE  Details are below:

Here's the Text from their Facebook page:

Come back on Wednesday, January 16th at 11:00AM ET and register for the 24-Hour Flash Bonus Offer. To earn your bonus, simply book a stay with the Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale and you can save up to 40% on weekends throughout 2013 at participating hotels and resorts worldwide. Plus, once you complete your stay you'll get 2,500 Hilton HHonors™ Bonus Points for every weekend you book. Start making plans for all of your weekend getaways today.

 And the link to register: HERE

No Paid Stay? Sign Up for those Hotel Bonuses Anyway

Typically the hotel rewards programs view award stays a little bit differently than paid stays.  Most hotels don't count the stay or number of nights stayed towards elite status, although Starwood's SPG program is a notable exception.

You can generally earn points at the usual per dollar rates on any incidentals such as meals charged to the room, bar tabs, etc.   This probably isn't all that surprising, what does surprise me though is that it's often possible to earn bonus points from quarterly promotions on award stays.


Here's an example from my recent stay at the DoubleTree Times Square:

As you can see I only earned 321 base points yet earned 3,000 points from HHonors Q4 1,000 Reasons to Stay Bonus.  Definitely a reason to make sure you have at least something that will generate base points charged to the room on award stays.  In most cases, if there are no room charges, no bonus points will post.

I always make a point to sign up for the quarterly bonuses from any of the chains I may be staying with,  whether I have paid stays or award stays planned.  I usually even register for the promos for my primary and secondary rewards programs even if I don't have stays planned, just in case something unexpected comes up.

Here's a list of the Q1 Hotel Promotions I know of so far:

• Club Carlson Triple Points Promo
• Hilton Double Your HHonors Promo
• SPG Power Up Promo (2k points after every 4 nights up to 18k)

If you're interested in learning more about Points, Cash, & Miles, consider following by email or just bookmarking the page - I'll be here with new material 2-3 times a week, possibly more if there happens to be anything I find really exciting in the world of points and miles.

Did Hhonors Take Away Diamond Benefits?

Gary over at View from the Wing has concerns this morning over same changes to the Hhonors benefits page "Did Hilton Hhonors Steal my snack?".  This worried me so I took a look myself and it does appear that the wording for Embassy Suites has changed, from three snacks to two, not really a concern for me since I always took the points anyway.  The worrisome part was that the wording change on the HHonors website for Conrad / DoubleTree/ Hilton  on the Member Benefits page under Explore Hhonors.  This page indicates that you must choose between the free breakfast and 1,000 extra points.

The Hotel Benefits page under the My Profile section of the site (when logged in) does not show these changes and does not allow you to make a selection between the options. Additionally, a confirmation e-mail I receieved for a stay I booked yesterday afternoon shows all of the benefits and does not indicate that a choice is required.   

I think this is nothing more than a mistake that will be corrected.  As far as I can tell the Conrad / DoubleTree / Hilton benefits have not in fact changed.  We may have lost a snack at Embassy Suites, I don't really care as I prefer the points anyway.

Earn SPG Points for Dining Without a Hotel Stay

I have to admit that for most of us this probably doesn't happen very often, so this may not be a major miles opportunity, but over the years there have been various occasions where I have found myself dining (or having drinks) at a hotel where I'm not staying.

A unique and easily forgotten benefit of the Starwood Preferred Guest Program is the ability to earn points at the same rate you would for a hotel stay on dining or drinks without a stay.  I believe there is a $15 minimum to earn points and technically you are supposed to ask for your points and provide your SPG number at the time of purchase but as I recently found out, it's easy to get the points after the fact as well.

I recently had dinner at the Sheraton in Cuyahoga Falls, and despite paying for the meal using an SPG American Express card, I wasn't able to remember to ask for my points and provide my SPG number while I was at the hotel.

Here's an example email that could be sent when asking to have your points credited to you SPG account:

To:research(at)starwoodhotels(dot)com

Re:Earning Points for Dining without Stay

Dear SPG Researchers, 

It's my understanding that I can receive Starwood Preferred Guest points from dining at SPG properties without actually staying at the hotel.  I recently dined at [Restaurant Name] at the Sheraton in [City Name].  I have attached a digital copy of my receipt to this e-mail.

I would appreciate if you could look into getting the points added to my account (Member # XXXXXXXXXX).  Also please let me know if this is the best way to be submitting this type of request or if I should be doing something differently.

Thank You for your Assistance,

PointsCashMiles

pointscashmiles(at)yahoo(dot)com

SPG Member #:XXXXXXXXXX

After sending the e-mail, I immediately received a response that my message had been received and by the following day, the points were in my account.

Club Carlson 50% bonus on purchased points

So the Club Carlson Global Getaway Sweepstakes has ended along with the 100 free points per day.  If you haven't already seen the points ahow up in you account they should be appearing there in the near future.  Now you may be wondering what to do with these points and that's where the Club Carlson current 50% bonus on purchased points comes in to play.

Club Carlson points usually cost $7.00 per 1,000 so with this 50% bonus offer you can get 1,500 points per $7 not bad considering a low end free night takes 9,000 points.

If you weren't able to participate in the Global Getaway Sweepstakes, this could be a way to top off an account cheaply.  I think the obvious use here is the cash and points redemption.  If you managed to get at least 2,000 points for this promotion which was easily obtainable as this required entering less than half of the days the promotion ran, it would only take $14 to get the additional 3,000 points you need for a cash and points stay at the 5,000 points plus cash level.  This might not generate huge savings, but it at least makes all those contest entries worth your while.


Additionally it may be worth looking at a category 1 free night redemption.  If you managed to get 3,000 points out of the promotion you only need 6,000 more points for a low end Category 1 free night and you can pickup these points for just $28.  There might not be a ton of category one properties you want to stay at (in fact only 17 total in the US) but it could be a good deal if one of the hotels match up to your travel plans. 

I don't think the bonus is good enough to just buy points outright, but if you have a specific redemption in mind, this could be a great deal.

Don’t leave Cash on the Table – 15% back at Priority Club Hotels with MrRebates.com

I'm not sure how long this sale is going to be running but I believe this is close to 3x the usual cashback amount for IHG hotels.
 

 


I’ve used other cash back sites over the years, including Big Crumbs, ebates, and TopCashBack.  I started with BigCrumbs, added ebates.com when some sites weren’t available on BigCrumbs and then eventually moved away from those sites as Mr. Rebates seemed to have a better selection of retailers and the best payouts.  TopCashBack does frequently offer slightly higher rebate percentages than Mr. Rebates but I've sometimes had problems with the transactions showing up in my account and getting credit.  I've never had any problems of the sort with Mr Rebates which is part of the reason they are my go to cash back portal.


What is Mr. Rebates?
Mr. Rebates is a shopping portal which provides cash back on purchases at select merchants.  Many of the major online retailers are partners with www.mrrebates.com and I tend to use them as my go to shopping portal as I find their cash back rates to be some of the best available.  They give you a $7.50 sign up bonus after your first purchase through their site and they do offer referal credits, so if you do choose to sign up I'd be appreciative if you'd use one of my links– if prompted for a referral email address, just use pointscashmiles@yahoo.com.

Mr. Rebates Link

100 Free Points Every Day with Club Carlson!

Club Carlson - 100 free Points per day for the next 39 days

I've always been a fan of quick and easy ways to get free miles or points, even if it's only a few miles at a time. Club Carlson’s current promotion, The Club Carlson Global Giveaway is the latest opportunity I've come across and is god everyday for the next 5 and a half weeks!   Basically this is a 6 week long promotion and Club Carlson is giving away one trip each week. Each week's prize includes a five-night stay at a selected hotel, business class airfare for two and $5,000 cash.

 When you register for the drawing, you're given the opportunity to flip through a virtual "Vacation Look Book".  Once you've viewed each of the pictures, you earn 100 Club Carlson Points.

The promotion Website is: www.clubcarlsonglobalgiveaway.com

You can enter daily and can collect the 100 points each day for the length of the promo - and remember points can be transferred in between member accounts by contacting customer service so it could be especially useful if there are multiple family member participating in the promotion.

I'll never remember to do this every day for the next month and a half so I don't expect to get the full 3,900 possible points remaining, but I probably will remember more often than not and expect to earn around 3,000 points from the promo. 

Club Carlson is the Rewards Program for a number of Hotel Chains including Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza, Radisson, and the Flagship Radisson Blu Brand.  Room night redemptions start at 9,000 points per night so this promo could get you almost halfway to a free night at one of their lowest tier hotels.

For those of you interested in the Radisson Big Night Giveaway and the Country Inn and Suites SOGO promotions, I just registered and got messages indicating the full 50k and 44k points are still available.  If you haven't heard of the promo or have but need more info, check out this post from Boarding Area blogger Mommy Points: Club Carlson Promos.  She has one of the most detailed explanations of the promotion that I've seen.

If you just need the links to sign up for the promos, here they are:

SOGOCountry.com

Radisson Big Night Giveaway

A Week in Hawaii with Marriott - Exclusive Offer for Marriott Rewards credit card holders

Just When I was thinking about canceling my Marriott Rewards Credit Card to make room for another offering from Chase, I received an e-mail last night that is making me reconsider...

An exclusive offer for Marriott Rewards® Credit Card holders
Enjoy 3 free nights at Maui’s Wailea Beach Marriott® Resort & Spa when you redeem for a 4-night stay in 2012, giving you 7 nights of oceanfront bliss.

For just 140,000 Marriott Rewards points, you’ll enjoy:
     - 7 nights at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
     - $100 credit at Kumu Bar & Grill

Need more points? Earn points with every card purchase, with additional points earned at participating Marriott properties worldwide. Just a few points shy? You can also purchase up to 50,000 points a year.

Seems like a great deal to me since a week at the Wailea Marriott can easily go for $2500+ before taxes and resort fees. (The week of Christmas come in near $5K) You'll still be on the hook for the resort fees of course But for 140,000 Marriott points, I think I'm ok with that.

I've never actually stayed at the Marriott but I have been through the Hotel when staying down the street at the Grand Wailea. The lobby and public areas are incredibly nice and If I can figure out how to pick up another 70k points.

Here's a link to the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort Website

Partial T&Cs:

Marriott Rewards® US credit card holders in good standing with open accounts are eligible for offer. Offer is exclusive to the Wailea Beach Marriott® Resort & Spa only. Marriott Rewards members who book a redemption stay for 4 nights between May 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012, and begin their stay on or before December 31, 2012, will receive three (3) additional nights with no point redemption cost to the member. The entire seven-night (7) stay is valid for consecutive nights only. There is no limit to the number of times a member can redeem for this offer.

10 Free Starwood (SPG) Points - Audience Rewards Trivia - 05-09-2012

I know it's been a weeks since I've posted anything other than Audience Rewards Trivia answers, but I've been a bit busy.  I'm working on a couple of articles that will go up in the next few days, including one about elite status and one that will be the first of a 2 or 3 part series about Las Vegas travel.

Here are the Audience Rewards Trivia questions and answers for 05-09-2012:

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Points - Audience Rewards Trivia 



In what decade does Chicago take place? 
          1920's
Roger Rees is from what country? 
          Wales
True or False? Venus in Fur is a one act show. 
          True
Montego Glover, of Memphis, is from what state? 
          Georgia
What fun activity do Jane, Michael and Bert do in the park in Mary Poppins? 
          Fly a kite

Up to 2,000 Priority Club Points for signing up for emails and surveys!

More Priority Club Points!  Apparently Priority Club is really trying to give away points right now, they are sending out emails with ways to "Accelerate Your Earning Power"

- 500 Points to sign up for the shopping portal, additional 500 for registering a card
- 500 Points to sign up fpr Priority Clubs Dining Program
- 500 Points for signing up to receive e-mails about cruises.

I'm already signed up for the dining program but I figured the other 2 were worth a shot...

Accelerate Your Earning Power !

1,000 Priority Club Points for registering a Visa Card and Signing up to receive Texts

I read about this earlier over at MilePoint  and I've since received it my email as well. There is a chance it could be targeted, but I was able to signup another account I manage that had not received the email, so anyone might be eligible.

Some of you might not be interested being bothered by text messages for just 1,000 points but keep in mind that there is an additional bonus of 5,000 points for completing a stay by 7/31/2012.  I'm not sure if a reward stay will work or not, but I have one coming up next week so I'll keep you posted.

Here's the link and the text from the email:

1,000 Priority Club Points for sign up 5,000 additional for stay

Enjoy more ways to earn more points or miles than ever before! Just enroll your eligible Visa® card* to get special IHG offers sent to your mobile phone via text message. Enroll by 5/31/12 and you’ll earn 1,000 bonus Priority Club points. Plus earn another 5,000 bonus points when you stay at any IHG U.S. hotel by 7/31/12. Get rewarded how, where and when you want with Priority Club Rewards On the Go.**