Apologies for the hiccup in posting this week – I am down in Mexico for a “frequent flyer” beach wedding (Yes, Randy Peterson was the wedding officiant himself), and the wifi here is just awful. Well… so far I have not been impressed with this year’s Daily Getaways offerings, but when I saw that Week 3 was announced, something piqued my interest.
Before I continue, let’s show you what week 3 has in store for us:
Though I currently have the same amount of points as the same amount of loyalty in the Choice Hotels program (0), I’m especially interested in June 27th’s offer and here’s why:
As you may already know from my previous post about my impromptu Caribbean trip coming up that I booked with Avios, I’m headed to Grand Cayman in a few weeks for the first time. I’m naturally deal hungry, so I’m on the hunt for cheap hotels as well. I decided to splurge 12,000 Starpoints for a night at the Westin Grand Cayman just because I heard great things about the property, but for the other two nights, I still wanted to stay on Seven Mile Beach without breaking the bank too much. Luckily Daily Getaways came to the rescue!
A friend of mine who is what I call a “Caribbean connoisseur “ suggested the Comfort Suites Seven Mile Beach as a good budget option. My first thought was, “hmmm… no way”, but then I was reminded of my awesome Comfort Inn stay in Tokyo and I was reassured that it wouldn’t be so bad. The hotel’s TripAdvisor reviews seemed promising as well.
My first thought was to just pay for the two nights because rates were in the $120 range, which is pretty reasonable for a Caribbean trip in the heart of the summer.
Then, when I saw that I could essentially buy points with Daily Getaways, I was sold. The Comfort Suites Seven Mile Beach requires 20,000 points per night for a free award night.
Now this is the part where I analyzed the value of the Daily Getaways deals:
Breakdown of Price per Point:
- 32,000 Choice Points for $134 ($120.60 if using an AmEx) = 0.0038 cents per point
- 36,000 Choice Points for $156 ($140.40 if using an AmEx) = 0.0039 cents per point
- 20,000 Choice Points for $102 ($91.80 if using an AmEx) =0.0046 cents per point
- 40,000 Choice Points for $166 ($149.40 if using an AmEx) =0.0037 cents per point
Based on those above calculations, I’m definitely going for the 40,000-point package for $149.40. That’s essentially like me getting two nights for less than $75 a night! My only concern would be that I’m hoping that the points post rather quickly because my trip is scheduled for early July.
What what 3 Daily Getaways deals sparked your interest (if any)? Does anyone know how long it takes for points to post from previous experience? Last year my family bought some Wyndham Rewards points through Daily Getaways, but I can’t for the life of me remember how long it took for those points to show up in my account…
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3 consecutive nights at the Westin Grand Cayman & you won’t be disappointed!
I’m hoping to pick up 50k of Club Carlson, to top up for a stopover stay in Europe next spring on my way to Japan. I am also looking at the Choice offerings (I have an upcoming stay at a Choice brand property), and perhaps one of the IHG as well. The various package deals don’t interest me much, I don’t have a S.O. or dependents at this time.
The verbiage on the offer page is a bit confusing. I don’t know how this would be possible, but can you only use the points you purchase at said hotel? So in your case, can the 40k points only be used at comfort suites brand?
I recently stay at Comfort Suits ANC. I was very impressed. I used 30k points that I acquired through this promo last year. It was kinda pricey but so were the cash rates at $219!
@Mathew. Essentially you have points deposited to your account and you can use it for stay wherever you want. The only thing is they expire in ~2 years.
I like the club Carlson deal and just so you know, I have stayed at that Westin in Grand Cayman and although nice and seven mile beach is unbelievable, it is a little frayed on the edges and could use an upgrade imho, but nonetheless, you will love Cayman!
That would be a bummer if you bought the points but they didn’t show up in your account in time. Hope things work out for you n
Matthew – I agree they won’t make you use the points at a specific chain, just like they are not really promising two nights.
Murtuza – I have experienced (accidently of course) that if you make a point reservation in December and cancel in January they have extended expiration out one year. They might have fixed it, but it can’t hurt to give it a shot.
I found it interesting that their estimated value divided by the points is not consistent. They make the worst deal (20K points / Sleep Inn) look like the best deal. Of course comparing the cost to their estimated value isn’t a real measure of anything.
The points post quickly, very quickly historically.
Just a word of caution: Choice has some history of changing award redemption rates — massively in some cases — with no advance notice.
Do note that most Choice US customers can only book international award rooms within 60 days or less from date of stay. If you like to plan your trips with more than two months advance notice, you may well be out of luck. And if you plan to use the points for domestic awards in the US, most customers have to book the rooms within 4 weeks of stay if wanting to use points.
The booking window is 30 to 100 days depending on status. Status match policy is unpublished and is on a case-by-case basis. Not sure about any international difference.
For most Choice customers, the redemption window is 30-60 days within stay dates; 30 days “domestically”, 60 days in whatever is considered “international”. It’s probably not until a customer is a Choice Platinum that the booking window reaches even 75 days anywhere.
Those buying points now for redemption next summer may be in for a bit of a shock since there is quite some time between this month and Spring next year (before which the summer booking window doesn’t open). Those acquiring points for redemption for a stay a month or two out may well have better luck; unfortunately not everyone can afford to play vacation roulette and wait to book only within 30-60 days of intended travel date.