Hotel/Motel Rewards scheme

[JanetA]

We will be doing a road trip for 4 weeks of October and I only intend to pre-book the first and last night and three nights in Memphis as we like the freedom of travelling

I was wondering if there is any advantage to signing up to a reward scheme ? like Marriott Rewards or the like.

any one done this? and is it worth the bother

cheers


Janet

[Mazzy]

It's always worth signing up, I find that if you're a member you get treated better and may even get an upgrade. The Marriott Reward Points are worth having, as you can transfer them to your Virgin Atlantic Frequent Flyer account if you have one. :d:

[LolUK]

BA were offering its Exec Club members free instant Gold membership of Marriot rewards guaranteeing a room upgrade. Not sure if the offer is still on however.

[tomnj]

If you are a AA member you can ask for AAA discount.

Also you can priceline or hotwire for same day reservations if you're experienced with using them and have internet access.

[ju_itfc]

Janet,

It really depends on the level of accommodation you are intending on staying in on the road trip.

Everybody would love to stay in a Marriott or at the very least a Courtyard by Marriott during a month travelling but the likely cost of that could be prohibitive....unless of course you are living of lottery winnings.

We had 7 weeks in the USA and signed upto Triprewards (now called Wyndham Rewards) which is a reward scheme involving Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Wingate, Baymont, Ho Jo, Travelodge, Knights Inn and Amerihost. So you get the semi luxury end of the market with Wyndham to the lower end with the likes of Travelodge.

As we were not planning a trip back to the USA in 2007 (we did go to Vegas in the end) we cashed in our points for $100 worth of Amazon.com vouchers but we did have enough for a few nights here and there free of charge.

Another option is Choice Privileges which is the likes of Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Clarion, Sleep Inn and Rodeway amongst a few more. This was not available to anybody outside the USA when we were there in 2006 but has now been open up to UK residents. The good thing about Choice was there was often deals on like stay for 2 nights at any hotel and get a free night elsewhere. Well worth a look.

Alternatively stick to the big guns. Hilton might be a good option because their Hilton Garden Inn's are very very nice and make an ideal choice for a more upmarket stop off an interstate or outside a big city. The Hilton Garden Inn in Savannah Midtown was excellent. Alternatively, Holiday Inn could be a good option also. There are many HI Express to be found throughout the USA.

Websites to look at:-

http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/ChoicePrivileges

http://www.wyndhamrewards.com/

http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/home_index.do

[tomnj]

Ju_itfc, that was very good info. I did join Triprewards in the past but didnt realize they have changed. And about Choice. Its another option.

Of course, I didnt use any scheme as I drove straight through to Florida instead of stopping as we planned.