This weekend we stayed at a SpringHill Suites by Marriott near my sister’s house. We’ve stayed there in the past, and it’s a very decent, nice hotel. In the past, we’ve just booked directly through the Marriott website. The prices there have been comparable to discount sites, and I’ve been able to earn Marriott points. I’ve elected to convert those points to miles of course!), but the number of nights stayed also count towards elite status. I don’t currently have elite status, and probably won’t anytime soon since so much of our travel is to stay with family and friends. However, I figure if I at least start stacking up nights in a half-hearted attempt, it might happen one day.
The great thing about PointsHound is that in addition to matching the price on the website and then earning miles on top of that, I also get credit in the Marriott Rewards program. Rocketmiles cannot guarantee that, though some have reported receiving credit anyway. I’ll be checking that out on my stay with them in September.
Altogether, the stay this weekend will garner:
PointsHound bonus for 2 night stay: 700
+ Sign up bonus after first stay: 500
+ Marriott Rewards conversion: 268
+ United MileagePlus Visa: 308
Total: 1776 points for a hotel stay I would have been making anyway!
None of these have hit my account yet, so we’ll see how prompt they are with crediting bonuses. The website says 2-4 weeks, but I hope it’s sooner! Other great things about PointsHound: my card was charged at the time of stay, and the refund policy was very clearly spelled out. I was still welcomed as a Marriott Rewards member by the front desk, and that negated and worry that I might get a worse room since I went through a discount site. We had a corner room, and it was on the 3rd (out of 4) floor.
Beginning Balance as of 06/11/2013: 113,339
Airline Activity: 0
Non Airline Activity:
MP Shopping: 271
MYPOINTS Signup Bonus: 500
Ending Balance as of 07/09/2013: 114,110
MILES TO GO: 5,890
Courtney Hoyt 