Hotel reward points

[Exvalley]

Is it just me, or are the reward points given for hotels booked through Amtrak's website an extremely good deal?
If I am not mistaken, a reward point is worth 2.9 cents (for those of us not booking on the NEC).

Here are some examples for some dates in the spring that I pulled up at random:

$199 for a one night stay in Saratoga Springs gives you 2,400 points worth $69.60
$188 for a one night stay in Boston gives you 4,600 points worth $133.40
$233 for a one night stay in Seattle gives you 4,000 points worth $116.00

I usually book directly through the hotel website to get status credit, but booking through Amtrak seems to be a much better value. Mind you, I picked some of the better examples, but even half the points would still be a darn good deal.

Something tells me that I must be calculating this incorrectly.

 

[me_little_me]

All I know is that the AAA and Senior rates at most hotels save you more cash than theAmtrak points are worth in most case.

 

[jiml]

Is it just me, or are the reward points given for hotels booked through Amtrak's website an extremely good deal?
If I am not mistaken, a reward point is being worth 2.9 cents (for those of us not booking on the NEC).

Here are some examples for some dates in the spring that I pulled up at random:

$199 for a one night stay in Saratoga Springs gives you 2,400 points worth $69.60
$188 for a one night stay in Boston gives you 4,600 points worth $133.40
$233 for a one night stay in Seattle gives you 4,000 points worth $116.00

I usually book directly through the hotel website to get status credit, but booking through Amtrak seems to be a much better value. Mind you, I picked some of the better example, but even half the points would still be a darn good deal.

Something tells me that I must be calculating this incorrectly.

I did a similar exercise when my airline of choice started offering hotel bookings through their site. The one problem I found was that the rooms were often available for a lower rate through the hotels' sites. You also may forfeit the hotel's own points and elite-qualifying stay credit. However there were exceptions that looked like a really good deal. Please post the result if you do further calculations.

 

[AmtrakFlyer]

I’ve seen some crazy offers of like 11,000 points for a 179 dollar stay. Just depends on what promotion is going on but yes can be an amazing deal.

 

[Exvalley]

I just noticed that they pad some extra cost into the reservation.

It’s included in the “Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fees”.

 

[Exvalley]

I did a test case for The Liberty (a Marriott Hotel) in Boston. I looked at January 13-14 for two adults.

Including all taxes and fees, Amtrak's price is $223. On the Marriott website, I can get the same room for $219. This is because the Marriott Bonvoy member rate is $5 cheaper.

Amtrak is giving 3,200 points for the stay. For non-corridor travel that is worth $92.80.

So in this case it seems like a really good deal to book through Amtrak.

The downsides of booking through Amtrak are:
1) No credit for the night in order to obtain status. (But since my credit card gives me gold status and I never really have a chance to make Platinum, this isn't a huge deal for me.)
2) No elite benefits due to booking through a third party. (e.g., high speed internet, lounge access, etc.)
3) You have to pay in advance if you book through Amtrak. The room can still be cancelled, but you will have to trust them to issue you the refund if you cancel.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

I just noticed that they pad some extra cost into the reservation.

It’s included in the “Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fees”.

Is this like the "resort fee" and the "gym fee" ?

 

[me_little_me]

Is this like the "resort fee" and the "gym fee" ?

And some places, like the Residence Inn Buckhead in Atlanta, introduced a $12/day parking fee when they never charged for parking before. Just another scam to advertise false "low rates".
I downgrade any hotel ratings on Tripadvisor for such things. The lower the average grade, the less business they get.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Most hotel programs earn an A+ in deception!

Sheraton was actually pretty good until it was bought out by Marriot... with newly adjusted point requirements every time you turn around... resort fees for the exercise room that is closed due to Covid, and as mentioned earlier, tax recovery fees, and tax fees and tax fees for taxes, and on and on. Then there are the rates and point requirements determined by peek, off peek, etc. and 'hotel levels' of brands within the group. The hotel industry has become 'scam city' and now most are starting to charge for parking that was once included.

I once checked into an Aloft hotel at BWI and took an orange from the bowl of fruit at the front desk. "Oh sir! That'll be a dollar please!" When I got to the room I thought I could count on in room coffee. There was decaf only. I went down to the front desk to get some regular coffee packets and the clerk said they were out... "But there is plenty of fresh coffee at the convenience store." Convenience is a term which means you pay more. $2.50 isn't a lot of money... but as a gold member of Marriot I shouldn't feel like I'm getting 'nickeled and dime 'ed."

The paradox is that most hotel loyalty programs discourage loyalty.

Meh!

 

[jiml]

Most hotel programs earn an A+ in deception!
... as a gold member of Marriot I shouldn't feel like I'm getting 'nickeled and dime 'ed."

The paradox is that most hotel loyalty programs discourage loyalty.

Meh!

We're on the same page with many others on hotel forums. Opinions of Marriott started to slide long before Covid. If they weren't so big I could see them as a takeover target as they continue to disappoint during the current situation. If you think being Gold gets you nothing, try being LT Titanium and a charter member of their program.

 

[Bob Dylan]

We're on the same page with many others on hotel forums. Opinions of Marriott started to slide long before Covid. If they weren't so big I could see them as a takeover target as they continue to disappoint during the current situation. If you think being Gold gets you nothing, try being LT Titanium and a charter member of their program.

At least "Hilton Honors" was still giving Members the promised benefits before the Pandemic.

I haven't traveled since the World changed, is there anyone with Recent Hilton expierience with an Update??

 

[flitcraft]

Hotel 'loyalty' programs make frequent flyer programs look good in comparison. And that has become a low bar indeed!

 

[jiml]

Hotel 'loyalty' programs make frequent flyer programs look good in comparison. And that has become a low bar indeed!

Well said. With the original topic of this thread being a benefit of AGR, I'd have to say it remains one of the more generous of any type. With less opportunity to accumulate and spend points than most here, I've still certainly gotten my "money's worth" out of it over the years.

 

[20th Century Rider]

No one likes to wrestle with these mammoth loyalty programs any more. Gold used to be the top tier at Sheraton, but with the merger there are 10 or 12 stacked above gold which is now near the bottom... and even in the troposphere outer space highest reaches of 'titanium enhanced super duper extravagante' there just isn't that much to be had.

The smart traveler stretches the budget with value/comfort/local/amenities using logic and priorities. Mom and pop places are still rated high among car trippers wanting to go wherever the wind blows. I love to travel like this, and when I come upon a quiet place in a rural town and scenic location, I walk in with a big 'howdy!' and can usually get a fairly good deal. I also like strip motels because you can park your car right out front and easily unload.

Some of these places serve home cooked breakfasts!

Of course Amtrak travel changes those parameters dramatically, especially in big cities. And you're gonna pay more... but at least you don't have to worry about parking a car.

There are a bunch of websites such as Trivago that compare prices for a given day through different hotel search engines. Where you stay, when you stay, and how much you pay... all depends on luck, the weather, the season... and on and on. When I travel on Amtrak and land in a big city this is always a challenge.

BTW... if in a place like Boston with a pretty extensive rapid transit system one can get a hotel further out. And if you're traveling light you can move around easily.

 

[TinCan782]

At least "Hilton Honors" was still giving Members the promised benefits before the Pandemic.

I haven't traveled since the World changed, is there anyone with Recent Hilton expierience with an Update??

From our trip last September/October I received all the points earned and expected for 14 nights in several hotels. Achieved "Silver" status as well.
Similar to AGR, points expiration extended until December 2021 and "status" until March 2022 regardless of current expiration.
From the HH website:
Plans Change. Your Status and Points Won’t.

• Extending Points Expiration. We’re extending Points expiration, so that no Points will expire until December 31, 2021.
• 2020 Status Extension. For Silver, Gold and Diamond members, we are extending your 2020 Member status through March 31, 2022, even those who are set to downgrade in 2020 or 2021.
• Reducing Status Qualification Requirements. We are reducing elite status tier qualifications in 2021 by 50 percent across all tiers, including stays, nights and Base Points, to allow members to achieve status in half the time.
• Lowering Milestone Bonus Night Threshold. Earn Milestone Bonuses in half the nights. Now earn 10,000 Bonus Points starting at 20 nights stayed and continue to earn an additional 10,000 Bonus Points for every additional 10 nights you stay in 2021. At 60 nights, a member would still earn the additional Milestone Bonus of 30,000 Bonus Points.
• Reducing Gifting Status Night Threshold. Diamond members who stay 30 nights in 2021 will be able to gift Gold status or 60 nights to upgrade the gift to Diamond status.
• Enjoy more flexibility & value with the Hilton Honors American Express Cards. Card Members now have more time to turn everyday spend into Elite Status faster and use Free Weekend Night Rewards any night of the week.

Stay up-to-date on the latest information from Hilton regarding COVID-19.

 

[jebr]

I've been wary of the Amtrak Hotels portal because of the prepayment requirement. I've also generally found that, once the points are accounted for both direct and with the portal and I've factored in the discounts that I have access to (Costco, ABN, etc.) it's rarely a better deal to use the portal. That said, I tend to lean pretty low-budget, and many of those hotels either aren't available at all or have minimal bonuses attached to them.

As for loyalty status and rewards with hotels in general - any benefit due to loyalty, if it's not guaranteed, is not terribly worthwhile in my book. A lot of chains weasel out of benefits like late checkout by saying it's based on availability, which while perhaps necessary during extremely busy periods often leads to hotels just never honoring that benefit. However, I will say that Hilton Honors Gold is probably one of the better mid-range loyalty tiers, especially since it's available through a credit card with a $95 annual fee. It includes free breakfast at all of their hotels, even the ones that normally don't include it - and that can easily hit $95 worth of value quickly. Rewards points are fickle, and more and more are going to a system that's extremely closely tied to the cash rate (fairly similar to Amtrak does) which makes it hard to get any real outsized value. However, there's still enough earned that it's worth keeping note of them, as with some of the promos they can add up to free nights more quickly than expected.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

When Marriott acquired Starwood they kind of broke the mainstream hotel industry for me. Now total costs are way up, service standards are way down, and rules are interpreted in the most restictive manner possible. This can make for some truly mind numbing conversations when staff try to explain why the fee for a service they no longer provide has increased or why a benefit that costs nothing is no longer possible to provide. To be fair to the frontline staff they're only the bearer of bad news. They didn't write the business analysis logic that found a new way to screw the customer, they didn't receive any bonuses for implementing higher costs or reduced benefits, and they're not given much power to change the result. These days regional and boutique hotels seem to do a better job of managing my expectations.

 

[jiml]

When Marriott acquired Starwood they kind of broke the mainstream hotel industry for me. Now total costs are way up, service standards are way down, and rules are interpreted in the most restictive manner possible. This can make for some truly mind numbing conversations when staff try to explain why the fee for a service they no longer provide has increased or why a benefit that costs nothing is no longer possible to provide. To be fair to the frontline staff they're only the bearer of bad news. They didn't write the business analysis logic that found a new way to screw the customer, they didn't receive any bonuses for implementing higher costs or reduced benefits, and they're not given much power to change the result. These days regional and boutique hotels seem to do a better job of managing my expectations.

All very true. The key element is at the time of the merger Marriott morphed from being a seller of rooms to a seller of customers to existing and potential franchisees. Their bottom line is all about satisfying their new customers - those franchisees, rather than those purchasing accommodation. That is why all benefits of the Marriott Rewards program other than point accumulation are currently suspended.

 

[daybeers]

When booking a hotel stay using Amtrak's Hotels & Cars website, are the point earning values only good for the specific room configuration that's listed, or since it says a point value per stay, can the points also be redeemed on a different room? I can't find a number to call and I'm not sure if the hotel would know.

 

[20th Century Rider]

When booking a hotel stay using Amtrak's Hotels & Cars website, are the point earning values only good for the specific room configuration that's listed, or since it says a point value per stay, can the points also be redeemed on a different room? I can't find a number to call and I'm not sure if the hotel would know.

Oooooh My! I have found that when using Amtrak points to book a hotel or car stay... that same equivalent amount in actual travel on Amtrak would be in the hundreds of dollars. So I would never use my points for anything other than Amtrak travel to get some kind of value out of them.

According to 'Wallet Hub' and other sites, "Amtrak points are worth 1.85 cents each, on average. That means 10,000 Amtrak points have a value of roughly $185. Amtrak points are more valuable than the average travel miles, which are worth almost 1.10 cents each. It's important to remember that the value of Amtrak points depends on how they are redeemed. They have the most value when used for Guest Rewards travel booking."

Beware of using more than 10,000 points for a hotel stay!!!

We all gotta be very careful of these 'points' programs!

 

[daybeers]

So I would never use my points for anything other than Amtrak travel to get some kind of value out of them.

Yes, I agree. I would never use Amtrak points for a hotel. I am asking about earning points for hotel stays when booking though the Amtrak website, which can often be extremely lucrative.