Hi,
I'm starting to travel a lot more for work & in the past ive just booked whatever hotel deal looks good at the time….. What suggestions do frequent flyer/hotel users have to gain some good loyalty for a half decent hotel chain?
Fly with both Qantas & Virgin, domestically & use there alliance partners when flying overseas if that helps. Have used Qantas for hotel bookings as they have the odd voucher here & there. Usually pay between $180-$280 a night.
It's worthwhile being "loyal" in this instance so you can get more points/status credits and reach higher tiers of membership.
No point being "loyal" and paying a higher price just to get points though.
If work is paying I think it's worth it.
Consider a higher tier credit card like an Amex Platinum or Citibank Prestige if you earn enough and can justify the annual fee compared to your amount of travel.
Then you'll get Virgin lounge access, Priority Pass lounge access, upgraded membership status at certain hotel chains, etc etc.
You can compare on Point Hacks.
I'd try to stick to one airline and their partners to build up to Gold status so you can get lounge access and a few other perks
Hotels - when I used to travel a lot I would stick to Starwood (bought over by Marriott now) but Marriott isn't as good as it used to be. Still managed to pull off some lifetime silver status and not too far off lifetime gold with them.
Thanks, im Qantas club, brought a 4 yr pass just at the start of Covid & its has been extended a couple of times, Will check out the Amex Plat & Citibank options, Cheers.
Derrimut Hotel in Sunshine has the WORST loyalty system, i get better at my local chemist.
Does your company have corporate rates/codes with any large hotel chains? I would start there as there can be significant savings there.
Which cities do you go to regularly?
And then from there, that can help you decide which group to go with.
If you have specific questions - I currently hold earned Hilton Diamond and Marriot Titanium status and got that IHG Platinum status for free which I have not used.
IHG probably has the greatest range of hotels in Australia, meaning you'll be able to earn points in most places you go (unlike Hilton or Marriot outside big cities)
Not to mention, you can get instant platinum status to increase your points earned to then spend on free nights.
Might be able to double dip booking IHG hotels through Qantas Hotels, via Cashback websites or through Expedia/Hotels.com where you can earn reward nights/credit based on your spend
Double dip again by making sure your hotel spend is on a Rewards credit card.
Treble dip by taking advantage of cashback rewards on your credit card (E.g. I found my Amex often had deals like $50 cashback on $250 hotel spend at IHG/Marriot/Hilton).
So let's say a $1000 5 night hotel stay (imagine IHG with Platinum sign up)
- 16,000 IHG point (10 per $ and 60% platinum bonus)
- 10,000 bonus IHG points for sign up (Total 26k points estimated at 0.7c ea = $182)
- Qantas Hotels/Expedia/Hotels.com/Cashback average 8-10% = $80-100
- Paid on churned points credit card (Assuming $3k min spend for 60k sign up points) = 20,000 points @ ~1.8c/ea = $360
- Stacked with a cashback offer on your credit card e.g. $50
Total maximum value of points + cashback earned for $1,000 spend = $692*
*Sign up points are non recurring, cannot guarantee credit card offers, but indicates maximum potential of what could be achieved!
IHG and Accor.
The bulk just AU cities, SYD, BNE, ADL, PER& a couple of times a year US or Europe.
thanks, will look into IHG & Accor.
Accor in AU and Europe definitely as all budgets are catered for.
They cost nothing to join, so join them all and keep your options open