The sheer number of partners makes it very attractive to travelers who are not loyal to one
airline or hotel group.
Simply visit the shopping mall page managed by your favorite
airline or hotel group (most of them have one and you can find it by searching the hotel name + online shopping portal), enter your mileage number for the host airline, and then select the online store where you want to do your actual shopping from their menu of merchants.
With this method — in which the company with the rewards program controls the inventory of its plane seats or hotel rooms —
the airline or hotel group simply deducts the points from your loyalty program account and creates a reservation in its system.
Credit cards affiliated with major hotel chains and airlines are great if you have specific plans to use
that airline or hotel group, otherwise redeeming points from those kinds of cards doesn't have a lot of value.
I suggest choosing your loyalty program first — according to
the airline or hotel group that fits your needs — and then finding the best credit card connected to it.
Simply visit the shopping mall page managed by your favorite
airline or hotel group (most of them have one and you can find it by searching the hotel name + online shopping portal), enter your mileage number for the host airline, and then select the online store where you want to do your actual shopping from their menu of merchants.
You're not committed to just one
airline or hotel group.
Not exact matches
The last
group of rewards cards are tied to a specific
airline or hotel chain.
The disparity in the number of people who do mileage runs versus mattress runs may reflect that
airline status is more sought after
or highly valued,
or that it's far easier to reach and maintain status with a
hotel group.
My «Travel Made Easy» posts are meant to provide easy access to new destinations,
hotel groups or airlines, with a quick summary and links to more in - depth information you might be interested in about the brand.
Opinions expressed here are author's alone and not those of any
airline,
hotel,
hotel group, bank
or credit card issuer that is mentioned.
This personal information may include: your name and contact information, including physical address, email address and telephone number; information related to your reservation, stay
or visit to a property; participation in a membership
or loyalty program; purchase of products
or services; personal characteristics, including date of birth, gender and nationality; passport number and date and place of issue; travel history; payment information; guest preferences; marketing preferences; dates of stay; preferred communication methods; business name, title and address; method of payment; credit card details, including the three
or four digit CVV code; amount of charges for stays at properties; products and services received; reviews and opinions about our properties (if they are identified
or associated with you); frequent flyer
or travel partner program affiliation and member number;
hotel and
airline packages booked;
groups with which you are associated for stays at
hotels; information needed to provide products
or services
or administer the Loyalty Program, including transaction and correspondence details; information provided on membership and account applications; information maintained in individual customer profiles; and other types of information that you choose to provide to us.
Most people don't know it, but for many
hotel bookings you can actually earn miles from an
airline's shopping program
or cash - back rebates portal when you visit their website and use their link to reach your
hotel group's website as the first step in your booking.
«Non-Qualifying Room Rates»
or «Non-Qualifying Stay» include the following: net wholesale individual and
group rate, certain package rates, employee discount rate, friends and family rate, crew rate, special discounted contract rates, seasonal worker / crew rate, 50 % travel club discount rate, travel industry discount rate, distressed passenger rate, IHG ® Rewards Club Reward Nights /
Airline Hotel Reward rate, rates booked through third party web sites, complimentary hotel Stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discre
Hotel Reward rate, rates booked through third party web sites, complimentary
hotel Stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discre
hotel Stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discretion.
For example, a
hotel or airline card may provide excellent benefits for customers of a certain
hotel group or airline, but may not have many benefits for non-customers.
My «Travel Made Easy» posts are meant to provide easy access to new destinations,
hotel groups or airlines, by providing a quick summary of the most important information and giving you access to more details via links to related posts.
My «Travel Made Easy» posts are meant to provide easy access to new destinations,
hotel groups or airlines, by providing a quick summary of the most important information and links to more details, as you might need it.
«Non-Qualifying Room Rates»
or «Non-Qualifying Stays» include the following: any stay using a net wholesale individual and
group rate, certain package rates, employee discount rate, friends and family rate, crew rate, special discounted contract rates, seasonal worker / crew rate, 50 % travel club discount rate, travel industry discount rate, distressed passenger rate, IHG ® Rewards Club Reward Nights /
Airline Hotel Reward rate, rates booked through third - party websites, complimentary hotel stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discre
Hotel Reward rate, rates booked through third - party websites, complimentary
hotel stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discre
hotel stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discretion.
«Non-qualifying Room Rates»
or «Non-qualifying Stays» include the following: any stay using a net wholesale individual and
group rate, certain package rates, employee discount rate, friends and family rate, crew rate, special discounted contract rates, seasonal worker / crew rate, 50 % travel club discount rate, travel industry discount rate, distressed passenger rate, IHG ® Rewards Club Reward Nights /
Airline Hotel Reward rate, rates booked through third party websites, complimentary hotel stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discre
Hotel Reward rate, rates booked through third party websites, complimentary
hotel stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discre
hotel stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discretion.
The Scoop: The most elusive of the loyalty programs, the Morgans
Hotel Group Global Club Card is reserved for tastemakers, very frequent guests, and those who have Gold status
or above on Virgin
Airlines.
Airline and
hotel dining programs Here's some food for thought: Several
airlines and
hotel groups serve up miles
or points if you've signed up for their dining rewards programs.
For the purpose of this post I am thinking about
airline miles,
hotel points, credit card points, supermarket points — ie digital tokens tied to a company
or group of companies.