Buying hotel points - Revision history

Editor: /* Guide to acquiring last-minute points */

2021-04-19T01:45:05Z

‎Guide to acquiring last-minute points

Editor: /* Programs where you are likely to get a good deal via point purchases */

2021-04-19T01:44:34Z

‎Programs where you are likely to get a good deal via point purchases

Editor: Editor moved page Buying Hotel Points to Buying hotel points without leaving a redirect

2021-02-19T00:24:01Z

Editor moved page Buying Hotel Points to Buying hotel points without leaving a redirect

Editor: /* Guide to acquiring last-minute points */

2021-02-12T21:50:53Z

‎Guide to acquiring last-minute points

Editor at 19:13, 12 February 2021

2021-02-12T19:13:53Z

Editor: /* Guide to acquiring last-minute points */

2021-01-14T02:22:49Z

‎Guide to acquiring last-minute points

Editor: /* Topping off your account when you need to make an award */

2021-01-14T01:59:46Z

‎Topping off your account when you need to make an award

Editor: /* Topping off your account when you need to make an award */

2021-01-14T01:50:41Z

‎Topping off your account when you need to make an award

Editor: /* Signing up for a credit card when you have more time */

2021-01-14T01:49:32Z

‎Signing up for a credit card when you have more time

Editor: /* Guide to acquiring last-minute points */

2020-04-21T23:13:33Z

‎Guide to acquiring last-minute points

@@ Line 92: / Line 92: @@
 {{/Table}}
-<li>'''Using the “Cash & Points” trick, you can purchase IHG points for .575 cents or sometimes lower (rather than 1.15 cents) and Choice points for .75 cents (rather than 1.1 cents)'''.</li>
+<li>'''Using the “Cash & Points” trick, you can purchase IHG points for .575 cents or sometimes lower (rather than 1.15 cents) and Choice points for .8 cents (rather than 1.1 cents)'''.</li>
 <li>'''If you use an IHG credit card to purchase IHG points, you'll get a 20% discount'''. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for the points you purchase via the Cash & Points trick. Unless IHG is running a point purchase promotion, it is still cheaper to use the Cash & Points trick, than to buy points the normal way, even with the 20% discount.</li>

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 <li>'''IHG and Choice let you purchase inexpensive points through the “Cash & Points” trick'''. IHG and Choice's normal prices are not particularly inexpensive, but there is a way to buy them at lower rates. The trick is to make a cash and points reservation and then cancel it. When you do, instead of refunding the cash and points you paid, you receive a refund of the normal amount of points required for an award reservation. This essentially allows you to purchase the difference at a low cost per point.</li>
-For example, it costs $115 plus 30,000 points to make a cash and points reservation at an IHG hotel that normally costs 50,000 points. If you cancel the reservation, instead of getting back the $115 and 30,000 points you spent, you’ll get back 50,000 points. IHG keeps your $115 and gives you back an extra 20,000 points. The cost of the extra points you wind up with is .575 cents per point. {{Link|Cash & Points Trick}}.
+For example, it costs $115 plus 30,000 points to make a cash and points reservation at an IHG hotel that normally costs 50,000 points. If you cancel the reservation, instead of getting back the $115 and 30,000 points you spent, you’ll get back 50,000 points. IHG keeps your $115 and gives you back an extra 20,000 points. The cost of the extra points you wind up with is .575 cents per point. At Choice, you can use a similar trick to buy points at .80 cents each. {{Link|Cash & Points Trick}}.
 <li>'''You can make reservations at high-end hotels that are part of the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program by purchasing Choice points'''. The Choice program isn’t only about Comfort and Quality Inns. You can use Choice points to book a room at most of the high-end independent hotels that are part of the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program. {{Link|choice preferred}}.</li>

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 {{/Main|article}}
 {{NextPages}}
-{{Next|hotels 101}}
+{{Next|award nights 101}}
 {{Next|Hotel Point Purchase Promotions}}
 {{Next|Cash & Points Trick}}
 {{/NextPages}}
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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|buying hotel points}}}}
 {{seo|description=Sometimes, the cheapest way to pay for your hotel room is simply to purchase the points needed to book an award night.}}
-{{Page|article|Hotel Strategies}}
+{{Page|article|Earn Points|Use Points}}
 {{Image|BuyStarpoints.jpg|full}}

@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 !style='width: 2in;'|Transfer Between Accounts
 |-
-|{{Link|Best Western|Best Western}}||1.0||Unlimited||style="text-align: left;"|At same address
+|{{Link|Best Western|Best Western}}||1.0||100,000||style="text-align: left;"|At same address
 |-
-|{{Link|Choice|Choice}}||1.1||120,000||style="text-align: left;"|No
+|{{Link|Choice|Choice}}||1.0||180,000||style="text-align: left;"|No
 |-
 |{{Link|Hilton|Hilton}}||1.0||80,000||style="text-align: left;"|Pool or transfer with up to ten other people
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
 |{{Link|Hyatt|Hyatt}}||2.4||55,000||style="text-align: left;"|To anyone
 |-
-|{{Link|IHG|IHG}}||1.15||Unlimited||style="text-align: left;"|To anyone at .5 cents per point
+|{{Link|IHG|IHG}}||1.0||150,000||style="text-align: left;"|To anyone at .5 cents per point
 |-
-|{{Link|Marriott|Marriott}}||1.25||50,000||style="text-align: left;"|Up to 100,000 points to any member's account for a $10 fee (waived for Gold and above).
+|{{Link|Marriott|Marriott}}||1.25||100,000||style="text-align: left;"|Up to 100,000 points to any member's account for a $10 fee (waived for Gold and above).
 |-
 |{{Link|Radisson|Radisson}}||0.7||80,000||style="text-align: left;"|At same address
 |-
-|{{Link|Wyndham|Wyndham}}||1.3||10,000||style="text-align: left;"|At 1.1 cents per point
+|{{Link|Wyndham|Wyndham}}||1.3||45,000||style="text-align: left;"|At 1.1 cents per point
 {{/Table}}

← Older revision	Revision as of 00:24, 19 February 2021
(No difference)

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 You may already have a bunch of hotel points that you acquired from stays or that are left over from a credit card bonus, but not enough points to take advantage of a good award redemption opportunity. In this case, it can make sense to buy the extra points that you need, even at prices that would be too high to purchase all the points normally required.
-For example, let’s say you are looking to book a $250 room at a Category 6 Marriott. It takes 17,500 points plus $75 to get the room through a cash and points award. The normal purchase price of 1.25 cents per point is normally too expensive to make sense. It would cost $294 ($219 + $75) to make the cash and points reservation (or $375 to make a normal award reservation). However, let say you already have 16,000 points in your account. You could buy the last 1,500 points that you need for only $20. This allows you to book the $250 room for your 16,000 points plus $95, giving you almost 1 cent of value for each point.
+For example, let’s say you are looking to book a $280 room at a Category 5 Marriott on a "standard" date. It takes 17,000 points plus $140 to get the room through a cash and points award and 35,000 points to book with a points-only award. The normal purchase price of 1.25 cents per point is normally too expensive to make sense. It would cost $352.50 ($212.50 + $140) to make the cash and points reservation (or $437.50 to make a normal award reservation). However, let say you already have 16,000 points in your account. You could buy the last 1,500 points that you need for only $20. This allows you to book the $280 room for your 16,000 points plus $160, giving you .75 cents in value for your points.
 === Guide to acquiring last-minute points ===

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 </div>
-Of course, if you are planning a trip far enough ahead of time, you can often acquire the additional hotel points you need by signing up for a new credit card (and meeting the initial spending requirement). {{Link|Credit Cards 101}}.
+Of course, if you are planning a trip far enough ahead of time, you can often acquire the additional hotel points you need by signing up for a new credit card (and meeting the initial spending requirement). {{Link|signup intro}}.
 However, it takes time to receive a card, meet the spending requirement, and then receive your signup bonus. If you are under some time pressure, you can sometimes request that the credit card company overnight your new card. And for many cards, once you have made the initial spend, you can pay off your balance early and shorten the time until you receive your bonus.