Marriott Rewards

I've mentioned in the blog a few times that I stay at Marriott's when I travel. Well, it's not because I think they have the nicest rooms, or anything like that. It's because they have the best rewards system for staying there that I could find. A colleague used to stay at Hilton because of their rewards, but he has seen the light and made the flip.

Let me just say that I don't stay at hotels all that much. I don't like being away from the fam. However, if we go on a trip as a family, I'll pay the extra buck and stay there. For work, if I go on the road, of course they pay for it, so it works out well. Plus, we can get the government rate at Marriott since I work for the University, so even then the prices are quite reasonable. (Gov't rate often drops the price by 1/4 or even in some, by 1/2).

I've earned enough points to get 3 free nights when we go to Charleston, South Carolina next month. I stay at a hotel on average maybe 2 nights a month. I also signed up for the Marriott Visa card (I HATE credit cards, but I pay them off, and I encourage you to do the same) The reason that I did this was because I got 20,000 free points and an E-ticket for a free night's stay. Plus, when you pay for your hotel with the Marriott Visa, you get triple the points.

Some hotels only "cost" you 7,500 points a night (like the Fairfield Marriott in Galesburg, IL). When you head to bigger cities or the coast, I've seen them as high as 55,000 points. I would say the average is around 20-25,000 points a night. My average points per stay is about 1-2 thousand.

I also signed up for promotions on their website. I'm in a Megabonus promotion right now, and so every few stays, they through in an extra 5,000 points. I also signed up someone for the rewards system, that's 1000 points for each night they stay, up to 5000.

Even with the three nights free in SC, I'm already back up to 20,000, so I have another free night stay. If you stay in hotels, look into this program, but by all means, let me know so that I can give you my number so that I can get the referral!