Accommodations

How to Spin One Gift Card into a Four Night Holiday

Radisson Gift CardThe Radisson gift card that I was lucky enough to win in an online contest arrived in the mail last week.  150 Euros to spend at any Radisson hotel in Europe or the Middle East.

Maybe you can win one of these gift cards too, as Radisson is running an ongoing contest.

With hundreds of hotels to choose from my imagination went wild.

I don’t have any trips to Europe in the works, and I have two years to use the gift card, but what if . . . ?

Of course you’d have to be half crazy to fly to Europe just to get a free night at a hotel.  But what if you were looking at not one night, but three or four free nights?  

I just happen to hold the Club Carlson credit card and one of the benefits it confers is “Gold Elite” status with Club Carlson hotels.  Club Carlson includes some upscale chains such as Radisson Blu, Carlson Rezidor and Park Inn, and more pedestrian chains such as Radisson and Country Inn & Suites.

Hotel Missoni Edinburgh
Hotel Missoni Edinburgh

The chain also includes Hotel Missoni, with interior design by Rosita Missoni.  Their hotel in Edinburgh looks like a blast.

Thanks to The Deal Mommy, I learned about one of the biggest deals in hotel loyalty programs.

Members of Club Carlson’s Gold Elite program are eligible for a “Weekend Extend” offer at hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

There are two promo codes available:

  • Stay 1 night, get 1 night free
  • Stay 2 nights get 2 nights free

Fabulous.

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Planning a Trip to Vermont on Points and Miles

Vermont Academy, Saxton's River, Vermont
Vermont Academy, Saxton’s River, VT
Image by M. McCardle

We are headed up to southern Vermont this weekend for a family get together.

The leaves should be at their peak, and we are looking forward to visiting rural New England.

This is an costly trip for us, so we will try to use points and miles to mitigate the expense.

We are using a Southwest Visa credit card for most of our expenses because we are participating in a holiday promotion to earn bonus points.

The major elements of the trip are:  

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Best Western Credit Card Boosts Sign-Up Bonus to 64K Points

Best Western Zion Park Inn, Springdale, Utah
Best Western Zion Park Inn, Springdale, Utah

If you are planning a trip to the “Golden Triangle” of national parks and monuments in the Southwestern U.S., you are bound to come across some Best Western Hotels in scenic locations.

Would four free nights at a Best Western enhance your travels, whether to the Southwest, or elsewhere?
If so, the latest offering from Barclaycard may be of interest, because it boosts the sign-up bonus for the Best Western credit card from 16,000 points to a whopping 64,000 points — enough for four free nights at mid-range Best Western hotels.
This is a no annual fee credit card; the full complement of points are awarded after spending $1000 within 90 days.
Best Western’s are not just located in the American West — 4,000 independently owned hotels all over the world operate under the Best Western banner.  You might be surprised how many Best Western’s there are in Paris!

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Part 3: Check Inn to 20 to 40 Percent Savings with CLC Lodging

Check Inn CLC Lodging

If you’ve ever wished your small business could take advantage of the discounts on lodging that big corporations negotiate with hotels . . . you may be in luck!

If you have a small business credit card such as one of the Chase Ink MasterCards, there’s a little known benefit that can save you 20 to 40 percent on lodging costs.

I stumbled upon several seldom-publicized travel savings opportunities which I discuss in a three-part series of articles.

Part 1: Visa SavingsEdge

Part 2:  MasterCard Easy Savings

Part 3:  Check Inn – CLC Lodging

The MasterCard Easy Savings program offers cash rebates for certain everyday business purchases.  You need to register your business MasterCard (such as the Chase Ink credit cards) in advance.

One of the most attractive benefits of the EasySavings program is free membership in the Check Inn Card program run by CLC Lodging.

This program offers pre-negotiated “corporate discounts” of 20-40 percent on lodging with 17,000 hotels in the U.S. and Canada.

Here’s How it Works:

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How I Won a Travel Sweepstakes

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I enter various travel sweepstakes all the time, but I never actually win anything.  So when I received this email ten days ago, I presumed it was spam:

Thank you for participating in the Top Attraction Contest for the RADISSON ROYAL HOTEL by voting for your favourite attraction. I am happy to let you know that you have voted for the winning attraction – At The Top Burj Khalifa Experience – and are the winner of a 150 EUR Rezidor Gift Card. The Rezidor Gift Card can be used in over 250 hotels in 34 countries to pay towards accommodation, dining, spa treatments and much more, at Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson or Missoni hotels. The Rezidor Gift Card is valid for 2 years and has no cash equivalent.

The email was not spam!  This was a legitimate contest that I had entered and promptly forgotten about.  Each month, Radisson features about  ten of its top properties and contest entrants must select their favorite nearby attraction.  So if you have accumulated a boatload of Club Carlson points, it’s a great way to familiarize yourself with some of the redemption options.

There are several factors that contributed to my success, and which may work for you, too:

  1. Choose an obscure contest
  2. Enter early and often
  3. Avoid social media

The Radisson Top Attraction Contest certainly fits the bill.  It isn’t the most lucrative contest, but 150 Euros toward a hotel stay isn’t bad, if you have a trip coming up.  

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Part 3: Destination Resort Overlooking the Hudson River — on Priceline

This mini-series explores stellar properties available through Priceline’s opaque bidding process.  

Part 1:  The Carolina Inn – Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Part 2:  Little America – Salt Lake City, Utah

Part 3:  Tarrytown House Estate  & Conference Center, Tarrytown, New York

Tarrytown House Estate
Tarrytown House Estate

My husband grew up in Irvington-on-Hudson, one of those cute little river towns about 20 miles north of New York City.  His family lived in a development of mid-century modern homes just up the hill from Washington Irving’s Sunnyside home.

Irvington and its neighbor Tarrytown make a good base for exploring the Hudson River valley.  Scenic views, historical reenactments, art, and hiking opportunities abound, with attractions that will appeal to children and adults.  Tarrytown is easily accessible by car and by train, making this a great region for a weekend getaway.

Sometimes when we visited family in Irvington, we would get a Priceline room, most often ending up in the 2.5 star Hampton Inn in Elmsford, NY.

Once in 2008, we bid $50 on Priceline and were upgraded to the 3 star Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center.

This property is a 26-acre full service resort with several historic mansions and cottages, beautifully landscaped grounds, a magnificent view of the Tappan Zee bridge.  There are numerous recreational opportunities on site.  Several low-rise buildings discreetly sited on the property constitute the conference center.

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Springtime in Hershey

Hershey Gardens Photo by Joel Shprentz
Hershey Gardens 

In April, we stopped in Hershey, Pennsylvania for a day to break up a road trip from New England to Virginia.  We had visited the amusement park ten years ago, and wanted to explore other three different attractions on this trip.

First up was the free tour of the fake “Chocolate Factory,” because we love corny rides, factory tours, and chocolate!

The Chocolate Factory is a Disney-style animated ride that tells the story of how chocolate is produced from the growing the cocoa beans to producing Hershey Kisses.  On a Saturday morning, we were able to walk right in without a wait. The ride in little carts through the “factory” was lots of fun. The ride ended with a free sample and let us off in a gigantic chocolate gift shop with all manner of Hershey candy.

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Big News: 5 Percent Off “Name Your Own Price” Hotels

Priceline has announced a big summer sale — to get an additional 5% discount on any Express Deal or Name Your Own Price® hotel stay.5% Off Sticker

Use the coupon code SUMMER now through July 31 to receive the extra savings on hotel bookings — up to 60 percent off.

“Express Deals” is Priceline’s semi-opaque site, and “Name Your Own Price” is the traditional Priceline offering where you can bid for hotel stays.  It is very rare to find promo codes for “Name Your Own Price” hotels on Priceline.

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Choice Privileges Goes Upscale . . . Huh?

I am not a hotel snob.   Aside from spending as little as possible — my personal priorities are:

  • safety
  • location
  • non-smoking
  • room with a view
  • clean
  • free wifi
  • comfortable bed
  • indoor pool
  • recreational amenities
  • business center with printer
  • free coffee or breakfast

In that order.

When I bid on Priceline, I like to get a 4 star hotel for a 2 star price.  But if none is available, sure, I will bid on a 2.5 star hotel, or a 2 star hotel, and sometimes I will be pleasantly surprised.

What I really enjoy when traveling though, are unique, special, quirky, or historic properties.  We’ve stayed in the teepee motel on Route 66, and the caboose hotel in Dunsmuir, California.

When nothing was available on Priceline in chi chi Laguna Beach, California, we ended up in a 2 star Best Western, a bit inland in San Capistrano.  It wasn’t fancy, but the swimming pool was surrounded by fuchsia and coral bougainvillea, and we spent a delightful morning visiting the historic Mission at San Capistrano — a real gem.

Mission at San Juan Capistrano
Mission at San Juan Capistrano
1921 Postcard, Library of Congress

To be perfectly honest, I have never given the Choice Privileges program or their rewards credit card a second glance.

The hotels in this chain are just not very exciting.  Think Rodeway Inn, Econolodge, Quality Inn, and Clarion.  Comfort Inn and Suites is about as good as it gets.

Think again.  

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The Real Deal: Moore’s Inn in Saxtons River, Vermont

My family took a grand tour through New England this Spring, visiting schools in five states. One place we visited was the small village of Saxtons River in Southeastern Vermont.  Saxtons River is a quintessential Vermont village, complete with a covered bridge, a general store, and a white steepled church.

Moore's Inn Saxtons River, VT
Moore’s Inn Saxtons River, VT
Photo by Susan Lampe-Wilson

At one time, thanks to the water power provided by the Saxtons River, the village had a thriving woolen mill, saw mill, grist mill, tannery, distillery, clock manufacturer, and hotel.  The mills are closed now. Today, the major employer is Vermont Academy, an independent secondary school founded in 1876.

The historic village is remarkably intact, looking much as it did 100 years ago.  In fact, the entire village is designated an historic site  and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  

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