EDIT:  The initial allocation of this $59 package has now sold out.  I will let people know when it is available again.

Whilst most readers of Head for Points will be familiar with Flyertalk, far fewer know much about Milepoint.  Milepoint was created in 2011 by Randy Petersen, the founder of Flyertalk (later sold to a big US business called Internet Brands).

Milepoint was set up to address issues that Petersen thought were developing at Flyertalk – the reliance on very old-fashioned software to power it, and a feeling that newcomers to the board were not looked after well.  Milepoint has a far slicker, modern look and is deliberately designed to appeal to newbies through its forum structure.

Where Milepoint has failed so far is in taking much volume away from Flyertalk.  At the end of the day, there is an advantage to volume on a chat board, as the more people you get, the more people there are to bounce ideas around – ‘crowdsourcing’, if you like.  Milepoint simply does not have the critical mass at the moment.

However … all that is irrelevant to the main topic of this post!

Milepoint has just launched a ‘premium membership’ level, costing $59 a year.  Even if you never ever visit Milepoint, you might still be interested in signing up!  There is a long list of benefits, but the key ones are:

• Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum status through Feb. 2014 or 2,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points
• 2,000 United MileagePlus miles
• One year of ad-free viewing on Milepoint.com
• Free upgrade to National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive Status

If you collect United MileagePlus miles and stay with Hyatt, then this is a decent deal.

If you only have the occasional Hyatt stay, then it is worth looking at the benefits of Platinum status in Gold Passport.  The first thing to note is that Platinum is actually the bottom elite level, and you only need 5 stays or 15 nights in a calendar year to achieve it anyway.

These are the key benefits:

• Achieve rewards faster with a 15% point bonus when choosing points
• Enjoy a preferred room including rooms on higher floors or larger rooms
• Stay connected with complimentary in-room internet access
• Extend your stay until 2:00 p.m. with a late check out request

Of these, free internet is likely to have the most value.  Given the usual price of hotel internet, you would get back the value of your $59 spend within a few nights, and you would have the other benefits on top.  You would also receive 1,000 bonus Gold Passport points or a free drink on your third stay as a Platinum member.

This is clearly not a slam-dunk bargain that everyone should jump on.  However, if you think you could use the Hyatt status, then the overall package is worth a look.

You can now register for Hyatt Gold Passport’s Autumn promotion, Imagine the Possibilities.  Click here.

This is not a life-changing promotion by any means, but I have not yet seen anything truly unmissable for Q4 (a report on the Marriott promo is on the way). It is a very simple structure:

We’re excited to announce the latest Hyatt Gold Passport global bonus point promotion, Imagine the Possibilities.

You can earn 5,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points after your first five eligible nights and 10,000 more for every five nights after that. Earn up to 65,000 bonus points redeemable for free nights with no blackout dates, room upgrades and more. Simply register by October 31 and stay at any Hyatt hotel worldwide from September 1 through November 30.

The more nights you stay, the more bonus points you earn!

Stay Earn / Total Bonus / Points Earned
5 Nights + 5,000 bonus points = 5,000
10 Nights + 10,000 bonus points = 15,000
15 Nights + 10,000 bonus points = 25,000
20 Nights + 10,000 bonus points = 35,000
25 Nights + 10,000 bonus points = 45,000
30 Nights + 10,000 bonus points = 55,000
35 Nights + 10,000 bonus points = 65,000

Very broadly, I would value 10,000 Hyatt points at around £100, on the basis that a top property costs 22,000 points to redeem and is likely to be selling in the £200-£250 range. Once you get beyond the initial 5,000 point bonus, you are effectively getting £20 of extra value back (on top of your usual points) for each extra stay.

If you are based in Europe then it may be tricky, given Hyatt’s small footprint, to get beyond 5 nights during the 3-month period. That said, if you are likely to be doing a few Hyatt nights anyway then I would sign up for this just in case.

(The photo above is the pool at the Park Hyatt Dubai, by the way, which was the last Hyatt we stayed at.)

Today, 31st August, is the last day to take advantage of this offer. You will earn 1,000 BAA WorldPoints (worth up to 2,400 Avios if converted during a conversion bonus) for spending just £10 at Heathrow or another BAA airport before the end of September.

Here is my original post on the offer and here is the sign-up form.

I signed up my Mum when this promo started and used her card at Heathrow last week when spending £13. Within 24 hours, the full 1,026 points were showing on her WorldPoints account. I will transfer these during the next WP to Avios transfer bonus, assuming another one does come along.

Meanwhile, here are three other offers which expire today, click on the links for more details:

Up to 25% discount when you buy American Airlines miles

GhettoIFE reminds us it is the last day to book Virgin Atlantic flights with BMI Diamond Club miles

30% off when you buy Hyatt Gold Passport points

Note that the AA and Hyatt links take you to points.com pages which, at least for me, struggle to work on an ipad.

A few weeks ago I posted about a way of getting Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum membership until February 2014 for just $59. This was via a paid subscription to frequent flier community Milepoint.

Unfortunately, the $59 package sold out before most were able to take advantage. A limited supply of new memberships have just been launched this morning, though, so if you jump in today you should get lucky.

My wife has just become Hyatt Platinum via a different promotion. When her physical card arrived, it came with an extra benefit – a Platinum Extras Award Certificate. This entitles her to either:

• a food or beverage amenity, or
• 1,000 bonus Gold Passport points (worth about £10) when she next pays for lunch or dinner in a Hyatt hotel. or
• a free upgrade to a Club room when she next stays at a Hyatt in the US or Canada

On the assumption that you will also receive this certificate if you get Hyatt Platinum via the Milepoint promotion, it makes the $59 package look even more interesting.

If you are a British Airways Executive Club member, you will have been emailed this offer. Convert points from major hotel schemes to Avios by 13th January and get a 25 per cent bonus.

If you collect at avios.com, you won’t have had the email. However, you can still convert to a BAEC account and move your Avios across to avios.com

So, is this a good deal or not?

In general, a 25 per cent bonus is not enough – for any promotion – to make a bad deal a great deal. 50 per cent, yes. 25 per cent is rarely a game changer.

In general, hotel points are best redeemed for hotel stays. Let’s look at the points needed for a top category redemption, say £250 a night.

Hilton – 50,000 points = 5,000 Avios
Hyatt – 22,000 points = 5,500 Avios
Marriott – 40,000 points = 12,000 Avios
Priority Club – 50,000 points = 10,000 Avios
Carlson – 50,000 points = 8,000 Avios
Starwood – 30,000 points = 35,000 Avios

Apart from Starwood, who have a very good conversion ratio, you are clearly better leaving large stashes of hotel points where they are.

However, for a small amount, it is a different game. A couple of years ago I tidied up some of my small hotel balances by converting a lot to Avios, often topping up first from Amex Membership Rewards, and didn’t regret it. If you will never earn enough for a free room, you might as well convert and a 25 per cent bonus is a good excuse.

The other thing to remember is that the hotel chains convert to many programmes, often over 20. You may get 25 per cent bonus via Avios, but perhaps topping off another account may be more useful? If you had a huge volume of hotel points, you may be able to get enough points from scratch in, say, the American Airlines programme for a tax-free UK to US redemption. Avios are not always the answer.

Final thought. You can transfer PC points to someone else for $5 per 1000, Hilton points for $25 per 10,000 and SPG points for free if you share an address. Perhaps a transfer to someone who can use a larger total for a hotel room is a better deal than Avios, even with the bonus.

Hyatt Gold Passport has launched a bonus of 10%-30% when you buy Gold Passport points, for the next 2 days.

Until February 6th, the deal is:

• Purchase 1,000 to 9,000 points and get a 10% bonus
• Purchase 10,000 to 29,000 points and get a 20% bonus
• Purchase 30,000 to 40,000 points and get a 30% bonus

At the most extreme, you are paying $960 for 52,500 points, or 1.85 cents per point.

It is possible that you might find a scenario where buying points was cheaper than booking a room. A top category Hyatt is only 22,000 points – such as Park Hyatt Tokyo – and you’d be paying (22,000 x 1.85c =) $406 or around £255 if you bought points.

A random night at Park Hyatt Tokyo (Monday 18th February) is £314 including taxes, and that is the non-refundable rate – a points night would be cancellable. In general, though, such arbitrages are not common.

My favourite Hyatt redemption is outlined in this post - 6,000 points to upgrade your room to a suite for up to four nights. Buying points for that is a no-brainer, even at the full rate. This may even be the best hotel redemption of ANY hotel programme, full stop.

Back in September, I published this post.  It was 50% a review of my stay at the InterContinental Carlton in Cannes, and 50% an overview of other interesting redemption options in that part of the world.

Nice and the surrounding region has always been a popular destination for UK travellers (hence the Promenade des Anglais, the road on the Nice seafront).  There are now two new options for burning your hotel loyalty points.

According to this article, the Hotel Martinez in Cannes is to be rebranded as a Grand Hyatt.

The Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice is to be rebranded as a Hyatt Regency.

Do not be fooled by the ‘Regency’ brand on the Nice property.  When it opened a decade ago, in a converted theatre, the Palais immediately became the best hotel in Nice and, I believe, still is.  There are great sea views from the rooms.  We had a very pleasant stay there about seven years ago, although since we had kids Nice has been off the list due to the stoney beach!  Here are a couple of pictures:

Remember that Hyatt Gold Passport allows you to upgrade your room to a suite for up to 4 nights for just 6,000 points!  (Subject to availability of suites for reward redemption, and the cheapest standard rooms are often excluded.)  This could be a great deal at these properties.  You can even buy these 6,000 points from the Hyatt website for under £100 if required ….

(The Martinez, I have to say, does not have such a great reputation and seems to be in need of refurbishment.  I have never stayed there, though.  And given Cannes prices in peak season, it would be a good deal on points whatever the condition.)

As part of the same deal, Paris gets two new Hyatt hotels as well.

The Concorde Layayette will become the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile.  The Hotel du Louvre will retain its existing name for now, but is to receive a full renovation and become an Andaz property.

Hyatt was alone amongst the big hotel chains in not running a major promotion so far this year.

They are now making up for it, with a chance to earn bonus Gold Passport points via ‘More Possibilities‘.

Registration is not yet open (it will be open from February 15th) but the headlines are:

• Receive 3,000 bonus Hyatt points for every 3 nights, to a maximum of 45,000 bonus poinst
• Register by April 30th
• Stay between March 1st and May 31st

Holders of Hyatt credit cards receive an extra 20% bonus (3,600 per 3 nights) but as the card is not available in the UK it is a moot point!

It is certainly not a life changing deal.  1,000 Hyatt points are worth £10+.  If you staying at the budget Hyatt Place properties in the US this may seen a decent rebate, but doesn’t make much of an impact at the expensive Grand Hyatt, Park Hyatt and Hyatt Regency brands seen in Europe.

However, if you are planning your hotel strategy for the next couple of months, it is worth bearing in mind.

If you want to learn a bit more about Hyatt, Gold Passport and the better redemption options, take a look at this post.

Just a quick housekeeping note.

I have created a new category in the ‘Categories’ menu (on the right hand side) called ‘Hotels – Current Promotions’.

If you click on this, it will bring up my posts on the latest quarterly / seasonal promotions for:

• Club Carlson
• Hilton HHonors
• Hyatt Gold Passport
• Marriott Rewards
• Priority Club
• Starwood Preferred Guest

So, if you suddenly find yourself in need of a hotel and want to see which chain is offering the most generous promotion this quarter, you can now do so more easily.

If you have any similar ideas which would make the site easier to use, please post below or email me at raffles [at] headforpoints.co.uk. I recently added ‘Foursquare’ and ‘Amex Currency Exchange’ categories due to reader requests, so I do listen!

The beady eyed may have noticed that a new page appeared at the top of the blog yesterday, called ‘Hotel Promos’.

This page will provide a one-stop-shop for information of the current quarterly promotions for:

• Club Carlson
• Hilton HHonors
• Hyatt Gold Passport
• Marriott Rewards
• Priority Club
• Starwood Preferred Guest

If you find yourself needing to book hotel nights, this page should be your first stopping point.  You can quickly see which chains are currently running promotions, and what you need to do to register and qualify for them.

Over Easter, I will be answering a number of the reader questions that were submitted via this article.  If you didn’t take part this time, don’t worry as I will be re-running this feature in the Summer.  Feel free to expand on or critique my answer using the Comments section below!

Today’s question is from Stripey who asked:

“If you had to pick one hotel program in which to accumulate miles and in which to earn status which would it be? (based on the following):

1) Hotels visited would be primarily in the UK and Europe

2) Hotels would mainly be city hotels

3) Standard of the hotels should be similar to Marriotts in the US (or better).  Thanks!”

There are a number of issues to consider when looking to build up hotel and points and status.  I would respond to your questions with a few of my own:

Who is paying for your travel?

If you are earning points via business trips, it is a different game to earning points on hotels you pay for yourself.  If I am spending my own money on a hotel, points or miles earning is very much secondary.  I am more concerned about the hotel I need NOW!  Don’t compromise on a bad location, a high price or scruffy property just because you earn points for the future.  Pick the right hotel for this trip.

If its a business trip, I am more flexible.  I will hardly be in the room, location is secondary as I can run around in taxis and I am not bothered if I get free breakfast or free internet due to status, as someone else is paying!   Then I will focus on building points and status.

How many hotel nights do you do?

If you are only staying 1-2 nights a month in hotels, then your best choice is still to be a free agent.   You won’t manage enough nights in a particular chain to get status.  I would focus on which hotel chain has the best promotion running at the moment.

You will notice a tab on this page at the top called ‘Hotel Promos’ which lists all the current deals at the big chains.  If I had to do a 1-night stay next week, for instance, I might pick a Hilton Group property as they are offering double points or double miles, with no minimum stay needed.  Up to March 15th, I would have gone with Club Carlson and their triple points promotion.

Can you get status via your credit cards?

Amex Platinum – which I know has a crazy £450 fee – comes with Starwood Gold, Accor Platinum and Carlson Gold status.  If you got the Platinum card and cancelled it quickly, you would get a partial fee refund and you would keep the hotel status cards for the rest of the year.

The Priority Club Black Visa card comes with Platinum status, valid at Holiday Inn, HI Express, Crowne Plaza, Indigo and InterContinental properties.  Platinum benefits are not great, though.

Hilton has a promo which lets you get Gold status after just four stays in a 90 day period – see here.  Or be very cheeky and get your Hilton card upgraded to Gold via this method.  Some chains will status match other chains, so Hilton Gold may also let you get Gold in another programme, simply by faxing over your details.

How would you spend your points?

Finally, think about how you redeem.  I am strangely partial to Priority Club.  This is actually driven by a couple of factors which are unique to me – I redeem a lot of rooms in London for family (both luxury 5-star and 3-star family rooms) and PC can deliver this.  I am also in New York and Paris and, erm, Rotherham and Sheffield a fair bit and PC has good redemption options in all these places.

Hilton is terrible in Paris, average in London for luxury and good in New York.  You can do a similar analysis for other chains.  Priority Club is cheaper for 5-star redemptions than Hilton and substantially cheaper than Starwood.  Starwood and Hyatt have a very modest presence in Europe.  This decision needs to be part of the mix as well.

Via View from the Wing, Hyatt has released a new video that actively encourages you to steal their new in-room toiletries!

Frankly, I have always stolen hotel toiletries!  There was a time, pre kids when I could travel more, when I could literally go years without having to buy shower gel!

Although, to be honest, even I was overwhelmed at Christmas when – at one stage – due to over-zealous replenishment we had 18 75ml bottles of various stuff scattered around our room at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in Dubai ….

At the top end, you know you are somewhere really smart if they have Hermes or Aqua di Parma.  There is a move, these days, to own-branded products – perhaps unfortunately – even at top-end establishments.  I still have a h-u-g-e bar of Bulgari soap that I took from the InterContinental in Hong Kong about 7 years ago …..

I have been running an unofficial series of posts on Head for Points about good hotels for redeeming your loyalty points in the south of France.  This is because it is a popular weekend break destination from the UK, with flights from regional airports across the country, and can be expensive if you pay cash.

Last year I reported how Hyatt is taking over two of the best properties in Nice and Cannes.  This is a great result for anyone with a stack of Hyatt Gold Passport points to redeem.

I also reviewed my stay at the InterContinental in Cannes (photo above), which included a visit to the Radisson SAS’s roof-top bar (photo below).  These are also both available on points.

Marriott is the latest hotel group to launch a new luxury hotel in Nice.

AC Hotels, the Spanish group which entered into a branding agreement with Marriott in 2011, has just opened a property in Nice.  Whilst the property was formerly a hotel, it has been fundamentally gutted and rebuilt.  Set a few streets back from the beach, it has an attractive rooftop pool, below, and of course benefits from having brand new interiors.  Some rooms also have sea views.

You can learn more about the hotel here.  It has been categorised at Category 7 by Marriott Rewards, which makes it 35,000 points per night.

Hyatt Gold Passport has launched a bonus of 10%-30% when you buy Gold Passport points during June.

The deal is identical to the one they ran for two days in February, ie:

• Purchase 1,000 to 9,000 points and get a 10% bonus
• Purchase 10,000 to 29,000 points and get a 20% bonus
• Purchase 30,000 to 40,000 points and get a 30% bonus

At the most extreme, you are paying $960 for 52,500 points, or 1.85 cents per point.

It is possible that you might find a scenario where buying points was cheaper than booking a room. A top category Hyatt is only 22,000 points – such as Park Hyatt Tokyo – and you’d be paying (22,000 x 1.85c =) $406 or around £266 if you bought points.  This would usually be cheaper than paying cash at this hotel, especially if you need a refundable rate.  In general, though, such arbitrages are not common.

My favourite Hyatt redemption is outlined in this post - 6,000 points to upgrade your room to a suite for up to four nights. Buying points for that is a no-brainer, even at the full rate. This may even be the best hotel redemption of ANY hotel programme, full stop.

Hyatt Stay Certificates can be a very interesting tool for the luxury traveller – or, at least, the traveller who like to travel in luxury but wants to pay less than rack rate to get it!  This post is an introduction to using them.

What are Hyatt Stay Certificates?

Here is the home page.  Put simply, they are vouchers which are valid for room-only accommodation, including all taxes, at Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt and all other brands in the Hyatt portfolio.

All of the participating Hyatt properties (there are a couple of non-participants) are grouped into one of seven categories.  There are five different certificates you can buy, reflecting these seven categories:

Classic ($109 per night)

Choice ($152.22 per night)

Premier ($188.89 per night)

Elite ($260 per night)

Inspire ($325.55 per night)

Exclusive ($394.44 per night)

Ultimate ($461.11 per night)

Certificates can be delivered to the UK if you pay the $25 FedEx fee.

You can buy certificates for up to 5 nights.  However, for maximum flexibility (should you need to shorten your stay) you should just buy lots of one night certificates and book back-to-back nights.  There is no cost saving in buying a multi-night certificate.

Do I have to buy the certificates before I book?

No!  This is one of their greatest benefits.

You can redeem Hyatt Stay Certificates at hyatt.com before you have bought them.

You need to look up which category your chosen hotel falls into – the chart is here.

For each night of your potential stay, you need to check availability at hyatt.com by putting the code below into the ‘Gift Certificate or Special Offer Code’ box:

Classic – HSCLN1

Choice – HSCHN1

Premier – HSPRN1

Elite – HSELN1

Inspire – HSINN1

Exclusive – HSXLN1

Ultimate – HSULN1

To check availability for between two and five nights at once, change the number at the end of the code to 2-5 from 1.

Once you have successfully made your booking, you can order your certificates.  They must be presented at check-in.

How much money could I save?

The ‘game’ with Hyatt Stay Certificates is to stay at the most expensive hotel, at the most expensive time of the year - assuming they have made availability available!

Let’s look at a few examples.  Calculations exclude the $25 delivery charge, and I have converted room rates to US$ for easy comparison.

Hyatt Regency The Churchill, London – 11 Dec - Elite certificate $260, cheapest room $447

Park Hyatt, Tokyo - 23 July – Inspire certificate $325, cheapest room $501

Park Hyatt, Sydney – 23 July – Ultimate certificate $461, cheapest room $773

Hyatt Regency Palais de la Mediterranee, Nice – 28 October - Choice certificate $152, cheapest room $339

As you can see, all of these examples generate genuine savings using Hyatt Stay Certificates.  Unfortunately, they are not accepted at the Park Hyatt resort in The Maldives.

Note that certificate availability is blacked out during peak periods.

Anything else I need to know?

You will NOT earn Hyatt Gold Passport points on these rates, although you should get any elite status benefits you are due.

Rooms do not include breakfast, so if you want breakfast in the hotel then you should compare the cost of the certificate plus breakfast to the cheapest cash rate with breakfast you can find.

(Click on this link Use Hyatt Stay Certificates for potentially large hotel savings throughout the day to read comments on this post from other readers, or to leave your own comment. To see all of our recent posts, visit our home page here.)

Roughly once every nine months or so, British Airways Executive Club runs a promotion offering a 25% bonus when you convert hotel loyalty points into Avios points.

Yesterday, I received an email from Hyatt Gold Passport which included the following:

Turn your Hyatt Gold Passport points into Avios with British Airways. Now when you convert your Hyatt Gold Passport points into Avios, you’ll earn a 25% bonus through July 15, 2013. Simply select “British Airways” when converting your points and the bonus Avios will be applied to your account.

At the moment, there is nothing about this promotion on the British Airways Executive Club website. I therefore cannot be certain that it applies to ALL hotel loyalty programmes and not just Hyatt Gold Passport. However, based on BA’s record over recent years, I fully suspect that it will apply to all schemes.

This is an especially juicy deal for those people who took out the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex card recently with the 20,000 bonus Starwood points! Those would normally convert into 25,000 Avios, but under this promotion you will receive 31,250 Avios! Not bad for a credit card sign-up bonus.

(Unfortunately, if you haven’t already got the Starwood card, it would be impossible to get one today and have the points in your Starwood account before 15th July. This promo will almost certainly be back, though.)

The main hotel schemes that you can convert into (BA) Avios are Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors, Club Carlson, Le Club Accorhotels, Priority Club, Hyatt Gold Passport and Starwood Preferred Guest.

Even with a 25% bonus, of course, you are usually better off using your points for free hotel nights if you think you can earn enough. The Hilton conversion rate to Avios is particularly poor, so I would only transfer those as a last resort. The Starwood conversion rate is particularly generous. Similarly, the Club Carlson transfer rate is not too bad at higher quantities (100,000 Carlson = 18,000 Avios, so 22,500 under this deal.)

Let me stress again – apart from Hyatt, there is no 100% guarantee at the moment that this promotion applies to any other hotel programme. Do not make a transfer until British Airways makes an official announcement.

(Click on this link Get a 25% bonus on transfer of hotel points to Avios (* see disclaimer!) throughout the day to read comments on this post from other readers, or to leave your own comment. To see all of our recent posts, visit our home page here.)

Back in June, I ran a long reference post entitled “Which Airlines Can I Use Avios Points On?” This was my attempt to cover all 33 airlines which let you use Avios points for their flights – not just BA partners, but also Iberia and avios.com partner airlines.

I thought it was worth doing something similar for hotels. (Car rental Avios earning is covered here.) Whilst British Airways has its own partner hotels, Iberia has its own, different, list. And, with the number of different hotel groupings, it is not always easy to know if your hotel is part of a bigger grouping that lets you earn Avios points.

This post is my best attempt at listing every hotel chain that lets you collect Avios points. Please let me know of any errors or omissions in the comments at the bottom!

All earnings rates are for BA unless stated otherwise.  Where I mention an Iberia Plus earning rate, this is because BA does not support that hotel chain.  Hilton, InterContinental and Accor are groupings where Iberia Plus has a superior earnings rate (Hilton, IC) or a superior ‘points to Avios’ conversion rate (Accor).

The only groups that allow you to collect directly into avios.com accounts are Marriott and Accor.

The Avios-earning hotel directory:

Abba Hotels (Abba) – Variable earning in Iberia Plus only, see Iberia website

AC Hotels (Marriott) – 1 Avios per $1 on room only or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Adagio (Accor) – 1 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

all seasons (Accor) – 0.5 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

aloft (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Anantara (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Andaz (Hyatt) – 500 Avios per stay or transfer Hyatt Gold Passport points

Autograph (Marriott) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Barceló Hotels (Barceló) – 150-750 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only

Candlewood Suites (IHG) – 500 Avios per stay in BA or 1,000 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

Conrad (Hilton) – see note (5) or transfer Hilton HHonors points

Courtyard by Marriott (Marriott) – 1 Avios per $1 on room only in BA or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Crowne Plaza (IHG) – 500 Avios per stay in BA or 1,500 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

Derby Hotels (Derby) – 225-900 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only (4)

Doubletree (Hilton) – see note (5) or transfer Hilton HHonors points

Eaton Hotels (Langham) – 250 Avios per night

EDITION (Marriott) – 2 Avios per $1 on room only in BA or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

element (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Embassy Suites (Hilton) – see note (5) or transfer Hilton HHonors points

EVEN Hotels (IHG) – 500 Avios per stay or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

Fairfield Inn (Marriott) – 1 Avios per $1 on room only in BA or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Fairmont (Fairmont) – 750 Avios per stay

First Hotels (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Four Points (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Gaylord (Marriott) – 2 Avios per $1 on room only or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Grand Melia (Melia) – 525 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only or convert MAS points

Hace Hoteles (Hace) – 450-600 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus only

Hampton by Hilton (Hilton) – see note (5) or transfer Hilton HHonors points

Hilton / Hilton Garden Inn (Hilton) – see note (5) or transfer Hilton HHonors points

Holiday Inn Express (IHG) – 100 Avios per stay in BA or 600 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

Holiday Inn (IHG) – 500 Avios per stay in BA or 1,000 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

Home2Suites (Hilton) – see note (5) or transfer Hilton HHonors points

Homewood Suites (Hilton) – see note (5) or transfer Hilton HHonors points

Hotel Indigo (IHG) – 500 Avios per stay in BA or 1,500 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

Hoteles Center (Center) – 225-900 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only

Hoteles Elba (Elba) – 150-750 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus only

Hualuxe (IHG) – 500 Avios per stay or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

Hyatt and all Hyatt sub-brands (Hyatt) – 500 Avios per stay or transfer Hyatt Gold Passport points

Ibis (Accor) – 0.5 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

Innside (Melia) – 225 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only or convert MAS points

InterContinental (IHG) – 500 Avios per stay in BA or 1,800 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

JW Marriott (Marriott) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Kempinski (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Kerry Hotels (Shangri-La) – 500 Avios per stay or convert Golden Circle Award Points

Langham / Langham Place (Langham) – 500 Avios per night

Le Meridien (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Leela (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Lungarno Collection (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members (4)

Luxury Collection (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Mandarin Oriental (Mandarin Oriental) – 800 Avios per stay plus extra benefits for BA Silver and Gold members

Marco Polo Hotels (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Marriott Executive Apartments (Marriott) – 1 Avios per $1 on room only in BA or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Marriott (Marriott) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

ME (Melia) – 525 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only or convert MAS points

Melia (Melia) – 225 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only or convert MAS points

Mercure (Accor) – 1 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

Metropoli (Rusticae) – 300-750 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only

MGallery (Accor) – 1 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

Mirvac Hotels (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Mokara Hotels (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Novotel (Accor) – 1 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

Occidental (Occidental) – 150-750 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus only

Omni (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Pan Pacific (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Paradisus (Melia) – 525 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only or convert MAS points

Paradores (Paradores) – 300 – 1,125 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus only

Park Inn (Carlson) – 500 Avios per stay or transfer Club Carlson points

Park Plaza (Carlson) – 500 Avios per stay or transfer Club Carlson points

PARKROYAL (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Preferred Hotels / Preferred Boutique (Preferred Hotels) – 500 Avios per stay (4)

Pullman (Accor) – 1 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

Radisson SAS / Blu (Carlson) – 500 Avios per stay or transfer Club Carlson points

Raffles (Raffles) – 500 Avios per stay

Renaissance (Marriott) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Residence Inn (Marriott) – 1 Avios per $1 on room only or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Ritz-Carlton (Marriott) – 2 Avios per $1 on room only or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Rusticae (Rusticae) – 300-750 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only

Shangri-La (Shangri-La) – 500 Avios per stay or convert Golden Circle Award Points

Shaza Hotels (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

Sheraton (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Sofitel (Accor) – 1 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

Sol (Melia) – 150 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only or convert MAS points

SpringHill Suites (Marriott) – 1 Avios per $1 on room only in BA or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

St Regis (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Staybridge Suites (IHG) – 500 Avios per stay in BA or 1,000 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus or transfer IHG Rewards Club points (6)

Sterling Hotels / Sterling Design (Preferred Hotels) – 500 Avios per stay (4)

Summit Hotels & Resorts (Preferred Hotels) – 500 Avios per stay (4)

Swissotel (Swissotel) – 500 Avios per stay

Taj (Taj) – 500 Avios per stay

Thalasso Sea & Spa (Accor) – 1 Avios per €1 or transfer Le Club Accorhotels points (1)

The Doyle Collection (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members (4)

The Gateway (Taj) – 250 Avios per stay

Tivoli Hotels (GHA) – 500 Avios per stay plus room upgrade for BA Gold members

TownePlace Suites (Marriott) – 1 Avios per $1 on room only or transfer Marriott Rewards points (3)

Traders (Shangri-La) – 500 Avios per stay or convert Golden Circle Award Points

Tryp (Melia) – 225 Avios per night in Iberia Plus only or convert MAS points

Vivanta by Taj (Taj) – 250 Avios per stay

W (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Waldorf-Astoria (Hilton) – see note (5) or transfer Hilton HHonors points

Westin (Starwood) – 2 Avios per $1 or transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points (2)

Worldhotels (Worldhotels) – 1,000 Avios per stay in Iberia Plus only (4)

Notes:

(1) – You should transfer Accor points to Iberia Plus Avios and not BA Avios, as the transfer rate is doubled! Iberia Plus is 1:1, BA is 0.5 Avios per 1 Accor point

(2) – You must be a member of Starwood Preferred Guest to earn Avios. You can set your account to have points directly deposited to BA after each stay. Gold and Platinum SPG members earn 3 Avios per $1.

(3) – You must be a member of Marriott Rewards to earn Avios. You can set your account to have points directly deposited to BA after each stay.

(4) – Hotels in this grouping are all independently named but display this branding somewhere in their promotional material

(5) – If you join Hilton HHonors, you have two earning options – either ‘Fixed Avios’ or ‘Variable Avios’ (1 Avios per $1).  If you choose ‘Fixed’, you should credit to Iberia Plus instead of BA – Iberia Plus pays 750 Avios for most brands in the chain, whilst BA only pays 500 Avios.  You will also earn Hilton HHonors points. If you are NOT a Hilton HHonors member, show your BA card and earn 1 Avios per $1 (the ‘fixed’ option is not available).

(6) – You must be a member of IHG Rewards Club to earn Avios

(Thanks to Simon for the idea)

(Click on this link Which hotel chains let me collect Avios points? throughout the day to read comments on this post from other readers, or to leave your own comment. To see all of our recent posts, visit our home page here.)

What the heck is going on with Avios and the semi-secret 25% bonuses on hotel points transfers?!

You may remember, on June 22nd, I wrote this post.  I had been emailed by Hyatt and offered a 25% bonus if I transferred my Gold Passport points to Avios by 15th July.  Weirdly, this promo was not on the BA or Hyatt websites even though it appeared open to all.

I wrote that I expected this to be the start of the semi-regular ’25% bonus on all hotel transfers’ promotion which British Airways runs.  But silence followed ….!

Then, yesterday, a few people reported receiving the following email from Club Carlson, the Radisson / Park Inn / Park Plaza chain:

Dear XXX,

Convert your Gold Points^® to Avios before 31st July 2013 and earn 25% bonus Avios with British Airways Executive Club (e.g. exchange 8,000 Gold Points and receive 1,000 Avios + 250 bonus Avios).

Then, use your Avios to fly to your dream destination sooner than you thought.

Click on the link below and select ‘Airline Miles’ to convert your points.

Now, what have the Club Carlson people been smoking?!

8,000 Club Carlson points no longer gets you 1,000 Avios!  Since Carlson secretly devalued its airline transfer deal a few weeks ago, 8,000 Carlson points only gets you 800 Avios points!

However, let’s forget all this for a minute and concentrate on the positive news!

When you click on ‘Terms and Conditions’, you see this:

This promotion is only open to Eligible Participants.  An Eligible Participant is a person aged 18 or over and is a British Airways Executive Club (“BAEC”) Member (membership terms and conditions apply) and is enrolled and registered with one of the participating hotel partner loyalty programmes.

Eligible Participants will receive 25% more BAEC Avios (“Bonus Avios”) when they convert Qualifying Hotel Loyalty Points into Avios during the Qualifying Period.

“Qualifying Period” is between 1 July and 31 July 2013.

What this means to me is that this offer IS part of a wider promotion, involving multiple hotel chains.  What I don’t understand is:

Why we have only seen two versions of it so far (from Hyatt and Carlson)?

Why the offer – despite not being targetted – is only being emailed to certain people?

Why the Hyatt version had a 15th July closing date?  Was this a typo?

 All very odd.  If you receive any similar emails from other hotel schemes, please do forward them to me at raffles [at] headforpoints.co.uk

(Thanks to Neil and others)

(Click on this link Now Club Carlson launches a semi-secret 25% Avios transfer bonus! throughout the day to read comments on this post from other readers, or to leave your own comment. To see all of our recent posts, visit our home page here.)

As I have written numerous times before on Head for Points, just when you think that every possible ‘miles and points’ website idea has been tried, someone pops up with something different.

Award Mapper is still in beta at the moment, but is fully usable. What it does is very simple but very clever. For any location in the world, it will show you all of the potential hotels which take part in the six major hotel loyalty schemes:

• Club Carlson
• Hilton HHonors
• Hyatt Gold Passport
• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Rewards
• Starwood Preferred Guest

… along with the points required.

It is not yet fully accurate, but is not far off. For example, if you search for Sheffield, it offers the Park Inn Rotherham as an option. (At 9,000 Club Carlson points – just 3,000 Amex Membership Rewards points if you do a transfer – this is the best value although certainly not luxurious option in the wider area.) However, if you do a separate search for Rotherham, the Park Inn Rotherham does not show up!

Off the top of my head, the Sheffield list is accurate. Adding Le Club Accorhotels would have been handy, though, as that would have pulled in the Novotel, Mercure and Ibis. Best Western is also represented in the area.

So, it is not quite there yet. However, Award Mapper certainly has the potential to be interesting and could save you a bit of time researching options.

(Click on this link Introducing Award Mapper, a clever new site for hotel reward bookings throughout the day to read comments on this post from other readers, or to leave your own comment. To see all of our recent posts, visit our home page here.)

In a very low key way, British Airways has been offering double (or even triple) Avios points when you credit hotel stays.

The current offers are:

Swissotel – earn double Avios, 1000 per stay, until 30th September (more details)

Langham – earn double Avios, 1000 per night, until 31st August (more details)

Hyatt – earn double Avios until 30th September (more details)

Kempinski – earn double Avios until 30th September (more details)

Radisson – earn double Avios until 15th September (more details)

Raffles Hotels – earn triple Avios until 31st August (more details)

Accor (Novotel, Sofitel, Mercure) – earn triple Avios with 2+ nights until 30th September (more details)

Park Plaza – earn double Avios until 31st August (more details)

Preferred Hotel Group – earn double Avios until 31st December (more details)

In general, you will be collecting Avios instead of collecting points with the hotel chain. Make sure that you aren’t giving up something more valuable by asking for Avios, even with double or triple miles.

(Click on this link Double Avios points with various hotel chains over the Summer throughout the day to read comments on this post from other readers, or to leave your own comment. To see all of our recent posts, visit our home page here.)