Hotel member rates vs Senior rate

[Steve s]

Dont stay at hotels very often but when I do compare prices I usually find member prices $7 to $10 dollars higher then the AARP or senior price. Im aware that using the member prices I build up points toward a free stay but it takes around 17000 points to get that benefit so it would take awhile for me to accumulate the points plus Im paying more for the membership rates so it is not as big of savings paying the extra $7 for each stay. Wondering if the not so often travelers us the members rate or use the cheaper rate when booking. Just curious! I am a Wyndham member.

 

[COcheesehead]

We always shop and compare. Sometimes the lowest rate is the same across all discounts. We do not use the discount sites since you gain no points because the hotel is booked by a third party and if you are diligent about it, they do add up and provide value.
Also, you do not need to reach a certain point level to use points. Sometimes even a few thousand will get you a discount. We recently stayed at a Hilton hotel and even with our small point total, the entire stay was $19.
Being a member though may also provide you with other benefits. Free Wi-Fi, preferred parking, free bottled water, cookies, etc.
Lately we’ve been leaning toward member rates because in the long run we feel they deliver a better value with free or discounted nights. We have Wyndham, Hilton and IHG. Those cover a lot of chains.

 

[braumeister]

The hotels I stay at offer the best rates when you book direct with them, and I usually get even better rates by being a member of their reward programs.

Every time I've run a comparison with the bargain sites I've found this to be true, so I don't even think about that anymore.

I also get a lot of free or low cost nights from reward points. I only use them in expensive locations, so they mount up nicely the rest of the time.

 

[athena53]

I try to avoid booking through third parties since it just means that if something goes wrong there's a lot of finger-pointing. As others have noted, it also means you're unlikely to get any points so the discount is partly due to that.

I use Hilton most of the time and the AARP, Senior and Member rates are usually similar.

 

[njhowie]

Almost always I've found AARP/senior gets better rate and more flexibility. Some times later checkout, some times longer period to cancel or a refundable rate depending on the chain.

A couple times member rate had a special which were better and I took that instead.

 

[audreyh1]

My experience is that AAA rates are better discounted than membership rates, and often also better than AARP or senior discounts. Also typically the AAA rate isn’t pre-pay and gives a better cancellation option.

I always book directly with the hotel, and simply need to select the AAA rate which usually prompts me to enter the number when I complete the booking.

 

[cathy63]

I find that it varies a lot. Sometimes I get the best rates through hotels.com, sometimes it's best booking direct. Sometimes the AAA or AARP rate is best, sometimes it's not.

For a real-time example, here are some notes I made this morning when I realized we should stay in a hotel for a few days at Christmas because MIL's house will be full and we would end up on an air mattress if we stayed there. We haven't decided whether to stay 2 or 3 nights, so I looked at both.

These rates are for a Kimpton (IHG) hotel we like that's in walking distance to MIL's place. All these rates have free cancellation up to 2 days in advance.

Nightly Rates	3-night stay	2-night stay
Best available rate	$116	$171
AAA	$139	$140
Senior	$140	$143
AARP	$139	$140
Member	$169	$171
Parking Pkg	$192	$194
hotels.com	$155 ($172)	$157 ($174)

Parking $65/day or $55/day if booked at the same time as the room on IHG's site

Hotels.com rebates 10% of the nightly rate in the form of a credit for a future booking, so I subtract 10% from their rates for my comparisons.

Amazon credit card has 15% in rewards right now, max reward of $69 -- must add offer to card via chaseoffers email and pay by 12/31/2022. Hotels.com booking qualifies for this rebate as long as we pay at the hotel.

So, it turns out that if we are going to stay 3 nights, we should book on the IHG website using the best available rate and add parking. If we decide to stay 2 nights, we should book on the IHG website using the Parking Package rate. In neither case is the senior, aarp or aaa rate the best deal.

 

[Montecfo]

I almost always book direct and am a platinum member at several of the chains, including Wyndham. I find the senior rates with Wyndham for example may be the same of lower than the member rates. AAA rates usually match the senior rates there, but some AAA discounts at mom and pops or other chains may be lower. Now that we qualify for senior rates most places, we have not used AAA.

As long as you book through the Wyndham site just take the lowest rate they offer, which will include senior rates, you get the points. If I find a great deal from a third party, I will take that also. That happens sometimes, but you have to watch out for added restrictions at sites such as booking, which may make cancellation more time restricted (or be no refund).

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I always book on the hotel’s own website. I don’t trust involving a 3rd party. I book the rate with preferable rate and/or terms. I generally won’t pre-pay for a room. And I don’t like ones that can’t be cancelled. But I will occasionally book where they can be cancelled up until a week or so prior.

OP, are you finding that if you book using a non-member rate that you DON’T get the hotel chain’s reward points? I don’t think I’ve seen that. I’m pretty sure I get point no matter what rate I use as long as I book directly.

 

[audreyh1]

These rates are for a Kimpton (IHG) hotel we like that's in walking distance to MIL's place. All these rates have free cancellation up to 2 days in advance.

Nightly Rates	3-night stay	2-night stay
Best available rate	$116	$171
AAA	$139	$140
Senior	$140	$143
AARP	$139	$140
Member	$169	$171
Parking Pkg	$192	$194
hotels.com	$155 ($172)	$157 ($174)

So the best available rate, which is much lower than the others for 3 nights, is not associated with any rewards program or affiliation? Is there anything else it’s associated with?

Often best available is prepaid but you stated 2 days cancellation in this case.

Can I hire you as my travel booking agent? ha ha

 

[cathy63]

So the best available rate, which is much lower than the others for 3 nights, is not associated with any rewards program or affiliation? Is there anything else it’s associated with?

Sometimes best available is prepaid.

Nope. That's a fully refundable rate (up to 48 hrs prior to arrival) that can be booked by anyone even if they're not an IHG member. I don't understand this pricing at all, but I'm more than willing to take advantage of it!

 

[pacergal]

I almost always go through the hotel website to book directly, and check their best available against AAA, AARP prices and benefits. The hotels "best available" is almost always the lowest, at least at the places we chose to stay at.
The best available often requires full payment at time of booking, but does have fully refundable up to a day or two prior to arrival. Only had to do that once and got the full amount back without problem.

 

[audreyh1]

I almost always go through the hotel website to book directly, and check their best available against AAA, AARP prices and benefits. The hotels "best available" is almost always the lowest, at least at the places we chose to stay at.
The best available often requires full payment at time of booking, but does have fully refundable up to a day or two prior to arrival. Only had to do that once and got the full amount back without problem.

I’ll have to pay careful attention to that. The pre-paids I’ve seen were non-refundable, maybe I missed some that were.

Road trips I’m a last minute online booker (15 mins ahead in some cases, or even just arrived in the parking lot) so no cancellation under those circumstances obviously. But even in that case AAA has almost always been the best rate.

 

[Sunset]

I almost always book direct and am a platinum member at several of the chains, including Wyndham. I find the senior rates with Wyndham for example may be the same of lower than the member rates. AAA rates usually match the senior rates there, but some AAA discounts at mom and pops or other chains may be lower. Now that we qualify for senior rates most places, we have not used AAA.

As long as you book through the Wyndham site just take the lowest rate they offer, which will include senior rates, you get the points. If I find a great deal from a third party, I will take that also. That happens sometimes, but you have to watch out for added restrictions at sites such as booking, which may make cancellation more time restricted (or be no refund).

You said what I wanted to say, except I'm not platinum

I tried a few times, literally phoning the hotel to book, and the 2 times I did it, there was screw ups. Likely because the desk clerk really probably used a website and doesn't book rooms often.

Now I just use the reward site that the hotel belongs to (ex Wyndham) and pick the lowest price status (AARP, senior, etc) , as I'll get the points as well.

I did find this summer, using AARP really paid off a few times.

 

[Steve s]

Appreciate the comments! Next time I book direct online I will have to be sure Im logged into my account to see if I get points even if I dont take the members rate. I just assumed I had to take members rate to get points. Thanks again.

 

[foxfirev5]

In addition to checking all available rates, DW will call the property directly and ask for the top secret returning guest rate, welcome back rate or whatever it's called.

 

[brett]

The hotels I stay at offer the best rates when you book direct with them, and I usually get even better rates by being a member of their reward programs.

Every time I've run a comparison with the bargain sites I've found this to be true, so I don't even think about that anymore.

I also get a lot of free or low cost nights from reward points. I only use them in expensive locations, so they mount up nicely the rest of the time.

Ditto. We do exactly the same. We only use our Marriott points or our bonus nights. Last time in Sydney, Australia we use them for 5 nights at a Sheraton and got the 6th night free.

 

[qwerty3656]

We are usually flexible on which hotel we stay in, so I'll use something like priceline to compare rates. I'll then compare the rate on the hotel site and if it is anywhere close to the priceline rate I'll book there (to get the points).

 

[audreyh1]

Appreciate the comments! Next time I book direct online I will have to be sure Im logged into my account to see if I get points even if I dont take the members rate. I just assumed I had to take members rate to get points. Thanks again.

I don’t think so. I have never taken the members rate and always get the points.

 

[audreyh1]

I’m kind of picky where we stay and generally only use Hilton and Marriott properties and lately pretty much their properties that have full kitchens. Unless out in the boonies somewhere of course.

These are on road trips traveling to destinations. At destinations I rarely use hotels anymore.

 

[foxfirev5]

The golden years of the points programs have passed DW and I. I was an original member of the Holiday Inn plan. 1982 with one point per night and 10 nights got a free stay. Hilton Hhonors got you 6 nights in Honolulu or Key West for 240k in the early 2000's. Now it's 1.5 nights.

After 3000 nights in Hilton hotels I was rewarded with lifetime Diamond status. I'm sure that has been degraded to worthless with various credit card spending programs.

Meanwhile DW has dug deeper and found some real gems and negotiated admirably. Go directly to the property for the best deals. One of our favorites has a special room for the 3rd party bookings. It's called the dungeon.

 

[Chuckanut]

So the best available rate, which is much lower than the others for 3 nights, is not associated with any rewards program or affiliation? Is there anything else it’s associated with?

Often best available is prepaid but you stated 2 days cancellation in this case.

Can I hire you as my travel booking agent? ha ha

I have seen 'best available rate' contain a booby trap. Sometimes it's not refundable. Other times the time for cancelling and not having to pay for the first night is 3 to 5 days out, rather than the more normal 1-2 days ahead of time. Be careful.

Normally, I find that the senior/member rate is the best deal overall and still allows me to cancel within 24 to 48 hours. I also take advantage of bonus points by having the hotel's affinity CC which earns points over and above the normal points for staying the night. The CC gives me 'status' and about 40% of the time I get a minor but nice upgrade to a somewhat more spacious room. Keep in mind I tend to travel at off peak times, otherwise I suspect my upgrade luck would not be so good. Sometimes the upgrade is a small balcony off the room that looks over the crowded noisy freeway. Not so great.

A friend of mine has a Hilton card that gives him the 'status' needed to get a free breakfast even if the particular Hilton chain does not normally offer free breakfasts to all guests. Since a hot breakfast for two can easily hit $30+ these days, the card is well worth the yearly fee. I think he is grandfathered in on the free breakfast deal.

 

[audreyh1]

Does it seem like a whole lot of new hotels have been built within the last 5 years?

 

[brett]

When traveling, if we find ourselves in a large city on the weekend we search out rates at four and five star hotels that cater to business. They sometimes have great weekend rates.

We do prepay on occasion but only when the discount is at least 25 percent. We do this more often in SE Asia where some of the hotels have excellent three day pre paid rates.

The other thing we sometimes do is avoid the 1-800 or on line reservation centers in favor of calling or emailing the specific hotel directly. More than a few times we have scored a better offer by doing so. It may say best available price on the chain web site but from our perspective that only means best price for on line booking!

In Europe we tend to stay at smaller family run hotels, B&B's or condos. We will always as what the discount is for cash. Last trip to Greece we had an oceanfront condo on Zakynthos.
Price on booking.com for our stay was 500E. This was in early October. Managed to find the owner on line, contacted him, and did a cash deal for 250E. If we do not get a discount for cash we will often get a room upgrade of a good breakfast in lieu. Just depends on the country. Italy and Greece are great for cash discounts.....if you ask.

 

[jcfradio]

I checked several Hilton Hotel brands where I have upcoming reservations, and the member price was EXACTLY the same as the AAA, Senior, AARP rates. But, perhaps calling the hotel directly just before you will be arriving, may net you a better price if they aren't busy, but I have seen this go both ways. Most recently I paid $215 for a Friday night at a Hampton Inn in Syracuse, NY, for a booking made that day. Normally that room on a Friday night would be about $120, so its a bit of a crap shoot to wait, IMHO.