Hotels.com points now stink

[tizod]

After years of hotels.com gold status, and many free nights with the effective 10% nights bonus, they have switched to the OneKeyPass which is nominal, at best.

I looked at the Points Guy and a few others, and now it seems there is no standout. Any ideas to share?

I likely will now go Mariott/United/etc direct bookings as I have lifetime gold with them, at minimum. Also, I usually don't do the credit cards, but signup bonuses are not bad (but I hate the annual fee). Yes, you can tell I travel alot for work & home. But I liked picking my best deal and getting points outside a specific chain. It just seems there is no advantage anymore for that.

 

[easysurfer]

Thanks for the heads up. I used to book primarily with Hotels.com but stopped because they changed their website I think from an easy to navigate to less easy experience. Then I switched to Booking.com but wasn't happy with that either as seems for the least amount I travel, a better deal is just to book directly with hotels.

I was wondering if the hotels.com OneKeyPass thing is any good and now I know.

 

[athena53]

<snip> Also, I usually don't do the credit cards, but signup bonuses are not bad (but I hate the annual fee.

I just got a Hilton Amex with no annual fee and the sign-on bonus was 80,000 points after a minimum spend- I forget the amount. Drawbacks are that some businesses won't take Amex because of their steep merchant fees and it does tie you to Hilton, but there are a few perks that come with loyalty to one chain- sometimes you can check in early, check out late, and once they reversed an "uncancellable" reservation I made by mistake when I called and asked nicely.

It sits in the sock drawer when I'm not headed to a Hilton property.

You noted that you wanted to be able to choose the best deal among multiple hotel brands but I suspect that the hotels have chosen to save the most generous rewards for people loyal to their own brand. That's capitalism!

 

[easysurfer]

I just got a Hilton Amex with no annual fee and the sign-on bonus was 80,000 points after a minimum spend- I forget the amount. Drawbacks are that some businesses won't take Amex because of their steep merchant fees and it does tie you to Hilton, but there are a few perks that come with loyalty to one chain- sometimes you can check in early, check out late, and once they reversed an "uncancellable" reservation I made by mistake when I called and asked nicely.

It sits in the sock drawer when I'm not headed to a Hilton property.

You noted that you wanted to be able to choose the best deal among multiple hotel brands but I suspect that the hotels have chosen to save the most generous rewards for people loyal to their own brand. That's capitalism!

I think Booking.com gives me the best quick search on hotels nearby my destinations. But by mostly booking directly with the hotels, I've now become a Booking.com leach , using their site to browse but buy direct at the hotel sites to get stuff like AAA or AARP discounts not offered at Booking.com.

Guess that's [-]cheapskate [/-]consumerism!

 

[athena53]

I think Booking.com gives me the best quick search on hotels nearby my destinations. But by mostly booking directly with the hotels, I've now become a Booking.com leach , using their site to browse but buy direct at the hotel sites to get stuff like AAA or AARP discounts not offered at Booking.com.

Guess that's [-]cheapskate [/-]consumerism!

I do that all the time with Orbitz. Like most people here I avoid the 3rd-party sites because the few times I've had issues with hotel bookings it's been reservations not made directly with the hotel.

 

[easysurfer]

I do that all the time with Orbitz. Like most people here I avoid the 3rd-party sites because the few times I've had issues with hotel bookings it's been reservations not made directly with the hotel.

I meant to say leech .

 

[audreyh1]

I generally go with Google Maps to see what hotels are quoting in a given area. For one-nighters US I usually use Hilton or Marriott unless they are not convenient. We care more about amenities than price. At destinations I prefer renting a house/condo.

 

[Chuckanut]

I stopped using Hotel.com years ago when I noticed that their prices were usually about 10% higher than Booking.com. I still use booking.com since sometimes they have a deal that beats anybody else. But, normally I book direct with the hotel these days.



The big exception is when I have enough points on my Chase Sapphire Preferred card and can get the 25% extra bonus when using those points. The last few rooms I booked that were under $100 a night were via the Chase points. But, I so rarely use the Chase card the points don't add up that fast. So mostly I book direct if possible.