# Anyone have a Starwood (or Hilton) hotel discount cert (or code) they're not using?



## dlpearson (Jun 7, 2007)

Trying to lessen the impact of an upcoming hotel stay at Niagara Falls....

Thanks!
David


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## Ekaaj (Jun 7, 2007)

I don't have a code for this, but if you are Starwood Preferred Guest, you can use 1,000 points for 50% off the rack rate.  I believe this is subject to availability, but you can always ask.  (Call the SPG phone number, not regular reservations.)  Sometimes it's not worth it, as it saves you only a few bucks, but other times it can save you hundreds.  We are using it for our anniversary this fall to get a very nice suite, and are saving quite a bit of money.

You could also see if the Cash and Points option is available.


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## nodge (Jun 7, 2007)

Sounds like your dates are fixed and you aren’t too picky about which hotel you stay in (so long as it is a Starwood/Hilton quality).  Accordingly, I’d suggest you book a 4 star hotel using either Hotwire or Priceline.

So you aren't bidding entirely in the dark. . . .

Here is a link to a web site that identifies the NF Hotwire Hotels (and the rates people who were kind enough to post ‘em got):

Here is the same info for Priceline Hotels and the rates folks got using Priceline.

In general, you can get a better deal bidding on Priceline than you can get just booking the set price posted for a particular hotel on Hotwire.  Usually, Priceline and Hotwire deals are even better than coupon/promotional rates offered by the hotels themselves.

Bookings on either web site are non-refundable / non-exchangeable, but if you are willing to roll the dice, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Good Luck,
-nodge


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## DeniseM (Jun 7, 2007)

We stayed at the Sheraton Niagra Falls on a Priceline bid and got a nice room for way cheap!  Note that the standard rooms (which you get on a Priceline bid) have queen beds and if you want a king bed, you have to pay for an upgrade.


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## dlpearson (Jun 8, 2007)

Thanks everyone, for your help.  I'm not a StarPoints member.  It appears the Hilton and Sheraton are the best location and properties, hence why I was focusing there.  We'd like a room with a view of the falls, so hoping to use a discount that I can at least try to guarantee the view type.

I'm a Priceline virgin, but am willing to try.  My guess is you'd likely get a city-view room though....

David


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## pointsjunkie (Jun 8, 2007)

call and ask starwood what the spg50 rate would be,if it is a good rate ,i can send you an spg50. i have many of them.


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## Ekaaj (Jun 8, 2007)

David,

I don't know how much time you have until your vacation, but you might try looking into the SPG program.  You won't have many points just by signing up, but if you get the SPG Amex card, I think they give you 10,000 points for your first purchase.  It might be worth it if you really want a "view" room.  I looked at the Starwood website, and I think that for the hotels near the Falls, you could do cash and points, points only, the SPG50% off, or a combination of those.

Either way, I'm with you - I like to know what room I am getting, which is why I don't use sites like Priceline very much.  DH and I like nice rooms, balconies, and great views, and it's worth it to us to pay a little bit more, or do more research to find the best deal on a particular room.  Good luck!


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## Ekaaj (Jun 8, 2007)

P.S. You probably would get a city view booking through a website like Priceline.  You might have more choices on a site like Expedia, where they often show more than one room type.


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## Westin5Star (Jun 9, 2007)

pointsjunkie said:


> call and ask starwood what the spg50 rate would be,if it is a good rate ,i can send you an spg50. i have many of them.



I have seen these certificates sold on ebay in the past but I do not recall what the price was.  You may want to sell some of yours if they will go unused.  BTW, it was very nice of you to offer to send one to someone else!


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## saluki (Jun 9, 2007)

Westin5Star said:


> I have seen these certificates sold on ebay in the past but I do not recall what the price was.  You may want to sell some of yours if they will go unused.  BTW, it was very nice of you to offer to send one to someone else!



You can also send in expired spg50 certificates to Starwood & they will replace them with new ones. This is per "Starwood Lurker" - the Starwood CSR on FlyerTalk.


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## Ekaaj (Jun 9, 2007)

Thanks for the 50% certificate info, everyone!  We still have ones from '05 and '06 - good to know we can trade them in!

Oh, and one more thing.  Definitely compare outside sites to the actual hotel website pricing.  When looking for rates for a hotel stay next week, Priceline was actually $20 higher than if we booked directly with the resort.


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## nerodog (Jun 9, 2007)

*discounts with AAA or AARP*

I have stayed at the Starwood Properties and use either my AAA card or AARP.. both offer the same discount....


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## DeniseM (Jun 10, 2007)

Ekaaj said:


> Priceline was actually $20 higher than if we booked directly with the resort.



Priceline has two different reservation systems:

1.  A conventional system where you see all the info., and choose your hotel and price. and make a conventional reservation.

2.  A program where you bid on unknown accomodations, but choose your zone, class, and rate, which go for much less than their conventional booking service.

Which are you referring to?


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## Ekaaj (Jun 10, 2007)

Oh yes, I am aware of Priceline's two different systems.  The rate for our resort was $20 higher using the conventional system, and even higher than Expedia.  Sometimes this is the case, sometimes it isn't.  For us, using Priceline's "bidding" system, where you do not know which hotel you are bidding on, is a moot point for the resort where we are headed, as "resorts" and 4-stars don't even show up in the Priceline "Name Your Own Price" option for the area we are headed to. 

(In other words, when you click on "Name Your Own Price" and indicate the area of the city that you prefer, which in our case, is an area well outside the city, the only hotel category that shows as available is 2 1/2 star or less.)

The reason I mentioned this to the original poster is that he said he is definitely looking for a "view" room.  You can't specify if you want a "view" room when you use Priceline's "Name Your Own Price", so if this is the case, he'd have to use the conventional reservation method of Priceline, or Expedia, etc.  I have often been surprised and disappointed, when researching vacations, when these sites are so much higher (sometimes more than 15%) than the actual hotel's website - especially if you consider that there might be outside booking fees vs. the benefits of hotel loyalty points/discounts by booking direct.   Thus, the reminder to make sure to compare Priceline/Expedia/etc room rates with all the options available by booking direct.

That said, you can sometimes save a lot by booking through sites like Expedia or Priceline; it just depends on where you are going, and how much or how little say you want in which room you actually get.  If we are interested in a really great room in a particular location within the hotel, we usually stick to booking direct.


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## LisaRex (Jun 11, 2007)

Believe it or not, but AAA and Entertainment still offer some of the best deals out there.


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