$50 off $250 at LA hotels. 20% off gift cards possible.

Valid through 4/15/2015:

Register any eligible Amex card and make a single purchase of $250 or more on charges to your room at participating LA area hotels by 4/15/2015 and get a $50 statement credit.

Details:

• Register your Amex cards here.
• You may register as many eligible Amex cards as you want.
• All Amex cards are eligible except corporate cards and prepaid cards.  In other words, Serve, Bluebird, REDbird, etc. are not eligible.
• Registration is limited, so it’s a good idea to signup now, just in case.
• You can find participating hotels here.
• $250 or more must be spent in a single transaction.  Some hotels charge a deposit fee to your credit card and then the balance upon checkout.  This could mess up your plans if you’re trying to maximize this promotion.  If so, make sure upon checkout, to insist on making the payment all at once on your Amex card (or spread across multiple Amex cards, if your total bill is a multiple of $250).
• Full terms & conditions can be found here.  Note that the terms claim: Reservations made through third party websites or travel agencies will not be eligible.

Gift cards:

With past promotions like these, people have had success in buying gift cards at participating hotels in order to earn the statement credit.  I can’t promise that this will work, but its very likely that it will.  A few suggestions:

• Call the hotel in question to ask if they sell gift cards before making the trip.
• I have yet to find a Hilton property that sells gift cards on site.
• Buy gift cards only at the front desk. Purchases made in the hotel gift shop or restaurant are unlikely to qualify for statement credit.
• Gift cards bought at one chain brand are usually good for use at all properties within that same chain.  For example, a Courtyard by Marriott gift card can be used at all Marriott properties.
• Some gift cards can only be used in the US or have other similar restrictions.  Check the terms of the gift card before you buy.
• If you want to buy denominations larger than $250, the hotel should be able to split tender your purchase across multiple Amex cards.  For example, buy a $500 gift card and pay $250 on each of two registered Amex cards.

CAUTION: The terms of the deal claim “Reservations made through third party websites or travel agencies will not be eligible”.  I think this simply means that payments to travel agencies instead of participating hotels won’t count.  There is some chance, though, that a reservation made directly with the participating hotels is needed.

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