You probably already know about the upcoming Daily Getaways sponsored by American Express and the US Travel Association. The idea is that every day from April 9 through May 11, a new travel deal will become available at 1 PM ET. In past years there have been some really great deals which often sold out very quickly. If there is a deal that appeals to you, check the Daily Getaways site for a link to “like” the merchant on Facebook and you will get a code that allows you into the presale an hour earlier.
Currently, the first three weeks of deals are available to view (not to buy). To see them, go to Daily Getaways and click on the “Calendar” tab. There is a potentially great deal for buying points in the third week (see details in this TravelBy Points post). In addition to that deal, I’m tempted by the Marriott deal in week 2. On April 18th, Marriott TravelCards will be available for a nice discount. The prices start off at 11% off of face value, but if you pay with an American Express card, you get 10% off of that for a combined price of 20% off.
In order to maximize my savings, I’ll do the following:
- Buy Marriott TravelCards via the Daily Getaways promotion
- Book Marriott stays by first going through the Ultimate Rewards Mall for 3 points per dollar
- Prior to my Marriott stays, I will call to request a Platinum Elite Challenge. This will give me Platinum status for the rest of the month in which I signup plus 3 more months after that (or longer if I stay 18 nights during that time). In addition to possible upgrades and other perks, Platinum status will increase the points I earn from my stays by 50%.
In case you have questions about how the TravelCards can be used, here are the listed Terms and Conditions:
Within 10-14 business days of purchase, you will receive your Marriott TravelCard via U.S. mail at the shipping address provided at purchase. Upon receipt, visit any Marriott brand hotel property worldwide to redeem for stays, dining, spa treatments or golf.
- Marriott TravelCards may be used at all JW Marriott® Hotels & Resorts, Autograph CollectionSM, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott® Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard® by Marriott, Fairfield Inn® & Suites, SpringHill Suites®, Residence Inn®, TownePlace Suites®, and Marriott Vacation Club®(rentals only), and participating hotel retail, spa, golf, or food and beverage outlets.
- Card is a pre-paid card, not a credit card, and is property of and issued by MI Fulfillment Services, LLC. Protect card like cash.
- Card cannot be applied to group, special corporate/negotiated, catering, associate, or other discounted/non-commissionable rates.
- Card cannot be used when reservation is booked by a travel agent or other third party.
- Card cannot be used to secure a reservation.
- Card is not redeemable for cash and change will not be returned except as required by law. Change is not provided by hotels. See pre-paid card terms and conditions.
- There are no blackout dates on TravelCards.
- Card is not replaceable if lost, stolen, or destroyed.
- Marriott TravelCard and Marriott GiftCard terms vary.
- Card becomes inactive when all value has been redeemed.
- Each transaction will be debited against card balance; if transaction exceeds balance, user must pay the difference.
- To check card balance visit gifts.marriott.com or call 1-800-442-6132. For balance information outside the U.S. and Canada use the AT&T Direct® access number for the country you are calling from with 1-800-442-6132.
- Use of card confirms acceptance of terms above.
- All sales are final.
What do you think? Do you see any Daily Deals worth getting?
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Sophie: The travel card can be used directly to pay for hotel stays, but it can’t be used to buy points. So, you’ll need to find the best rate you can, book the room, and then use the travel card when checking out to pay for the room. Make sure not to book a prepaid rate because you can’t pay for those with a travel card
Hi! I’m very new to this but I have a Mariott Travel Card and I tried to use it to buy the points I was missing for my night at a Marriott Hotel. The lady told me there was no way to use it to buy points… would any one know how to do it ? Thanks!
Are you going to sell your Marriott cards?
Valeria: I haven’t decided yet. Why, were you hoping to buy them?
Dang. The marriott cards sold out in under an hour! Why did I need to go get lunch!
Steve: It wasn’t easy, but I got two $500 cards
I would try, but we paid for the rest of the stay with a Marriott credit card so the UR folks won’t have a record of the transaction on their end. Now if I used the SP card…. Then they would be wondering how I stayed at a Marriott for $9.49…. And likely would only want to give the UR points for that part of the transaction. So probably a dead end with this one…
I have booked a Marriott stay through the UR Mall earlier this year and paid with mostly gift cards/remainder credit card as part of another deal. No go on the 3 extra points from the UR Mall here. It may have also been that I used a Corp. Rate code, but this did not affect earning any of the other points from the stay.
Steelsnow: Are you going to call Chase to see if you can get the points? It can’t hurt…
Miles Mania: I don’t know
Does anyone know if these offers are also valid for those of us outside of North America?
@jimmy – it’s not been announced that plat status is for ALL PC VISA cards. There is an app that lists it as a benefit.
I got something in the mail announcing plat status for as long as I hold my card.
However, my wife just signed up using a 80k signup link. Her signup bonus hasn’t hit yet, and the welcome packet specifically mentioned gold status for the life of the card. We’re hoping she gets bumped to Plat. If not, I’ll wait for the 80k points to be credited, then I’ll SM Chase asking them to add that benefit to her card since it’s publicly offered.
OK, back to the presale – I suppose we have to “like” every Wyndham brand’s page that is offered that we want to bid on?
As an aside, I love how many likes I got for posting that I Liked the Super 8 Motel deal…
FrequentMiler, thank you for the mention and referral! By the way, Priority Club Select Visa card recently added a new benefit – platinum status for as long as you have the card. It used to depend on whether you got 60k or more bonus points when signing up for the card.
@ caveman, getting platinum is really easy at Priority Club. Just get 60k PC points.
you can get that by spending $360 (PC points are .6 cpp), then redeeming your 60k points on hotel nights.
There’s not such a matching program for Royal Ambassador (Intercontinental), but you can purchase that status too for a few hundred dollars.
Does the travel card charge foreign transaction fee?
caveman: I’m not aware of a formal elite challenge for Priority Club, but I believe they are likely to match status if you have elite status with another chain. A few other options include: 1) buy enough points for elite status (as Steve mentioned); or 2) get the PriorityClub Visa which gives card holders gold status and some card holders Platinum status (I don’t know how they decide who gets the latter).
Valerie: I’m pretty sure there is no foreign transaction fee, but there is a risk that the exchange rate they use will be unfavorable. I don’t have any first hand experience with this.
Is there a similar elite challenge for Priority Club Rewards/IHG ?
Stephen: when you go through the Ultimate Rewards Mall to Marriott to make a booking, the booking should be tracked for extra points regardless of how you pay. It’s very similar to cash back sites like Big Crumbs in that way
I don’t understand how your old get the 3x points if you pay with the travel cards. Are the UR point just for booking or actually paying with the Chase cc?