So, DailyGetaways promotion has finally come to an end. But fear not! Some deals are still available, and will be for some time. Those are the unpopular kids who didn’t get picked.
What fascinates me about this promotion is that you can see market forces at work. Since people have to part with actual cash, it determines what points are truly worth. And we not talking about inflated value based on CPP (cents per point) you get when looking at retail price. With that, here are a few observations:
1) Economy is doing better…for now.
A lot of the deals that were lingering for weeks last year were sold out within a day or two. Did the programs improve over the last 12 months? Nope. I believe people have more disposable income. Even Sea World tickets sold out within a day in spite of all the controversy. Families are doing more travel and are willing to pre-pay their vacations.
Of course, the economy is due for another downturn. Folks, you heard it here first!
2) People bought Hilton points for 0.5 cents each, but are not interested in IHG points for a similar price (0.57 cents).
I would much rather buy IHG points than Hilton currency. Well, technically, I wouldn’t speculatively buy either, but all things being equal, IHG is the winner in my book. The chain has more properties, plus it has PointBreaks scheme. So, what happened? I think IHG has pumped too much currency into the market via many lucrative promotions.
People are currently sitting on a huge pile of IHG points and don’t know what to do with them. Another possible reason: IHG has raised the price on many of its properties, while Hilton’s devaluation has been fairly mild over the last few years. Still, I’m shocked by how quickly Hilton packages were sold out. The program regularly offers them at this price, yet clearly, people felt this was a good deal. All of that in spite of several huge sign-up bonuses on Hilton credit cards floating around.
As Yoda would say: Surprised I am.
3) Hobby’s love affair with Hyatt and Choice packages continues.
No surprise there. I knew that both would sell out within minutes and they did. Choice was arguably the best deal all-around. I’m sure most who bought the packages will use the points in Europe or Asia and make out like bandits. Of course, it’s no surprise that hobbyists love Hyatt. Not that there is anything wrong with that!
Sure, getting those points for penny each is pretty good when you can redeem them for Cat.1 (5,000 points per night) but otherwise, I just don’t see why people go gaga for it. Maybe I’m just cheap, but I really don’t like paying $200-plus for a hotel room. And that’s what decent Hyatt properties will end up running if you redeem 20,000 points.
4) Wyndham points are not worth a penny each. Or are they?
This goes along with my previous point. People were super excited to buy Hyatt points at a penny each but as of now, Wyndham points are still available. How come? All Wyndham hotels go for 15,000 points per night, even the fanciest ones in Wyndham Grand division. We’ll be staying at Wyndham property in Chicago that routinely goes for $250-plus per night. It’s on par with nearby Hyatt hotels that cost 20,000 points, at least according to reviews.
You can also redeem 15,000 Wyndham points per night for all-inclusive properties in Bahamas and Caribbean, and some of them will let you bring 2 kids for free when you share one room. See this post for an overview.
Of course, I’m not saying that you should speculatively buy Wyndham points for this price. I didn’t. But I do recommend you consider signing up for their credit card, especially since zombie link (45,000 points bonus) is still working.
It’s fascinating to me how some hotel brands are mostly ignored in this hobby. By all accounts, accumulating Wyndham points is way harder than Hyatt currency. The former can be obtained only via its co-branded credit card and occasional lucrative promos. Hyatt is a transfer partner of premium Chase credit cards, and you can usually leverage various 5% categories on Chase Freedom/ Ink Plus and get a boatload of them.
5) Club Carlson was a no-show.
Say what? Just kidding. They knew nobody would buy their points for 0.4 cents each. Oh, how the mighty has fallen! It’s hard to believe that Club Carlson packages were sold out within seconds last year. It just goes to show how much can change in 12 months when it comes to miles and points. Something to keep in mind when you speculatively hoard any loyalty currency.
6) Hobbyists really don’t like condos (unless they are in Hawaii)
Update: Make sure to read the comment from Erik. You may want to skip this deal.
I guess I should say they don’t like pre-paying condo stays ahead of time. And I get it. What I don’t get is that this deal is still available. Sure, there are restrictions and expiration date, but still. Paying $525 for 5 nights at one of these resorts seems like a good deal to me.
Last year the packages were sold out within few days, but Hawaii property was participating at the time, so that’s probably the reason. I do recommend you at least take a look because there are many good deals to be had. There are a ton of properties in Europe and one in Caribbean, plus many in popular cities in US. But do read conditions first and call the property you are interested in. The T and C specifies double occupancy, though many have a sofa bed.
Well, those are my observations. Were you surprised by how Daily Getaways promo went down this year?
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
The Diamond Resorts International condo package is still available because DRI is using it as bait to get you to try their timeshare properties. They are one of the more snakier timeshare systems and I doubt there was ever a fixed limit on the number of packages available. The CEO did two “Undercover Boss” episodes and he was one of the more entertaining bosses featured. I think people are smart to see that the terms and conditions are rather vague when it comes to the ability to use the certificate. The two that raise the most red flags: “Certificate may be subject to high season, holiday and other blackout periods depending on destination.” (no click-thru link to see such restrictions on a given property) and “Diamond Resorts reserves the right to select alternative accommodations, such as hotel, motel or condominium.” (motel? Say what?!?!??). Thankfully, there is no requirement that you must attend a timeshare presentation. The price is not really a great deal for DRI. They regularly send me offers for 3-5 nights in the $199-$399 range, usually for somewhere like Orlando, Arizona, Las Vegas, etc. A few years ago we spent 4 nights at one of their properties in Spain’s Costa del Sol region. It was a deal that I booked through their web site at around 55 euro/night for a studio apartment in early June (which is outside peak season for European travelers so that is likely why the rate was so cheap). I have stayed at many nice timeshare properties and I would say this property rated a solid 3-3.5 stars compared to the others. It was OK for the price, but 1) while the apt. was clean, you could tell that things in the room and around the property were a little worn/suffered from deferred maintenance i.e. the safety railings at one of the pools was downright hazardous, 2) the food in the restaurant was pretty horrible, and 3) they had stupid little ways of nickel/diming you i.e. you had to “rent” pool towels for the duration of your stay. We just made the best of it and used the place only for sleeping or swimming at the pool. Based on that experience, I would not stay at one of their properties again unless it was a “best of the worst” situation.
Erik, you’ve convinced me! I went ahead an updated the post to make sure the readers read your warning on this deal. Definitely agree, there are too many caveats. I’ve mentioned earlier that people need to watch out for various restrictions. The fact that they can substitute the property for a nearby hotel is ridiculous, but I wonder if they actually do it on a regular basis?
I didn’t buy it for those very reasons. However, for people who are super flexible, it could be a good deal. I saw some oceanfront properties on the list that looked nice. At a $100 per night they might be worth the risk. But yeah, I agree, too many potential issues. Thanks for relating your experience.