Friends, I’m cheap and proud of it! I do like occasional splurges, but I absolutely have to get my money’s worth. So, if I’m blowing a ton of points on a resort, you better believe I will be taking advantage of every amenity on premises. And I will probably stay put, otherwise, I can just get a cheap hotel room which will provide me with decent sleep and shower.
So that’s what this post will focus on. Here is the thing. When you go to Disney, you wake up early and stay in the parks till nighttime, right? Of course you do. You dropped a ton of money on those park tickets. So, if you are not going to be at your hotel a whole lot, why pay for something you are not using?
With that, let me share some relative bargains you can obtain via hotel points. We are looking for rooms that have two queen size beds, a “must” for a normal family of four. I can not share a full bed with my husband, neither one of us will get any sleep, guaranteed.
I also wanted to find places that have semi-decent reviews and are located within close proximity to Disney World. No, you won’t find any 5-star accommodations on the list because once again, we are looking for bargains. Check my page of best hotel sign-up bonuses for reference.
Without further ado:
1) Park Inn by Radisson Resort and Conference Center
I will say upfront that the reviews on TripAdvisor are somewhat mixed. At least one of my readers stayed at this place and said it’s perfectly fine. There is a pool and a hot tub, plus, a game room. Standard room at this hotel goes for 15,000 Club Carlson points per night and rates in March hover around $90 all-in. So, it’s a decent redemption.
If you get approved for personal version of Club Carlson credit card, you’ll get close to 100,000 Club Carlson points once you meet minimum spending requirements. The annual fee of $75 is not waived. So, you will have enough points for 6 nights at this property.
There is a resort fee of $16 per night, but in the past, it was waived to Gold status members (comes complimentary with a credit card). Assuming you would actually pay $90 per night for a hotel, we are talking value of $465 once you deduct $75 annual fee. Plus, you will have some points leftover. Not bad.
2) Quality Inn Kissimmee by the Lake
Once again, not a fancy place, but reviews are very good. Breakfast is complimentary and there is a pool on premises. The rate is currently 8,000 Choice points per night, but may change by the time the post goes live. Choice folks are sneaky. The best part about this hotel is the fact that you can reserve a suite on points that fits 6. There are two double beds and a sleeper sofa. Paid rate on a suite in March is $110 per night. This is a real bargain, all things considered.
Choice credit card offers 32,000 points after spending $1,000 in 3 months, so barrier to entry is extremely low. There is no annual fee. So, assuming you’ll get approved, your bonus will cover 4 nights at this property. Be aware, this is not the most lucrative Barclaycard bonus, but it could be useful to some, specifically folks who can’t handle high minimum spending requirements.
3) Super 8 Kissimmee/Maingate/Orlando Area
This is a basic motel, but it has pretty good reviews. There is a pool and breakfast is included. I wouldn’t sign up for Wyndham credit card specifically for this redemption, but using Go Fast rate at this property can make a lot of sense if you have points leftover.
You would be getting over 1 cent per point, which is excellent. If you only need a place to sleep/grab a quick breakfast, you can’t beat this rate. Plus, you can cancel the reservation without penalty, which is nice for folks who like flexibility.
4) Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Orlando Convention Center
This Wyndham property can be a good fit for those who prefer suite-type setup:
It’s a bit more expensive that the previously listed Wyndham property, but still a relative bargain when you take into account complimentary breakfast.
5) Four Points by Sheraton Orlando International Drive
This property is a bit further from Disney World that the other ones I’ve listed, but the drive shouldn’t be too bad (around 20 minutes or so). And at this rate, you definitely should consider it. This is a Category 2 property, which means it costs 3,000 SPG points on weekends, 4,000 points on weekdays.
So, if you sign up for Starwood American Express credit card, you will easily have enough points for a weeklong stay. The rooms have two queen beds, but you can add a rollaway for free. All in all, it’s a tremendous bargain. The property is currently undergoing renovations, so it may get bumped to a Category 3 in a near future. Keep in mind that the sign-up bonus on Amex SPG card may be raised soon.
Bottom line
Well, these are just a few possible options for dirt cheap lodging when visiting Disney World. While I’m not going to say that your trip to see Mickey will be a bargain (the tickets and food, it all adds up fast), at least your hotel costs won’t break the bank. If you have a car or a van, you can just drive down to Orlando and save money on airfare.
Readers, what other hotels would you like to add to my list?
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.
We’re staying at the Holiday Inn at Disney springs this weekend, redeeming a anniversary night and our $100 voucher from a timeshare tour. I wish we were redeeming our anniversary night at a swanky place like Orange Lake resort, but the voucher is good for Holiday Inn ONLY… not even a Holiday Inn Express. So we settled on that based on reviews and proximity to the parks, and the fact I will still get 4,500 points via accelerate.
If I was booking on IHG points at Disney I don’t honestly know what I would do. I haven’t seen much that is worth redeeming in my opinion.
@Emily In my opinion, IHG doesn’t have any bargains near Disney. They used to, but recent devaluations have gutted any remaining value. Obviously, using anniversary certificate from IHG credit card still makes sense.
But that’s why I put together this post. These properties won’t appeal to everyone, but if you just want something cheap, they would work. You might also want to read my post on Skyauction https://milesforfamily.com/2017/02/11/expiring-deals-iberia-off-peak-award-sale-skyauction-249-certificates/ (scroll to the bottom) Might be an option if you plan to stay at least 4 nights.
My wife and I recently stayed five nights at Embassy Suites Lake Buena Vista South. It was 30k Hilton points a night, but because we have the Amex Hilton card the fifth night was free so the total cost for 5 nights was 125k in Hilton points. This is a nice hotel and we recommend it if you have enough Hilton points. The only charge we incurred was $10.75 a night to park our rental car.
@Harv Thanks for your input! Orlando has a lot of affordable hotel options. While it’s certainly convenient to stay on-site when it comes to Disney, I could never justify those type of rates. I hope to stay in Polynesian, but I plan to hang out at the resort all day if I do! I’ll look into Hilton property you’ve mentioned.
We liked Embassy Suites Buena Vista. I booked through the Chase portal. It’s great for families since it’s all suites plus the awesome free breakfast and nightly snacks and drinks. We stayed there over New Year’s and loved it.
@Jennifer Chase UR portal rocks! I will have a post on it soon. Yeah, definitely some good deals to be had if you are flexible. In this post I mostly wanted to focus on hotel points, but UR currency can give you the best of both worlds.