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Much of the appeal of this hobby is chasing after the redemptions that you could never afford or justify paying with cash. To be honest, I’m actually starting to shift more and more towards this way of thinking. Covid pandemic has made me reevaluate how I view my miles and points stash.
That said, sometimes you just need a bed to sleep, literally. A few days ago, my husband called me from work and said that a major project had to be completed that night. He said that he would have to stay till midnight, possibly later. The problem was, the job site was located an hour away. So, that would mean he would have to drive home at night, and then head back first thing in the morning.
We live in a rural area, and in the past he actually hit a pig with a car when driving at night (twice). Well, technically, it was two different pigs. In fact, a local guy was driving by and stopped to see if my husband needed help. Then he loaded the pig on his truck, and took it home to supply dinners for his family for weeks to come.
Anyway, the thought of my husband going through all this nuisance didn’t sit well with me. So, I asked him to check with his boss to see if they would pay for a hotel. My husband isn’t the type to make waves, so he refused. He said that he would just come home. I had no choice but to cover the hotel cost.
Fortunately, I had some leftover Radisson stash, and Country Inn and Suites Port Charlotte happened to be on sale for 20k points per night. My husband and I actually stayed in this hotel a few years ago, after hurricane Irma cut our power for over a week.
Not exactly the fanciest property, to put it mildly. But having hot showers and A/C for few nights was downright heavenly.
Anyway, since I redeemed the points, my husband had no choice but to spend the night in the hotel. This was not aspirational, but rather preservational redemption. As in, I wanted to preserve his life.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have any clothes or toiletries with him, so he had to stop by the store and get a few things. But in the end, he told me he was very happy with the way things worked out. This project took longer than he thought, and having a hotel nearby has simplified things significantly.
And, using 20k points was far preferable to paying $150 for the same hotel. I also should mention that I have some extra IHG certificates and was hoping to use one for this purpose. Alas, there was no award availability. This is par for the course when it comes to IHG. On the other hand, Radisson last-minute award availability is usually excellent.
So, the moral of the story is that there are no worthless hotel points. Speaking of Radisson, we are looking to visit some friends in Oklahoma, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there is a decent Country Inn and Suites near their house. The best part is that a giant suite costs 22,500 Radisson points per night, an absolute bargain.
To be clear, to me Radisson program is probably at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to value. Their co-branded card would be my absolute last choice. There aren’t many Radisson properties in Florida that I’m particularly interested in, with a possible exception of Radisson Suite Hotel Oceanfront in Melbourne, Fl . And even that property went up in price and now costs 60k instead of 44k points per night.
My favorite Radisson redemption was in Radisson Blu Schwarzer Bock Weisbaden (read my review). It’s a wonderful hotel, with an old-world charm. The best part was the pool area, fed by natural mineral springs.
If you are ever in Frankfurt area, I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, I don’t see myself overnighting in Germany anytime soon. It was a good layover point when going to Belarus, but due to recent political events, I’m not planning to go home in a near future.
As of now, I have 70k Radisson points left, and will likely use them in Oklahoma or during some road trip. It’s not the most useful hotel currency, but it’s not worthless either.
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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.
Great use of points! Love reading all of your posts, Leana!
@Marianne Thanks for reading!
Love how you are looking after your husband… so sweet. A little disgusted by your calling someone a redneck, since they are just trying to feed their family. Never a fan of bigotry.
@Nancy Goodness, I didn’t mean anything offensive by it! To be honest, where we live, the term “redneck” doesn’t have that negative of connotation. I’ve seen folks proudly refer to themselves as rednecks. And yes, most are fine people. I actually was in awe of that guy, and especially his wife who had to cut up that dead pig in the middle of the night. So, apologies for making you uncomfortable.
P.S. I did take the word out the post.
Love how you keep it real and this “preservational” redemption. I didn’t know hitting wild pigs was a thing in Florida (I’m in the Midwest so deer are our dangerous wildlife on the road).
Kathryn, thanks for reading! The moral of the story is that it pays to have a medley of hotel points currencies. You never know when one might come in handy. And yes, we have quite a few pigs (deer too!) in our neck of the woods. They get very active at night, so driving can be somewhat dangerous.