Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 06/20/18> When rewards really pay off… I like that.
One of the perks of having to travel for business is the rewards program that the hotel chain I stay has and I am a member of the program. Each year I always make it to “Elite” status which gives me some advantages that I might not otherwise get, like free upgrades to my rooms and earlier check in and later check outs. I also get a free snack and a drink each time I check in.
So when I combine the program with the fact that I always pretty much stay at certain locations, I get treated pretty darn good when I am on the road. Take this trip for example, I booked the cheapest room in the hotel and was upgraded at no charge to the most expensive two room suite. The bedroom has a big king size bed, good size flat screen television and a good size closet and dresser for all my clothes and stuff.
The living room has another big flat screen, nice couch and table and chairs and a little bar area with a sink, microwave and a mini fridge. The bath room is just a bathroom, but the tub is bigger than most hotel room tubs. I think that years ago when the place was built it had the whirlpool tubs with the jets but no longer now. I have pretty much everything I need to relax at the end of a long day.
Tuesday was one of those long days, and that tub felt pretty good. To the point that, I almost debated about just waiting until the morning to write this dose. Since I did have to get on the computer to make some additional reservations I decide I would just go ahead and bang this dose out, why put off until tomorrow what I can do now.
My oldest boy also likes the fact I earn points and free rooms, I just booked him and friend a room for a couple nights here at this location in about 10 days. I have no reason to believe him and his friend would cause any problems but by putting them here at this location I have some folks that can keep an ‘eye’ on him. He knows it too, if I get any kind of bad report on those two there will be some hell to pay for him. So for me I think it is the perfect plan, I help him and his friend reduce their expenses and I am able to kind of make sure they keep their act together and don’t do anything stupid.
I hadn’t looked at the rewards page for the program in quite a while, they now have were you can redeem points for gift cards at some various stores so Mrs. Papper has got some gift cards coming that she doesn’t know anything about so don’t mention it to her. I also have got some Lowes gift cards coming for myself so one project I have planned for the house just got a little less expensive, about $500 less expensive.
The Mrs.’s gift cards only came to $100, but since I earned the points I decide on how they get divvied up, she will be happy as long as no one says anything.
I did the rough math on how many points I normally earn in a year and how much it takes to redeem them for a $25 gift card and in a normal year I can get $1,000 in gift cards. That is pretty good since I don’t have to do anything other than just make sure I book my rooms and have my returns number on the reservation.
I have never really been a fan of “points programs” there always seems to be a catch to them or just a real pain in the rear when you try to redeem them, but this program lets me decide what I want to get when I get to the store, it isn’t one of those ones where you pick some drink cooler or shirt and they send it to you, and the price you paid in points was about double what the cost should have been if you paid cash.
How many of you are involved in rewards programs? What might be the best thing that you were able to get using the rewards? I am always curious about things, but you already knew that. So drop me a line and tell me what the best thing you have earned through a rewards program.
That about wraps up this edition of the Daily Dose ya’ll have a great day.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
![]
(
)
https://www.mannabase.com/?ref=43f11540d8
Full disclosure : I do receive a benefit if you sign up for either program using these referral links provided here.
Since I have been on the road so long I am now an elite member or higher in 2 different hotel chains.. i havent really seen any differences in how we are treated or upgrades for free but then again I have been doing extended stays so im sure they dont want to give me a free suite upgrade for a month at a time lol.. I have earned a bunch of points but havent looked into trading them yet but i have seen gift cards and hotel stays as a way to redeem points. Im not quite sure what i will use mine for yet but i have a bunch of projects to do at the new home so im guessing gift cards to lowes or hd will be some of it and a room or two this summer at a hotel next to the ocean for free wouldnt be terrible either! Today is the day we are closing on our home so hopefully this chapter of my life (living in hotels) will close finally! 😁
I bet you have racked up some points, good luck with the closing today. Thanks for dropping in, I'll send a few prayers your way for the closing since we know those always don't go as planned.
I have never "earned" anything with rewards. I always tried when we traveled to and from Indonesia with airline points. But we always flew the cheapest flights and it was 3 years in between flights so a lot of points just flew away.
Yes, the airline rewards and the hotel rewards are pretty much geared for the business traveler. But there are other rewards programs like the credit card and pharmacy that others have mentioned. My wife even has one for the local food market that gets her some extra discounts and special sales coupons.
It does suck when they have where the points expire, but I understand that they have to limit their exposure and that is the easiest way to do that.
I got a good referral reward from Airbnb last week. I'd already got travel credit when this good friend signed up, and then I got more travel credit when he made a booking!
That sound like a good one for sure, thanks for sharing that with us.
Get a free Bible for your phone, tablet, and computer. bible.com
I have a credit card that allows me to have cash rebate for my electrical bills, phone bills as well as using it for buying things. The cash rebate can be used to offset credit card payment as well as the usual exchange for gift vouchers. I like that particular card as it is almost like having a little discount each time I buy something.
You know what now that you mentioned the credit card program, I have a bunch of points on those that I never even have paid attention too. I need to look at that and see what I have sitting there. Thanks for stopping in and jogging my memory on that.
The rewards program is good for you since you spend a lot of time travelling and staying in hotels. These types of programs are pretty much useless for me since I don't travel enough. Many years ago I had a rewards program at a pharmacy since I was taking care of elderly relatives, I used their services a lot. Managed to get them some nice gifts for birthdays and such with the points. Since moving to Central America I haven't used any rewards programs. They are few and far between. I find that dealing with places and getting to know the owners is just as effective in getting nice discounts on things like building materials.
My wife has a rewards card with the pharmacy as well that she gets all the prescriptions filled at. My son works at the local hardware store and I have been a customer at that place for going on thirty years. I started buying there when Bob first opened it, and have ever since. Bob just sold the business to his nephew and retired back at the end of December. I have been getting a discount there for probably the last 25 years, 10% off no matter what and sometimes even more depending on the mood Bob was in. When my boy went to work there 3 years ago he was excited to tell me that he was getting an employee discount so if I needed anything he would be able to get me a better discount, his discount was also 10% , so I guess I have been an employee there for a while myself.
But you are correct, getting to know the owners and visiting with them is a good way to get discounts, and gain valuable friends. With all the big corporations now and fewer mom and pop stores it is harder to get to know the people running the places and those places change managers left and right so I guess they need the programs to attract and keep customers.
Even our local favorite snow cone stand has a loyalty rewards program card, they punch your card every time you buy a snow cone and after 10 you earned a free one and a new card to punch.
Back when I used to travel a. Lot for work I to loved the rewards program, got some good perks over the years from Miles, :)
Airlines are pretty much where all these loyalty programs started if I remember right. Luckily for me I don't have to fly much with this job only once or twice a year as I hate the hassles of flying.
@sultnpapper I used to fly all over the world, up to 10 trips a year, one year I was away for 9 month sout of 12 so I clocke dup the miles, am quite glad those days are over and now I stick to road trips :)
That kind of travel would just kill me, I don't mind the traveling I do because it is relatively close to home, no more than 9 hours driving at the most and I enjoy seeing the sights and sounds of the Lone Star State.
@sultnpapper Ohh it did wear me down sometimes but I enjoyed seeing so much of the world I never imagined growing up in NZ that I would end up visiting over 60 Countries