HOW TO GET ELITE STATUS AT MANY HOTEL CHAINS WITHOUT ACTUALLY STAYING THERE Look...face it...DIamond or Platinum members get everything...their own reservation line...guaranteed reservations...points and extra points (hence, overall lower costs)...credit and travel opportunities...free room upgrades...discount coupons, etc. Even if you dont travel much, guaranteed reservations, free room upgrades, and discount coupons are literally worth their weight in gold. You are practically guaranteed a positive travel experience. HOWEVER, it can cost you in the area of 40 to 50 nights to get there! When I was traveling for work all the time, these things were a breeze and never cost me anything; I practically lived in hotels. These memberships were great when they were free. Getting back to the road in an RV soon, I would like to continue those, but each year you dont use them enough, they slip down a notch until youre back to being an Ordinary Joe or Joelle. There are two ways, however, to get your foot back into the Elite Door without spending all that dough, but you have to be willing to get your hands a little dirty to do them both...but you wont wont be cheating anyone. Face it; hotel rooms stay empty so theyd rather rent you one, even a suite, at a regular price than to heat or cool and empty one. Remember this. Nobodys getting cheated. Step One is IF you have a stay at a really bad lowest-end hotel in the chain of your choice (wink, wink) and then write a complaint to their home office, naming names and times, and then, only at the very end, tell them you would reconsider continuing to stay with them if you were allowed their highest Elite level membership. (I actually did this with Marriott, but not intentionally. They screwed me over at an important conference in DC by ditching me at the airport and then I had to spend the night on a rollaway in a conference room.) This might not work on the very first hotel you try, though, given your circumstances, so you might have to try again (and also make sure you know how to write a persuasive letter. I passed Technical Writing I with my first letter...a letter designed to get a company to refund me. The instructor told me that when he read it, he wanted to give me money.) ;) Step Two is really easier, but again, you have to be able to write. You write to the next hotel chain about wanting to switch hotels you normally stay at and ask if theyll match your Diamond Platinum Elite membership. Even if they dont have a policy of matching memberships, theyll most often ask you for proof of your other membership, so run a printout of your Elite account and fax it to them. (For ones that DONT say theyll offer matching, you might want to attach the copy of your elite membership with the competition on the very first request. People are weird. They like to say yes if theres no obstacle in the way...after looking for reasons to say no. Youre just helping them say yes and to have a better day doing so.) Maintenance of these accounts is easy; once you have one, you just write and ask for it to be reinstated, apologizing that you didnt stay the requisite number of nights but that it is your intention for the next year IF they will extend your membership. Practically a done deal. As long as you have ONE, its a cinch to get another and/or reinstatement. Remember...they dont want empty rooms, regardless. Thats why Hotels, Priceline, Kayak, etc., get you all those good rates. HOWEVER...they have changed, as well and arent the deals they used to be, and you dont get points or stays that count. Hotels practically guarantee that you cant get a better rate anywhere else as you can on their website, and thats usually true (except for Name Your Own Price which isnt very good anymore.) So, make sure you AAA or AARP or are just over 55 for some, and you get the best price for all the extra frills. PLUS...they send out $25 and $50 gift certificates all the time to their best members that apply to their stay. My advice is to only flip through two or the minimum it takes to get you the ONE you will want and use, otherwise the points dont accumulate very quickly, and its harder to claim one chain as your MAIN use if youve only stayed a couple of times. My choice is Best Western, staying at their Plus or better places, because theyre EVERYWHERE, and for the money, they give you a better upgraded room than you get at the Marriott or Hilton (and theyre generally more available, as well.) Your mileage may vary.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 23:48:09 +0000
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