Daily Getaways Is Starting!

I said, “I wish we had more Hertz points” and Carrie said, “when is Daily Getaways?”

So I just googled it and it starts tomorrow, Monday, April 4th! (Everyday the new deal is bookable at 1:00 pm ET). Check out the schedule here.

 

Before I go over the details, here’s my framework for whether or not it’s a good deal:

1) Would I have spent money on a [hotel/flight/car] anyways?

Y’know, suddenly needing a Hyatt instead of using your IHG certs… that’s just being suckered because of something being a “deal”. You can go broke saving money.

 

2) Have a specific use in mind. Then calculate the savings.

It’s easy to say that IHG points are a super good deal when you use them during the PointBreaks sale… however, you have no idea what hotels will be on that list. How can you invest money not knowing what you get?

 

So let’s talk about some of the deals. Remember there are often different price points for each deal.

 

April 4 = Choice Points

First, you can get 40,000 Choice Points for $160.

You need to read my Best Use Of Choice Points.

There are a few cases, where I would totally use these for a killer deal. There are hotels in Italy – Venice and Rome – for 10,000 points. That would cost you $40 a night. A total steal… for those hotels.

However, this is the low end of Choice Rewards prices, and Choice hotels are generally lower end hotels. So it would be silly to pay $100 for a $100 hotel, be locked into it, and not earn points.

But Choice points also have access to many of the world’s nicest hotels as well. But you’d have to get lucky enough to buy multiple batches of these points, which could be unlikely.

 

April 6 = IHG points

The biggest batch allows you to buy 100,000 IHG points for $565.

I have a tough time ranking this deal, especially because I’ve done so well with their earning promotions that we’ve been able to get rooms for under $27 a night on average.

The reality is 1) you won’t end up saving money on most hotels, 2) you’ll likely pass up earning a ton of points, 3) and IHG often sells points for a similar price.

I think it makes slightly more sense for a full time traveler. Sure, when we last traveled SE Asia there were no PointBreaks in the area, but next time we went to Europe there was. Similar to having a specific use in mind, I know that our rate of using points will allow us to use it at a deal somewhere.

Still, I’m going to pass. I’d honestly get a better deal paying cash and earning points with their big promotions.

 

April 7 = Best Western

There is one option this day, which is to buy 10,000 Best Western points for $55.

There are very very few options where you wouldn’t be losing money.

 

April 11 = Wyndham

There is one option this day, which is to buy 15,000 Wyndham points for $150.

Let me explain one thing: ALL Wyndham hotels are 15,000 points a night. Thus, you’re buying one night.

If you recall my Best Use Of Wyndham Rewards, there are only a few hotels worth more than $150 a night. However, if you happen to use these in Hawaii at a $500/night hotel, it would be a good deal. I’d be wary of availability issues. This is almost surely a stay away!

 

April 13 = Expedia

Get $1,000 toward Expedia hotels for $650.

This is a good deal if you would have to pay $1,000 for a non-points hotel anyways. Totally happens. All over the Caribbean, Africa, etc…

My one warning is that it locks you into Expedia and they can be kind of a pain. OTAs can be a pain about price matching with coupons. That likely won’t be an issue, and even so, you’d save money. But only get this if you really will spend a lot of money on non-points hotels this year.

 

April 14 = Omni Hotels

Each package is good at specific Omni hotels and you just need to check the description.

The two night options seem to have some good hotels at $80/night or $122.50/night, if you can find a good hotel you need. It’s not a steal, but if you need the night, it can be a good deal.

 

April 18 = Diamond Hotels

Bad deal. Locked into a 5 night stay for $105 a night… at a timeshare hotel that shouldn’t be $105 a night.

I found the hotel in Italy on Kayak for $58 a night!!!!!

 

April 20 = Hilton HHonors Points

This can be a really bad deal, or good deal. You can get 100,000 points for $500. This could be one night at a $350 hotel in Hong Kong… which is bad.

However, for lower category hotels, it can be a good deal. The extreme great use of Hilton points would be our trip to Egypt, where we did 5 night stays at resort for 20,000 points. That’s $20 a night.

On the other hand, we got those points from the Hilton Citi no annual fee card for free.

I don’t see this being a good deal 99% of the time.

 

April 22 = Hertz Points

The biggest package sells 16,500 Hertz points for $698.

You need to read my Best Use Of Hertz Points.

It’s really great for trips in the US. It’s better for 1 week rentals, and a steal for oneways, at least compared to what they charge normally.

Now if you are flying to Orlando and renting a car for a week, this won’t save you any money. But for specific things that are more expensive, like oneways, it’s way cheaper.

If you have that specific use, get these! If you don’t, don’t lock yourself in.

 

April 29 = Hyatt Points

The largest package sells 72,000 Hyatt points for $775.

I’ve done the math a number of times and I don’t see why people like this deal. You pay a similar amount on most hotels, except you don’t earn points.

The real benefit is for those that want to go to the Park Hyatt Maldives, which is still 25,000 Hyatt points. And it’s still $270 a night not including the $500 taxi plane. But if you were going to pay for it, this is way cheaper.

Otherwise, there are few good reasons to buy the points. If you’re staying at the Hyatt Kuala Lumpur for example (which is a great hotel), it would be $162 a night, which isn’t a huge savings over their normal rate. Plus you lock into that hotel, instead of the DoubleTree, which is a steal. Or instead of paying and earning points (not that you earn a ton of points with paid Hyatt stays).

Also, it’s worth noting that there are very very few packages for this deal, and it sells out very quickly.

 

Conclusion

Other deals either aren’t worth mentioning, or it’s obvious to you.

If you spend a ton of money every year on Marriott, then you might as well get the $100 gift card for $80. If you don’t, then don’t get it.

Like most things in this hobby, whether or not it’s a good deal depends on your use. For most people the Choice points are not a good deal, but for someone going to Venice it is.

For most the Hyatt “deal” is expensive, but for someone going to the Maldives, it’s a steal.

For most, the Hertz points are a way to spend money on a car rental (that they might not need due to how cheap Uber is now), but for someone doing a oneway rental, it’s a huge savings.

If one of these is a steal for you, make sure you are refreshing at exactly 1:00 pm ET.