United States of America Travel Forum

I'm looking at being on the road most of this coming October and November. The travel route will likely include New Hampshire, Indiana, Wyoming, California, Texas, West Virginia and Maine plus points in between.

We'll stay in motel accommodation. We want something dependably clean but don't require anything fancy. I'd also like to keep costs down. It seems that different chains offer reward programs as the means by which you effectively get volume discounts. I need a reward program where you can accumulate and use credits on the road as you go. And I need something that provides a good bounce for the buck where the only bounce I want is with room rewards - I don't care about any of the other potential rewards.

How do folks feel about the different reward programs and what is the cheapest clean way to go overall?

You could try Best Westerns - they are a medium range hotels, some of them quite nice. I am only familiar with Hilton and Marriott rewards. I am also a member of the Best Western rewards, but have not used them (actually, I should check my points!) Here's their rewards site:

https://goldcrownclub.bestwestern.com/

They have a contest now to earn 250K miles. If you get their credit card they also give you extra points, you just need to determine if it's worth it in your case (scroll down for the card).

You do have the option to use points only for hotel stays.

Hope this helps!

I strongly suggest that you look at flyertalk.com and ask your question there. It is a great source of information on all frequent stayer/flyer programs. IMHO Marriott is one of the best as it covers a Courtyard and other Marriott brands.

Regards
John

In addition to my first answer if you do join the Marriott program make sure you get their Visa card as well, even if you do not use it just having it gives you nights towards getting a to the next level of membership (Silver, Gold, Platinum).

John

I'm a Marriott and Hilton member, but suggested Best Western since he wanted to keep costs down. Yes, I've never been so spoiled as when I visited London as a Marriott Platinum guest!

One problem that you may have is that it takes some time for your accrued stays to be reported on your account, (Typically, about one month) and then you have to book in advance to use the rewards.

Thank you all for your replies which were helpful, but not encouraging. It seems reasonable to me that one should be able to negotiate or otherwise obtain a discount if your are going to spend 6 weeks or more in motels. Bt if the turnaround time on rewards is slow, it might be better to obtain a good general rewards program rather than pursue my focus on reduced cost of accommodation. Thank you again.

Being in a Rewards program and negotiating a discount for a long stay are not mutually exclusive. Some years ago I had to spend Mondays to Fridays in Amsterdam for a total of 5 months. I went along to the Marriott there, asked what deal I could get and was shown a very nice room at a good price when we agreed on that I then added that I had the second highest status in the Marriott program and confirmed that I would get all the benefits, lounge access, extra points etc that you get at the level. The guy was not happy, but there was little he could do so I got a great room at a good price and all my benefits. :-))

BTW with Marriott points are generally posted within a few days of check out.

Regards

John