{"id":2327,"date":"2012-08-21T07:53:42","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T13:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/?p=2327"},"modified":"2012-08-21T07:53:42","modified_gmt":"2012-08-21T13:53:42","slug":"getting-the-most-out-of-your-travel-dollars-hotels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/travel-tips\/getting-the-most-out-of-your-travel-dollars-hotels\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting the Most Out of your Travel Dollars: Hotels"},"content":{"rendered":"

1) Book your hotels through Hotels.com<\/a>. For every 10 nights you stay, you get a free night (valued at the average of the rates you paid over those 10 nights). I just got $154 off a booking in Key West. If you use the site regularly, they\u2019ll upgrade you to their FiveStar service. I\u2019m not sure exactly what that means, but the other day when I called the priority customer service number, I got to speak to a human right away.<\/p>\n

The other benefits I like from hotels.com: while you do have to prepay for the booking, it\u2019s almost always refundable following standard hotel policies (i.e. 24 hours prior). Most other sites only offer nonrefundable bookings if you want the best rate. Be sure to read the fine print on this, though, because each hotel is different. (I\u2019ve booked close to 20 hotels with them, and they\u2019ve all been fully refundable.) Also, they have a price guarantee: if you see your hotel offered on their site for a lower rate at any time, call or email them and they issue a refund for the difference. I got a refund within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

2) Sign up for hotel loyalty programs, even if you don’t intend to stay there regularly. You’ll be surprised at the number of small hotels that are actually affiliated with one of the major brands. Most of those programs allow you to convert points to airfare instead of free stays.<\/p>\n

3) If you know there’s no chance of your trip being cancelled, get a prepaid rate. They’re almost always lower.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1) Book your hotels through Hotels.com. For every 10 nights you stay, you get a free night (valued at the average of the rates you paid over those 10 nights). I just got $154 off a booking in Key West. If you use the site regularly, they\u2019ll upgrade you to their FiveStar service. I\u2019m not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[302],"tags":[305,304,306],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"geo":null,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Z5R-Bx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2329,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/travel-tips\/getting-the-most-out-of-your-travel-dollars-general\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":0},"title":"Getting the Most Out of your Travel Dollars: General","author":"Jenni","date":"08.21.2012","format":false,"excerpt":"1) For extra cash back, go through a deal site like Ebates. Every time I\u2019m going to buy a ticket, book a hotel, or rent a car, I go through that site. Each Delta booking pays $1.50. Hotels and car rentals usually pay around 4%. It may not sound like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel Tips"","block_context":{"text":"Travel Tips","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/travel-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4176,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/arizona\/the-desert-and-the-old-west\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":1},"title":"The Desert and the Old West","author":"Jenni","date":"01.23.2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I got up Saturday morning and went downstairs, where Matt's parents informed me they weren't going to the Grand Canyon after all. His dad had come down with a cold, and really didn't feel like making a long roadtrip. 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The owner called and left a voicemail that morning, so I called him back before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Vegas\/California Roadtrip"","block_context":{"text":"Vegas\/California Roadtrip","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/vegascalifornia-roadtrip\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/storage\/2014\/11\/15745950939_8ffd567ad7_k.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4174,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/arizona\/arriving-in-arizona\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":3},"title":"Arriving in Arizona","author":"Jenni","date":"01.24.2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Matt and I had our first adventure on Spirit Airlines heading to Phoenix on a Friday morning. While they don't have Precheck, they charge for carry-on bags (we checked a shared bag for cheaper), and there is indeed no leg room, we decided it was worth it for a really\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arizona"","block_context":{"text":"Arizona","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/arizona\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/storage\/2015\/01\/16331693291_6dcb01acc2_o-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3326,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/travel-tips\/a-travelers-review-of-the-capital-one-venture-rewards-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":4},"title":"A Traveler’s Review of the Capital One Venture Rewards Card","author":"Jenni","date":"07.11.2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been a longtime Delta Skymiles American Express cardholder, since we live in a Delta hub and fly them 95% of the time. 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