Hotels.com Rewards stamps, I’m 3 nights off Gold

[Amy C]

I need 3 more reward nights before March 6th to hit Gold with hotels.com
I can’t see this happening as I haven’t got the time. Vaguely recall people saying in the past the way around this problem is to book 3n in a hostel somewhere cheap like Delhi or Thailand?
Does that actually work when I can’t physically check in?

[Rui N.]

Yes, it works. My go to destination is Vietnam. Lots of hostels with £2/night bunk beds.

[dougzz99]

Is Gold worth anything?

[Amy C]

dougzz99 wrote:

Is Gold worth anything?

I’m only 3 stamps off so it’s worth a shot I figured.

Thanks RUI.N

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[masaccio]

dougzz99 wrote:

Is Gold worth anything?

They’re a more likely to refund you a non-refundable booking if you’re Gold from my experience at least. I have very rarely failed to get a non-refundable booking cancelled with a refund even pre-pandemic.

[AirMax]

Interesting, does the hotel take the hit or do they?

[stevenhp1987]

dougzz99 wrote:

Is Gold worth anything?

No.

Been gold for a few years. Nothing extra. Some hotels may offer late checkout but that’s not really worth much.

[DevonDiamond]

Can anyone suggest a suitable cheap hostel to extend any rewards that expire at the end of December?

[Carlos]

DevonDiamond wrote:

Can anyone suggest a suitable cheap hostel to extend any rewards that expire at the end of December?

The cheaper you get the hotel stamps the less your free night is worth

[Froggee]

DevonDiamond wrote:

Can anyone suggest a suitable cheap hostel to extend any rewards that expire at the end of December?

I had a lovely non-stay at Aunty’s House & Uncle’s House in Siem Reap a while back which did the job. Yours for £1 on 7th December.

[Points Hound]

Carlos wrote:

DevonDiamond wrote:

Can anyone suggest a suitable cheap hostel to extend any rewards that expire at the end of December?

The cheaper you get the hotel stamps the less your free night is worth

Correct, but that is wholly irrelevant if the previous nine nights value is about to be lost and this last night is to secure that voucher. It’s all upside, even if a £2 Vietnam night keeps it alive.

[Jerseylou]

I’ve recently been refused reward stamps by them after paying in advance but not turning up. I screwed up on dates. Even though I paid in advance, in full,they point blank refuse the stamps as I was a no show.

[Froggee]

I’m guessing this was at a proper hotel? You generally find that hostels in South East Asia charging £1 a night tend not to report such things back although it is, of course, a gamble.

A lower risk approach is to book and check into a cheap place near where you live. This, of course, negates the saving though. There is a pub hostel at Euston for £33 a night. Obviously don’t stay there though. Eughhhh!

[aseftel]

If you have Avis President’s Club status (which you can get with Amex Platinum), you can obtain Hotels.com Gold on an ongoing basis without making any bookings.

https://www.avispreferred-hotels.com/

[Tracey]

If you book somewhere in the Ukraine, they know it is to offer support rather than visit.

[DevonDiamond]

Froggee wrote:

DevonDiamond wrote:

Can anyone suggest a suitable cheap hostel to extend any rewards that expire at the end of December?

I had a lovely non-stay at Aunty’s House & Uncle’s House in Siem Reap a while back which did the job. Yours for £1 on 7th December.

Thanks, I’ll pay them a visit!

While it will reduce the value of my voucher as noted above, I’m happy to chance a quid as it’s the cheapest way to extend it.

[Carlos]

Isnt there a way for them to mark the visit as complete without physically going?

[DevonDiamond]

Just to report that Aunty’s House & Uncle’s House in Siem Reap worked a treat

[cmcp]

Carlos wrote:

DevonDiamond wrote:

Can anyone suggest a suitable cheap hostel to extend any rewards that expire at the end of December?

The cheaper you get the hotel stamps the less your free night is worth

Agree with this ^

So much so, it’s worth having a premium and average account. 5*+ go on one account (for a 5*+ free night), not devalued by any cheap work stays.

[Rob]

It can make sense to try to drag down your free night value with this trick.

I’ve been sitting on a couple for ages now because they are around £200 and I rarely spend this much at the sort of independent hotel where Hotels.com shines. For £200 it is likely to be an international brand where I can get a better deal via status / points / Emyr.

[memesweeper]

Rob Burgess wrote:

It can make sense to try to drag down your free night value with this trick.

I’ve been sitting on a couple for ages now because they are around £200 and I rarely spend this much at the sort of independent hotel where Hotels.com shines. For £200 it is likely to be an international brand where I can get a better deal via status / points / Emyr.

Absolutely this! I have a $450 stamp, which I’ve had for years. Just can’t find a good way to redeem it.

[Alex G]

aseftel wrote:

If you have Avis President’s Club status (which you can get with Amex Platinum), you can obtain Hotels.com Gold on an ongoing basis without making any bookings.

https://www.avispreferred-hotels.com/

Thanks for posting that. I had completely forgotten that I had applied for Hotels.com Gold via that route. I was looking at hotels in NY yesterday and was surprised to see I had Gold status. It doesn’t get you much though. A free bottle of wine in some properties, or a one off $40 F&B credit. I did find one hotel that waived the resort fee. Filter for “VIP Access” when searching.

(I got Avis President’s Club from the paid Barclaycard.)

[dougzz99]

I still think gold has little/no value. @masaccio the makes it more likely they’ll cancel a non-refundable booking argument can play both ways. I had a non-refundable that they couldn’t help with, and this was the US when they’d effectively closed their border. I’ve had good treatment too. I think Hotels.com relationship with the individual hotel is what plays a deciding factor here, and what their payment arrangement with the hotel is like. Big chain like Marriott/Hilton less clout, smaller independents maybe more reliant on hotels.com and more likely to help.
I’d guess also that just because you’re booking with the hotel is non-refundable, that doesn’t mean that hotels.com have to pay them.

[milesandmordor]

The only benefit of Gold I have found (Gold member for a few years now) is better customer service when you phone Hotels.com – as another poster mentioned , they are a bit more inclined to allow cancellations or changes in none refundable / changeable bookings. Most hotel staff have absolutely zero idea what it is – be prepared for the blankest of looks and total confusion , even when presented with a printout (for the free promised bottle of wine or whatever).

[meta]

I had some of the most memorable upgrades as hotels.com Gold than with hotel status for example – Imperial Suite at Sofitel Abu Dhabi, Le Meridien Mauritius – Royal Suite, etc. When I book Vip access hotel, I always get 2pm check out and the status is acknowledged. Plus there are sometimes special rates for Gold members. So there are benefits if you know how to play just like with hotel status, etc.