Marriott Q3 promotion: 1,500 points per stay
Marriott has revealed their Q3 global promotion, which is called Go Your Way + Earn Bonus Points.
You can view the details and sign up here. Note that the registration hasn’t officially open yet, so don’t panic if you see an error. In summary:
- Register by November 22
- Stay between September 12 and December 6
- Earn 1,500 bonus points per eligible stay
- Earn 3,000 bonus points for every three brands stayed
As usual, certain brands including Marriott Executive Apartments and Homes & Villas are excluded. Only paid stays count – reward nights and free nights won’t.
Remember that Marriott hasn’t proactively offered any good incentives for a while, and in that context this offer is quite decent, especially for cheap one-night stays.
My review of Sala VIP Joan Olivert, Valencia Airport
Valencia airport has only one lounge, which is shared by all airlines for their business class passengers as well as Priority Pass holders.
Sala VIP Joan Olivert is located near Gate 12 and easy to find.
The lounge is spacious, with comfy armchairs and enough power sockets.
There is a rest area with chaise lounges but temporarily closed.
By the rest area is a small business centre.
There is a kids club at the other end of the lounge.
And a buffet station at the centre.
A few hot food options are on offer, including pasta and roasted vegetables.
The spread, together with the alcoholic drinks, is very decent for a small lounge.
Sala VIP Joan Olivert is a small but solid lounge at the Valencia Airport, and you can access it with Priority Pass.
IHG’s new targeted 14K / 20K bonus points offer
This morning a reader reached out about an email he received, that contained a new targeted promotion.
You can (try to) sign up here.
- Book your paid stays by October 31
- Stay by December 31
- Earn 3,000 bonus points for each stay, up to 3 times
- Complete 3 stays for an additional 5,000 points
It is a very good offer, and there isn’t any minimum-stay requirement, which means it can be three one-night stays.
I have, on the other hand, received a different version of the offer.
- Stay between September 1 and October 10
- Stay 4 nights to earn 10,000 bonus points
- You can earn the bonus twice
It turns out there’s third version: stay 4 nights to earn 4 elite night credits, and the same rules apply as the offer above. This offer may come handy if you are aiming for the annual lounge pass milestone this year.
Qantas’ impressive A$999 China holiday package
I don’t do flight+hotel package holidays, nor have I ever been to Australia. However, Qantas Holidays has an excellent deal if you want to visit China next year.
You can find details of the China Discovery tour here.
- The all-inclusive price is 999 AUD (£508) per person, based on two sharing a room
- Return flight by Qantas from Australia to China is included
- 8-night 4-star hotel accommodation with breakfast
- English-speaking tour guides
- You visit Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou & Shanghai, whereas Xi’an (terracotta city) can be added for a surcharge
You can travel between March and early June, which in my opinion is the best time to visit China. The majority of the country turns into a hotpot in the summer, so exploring during the spring is much more enjoyable.
The only caveat is, you need to apply for the Chinese visa by yourself, unless your citizenship is one of the handfuls that are exempt. In summary I think it is a very attractive offer, suitable for those who reside in Australia and are interested in visiting China.
Hilton Q3 promotion: 2x or 3x points
Hilton has just revealed their offer for the rest of this year, and you can register here.
- Stay between September 6th and December 31st
- Earn triple base points at select destionations
- Earn double base points elsewhere
The full list of properties that are eligible for triple points can be found here. It is mainly capital and larger cities, and for the UK it seems to include only London and Manchester.
The list is a bit messy but the offer itself is rather straightforward, and if you are staying at a 3x-bonus property then the earning is quite generous. For reward stays unfortunately you won’t earn any bonus, unless base points are generated due to incidental spend.
Save 20% on your Eurail passes
If you intend to travel (a lot) by train in Europe in the upcoming months, Eurail has launched a 20%-off offer for their rail passes.
It is a promotion targeted at the Asia-Pacific market so you won’t find it on Eurail’s website. However, you can buy them at the discounted price on Klook.
Here are some price examples:
Note that you need to have a non-European passport in order to be able to use Eurail. European citizens and residents should use Interrail instead, which is usually cheaper when there’s no offer like this one around.
My review of The Westin Excelsior Rome
I found myself a ridiculously cheap flight ticket from Rome to Abu Dhabi, and I took this chance to properly visit Rome for the first time. Being a major city in Europe, Rome hasn’t really established a massive portfolio of good hotels. Waldorf Astoria is maybe the only one that comes up in my mind, but it is quite far out of the city.
I booked the Westin in the end, which like many other hotels are situated in the Borghese Park area. It looks very close to the Spanish Steps, but the roads here are very hilly and crooked and it’s not as easy to walk around.
I arrived into the Rome Central station via Leonardo Express from the airport, and then it took me 15 minutes to walk to the hotel. The hotel has definitely seen better days, but it’s not as worn as I had feared.
I received a one-level upgrade to a Grand Deluxe room, which measures 40 square metres.
Premium wi-fi is chargeable, but waived for Platinum members upon check-out.
I chose breakfast as my welcome amenity.
There’s a swimming pool in the basement.
There’s an ice cream shop across the street called Neve di Latte that I highly recommend – I truly enjoyed my massive four scoops for only €5!
I wasn’t aware of the hotel’s atrocious 7.2 rating on booking.com until after I have completed my stay, but honestly speaking it doesn’t feel that awful. InterContinental Rome has opened its door recently, and I might try it out next time.
Buy a Marriott bed or mattress and earn two free nights!
Marriott, or more precisely Shop Marriott has launched an interesting promotion.
The headline says “2 Free Night with Bed Purchase”, whereas here are the terms:
Marriott Bonvoy Members receive two 35,000 point Free Night Awards* with the eligible purchase of a mattress set. Exclusive to Marriott Bonvoy Members purchasing mattress and base sets between August 10th and August 20th for beds that are delivered in Europe. Marriott Bonvoy Number must be entered at checkout. Free Night Awards will be issued up to 4 weeks after mattress delivery.
If I understand correctly, you can buy either a bed or mattress to qualify.
The two free night awards are worth at least $400 so it’s a good rebate. Remember that you can top up as much as 15,000 points, so each free night award can be redeemed at a 50K property.
However they are not an average mattress you see on Ikea or Amazon! The cheapest mattress (British Model – Double) costs €1595 or $1435.
When you’ve accrued 50 or 75 night credits in a year, one annual choice benefit you can pick is $100 off a mattress purchase, which makes the deal much more reasonable. However, I’m not confident that the two offers can stack, although there’s no evidence that suggest otherwise.