MAY 2013 UPDATE: The blog I linked to has disappeared since this article was first published, but here’s a similar blog.
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There’s a neat little blog that some of you may find worth your time. It’s called Best Rate Guaranteed Hotels, and it’s goal is to take advantage of “Best Rate” guarantees offered by hotels. For those of you who aren’t familiar with such things, these are the guarantees offered by hotels wherein they promise that the rates offered by their website will be the lowest rates you can find anywhere on the internet.
Why do they offer best rate guarantees? Because traffic coming from other websites usually has a cost associated with it. Convincing consumer to book from their website generally will save them money.
Most hotel chains promise to give you something if you can find a website with a rate lower than that what’s being offered on the chain’s website. What you get depends on the chain, and some are more generous than others. From the BRGH Introduction page, which we recommend reading, here is what you can get for finding the lowest price on a non-company website, with the best deals at the top:
InterContinental Hotels Group – First Night Free
Choice Hotels – First Night Free
Marriott – 25% Discount
Carlson – 25% Discount
Hyatt – 20% Discount
Hilton – $50 Discount (International), $50 Gift card (USA, Canada, Mexico)
Expedia – $50 Travel Coupon
Starwood – 10% Discount
Wyndham – 10% Discount
Hotels.com – Price Match
Now on the one hand, you do have to make sure that you get everything right when you do one of these best rate guarantees, or else you run the risk of not getting reimbursed. But on the other hand, you could potentially land a free night in places like Vancouver or New Orleans.
The blog is very helpful, informative, and accessible to newbies, so check it out if you’re into that sort of thing.
$100 CHECKING BONUS: Thanks to Hustler Money Blog, we learn that there’s a $100 bonus for new accounts with the Mountain America Credit Union. If you’re near a branch in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, or New Mexico, you can join for free in person, or you can pay $12 and join the American Consumer Council, which qualifies for membership. HMB has more details if you’re interested.
FREE PHOTOS: 101 free photos at Shutterfly.com using the code 101PRINTS. Tax and shipping charges apply. You can also get a free 8×10 collage at Walgreens using the code MULTIPICFREE. (H/T: Points, Miles, and Martinis and Slickdeals)
CONGRATULATIONS FREQUENT MILER: Congratulations are in order to Frequent Miler, who was able to achieve his goal of earning a million points/miles/whatever in the month of March. Attempting something like this is not our cup of tea, especially since we have no interest in buying and reselling merchandise, but hats off to him for pulling it off and showing it can be done. Opportunity abounds for those who seek it!
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