hotel loyalty program

Military Shoppers Offers Free Money-Saving Travel Website to Its Members

11/10/2017 By Michelle Volkmann

My family loves to travel together. But we have different things that we love to do during our family vacations.

Traveling for me means finding restaurants featuring delicious local cuisine. Traveling for my children means visiting a children’s museum or science center, jumping on the hotel beds and swimming in the hotel pool.

Traveling for my husband means a break from military life. When we’re on vacation, he isn’t thinking about work. He’s focused on spending quality time with his family, far, far away from his military base.

But as much as I love traveling, planning a weekend getaway isn’t easy.

In fact, planning a vacation stresses me out.

And there’s the dreaded family vacation budget to consider.

There are so many cities that I want to visit, but many times I find myself asking “can we afford this vacation?”

According to American Express, the average vacation expense per person in the United States is $1,145 or $4,580 for a family of four. That’s nearly $5,000 for 1 family vacation!

There has to be a better way. I don’t want to cancel our family vacation because of sticker shock.

Free Membership for Military Families in Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards

MilitaryShoppers.com, a community that delivers money-saving tips to military families, is expanding their services. Starting November 2017, MilitaryShoppers’ members are entitled to a free membership in Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards.

Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards lists special discounts that have been arranged exclusively for MilitaryShoppers members.

How does Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards work?

Hotels and resorts often have unsold room nights that they can’t offer to the general public at such low rates but they can do it as a special military discount through MilitaryShoppers Travel & Rewards.

These incredibly low rates are not available on any other travel booking website. Members are encouraged to compare the Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards discounted rates with other public websites and military travel “clubs.” Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards said “you’ll find these are the lowest hotel and resort rates available anywhere!”

Since the cost of our hotel room is the most expensive part of our family vacations, I’m excited to book a discounted rate for a quality hotel. Knowing that we’re saving money on our hotel room encourages me to plan more family vacations in the future.

Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards members have access to a wide range of benefits and services that are designed to save military families money. Members earn points that they can use for extra discounts and fun activities.

Every free blue membership is preloaded with $100 in points that members can use immediately.

What’s the cost to join Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards?

This money-saving travel website for members of the military community is free. Members won’t pay an annual membership fee or be required to buy anything.

Using Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards is similar to using a travel website to book your hotel room. It offers the same convenience, except with Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards members will book their hotel rooms at much lower rates.

How do I sign up?

Members can sign up for free access to their benefits online at MilitaryShoppersTravel.com.

If you are already a member of the MilitaryShoppers’ community, check your email. You automatically received access through that membership. In your email, it will explain how to log in to MilitaryShoppersTravel.com.

As I said earlier, I love traveling. I love the adventure of it. I love retelling the stories of our adventures to our neighbors, family members and friends. But most of all, I love traveling as a family. Family vacations are when memories are made.

The only thing I love more than a family vacation is a family vacation where we enjoy ourselves without spending all the money in our savings account.

You don’t have to choose between your family vacation and monthly budget. You can have both with Military Shoppers Travel & Rewards. Sign up today!

How to Score a Military Discount on Your Hotel Room

12/07/2016 By Kimber Green

Military discounts are wonderful when traveling during the holiday season. Whether you’re taking a road trip with friends, flying in to see family or heading to a resort for a weekend getaway, don’t forget to ask for a military discount when booking your hotel room.

Here are 10 hotels and resorts that offer military discounts.

Best Western offers 10% off their best price for active and retired military and their families. You can book your hotel over the phone, through their website or in person. You need to show your military ID at check-in.

Choice Hotels guarantees discounts on both one- and two-person rates at more than 2,700 of their hotels. Active duty and retired military personnel can use the discount as well as their dependents.

Hilton Hotels and Resorts offers a military discount at more than 540 hotels and resorts in 78 countries. These are available to active duty service members as well as retirees and their families. You can access military rates here.

Hampton by Hilton offers a military discount to active duty, reserve, retirees and family members. You can find a participating hotel here. You will need your military ID at check-in.

La Quinta gives 12% off to military families and also offers a free hot breakfast. Dogs stay for free as well. La Quinta has a special military program called La Quinta Returns Military Rewards^™that give military families extra benefits including 2 free nights a year.

La Quinta is also part of Hotels for Heroes, where individuals can donate their rewards points and the company will match it. These points are given to Fisher House Foundation which in turn is able to provide free accommodations for families of injured service members who are receiving treatment at medical centers where there isn’t a Fisher House nearby.

Hotels for Heroes also partners with these hotels: AmericInn, Best Western, Choice Hotels, Hilton, Marriott and Wyndham.

InterContinental Hotels Group includes InterContinental Hotels and Resorts as well as Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Candlewood Suites to name a few.

There are 39 IHG Army Hotels on Army posts across America as well. They all offer military discounts to active and retired military as well as family members. You simply need to show your ID at check in.

Marriott has more than 4,000 locations around the world. Military families are eligible for a special discount; all you have to do is show your ID when you check in.

Wyndham offers up to 20% off the best available rate to all service members, veterans and their families. If making a reservation online, you need to click the verify with troop ID button to confirm that you are affiliated with the military. Then you will be redirected to the Wyndham site that has the military discount code. From there you can make your reservations.

Starwood Hotels offers a military discount to anyone with a valid military ID. You can make reservations over the phone or online.

Receiving a military discount on your hotel room may be as simple as asking for one. By choosing one of the hotels noted above, you know you are going to get a good military discount.

If you find a different hotel that doesn’t specifically list a military discount, call the hotel and ask for a military discount. They might not offer one, but it doesn’t hurt to ask and asking might just save you a few dollars.

Did we miss any hotels that offer a military discount? Please let us know about their discount and who can use it in the comments section.

How You Can Save Money with a Hotel Loyalty Program

03/16/2016 By Michelle Volkmann

Military families travel. A lot.

They aren’t afraid to embark on an epic road trip during their kids’ spring break. They travel for holidays and every 3-day weekend. Heck, military families travel even when they are moving from one duty station to another. The summer PCS season is also prime vacation time for military families.

Are you planning a family vacation for spring break or this summer? Are you mapping out your PCS route from Maine to California? Do you want to save money when booking your hotel rooms for this trip?

Consider a hotel loyalty program.

A hotel loyalty program is a convenient way to save money when you are traveling. More and more hotel chains are offering loyalty programs to reward frequent customers.

Each program works a little differently. As U.S. News and World Report wrote in an article comparing hotel loyalty programs,

There isn’t one best loyalty program that would suit the needs of every traveler. Each rewards program targets different preferred lodging styles — from boutique to business-friendly — travel habits and goals.

Here are 3 things to consider when reviewing the perks of a hotel loyalty program.

Are you a member of a hotel loyalty program?

1. The frequency of travel for you and your service member.

Take a moment to review your most recent hotel stays. How often did you book a hotel room in the last year? Did you stay in a hotel once a year or every few months?

Let’s say you, as a military spouse, don’t travel very often. But, your service member does. He or she may have a job that requires frequent travel for classes or training. When your service member is traveling for the military, do they stay in a national hotel chain? If the answer is yes, then a hotel loyalty program may be a good fit for your family. He can earn the points during his military travel and you can use those points later for a free night during a family vacation. It’s a win-win.

2. The hotel chain’s locations in relation to your frequent travel spots.

Geographic coverage is a super important factor to consider when reviewing a hotel loyalty program. Like I said earlier, lots of hotel chains are offering loyalty programs.

But not all hotel chains are nationwide. So if you sign up for a hotel chain with locations primarily in the Midwest, but you are living and therefore traveling in the Northeast, this hotel loyalty program would not benefit you.

This isn’t a problem with the Best Western Service Rewards program. With more 4,000 hotels worldwide, you are nearly guaranteed to find a Best Western on your PCS cross-country route.

The Best Western Service Rewards program, which benefits service members, allows members to:

Earn 10 points for every U.S. dollar spent on qualified hotel room rates
Receive a military discount of 10% or more on room rates
Automatically be upgraded to Gold status, which allows you to earn points faster

With the Best Western Service Rewards program, your points never expire, there aren’t blackout dates (so you can use your points to book a room during Memorial Day weekend) and you have access to their exclusive reservations line.

Always review a hotel loyalty program’s policy regarding the expiration of points and blackout dates. Nothing is more annoying than not being able to use the points that you earned because of blackout dates or your points expired before you could use them.

3. The benefits and savings of the hotel loyalty program.

A hotel loyalty program should be beneficial so pick one that benefits you. Do you want to earn free hotel rooms for future trips? Then find a program that rewards travelers with an easy-to-navigate points system to get you that free room in the future. You should know how many paid nights are required to earn a free stay.

Do you want to be upgraded occasionally from a standard room to a suite? Then pick a hotel loyalty program that rewards with free amenities.

Don’t forget to ask if the rewards can be shared with your spouse. It’s frustrating if your service member earned a crazy amount of points during her TDY, but then you can’t use those points for a free night when you’re driving to Grandma’s house with the kids.

A hotel loyalty program may help you save money when traveling, as long as you understand how it works. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and review the program’s policy before signing up for one. You want to find a program that works for you. Use the program to your advantage and get ready to enjoy the benefits as a loyal and frequent customer.