Have a Business Trip in Your Future? Maximize Your Points and Miles!

My husband Josh doesn’t travel too much for business – maybe once a quarter – but when he does, it’s always a big deal, for so many reasons.  One of those reasons is that it’s so exciting to put together the best possible hotel, airline, and car rental promotions for him!!  Love it!  (I know, normal people do not look forward to this).

If you (or someone you love) is planning a quick business trip in the near future, you might be interested in the travel package I came up with for Josh.  Who knows, it might save you some planning time!

Here’s what Josh will get from his 3-night trip to Louisville, Kentucky:

1) A certificate from Marriott good for a free night

2) A free rental day from Hertz

3) Silver Status on United

4) 1,500+ Starpoints

5) 3,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards Travel Points

6) 4,500+ Marriott Rewards Points

If you’d like to recreate all or part of this package, here’s what to do:

1) Register for Marriott’s “MegaBonus Fall Promotion.”  It’s easy – just log into your Marriott account (sign up here if you don’t have one  yet), then click on “My Account” and scroll down to “Promotion Central.”  Select the “Megabonus” promotion to sign up.

You need have 2 stays at a Marriott property in order to earn your certificate for a free night.  In Josh’s case, this is going to involve some “hotel hopping” – Marriott on Tuesday, Sheraton on Wednesday, back to Marriott on Thursday.

2) Sign up for Hertz’s fall promotion to earn triple points on your rental.  If you don’t have a Hertz account, you can sign up here.  Since free rental days start at just 500 points, you can earn a free day with just $167 worth of spend during this promotion.

3) Did you know that you can earn Silver Status on Star Alliance partners (including United and US Airways) simply by flying 2,000 qualifying miles?  Read all about it in this post.  Silver Status gives you priority boarding, a free checked bag on United and US Airways, and some priority standby/waitlist status.

4) Register for Starwood’s Better By the Night promotion.  Since Josh will be staying one night at a Starwood Property, with this promotion he will earn double Starpoints on his stay, plus 500 points for booking with his iphone, plus 250 points each day he “checks in” on Foursquare during his stay (I’m thinking he can probably squeeze in at least 2 check-ins).  ALSO, you earn 500 Starpoints for each day you choose to decline housekeeping services while at a Starwood property.  So this stay will net Josh over 1,500 Starpoints.  Not an amazing haul, but pretty good for one random night on a business trip.

5) Purchase Marriott gift cards via this promotion at Southwest Airlines.  A $250 gift card will earn you a quick n’ easy 3,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards Points.  You can use those gift cards to pay for your Marriott stay.

6) If you refer a friend to the Marriott Rewards program, both you and your friend will earn 2,000 points for each stay your friend makes, up to 10,000 points.  Since Josh will have 2 separate stays, he will earn 4,000 points in addition to the points he’ll earn as a Rewards member.

Bonus tip: if you want instant Marriott status, you can try simply calling them and asking!  It worked for the Frequent Miler…