‘Tis the season for getting Hotel points

I stayed at The Lanesborough, a St. Regis Hotel in the UK and was disappointed to discover that they don’t participate in the SPG Triple Up promotion to earn bonus points. In a previous post I advised, to redeem for SPG Free Night Awards or Cash & Points Awards to further your ELITE progress before the year ends. Only a few more days to go … I’m registered for the SPG Triple Up promotion, so for stays through December 18, 2011, I earn triple Starpoints on stays including a Thursday or Sunday night and double Starpoints on all other stays worldwide, across all 9 brands, including Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, W and Aloft.
I earned an additional +258 double points on a bill I paid of $130, in addition to the regular 258 points plus SPG ELITE 50% BONUS points of 129, and the Elite Platinum 500 welcome amenity points, giving me a total of 1145 points. The best part was that this was a free stay! The $130 that I paid was at the Spa!  The free stay cost ten thousand points, but I’m well on my way to getting another free stay with the 1145, and I also earned Starwood points on my American Express charges at the hotel.
The downside is that the list of Non- participating hotels is long, so do check on this link - before booking. Hotels on the list are from cities as diverse as Aloft Jacksonville Airport, Chapel Hill and Plano TX, Element Houston Vintage Park, The Nines, Portland, The St. Regis Aspen Resort and The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.
MegaMiles bonus is a good miles earning promotion from MARRIOTT REWARDS. M Rewards’ MegaBonus promotion runs till Jan 15th 2012. They offer MegaBonus twice a year and this year, stays at luxury hotel partner, The Ritz-Carlton, also count toward MegaMiles awards.One mile per $1 is  the base you earn on the room rate with most airlines, when you stay at the budget brands like Courtyard and Fairfield Hotels. Renaissance, JW Marriott hotels and other luxury Hotels, earn 2 miles per $1 at participating airlines.
Also, don’t forget to register to earn 1,500 American Airlines AAdvantage miles per stay at any Hyatt brand hotel worldwide till January 15, 2012. (Regular Hyatt  miles earned with airline partners, for members who prefer miles to Hyatt Gold Passport points per dollar are 500). Triple AAdvantage miles can be earned on ten stays producing 15,000 miles for you. Hyatt Gold Passport members have to remember to request airline miles when you check-in at a Hyatt Hotel front desk. Most guests prefer to earn Hotel points because you get more points than miles when you consider that food and other extras charged to your room, also earns points. Your bang for buck value is $20 for every 1,000 points. 
If you stay at the new Hyatt 48 LEX NYC, you can save with their special Grand Opening rates of $399 a night. It’s the newest luxury boutique hotel in the heart of bustling Manhattan where you can earn Triple AAdvantage Miles at any Hyatt Hotel. The Occupy Wall Street group have discovered that you can stay in NYC for free but for those  of us, that like to bath, $399 is a good rate for NYC.