October 2007 was a good month for mileage and points hounds. It marked the arrival of the Amex/CO to Amtrak to Choice Hotels to Rapid Rewards credits transfer phenom that put almost 1 million Choice points in my family’s accounts.
I used the end of the Choice points (12,000) last Thursday night at the Comfort Suites at the Savannah Airport. The points have been a stable backup for needed one night stays.
Andrew, Aaron, Shannon, Katy, Toni, Josh and I loaded up (I did most of the work setting up the accounts) with the transfer scheme giving a 3-1 to 5-1 increase in value.
Personally, I don’t care for the chain of Choice hotels, although they do have some real positives. They are big in rural markets. I had much needed stays in Australia and New Zealand when no other chains were available. On numerous trips south, while travelling alone, I would use the Choice Hotels for a quick shower and 6 hour nap.
But for me, unless there is some other fantastic promo, I have probably stayed in my last Choice hotel property.
The problem with the chain is the inconsistency in the quality and cleanliness of their accomodations. They can go from extremely good values (like Christchurch, NZ) to dumps I wouldn’t let my dog stay in if I had one. They will never become a major player until they upgrade their minimum stnadards. A Choice Hotel stay always demanded a Tripadvisor review before booking. And at least 50% of the time the available property just did not provide reviews I was comfortable with.
They have been a useful source of short term accomodations, but like Northwest Airlines, Choice has become, part of my travel past.
Katy and Shannon Start a Blogging Tradition
My two favorite gals are now sharing their inside stories of nursing in their blog:
Nursing A Rookie and a Vet
Some humorous. Some heart warming, and some down right weird, but always from the hearts and minds of my two favorite females.
Katy plays the Veteran with her 33 years of experience and Shannon shows us the enthusiastic Rookie view.
I have lived through some of these stories from Katy’s cruise nursing days like “Viagra Man”, “Halo Man”, “Annie Annie Wake Up” and my days as Poop Police during an outbreak of the Norwalk virus onboard.
These gals are funny. If you have a minute, take a look at:
http://nursingarookieandavet.blogspot.com/
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