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One of my trusted travel buddies, Michael S., sent me a message and told me about his plans to book a hotel in Vegas. He mentioned booking at the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas. And memories started to come back. I remember visiting this resort many years ago. It had just opened at the time, and what made this resort quite known to me:
it’s not exactly near the Las Vegas Strip
very popular for their in-house buffet restaurant
very visible from the freeway
Other than that, we’ve never really stayed at the resort. We did try their lunch buffet once, and I also remembered it being very clean, so brand-spanking new.
Why the sudden interest with Choice Hotels?
Mike mentioned to me that he was able to book the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas using his credit card points that he transferred to Choice Privileges, Choice Hotels’ loyalty program. We didn’t realize that the M Resort was under the upscale Ascend Hotel Collection.Michael and I also chatted about how to easily earn elite status with Choice Hotels. Here’s the recap and tips how to do that:
Putting it all together, a night at the M Resort will cost 25,000 Choice Hotel points, and Mike was able to transfer his ThankYou Rewards points from his Citi cards to Choice Hotels at a 1:2 ratio. This means that 1 Citi ThankYou Rewards Point gets you 2 Choice Hotel points.
To book a night at the M Resort, all he needed to transfer were 12,500 points per night. And since their plan was to be in Las Vegas for two nights on a holiday weekend, Mike transferred 25,000 Citi ThankYou points to Choice Hotels and booked a popular weekend night.
Got points? Sharing is caring
It gets better. Mike’s booking escalated quickly in a very good way. Mike was able to book hotel rooms for his extended family. He booked 4 rooms for 2 nights. Here’s what he shared over on my Facebook Travel Group Page – Daddy Travels Miles & Points:
After a 4 hour drive from LA, we arrived in Vegas last night at 9pm. I came here with only $5 in my wallet (forgot to withdraw money at home), yet somehow I’m already ahead $4000!!! And I didn’t even gamble yet! In my younger and dumber years, I would always try getting meals and rooms comped for my friends on our Vegas trips. In the process, I was always the biggest loser gambling more than I should’ve. But that’s history now, because I just got 4 rooms for 2 nights this weekend, and it only cost us $240 (stupid resort fees)!!! Dipping into my stash of Citi points, I was able to book all 4 rooms using 100,000 points. Had we paid cash, these 4 rooms would’ve cost $4,190 But here’s why I booked 4 rooms
Mike’s family at the M Resort – Party of 11
After returning home from Costa Rica, some of my wife’s family had been asking if they could join us on some weekend getaways. It was too late to invite them to Pismo Beach last weekend. And for this weekend, we actually had a 2 night stay booked at the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad. But our family + wife’s extended family would’ve been 11 people and that would’ve been a tough task to get us all into the Park Hyatt. To put it bluntly, they don’t have points. So I can’t ask them to plunk down $500/night at the hotels we’ve been staying at. So, I thought Vegas might be fun for all the elders and decided this would be their Mother’s Day present from me.
Over $4,000 value for 4 rooms
If Mike paid for these rooms in cash, it would’ve cost him $523.84 per room per night (including taxes and fees). The total for all rooms = $4,190.72! Insane. All thanks to points earned with credit cards.
Mike’s M Resort Booking for 4 rooms for 2 nights
And look at all their happy faces. While this resort may not be near the Las Vegas strip, I think it’s perfect for families who want to get away to Vegas, play in the pool, and stay at the resort. They could easily head to the Vegas Strip as needed.
Don’t know anything about Choice Hotels?
To be honest, I didn’t know much about Choice Hotels. So I had to look it up. And when I looked deeper, they do have brands that cater to the economical travelers, and they also have properties that are midscale and upscale. Some of the hotels listed below, I know I’ve seen them before, so it’s good to have new choices…and yes, pun intended.
So there. To those of us who are accustomed to using our points with Hyatt, Hilton, IHG, or Marriott, now we have another option with Choice Hotels. This was such a great find, and I thank Mike S., for sharing this with me!
Editorial Disclosure – The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
But here’s why I booked 4 rooms
