beautifulbaba
TF Neo
Hi folk! I have about 60,000 points from Infinia and about 50,000 points from BizBlack cards. I have only used points to book airline tickets on smartbuy portal before. This is the first time I am looking to book hotels using the points and I'd love some help in deciding how to use my points in the best possible ways.
For some context, I am travelling to Bengaluru in March and looking to stay in a hotel for 3 nights 4 days. My parents, my younger brother and I, are travelling after a long time together and I want my parents to experience good luxury 5-star property (for the first time).
I am a total noob in hotel bookings using credit cards. As per my knowledge, I can book hotels through smartbuy portal and use my points to pay for 70% of the amount. Is this the best way to spend my points? Is there a better way like transferring points to Marriott points, Club ITC points, or any other group given HDFC doesn't seem to have good transfer ratio (may be I am wrong here)?
The properties I was looking for are:
- The Ritz-Carlton - looks super luxurious but is also very costly. Shows ₹1,62,840 for 2 rooms, 3 nights on MakeMyTrip. After paying 70% of this price using my points (2 separate bookings) I'll have to pay about ₹50,000 cash. Not wiling to pay this much for 3 nights after all point redemption.
- ITC Gardenia - looks equally luxurious. Shows ₹96,760 for 2 rooms, 3 nights on MMT. Will have to pay about ₹30,000 after point redemption. I can still do this but it still feels like a failure on my part because I've seen so many folks paying almost nothing on their stays in 5 star hotels.
- The Oberoi - doesn't look as luxurious as the above two. Shows ₹1,29,210 for the duration. Will have to pay about ₹39,000 after point redemption. Given the property doesn't look as luxurious as others (correct me if I am wrong) this doesn't seem like a good deal
I just browsed the above hotels based on google searches but I am open to other properties as well. I've never been to Bengaluru before so I am not aware of the good properties there, so please tell me what other properties I should be considering.
Again, is booking hotels through smartbuy with 70% points the best way to use my points or can I transfer points to some membership/miles and get better rewards?
One more thing, after transferring the points to let's say 50000 Club Marriott will I be able to book rooms in Marriott worth ₹50000? If not, how does this work? Where can I see the points value of a room vs cash value?
For some context, I am travelling to Bengaluru in March and looking to stay in a hotel for 3 nights 4 days. My parents, my younger brother and I, are travelling after a long time together and I want my parents to experience good luxury 5-star property (for the first time).
I am a total noob in hotel bookings using credit cards. As per my knowledge, I can book hotels through smartbuy portal and use my points to pay for 70% of the amount. Is this the best way to spend my points? Is there a better way like transferring points to Marriott points, Club ITC points, or any other group given HDFC doesn't seem to have good transfer ratio (may be I am wrong here)?
The properties I was looking for are:
- The Ritz-Carlton - looks super luxurious but is also very costly. Shows ₹1,62,840 for 2 rooms, 3 nights on MakeMyTrip. After paying 70% of this price using my points (2 separate bookings) I'll have to pay about ₹50,000 cash. Not wiling to pay this much for 3 nights after all point redemption.
- ITC Gardenia - looks equally luxurious. Shows ₹96,760 for 2 rooms, 3 nights on MMT. Will have to pay about ₹30,000 after point redemption. I can still do this but it still feels like a failure on my part because I've seen so many folks paying almost nothing on their stays in 5 star hotels.
- The Oberoi - doesn't look as luxurious as the above two. Shows ₹1,29,210 for the duration. Will have to pay about ₹39,000 after point redemption. Given the property doesn't look as luxurious as others (correct me if I am wrong) this doesn't seem like a good deal
I just browsed the above hotels based on google searches but I am open to other properties as well. I've never been to Bengaluru before so I am not aware of the good properties there, so please tell me what other properties I should be considering.
Again, is booking hotels through smartbuy with 70% points the best way to use my points or can I transfer points to some membership/miles and get better rewards?
One more thing, after transferring the points to let's say 50000 Club Marriott will I be able to book rooms in Marriott worth ₹50000? If not, how does this work? Where can I see the points value of a room vs cash value?
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