Big Travel With Small Money at Vancouver Hotels!
Via One Mile at a Time, if you’re traveling to Vancouver, Canada, this winter, you can save a lot of money on your hotel stay!
You can get a American Express gift card worth 50 to 125 Canadian dollars (~$45 to ~$112) per stay at participating hotels through the beVancouver American Express promotion. Bookings must be made before November 16, 2014, and check-in must be on or before February 28, 2015.
With this deal, you can get some Vancouver hotels for less than $25 (before tax) per night! The promotion includes hotels from most of the major chains and other independent hotels.
There are some conditions, though. I’ll explain!
You can get an American Express Gift card worth 50 to 125 Canadian dollars (~$45 to ~$112) when you book a participating hotel stay through the beVancouver website. This includes 1-night stays (but you can’t book several consecutive 1-night stays at the same hotel and get more than 1 gift card!).
They’re giving away free nights, too. One of every 10 bookings made through this promotion is free. They’ll send you an email if your booking is chosen.
But do NOT book a hotel unless your plans are firm. All bookings are pre-paid and are NOT refundable or transferable.
And you can book a maximum of 3 stays through this deal. Any stays beyond that will not earn you a gift card.
Note: Because you’re booking rooms through a 3rd-party site, you likely will NOT earn points for your stay, and may not have elite status recognized. But many folks won’t care, if it’s a good deal.
So how cheaply can you stay? Let’s find out!
The Burrard is a retro-style Vancouver hotel, known for its hip vibe and quirky style. It’s well-reviewed on TripAdvisor.
A 1-night stay in December costs 94 Canadian dollars (~$84) plus tax. But you’ll get a 75 Canadian dollar gift card. With tax, the grand total for 1 night comes to ~34 Canadian dollars, or ~$30.
To compare, I checked Kayak for the same hotel and night. The cheapest price was ~$79 plus tax.
A booking at the all-suite, luxury Executive Hotel Le Soleil will earn you a 100 Canadian dollar gift card.
A night in February costs ~168 Canadian dollars plus taxes. After including the gift card, the final price is ~95 Canadian dollars (~$85).
I checked TravelPony for the same hotel and night. Using promo codes, the lowest price was ~$130 including tax.
So you’d save ~$45 over the TravelPony rate (~$130 TravelPony price – ~$85 promotional rate).
Ranked by TripAdvisor as 1 of Vancouver’s Top 10 hotels, the Wedgewood Hotel also has an award-winning spa and restaurant.
You’ll get a 125 Canadian dollar gift card for booking this hotel. After taxes, 1 night in January costs ~105 Canadian dollars, or ~$94.
One Mile at a Time suggests checking American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts to compare prices for luxury hotels. But you can only access those prices if you’re have The Platinum Card from American Express (any version) or are a Centurion cardholder.
And their only hotels in Vancouver are the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver and the Shangri-La Hotel.
Out of curiosity, I checked Kaligo, a new hotel booking site that also earns airline miles. They’re running a promotion for bonus Asia Miles right now, but you can also earn American Airlines or US Airways (soon to be the same) miles for hotel bookings.
Their price for the same hotel and night was more than double the beVancouver promotion rate. But you’d earn 2,100 American Airlines miles.
Is It Worth Paying More Than Double to Earn Extra Miles at This Hotel?
I like earning extra miles, but I love saving money even more. The beVancouver promotion is a better deal.
Note: Since this is a Canadian website, don’t forget to use a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
You can save 50 to 125 Canadian dollars (~$45 to ~$112) per stay at Vancouver hotels this winter with the beVancouver American Express promotion. Book by November 16, 2014, and stay by February 28, 2015.
After gift cards, prices can be as cheap as $25 or less per night for a 3-star hotel. And you can stay in top-tier luxury hotels for under $100 per night. This is a fantastic deal!
All rooms are pre-paid and non-refundable, so be sure of your plans before you book. You can earn a maximum of 3 gift cards, but a stay can be as short as 1 night.
Have you been to Vancouver? Will you book a hotel through this promotion?
8:23 amNovember 6, 2014 Conrad S.
Just got back from a fantastic weekend getaway in Vancouver. Its rainy season there now, but a great time to visit because the crowds are thin and hotel prices are low. Had an easy time finding frequent flier award availability on United too. This offer is especially attractive if you are a snowboarder or skier due to Vancouver’s proximity to Whistler.
In response to FarNorthTrader, I booked this deal several times last year. The don’t charge you until you check out – or if you no-show. That way you can use the Amex card towards the room.
Also, last year I was able to get my Marriott platinum status recognized (for upgrade and points) even booking it through BeVancouver. I contacted the Marriott beforehand, and they added my MR number to the stay and treated it as if it was a direct booking.
We took a trip from our Vancouver Washington hometown to the “other” Vancouver earlier this year. We used Amtrak Rewards points and rode the train to/from Vancouver B.C. Unfortunately, the one train that continues north from Seattle to Vancouver arrives into Vancouver at almost 10:30pm. It also leaves Vancouver very early in the morning (6am if I remember correctly) making for a short night the last night of your stay.
We stayed the first two nights (on points!) at the Marriott Residence Inn mentioned in your article, and have nothing but great things to say about it. We had a high room facing the west, and the view of the sound was fantastic. It was just a short walk down to the waterfront parks as well as many restaurants and coffee shops. The staff was very helpful with local suggestions. Be mindful that a dedicated bike lane runs right in front of the hotel. Stay on the sidewalk and you’ll be fine. The Vancouver Trolley (http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/) picks up in front of the Residence Inn, another nice bonus. Buy a day pass and use it to see the different parts of the city. We did one of their tours to Grouse Mtn. and the Capilano Suspension Bridge (both were great).
We stayed the next two nights (on more points!) at the Hilton in Burnaby B.C. outside downtown Vancouver. We rode the local transit train to get to the Hilton, which worked out fine except the short walk from the station to the Hilton. The hotel is adjacent to the huge Metropolis Mall and great for shoppers. Most the restaurants within walking distance were Chinese food, which was fine with us. There’s also numerous places at the mall. The awesome Chinese market located in the same block as the Hilton (they’re actually attached) is like going to Chinatown. It’s not to be missed if in the area!
Thanks for your post, I think it’s time for another visit to the “other” Vancouver.
can you load canadian gift cards to amex serve?
Booked two rooms at the hyatt yesterday and received the confirmation from bevancouver, but no sign of a charge or even an authorization on my card. Has anyone else tried booking this deal?