If you don’t mind booking through third-party websites, you can rack up thousands of airline miles on select carriers when you stay at major hotels. We first reported on two of these sites — Rocketmiles and PointsHound — two years ago, and now The New York Times has provided an update.
The Times report notes that although both sites were purchased by other firms recently (Priceline and Points International respectively), they continue to offer the same business model. Travelers who book their hotel stay through the sites can earn up to a tidy 5,000-6,000 air miles per night — or sometimes even more — in exchange for their business.
Here’s an example in NYC– Use Rocketmiles to book the Hilton Doubletree Manhattan for $379 in June and earn a fat 5,000 United or American miles:
Related: Mega-mileage bonus sites proliferate
Or use Pointshound to book the W Hollywood in LA for $597 and earn 2,800 Virgin America Elevate points
Regrettably, Delta does not play with either of these sites, so no SkyMiles bonuses.
Both work with a varied roster of airlines, including many foreign carriers. Persons who book through the sites must make some tradeoffs for the generous mileage allotments –– e.g., they can’t get hotel points from the property; they must make reservations changes through PointsHound or Rocketmiles instead of with the hotel; and they might not always get the lowest room rate.
Check out the sites and see the big bonuses here: Rocketmiles | PointsHound
Note: These sites have “refer a friend” offers which TravelSkills signed up for (and you can, too). So if you make a booking from links posted here, we get 250-1000 miles. Come on and help us out!
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