Thereas been plenty of excitement about Rocketmiles within the last two weeks. You all know from my previous threads that Iam a lover of PointsHound, and the programs are extremely similar: generate miles in a existing airline commitment program when scheduling hotels on top. I knew what made PointsHound great: the opportunity to earn even more miles as a buyer and adouble dipa by making both airline miles AND resort points/status. Nevertheless the main appeal to Rocketmiles appeared to be just lots and lots of miles. Thatas wonderful a' if you earn enough miles to create up for the tradeoffs. Up to now I've maybe not been impressed. PointsHound does that, also, having its aBig Earningsa costs at select houses. So how exactly do the 2 companies assess? Hereas my present impression of Rocketmiles: But I know generalities aren't enough. A few test comparisons were run by me for future travel times, picking to credit my reward miles to United Airlines in all cases.AI conducted some test searches using a fresh PointsHound account at Level 1. That is an important qualifier because theAnumber of miles you generate can more than doubleAas you book more times and development to raised levels. Depending on your scheduling patterns, the winner in these evaluations may change. Also donat forget that when you want to visit Wichita, as I will in June, PointsHound will help you out but Rocketmiles arises nothing. My searches were restricted to markets served by both businesses. Letas skip directly to my home town. June is peak tourist year in Seattle, and the resort industry is ridiculous. Remember my Insideras Guide from the couple months ago? It may be clear in winter and then book full months beforehand in summer time. Luckily we have a lot of good hotels, nevertheless the capacity issue shows that decision is essential. Rocketmiles offeredAonly two hotels for this weekend trip. Resort Max was offered at $219 per night and 7,000 miles total, while Hotel Vintage Park was offered at $240 per night and 2000 miles total. These are reasonable rates and good hotels. PointsHound matched those rates but offered only 1,900 miles for the Hotel Max while getting closer to the competition with 1,800 miles for Hotel Vintage Park. What enjoyed about PointsHound is that in addition it provided dozens more hotel possibilities beyond both supplied by Rocketmiles. A number of these were at similar or cheaper prices and included significant restaurants that will honor your elite benefits if you'd status. Like, the W Seattle was $289 per evening with 1,800 miles total. Access was also provided by pointshound to Double Dip prices including hotel details and standing. In some instances, theseADouble Dip rates also have AAA savings! (This really is something PointsHound could do a better work advertising.) When I engaged to see Double Dip alternatives for the W Seattle, I saw that the price dropped only $249 per night for a AAA rate that involved 1,400 miles plus most of the common SPG factors and elite keep credit. Nevada is known for the deep reductions and scarcity of important hotel chains (well, not necessarily, but handful of them are on the Strip). In cases like this, I ruled out PointsHoundas Double Dip element and assessed choices fully on price.ABoth companies provide large usage bonuses, hitting five numbers for a three-night stay. I wonat quibble with the hotel possibilities supplied by Rocketmiles. Most of them are quality resorts, like the Wynn, Venetian, Caesars Palace, and Trump Hotel. Iall even venture out on a limb and say it was great to start to see the Tropicana there (which seems to have eventually recovered after being renovated; it now works as a DoubleTree). But Vegas is about finding a deal, and there have been no offers to be had here with Rocketmiles. Wynn Nevada Rocketmiles: $302 per night and 15,000 miles total PointsHound: $212 per night and 2000 miles full The Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino Rocketmiles: $196 per night and 5,500 miles complete PointsHound: $196 per evening and 2,200 miles complete Tropicana Hotel & Casino Rocketmiles: $230 per evening and 15,000 miles overall PointsHound: $57 per evening and 700 miles total Trump International Hotel Rocketmiles: $133 per night and 3,000 miles overall PointsHound: $125 per night and 1,600 miles whole Whoa, that Tropicana price was decent! To acknowledge, $57 is one of PointsHoundas periodic one-day sales, but also the normal rate was only $116, about half that of Rocketmiles. You're keeping therefore much money that it's difficult to justify the extra miles provided by Rocketmiles (and I would assume PointsHound to raise its benefit after the price returns on track). In most case I looked at, even those perhaps not shown here, PointsHound had an equal or greater rate. But, these four cases do suggest that PointsHound now offers fewer miles. How large of an issue is that? With the Tropoicana, you pay $519 more ($173/night) to earn 14,300 miles a' properly getting them for 3.6 dollars each. With the Wynn, you pay $270 more ($90/night) for 13,000 miles a' buying them for 2.1 cents each. I'd not suggest paying more to Rocketmiles merely to earn more miles. And again, PointsHound had more possibilities in the event that you desired to choose something cheaper. Washington, DC, was a good bargain. It may be a pricey industry, and there are lots of resorts either separate or part of key organizations. Many more options were provided by rocketmiles than I got for either Seattle or Nevada, which I thought would make it simpler to compare them to your competition. The Dupont Circle Hotel, where Megan and I remained throughout certainly one of her recent business trips, is a great hotel and available for $249 a night with 4,500 bonus miles. That seems compelling, but PointsHound had exactly the same resort for only $239 and 3,100 bonus miles. $10 more may be worth the additional 1,400 miles, but such close numbers show you should check both websites in the future to evaluate their differences. The Washington Marriott was $299 on both sites, but miles were earned 5,000 by you with Rocketmiles and only 800 with PointsHound. In this case, the thing protecting PointsHound is that it presented a Double Dip rate for hotel details and status. However, Iam uncertain itas worthwhile to give up therefore many miles on a one-night stay. (But like in Seattle, selecting Double Dip will provide different reduced charges, also, like a AAA rate for $284.) In fact, few miles were offered relatively by many of the hotels in Washington, DC, when I check always PointsHound. In this case, Rocketmiles won, but I still loved that PointsHound provided many more possibilities. Iam a guy who likes to see his choices and crunch the numbers, and I think that'll often bug me about Rocketmiles. I can comprehend the appeal of Rocketmiles. If you donat care one bit about hotel elite status, and if a lot of choice may be overwhelming, then the choices and Double Dip functions supplied by PointsHound mightn't matter. If major markets are only visited by you, then Rocketmilesa limited choice could possibly be adequate. A year people who travel only once or twice might care more in regards to the upfront miles compared to the potential to earn more with PointsHound as a repeat customer. But I discovered that Rocketmiles wasnat only ahand selectinga its resorts. Why could it discover six to 12 resorts in certain areas like Washington, DC, but only produce two in downtown Seattle?AThis gave the impression to me that its options were based strictly on the size of the fee it could disagree from the hotel. Certain, a big percentage suggests more miles for you personally, too, but I love option. Why bother disclosing the name of the hotel at all, if miles are all that issue? Rocketmiles could just like easily take on Hotwire. PointsHound continues to earn my benefit thanks to Double Dip rates so I can earn my resort things and elite status. I do believe that's enough to create up for fewer airline miles. You'll earn greater awards more comparable to those made available from Rocketmiles, if you guide enough. Ultimately, PointsHound also offered aBig Earningsa charges that are just like the big bonuses stated by Rocketmiles a' circumstances where PointsHound has gotten larger commissions and could afford to share more of it with you. If you care less in regards to the hotel and want plenty of miles, look for Big Earnings choices the very next time you try PointsHound. Disclaimer, I earn a few bonus miles if you use my link to sign up for PointsHound, but only after you make your first booking. If you have a look and choose itas perhaps not for you, nothing is earned by me. But I would be interested in understanding more about why you decided to book elsewhere.
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