Most of you have read my facebook status, which gave away my excitement on getting both a FREE box of cereal and a FREE hotel stay, without using a single coupon. (Pick your jaw up, because it did happen …. the not using a coupon part!)
First let’s talk about the cereal. Albertsons had my FAVORITE cereal of all time, Oh’s, on clearance. The cereal was marked $0.75 cents, but rang up for $2.00. When I mentioned the price difference to the cashier, she called a manager, who verified the information, and said the cereal was indeed $0.75 each. Albertsons has a policy stating if you find a pricing error, you get that item for FREE. (I’m not sure on the current limits. It used to be up to $3.00, but each store is different.) *And the manager told me Oh’s was discontinued? NOOO!
Now let’s talk about the FREE hotel stay! I am going out of town in a few weeks. I spent a little time online, researching hotels and finding one close to our destination. I am one who is all about price comparisons. (Is that a shocker?) I found the area I wished to stay in, then pulled up two or three Choice Hotels in that area. I also searched for these same hotels through hotels.com, orbitz.com, expedia.com and cheapostay.com. Yes, there were lots of browsers pulled up, but the comparison process was really easy. Choice Hotels has a “Best Rate Guarantee” which states Find a lower Internet rate. Get a free night. And that’s just what I did! I booked the room through the Choice Hotel site (in this case, Crowne Plaza), then filled out a claim form to let them know who had the cheaper rate. In less than 48 hours, my claim was approved with the message stating my one-night hotel stay was FREE! Now before you go running to book a room, let me give you a few pointers:
- The room type/date/location has to be exactly the same. If one site offers free points and the other doesn’t, it won’t qualify.
- It can be a BRG (best rate guarantee) for an executive room, a suite or a standard room. As long as the descriptions match.
- Make sure you book the first room through Choice Hotels, and make sure it is a FLEXIBLE room. Flexible rooms can be cancelled without penalty or fees. (In case the BRG doesn’t get approved.)
- There is no need to book the second room through the third party. You just need that information to pass along to Choice Hotels.
- Your claim must be filed within 24 hours.
*I keep referring to Choice Hotels, but other hotel chains may do this as well. Some offer price matching with an added 10-25% discount.
It really was a simple process, and in this case, I saved over $200.00!
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I was not compensated in any way by the websites mentioned. All opinions are my own.
