Review: Priority Club Rewards
[Note: This post is part of my participation in Mom Central, "a one-stop web resource dedicated to providing busy moms with smart household and parenting solutions." In exchange for my honest thoughts on Priority Club Rewards, I will receive a $20 Amazon.com gift card.]
In the past few years, I've participated in surveys, mystery shopping, online panels, focus groups and other rewards programs, bringing home anything from a discount on books to free granola bars to Amazon gift cards. I've watched my in-laws utilize frequent-flier miles, but I've never had the chance to build up such a thing because I don't travel by plane very often. Of course, I don't travel by plane very often because I can't afford to pay full price! With Priority Club Rewards, however, I can earn points from doing the sort of shopping I do all the time, earning free hotel stays and frequent-flier miles for more than 40 airlines, and also have access to exclusive products and activities.
I know people who've joined points or rewards programs, only to see them vanish when the company goes under or changes terms overnight (I had a credit card like that a few years ago.) I've also been tricked in the past with "vouchers" promising a free vacation that ended up not happening because it was subject to blackout dates or I had to use a certain airline or go to a specific destination from a list of locales the company chose. PCR has been around for 25 years, and unlike some rewards programs, the hotels aren't specific to a certain area or hotel chain: the "Any Hotel, Anywhere" component lets the club member choose the destination. And the points never expire, nor are there blackout dates for Reward Nights. PCR even has a blog, where you can keep an eye out for packages and other deals that allow you to earn even more points.
The Priority Club Rewards website has all the details and fine print, but there are three levels of membership: Club, Gold Elite and Platinum Elite. The Club level is free, and offers up to 14 free nights at hotels per year. Points can be earned by purchases from PCR's many partners such as Hertz, USA Today and T-Mobile. Participants can keep earning new points via a Priority Club Rewards Visa card from Chase, which offers a $50 gas card and 15,000 points with your first purchase. I'm hoping to earn enough points to make a trip to Maine feasible; I haven't been home in more than 11 years!
In the past few years, I've participated in surveys, mystery shopping, online panels, focus groups and other rewards programs, bringing home anything from a discount on books to free granola bars to Amazon gift cards. I've watched my in-laws utilize frequent-flier miles, but I've never had the chance to build up such a thing because I don't travel by plane very often. Of course, I don't travel by plane very often because I can't afford to pay full price! With Priority Club Rewards, however, I can earn points from doing the sort of shopping I do all the time, earning free hotel stays and frequent-flier miles for more than 40 airlines, and also have access to exclusive products and activities.
I know people who've joined points or rewards programs, only to see them vanish when the company goes under or changes terms overnight (I had a credit card like that a few years ago.) I've also been tricked in the past with "vouchers" promising a free vacation that ended up not happening because it was subject to blackout dates or I had to use a certain airline or go to a specific destination from a list of locales the company chose. PCR has been around for 25 years, and unlike some rewards programs, the hotels aren't specific to a certain area or hotel chain: the "Any Hotel, Anywhere" component lets the club member choose the destination. And the points never expire, nor are there blackout dates for Reward Nights. PCR even has a blog, where you can keep an eye out for packages and other deals that allow you to earn even more points.
The Priority Club Rewards website has all the details and fine print, but there are three levels of membership: Club, Gold Elite and Platinum Elite. The Club level is free, and offers up to 14 free nights at hotels per year. Points can be earned by purchases from PCR's many partners such as Hertz, USA Today and T-Mobile. Participants can keep earning new points via a Priority Club Rewards Visa card from Chase, which offers a $50 gas card and 15,000 points with your first purchase. I'm hoping to earn enough points to make a trip to Maine feasible; I haven't been home in more than 11 years!