Staying on Airmiles - what do you think?

[NARM Forever]

We're staying at a DVC resort for 5 nights and then want a hotel for the Fri/Sat. I want to use my Aeroplan points and here are my choices.

Swan/Dolphin - 24,000 per night
Sheraton Safari - 13,000
Best Western Vista - 12,000
Best Western Lakeside - 7,500
Best Western International Drive - 8,000

I originally thought Swan/Dolphin but I'm not sure its worth it. We're a family of 4, DH, Me, DS9, DS6.

Any thoughts?

NARM

 

[anbouk]

WOW...that is an awful lot for S&D Hotel! I would base my decision on the amount of airmiles you have. The safari hotel is real nice which I am familiar with, just not on WDW property. If you don't mind the extra time to get to the parks, etc...go for it! It's wonderful especially for kids.

 

[amw]

WOW...that is an awful lot for S&D Hotel! I would base my decision on the amount of airmiles you have.

The original post is a little confusing. I think the OP is discussing aeroplan points, not Airmiles as in the title. In that case, it's really not a lot of points.

With aeroplan, it's always more "economical" to book travel with your points. However, sometimes you have to balance. 100,000 points can get you 4 flights to Florida - or it can get you 4 nights in a nice hotel. You have to decide on the value of the choices.

Have you looked at the Disney hotels too? Depending on the season, you can book all-stars for 12,000-16,000 points, moderate for 21,000-26,000, and deluxe starting at 32,000. That in consideration, 24,000 for a "deluxe" swan is a great deal.

If it was me, I'd rather stay where the action was.

Did you see you could also order your Disney passes through aeroplan as well?

 

[NARM Forever]

The original post is a little confusing. I think the OP is discussing aeroplan points, not Airmiles as in the title. In that case, it's really not a lot of points.

Did you see you could also order your Disney passes through aeroplan as well?

You're right I did confuse things. It is Aeroplan points. We have annual passes so we don't need passes. On the Aeroplan website, I don't get the option of the Disney Hotels just the ones listed (and a few I dismissed). I'll go back and check again though. We'll be driving down so getting to the parks is not a problem. We have about 24,000 aeroplan miles in one account and 37,000 in another - we bought our flights for our December trip so the balance is going down.

NARM

 

[Weegl]

We travel to Orlando and WDW several times a year during all seasons. From my perspective, I have never been inclined to use any form of travel points (I have various airlines and hotels) to redeem for room nights in Orlando. There is just so much capacity in Orlando, there always seems like there is a deal to be had. We use redweek, priceline, etc....whatever brings us the best deal. For example, we recently got Sheraton Safari for $45.00 a night.

We'd rather use our points in destinations that traditional charge higher rates...I feel like I'm getting better value for the redemption that way.