The Road Warrior

1   |   2   |   3   |   4   |   Itinerary   |   Home

Gaining Points

As a savvy business traveller, I join each and every rewards program that I come across.
That goes for hotels (see below for all the perks I’ll reap) as well as car rentals. For instance, through the National Emerald Club, I score a vehicle upgraded with a built-in Navigation Station GPS (to go along with my Mio portable GPS and the one built into my Palm). I have a bit of fun programming all three devices at once and letting them battle it out. In Calgary at the Hertz dealership, I gladly accept the #1 Club upgrade to a Volvo V70XC; for the drive from Montreal to Quebec City, I acquire a Chrysler 300 from Thrifty’s Blue Chip program and watch the kilometres slip by.  

The Club

The Small Luxury Hotels of the World (like Toronto's Windsor Arms Hotel) offers VIP service, the option to personalize your stay and complimentary upgrades through this online sign-up program (slh.com).

Hilton HHonors

Gain access to a special reservation line, express check-in and a dedicated HHonors guest manager during your stay.

InterContinental Ambassador

Sign-up bonus is a complimentary weekend night, and you can now watch one free pay-per-view movie per stay.

Fairmont President's Club

Basic Club level membership features complimentary Internet and discounts on Willow Stream
Spa treatments.

Delta Privilege Program

Benefits include one-minute check-in guarantee after 3 p.m. and little extras like choice of snack waiting in your room when you check in. (Cheese or nachos?)

Starwood Preferred Guest

Among the perks: you'll get special rates and points at all of the Sheraton, Le Méridien, W and Westin hotels in the world.

Metropolitan Hotels

Multi-stay Hotel Passes offer low rates, complimentary upgrades, freebies and Aeroplan^® Miles. Frequent guests can use the I'll Be Back (leave your essentials on-site between trips) or Advance Shopping Concierge (pick up your order at check-in) programs.

Sutton Prestige

Earn points at the Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Chicago properties, and redeem them
for air, spa and hotel gifts. I’m aiming for the hosted dinner party for nine friends.

Hyatt Gold Passport

Sometimes it's nice to give back: Members can donate their points to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Marriott Rewards

Receive discounts on Hertz car rentals. (Combine this with my Hertz #1 Club membership, and if I play my cards right, I think it's possible to make money by renting a car.)

Radisson Hotels

This program is affiliated with the Gold Points Reward Network, where I've got my eye on the Krups Allegro Espresso Maker for those early morning meetings.

Physical Assets

I arrive at the Fort Garry Hotel feeling like chopped liver, but a few hours in Ten Spa’s hammam-style bathhouse turns me into Kobe beef, tenderized with salt rubs and steam and fattened with yogurt drinks. In Vancouver, even running a bit late for my flight doesn’t stop me from getting a quick steam and a pedicure at the Absolute Spa at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport. One old-school touch I can’t resist is a trip to the barbershop in the Radisson Plaza Hotel Saskatchewan in Regina, where they soon have my Boss shoes shining like a new penny. The spa in Toronto’s Windsor Arms Hotel has its own meeting room, where I picture myself reducing business rivals to buttah with the help of a pre-presentation massage posse. Likewise the Nouvelle Maria Spa and Salon at Le Royal Méridien King Edward in Toronto can be booked for up to 50 people at a time. That makes for better team building than laser tag, any day.

Fringe Benefits

I appreciate those little pampering touches that only happen in hotels, like the slippers laid out on a towel at Le Royal Méridien King Edward in Toronto or the Astor chocolate on the pillow at the Hyatt Regency Montreal. The turndown Brockmann’s cappuccino truffles at the Delta St. John’s Hotel come with this cheeky little note: “Don’t worry. We won’t tell anyone you’re having chocolate before bedtime.” I test the claim of the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg that they will deliver complimentary coffee, tea or cookies 24 hours a day by requesting them at 3:11 a.m. They arrive 16 minutes later. Nice

Next page

1   |   2   |   3   |   4   |   Itinerary   |   Home