[EXPIRED] One Week Left for the Exclusive offer for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express for Chase Marriott Premier Cardholders

THIS OFFER HAS NOW EXPIRED

It has been nearly a month since the Chase Marriott Visa card exited our market but that doesn't mean Marriott Rewards members lose out on earning points in their favourite hotel program for everyday purchases. How so you may ask? How will I be able to earn points outside of Marriott stays? Well the answer to that is the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. And for those of you who did have the Chase Marriott Visa you have one week left to get in on this exclusive offer for you for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card.

If you have been collecting Marriott Rewards points and the program is your hotel program of choice then you should already know that Marriott owns Starwood and that you can link and convert points between the loyalty programs of both chains. This means you can use the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express to actually earn Marriott Rewards points. How so? The American Express card will earn Starpoints for your purchases and then you can link your Starwood Preferred Guest account with your Marriott Rewards account. Once you do this you can convert the SPG Starpoints to Marriott Rewards points at a rate of 1 to 3. That's right you are technically earning three Marriott Rewards points for every one Starpoint earned on the credit card.

So what should I do if I have the Chase Marriott Premier Visa Card?
The good news is if you have the Chase Marriott Visa card, American Express has come out with an exclusive offer for you for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card as long as you have not had it before.

The offer sees the sign up bonus boosted by 5,000 Starpoints to 25,000 Starpoints (non-Marriott cardholders are offered 20,000 Starpoints) after meeting the minimum required spend on the card as well as a 8.99% balance transfer for the first 12 months, the latter of which I guess makes sense for anyone who has been carrying a balance on their Marriott Visa card.

Starpoints, the currency of Starwood Preferred Guest is one of the most valuable loyalty currencies on the market today and that extra 5,000 points is a sweet deal, adding at least $150 in value to the card. As we mentioned already, Starpoints easily convert to Marriott Rewards points, all you have to do is link your Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest accounts and then the transfers are easy. One Starpoint is worth three Marriott Rewards Points. What does that mean with the SPG Credit Card? That means the sign up bonus is equivalent to 75,000 Marriott Rewards points, the standard earn of 1 Starpoint per dollar spent is equal to 3 Marriott Rewards points and the 2 Starpoints per dollar spent at participating Marriott and Starwood Hotels is worth 6 Marriott Rewards points. The last offer of spend at their hotels has now been extended to July 31 from the previous end date of February 15.

Just so you know 75,000 Marriott Rewards is a really good sign up bonus! What can those points get you? It can get you at least 10 free nights at a Category 1 hotel within the Marriott Rewards program or even 2 nights at a Category 8 hotel if you catch a PointSavers Reward! Here is the Marriott Rewards free night chart:

The points can also be used at the higher Ritz-Carlton Hotels and 75,000 Points can score you one to three free nights at these posh hotels:

You can search all Marriott Hotels and their respective category placements here.

Of course you don't have to convert to Marriott Rewards right away, you can store the points in your SPG account for use at Starwood Hotels which once again, the sign up bonus of 25,000 Starpoints provides some huge value!

Recommended reading:

• Why you should still consider getting the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express 

This offer is only available to existing Marriott Rewards Visa Credit cardholders who do not already have the SPG card.

The Details of this specific offer are as follows:
• Applications accepted January 25 to April 18, 2018. Offer valid for existing Marriott Rewards Visa Cardholders who do not already have the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card and are residents of Canada.
•  Receive 25,000 Starpoints after you spend $1500 CAD in the first three months after opening their account.
•  8.99% on balance transfers for the first 12 months.

Here are all the regular details of the card:
• You can earn 2 Starpoints for every dollar of eligible purchases charged to the Card at participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels through July 31, 2018.
• Earn 1 Starpoint for every $1 in purchases charged to the Card
• Enjoy a Free Weekend Night Award when you reach $40,000 in purchases each year
• Experience Starwood Gold Preferred Guest status when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year
• American Express Invites™ opens the door to great music, theatre, dining, film, fashion and shopping experiences. Be among the first to know, and among the first to go!
· You can use Apple Pay on your eligible device to pay for goods and services at participating American Express contactless merchants
• Annual interest rate 19.99% on purchases and 22.99% on funds advances 
• Annual Fee: $120 Supplementary Card Fee: $50

Redeem your Starpoints with the SPG program:
• Redeem Starpoints for Free Nights with no blackout dates at over 1,500 of the world's most desired hotels in nearly 100 countries
• Use Starpoints for flights on over 150 airlines with no blackout dates with SPG Flights
• Experience once-in-a-lifetime events with SPG Moments

You can find out more and apply for the card via this link: www.americanexpress.ca/spgrewards
 
“This post was sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada.  The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own.”

April 10 Update: Donate Canalta Rewards points for the Humboldt Broncos, CIBC Aventura rewards discount for WestJet, Aeroplan Best Western offer extended

Drumheller based Canalta Hotels, who sponsors the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and has hotels in and around the area of the Humboldt Broncos bus accident stepped up last week and offered free hotel stays for family and first responders of the tragedy. The hotel chain has taken another step to help out with their Canalta Rewards program. You can now redeem your Canalta Rewards points for a cash donation that will go to the Humboldt Broncos hockey team. The redemption amounts are as follows:

1,000 rewards points will result in a donation of $2.00
5,000 rewards points will result in a donation of $10.00
10,000 rewards points will result in a donation of $20.00

Find out more here about how you can donate your Canalta Rewards points

Want to know more about Canalta's hotels in the area? Read our reviews of three of those hotels:
Hotel Review: Canalta Hotel Humboldt
Hotel Review: Canalta Hotel Melfort SK
Hotel Review: Canalta Hotel Tisdale (Guest Post)

 
CIBC Aventura cardholders can enjoy reduced redemption amounts for travel on WestJet within Canada and to the U.S. and Sun destinations. Flights start as low as 9,000 Aventura Points. Simply book by April 30th to take advantage of it! Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Save 50% on Economy Class award tickets between Toronto or Vancouver and Europe
  As we do each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This…
• Earn Double Air Canada Altitude Qualifying Miles for flights booked in the new Comfort Class
  Earlier today in our daily update we brought you the details of Air Canada's newly expanded Economy Fare options…
• Marriott Rewards: 750 Bonus points per night starting with your 3rd night
  In what can be seen as a mirror image of Starwood Preferred Guest's More Nights offer, Marriott Rewards is…

Travel Deals
WestJet has launched a flash sale with a discount code that offers 15% off Econo (Lowest) and Econo fares. Use promo code DSF5AAP for bookings made today. Travel is valid until June 27 with May long weekend blacked out. Find out more here!

Remember to visit Rewards Canada's Travel Booking site to book travel directly with many of your favourite airlines, hotels and more!

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- 2,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for stays of 2 or more nights on the best flexible rate at participating Fairmont Hotels in the Americas. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Until Jun 30, 18
- OFFER EXTENDED 500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for stays at any Best Western Hotels worldwide. More... Until May 13, 18

Other Bonus Offers
British Airways Executive Club
- 30% Bonus Avios on your next hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. More... . Book by Jun 30, 18
- 500 Bonus Avios when you rent a car group C vehicle or above for a minimum of 3 days, and pick up in Europe, Asia the Middle East or Africa. More... Book by Apr 30 for rentals May 1 - Jun 30, 18

Hilton Honors
- Earn up 5,000 Bonus Honors Points for stays at Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Until Jul 29, 18

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- 2,500 Bonus JPMiles for each hotel booking made via Agoda. More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until Jun 30, 18

Marriott Rewards
- Earn 750 Bonus Rewards Points per night for stays at participating Marriott Hotels and Resorts Worldwide starting on your third night.  More... Register by Jun 30 for stays Apr 16 - Jul 20, 18

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints for stays on the Grand Opening Offer at the Westin Perth. More... Until Jun 30, 18

United MileagePlus
- 500 Bonus MileagePlus Miles for stays on the Fairmont Suite Moments package at participating Fairmont Hotels in the Americas. More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until Jun 30, 18

Save 50% on Economy Class award tickets between Toronto or Vancouver and Europe

As we do each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This month we only see 50% off flights in Economy Class on Lufthansa out of Vancouver and Toronto.

These are good for travel on Lufthansa from August  1 to September 15 and must be booked by April 30.

With this off you can redeem Miles & More miles for round trip economy class tickets on from Toronto or Vancouver to dozens of destinations in Poland for only 30,000 miles. This is a 50% discount off the normal Economy Class award ticket price of 60,000 miles. Now Miles & More has some major fees for redeeming on Lufthansa so be sure you also check what a revenue ticket costs however seeing that these are for August and September when economy tickets can head well north of $1,000 each, redeeming 30,000 miles and $500-$600 in fees could be the savings you are looking for.

Here is an example of some of the cities you can redeem for:

As we mention every time they have the 50% off economy offer is that you could in theory get close to amount required to redeem for the tickets with grabbing a single credit card that has a $120 annual fee! How so? As we always mention in this post you can boost your Miles & More account with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. Currently the card comes with a 20,000 Starpoints sign up bonus and when you convert those 20,000 Starpoints to Miles & More SPG will award you an additional 5,000 miles. Which gives you 25,000 miles. Of course if you spend $5,000 on the card that will easily boost you to the 30,000 miles required. That's enough miles to redeem for one of the economy class tickets in this offer.  If you have or had the Chase Marriott Visa then your in luck as you can go for the 25,000 Starpoint offer on the SPG card which with the additional bonus provided by SPG gives you enough miles for the economy class offer. Of course timing of getting the card now, spending and getting the points will likely not happen for this month but it sets you up for future offers.  Need to grab two tickets? You could choose to get one SPG card for yourself and you for your partner or spouse. If that's not your situation and want two tickets for yourself you could also grab The Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express as it also has 20,000 point sign up bonus and then you would ultimately be able to have 50,000 Miles & More miles not including spending.

Full details on this Miles & More offer can be found here

Earn Double Air Canada Altitude Qualifying Miles for flights booked in the new Comfort Class

Earlier today in our daily update we brought you the details of Air Canada's newly expanded Economy Fare options for travel in North America. In that expansion there is a new higher end fare class called Comfort and to help promote it Air Canada is offering Double Altitude Qualifying Miles for flights in Canada or between Canada and the U.S. in this new fare class that are booked by April 19.

Offer details 
Double Altitude Elite Qualifying Miles on any eligible round trip (or two one-way segments) booked in a comfort fare on all flights within Canada and between Canada and the U.S.  Register Online (Registration is required) Register and book by Apr 19 for travel until Aug 31, 18

Find many more Aeroplan bonus offers here

Marriott Rewards: 750 Bonus points per night starting with your 3rd night

In what can be seen as a mirror image of Starwood Preferred Guest's More Nights offer, Marriott Rewards is offering 750 bonus points per night in their latest global promotion starting with your third night. Seeing that Marriott Rewards points convert 3:1 to Starwood and vice versa, the two promotions are exactly the same. This first ever release of exact promotions from the two separate loyalty programs that are owned by Marriott can be seen as the next step in the integration of the two programs. This bonus, like Starwood's starts on April 16th (keep in mind this date is significant) although you can already register and book your stays already. Unlike SPG's offer however, the Marriott offer is valid at all of their points earning hotels.

Offer details
Earn 750 Bonus Rewards Points per night for stays at participating Marriott Hotels and Resorts Worldwide starting on your third night.  Full details, online registration and booking. (Registration is required) Register by Jun 30 for stays Apr 16 - Jul 20, 18

Find many more Marriott Rewards bonus points offers here.

April 9 Update: Air Canada expands economy fare options, AIR MILES adds more rewards under 1,000 miles, Top Cashback cards update

Last week Air Canada further updated some of their fare classes. Earlier in the year they launched Economy Basic fares for travel within Canada, then WestJet came out with their own changes for flights beyond Canada and now Air Canada has followed suit with a further expansion of the fares for travel in North America. The expansion includes a new fare class called Comfort that falls in between the well known Flex and Latitude fare classes and seeing Basic being expanded beyond our borders. (Source Air Canada)

The five Economy fare types and their features are:

Latitude - Fully refundable ticket; Priority check-in; two complimentary checked bags; advance seat selection and access to Preferred Seats when available; complimentary Air Canada Bistro Voucher; same-day changes; 125 per cent Aeroplan Miles accrual; and Maple Leaf Lounge access for purchase.
Comfort -  Same-day standby (previously only available with Latitude); advance seat selection and access to Preferred Seats when available; complimentary alcoholic beverage; complimentary checked bag; early boarding; 115 per cent Aeroplan Miles accrual; and Maple Leaf Lounge access for purchase.
Flex - Ticket changes permitted for a fee; advance seat selection; complimentary checked bag; 100 per cent Aeroplan Miles accrual; and Maple Leaf Lounge access for purchase.
Standard - Ticket changes permitted for a fee; 50 per cent Aeroplan Miles accrual for transborder flights and 25 per cent Aeroplan Miles accrual for domestic flights.
Basic - Air Canada's most restrictive fare option will be available only for select routes and flights and for booking exclusively through Air Canada channels.  These low fares do not permit changes, are not eligible for upgrades, and do not earn Aeroplan Miles.  Customers have the option to pay for checked bags, advance seat selection, and food and alcohol on board.

AIR MILES has seen a 10% increase in reward redemption after adding more options under 1,000 miles. As such they are expanding with more merchandise and experience options under that 1,000 mile level. (Source AIR MILES)

Sad news to hear that Tim Winship has passed away. He was one of the very first people to bring the world of points and miles to the Internet (frequentflier.com) and he co-authored the famous Mileage Pro frequent flyer book of last decade with Randy Peterson. When Rewards Canada launched in 2001, it was only Randy's and Tim's endeavours that were on the Internet and were a great source of inspiration for me to launch Rewards Canada since their sites were more American focused and there were none focusing on Canada. I never did get to meet Tim although we did have some great conversations via email. He will be greatly missed and many of us can thank him for helping create the amazing online miles and points culture. (HT TravelBloggerBuzz)

Not too long ago we were asked when our 2018 Top Cash Back Credit Card rankings will be released and I mentioned they would come out in March like they did last year. However with so much happening in the cash back space right now with cards changing and new ones being introduced I have decided to hold back on releasing the Top list until we get all the details in of the cards. I anticipate that the rankings will come out sometime in May or June.

Posts since our last update:

• Starwood Preferred Guest: 250 Bonus Starpoints per night starting with your 3rd night
  Starwood Preferred Guest has released the details of their next systemwide promotion that will launch on April 16th. This…
• Canadian Tire to revamp loyalty program - now called Triangle and will include updated Mastercards
  Canadian Tire has announced that they are revamping their 60 year old loyalty program which has simply been known…

Travel Deals
Save up to 40% on Porter Airines flights to or from Stephenville. Use promo code Q0VZU3 for bookings made by April 22. Find out more here!

Orbitz: Save 15% on hotel stays with promo code JUSTLIKETHAT. Book by April 22 for stays until Sep 30. Find out more here.

Remember to visit Rewards Canada's Travel Booking site to book travel directly with many of your favourite airlines, hotels and more!

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Double Altitude Elite Qualifying Miles on any eligible round trip (or two one-way segments) booked in a comfort fare on all flights within Canada and between Canada and the U.S.  More... Register and book by Apr 19 for travel until Aug 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Copa ConnectMiles
- Earn up to 40% Bonus ConnectMiles when you buy or gift 3,000 or more ConnectMiles. More... Until Apr 30 , 18

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until May 6, 18

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn 250 Bonus Starpoints per night for stays at participating Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide starting on your third night. More... Register by Jun 30 for stays Apr 16 - Jul 20, 18

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Double Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Hopkins Bay Resort Hopkins, Belize. More... Book by Apr 21 for stays until Oct 31,18
- Double Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Belize Ocean Club Adventure Resort. More... Book by Apr 21 for stays until Oct 31,18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Starwood Preferred Guest: 250 Bonus Starpoints per night starting with your 3rd night

Starwood Preferred Guest has released the details of their next systemwide promotion that will launch on April 16th. This is the day after the end of the current promotion so there is no downtime in their global promotions. This promotion is relatively weak compared to many they have run and is really targeting those who do complete frequent stays or have a long stay coming up with Starwood. How so? The bonus does not kick in until the third night. For some that will be on their third stay or for others it will be on longer stays of three or more nights. That being said, once it does kick in and you have lots of stays earning that 250 extra points per night can provide a huge bonus (or return) especially if you are staying at the lower priced hotel brands of Starwood. The offer is open for registration and booking but stays only start counting as of April 16th. Keep this date in mind as it is very significant.

Offer details
Earn 250 Bonus Starpoints per night for stays at participating Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide starting on your third night.  Full details, online registration and booking. (Registration is required) Register by Jun 30 for stays Apr 16 - Jul 20, 18

Find many more SPG bonus Starpoints offers here.

Canadian Tire to revamp loyalty program - now called Triangle and will include updated Mastercards

Canadian Tire has announced that they are revamping their 60 year old loyalty program which has simply been known as Canadian Tire Money. The program along with its Options Mastercards will now be known as Triangle, named after the iconic Canadian Tire triangle logo. It is being touted as the loyalty program's biggest revamp in 6 decades - a name change and updates to the Mastercards they offer from Canadian Tire Financial as well as a push to educate Canadians that you can earn Canadian Tire Money (still the loyalty currency of the new Triangle program) as places like Sport Chek and select Marks and Atmosphere locations. The latter of which  we discussed back in January.

From the details we received from Canadian Tire, it looks like the biggest changes are coming in the Mastercards being issued by CTFS as they move to a cash back style model that rewards you with Canadian Tire Money rather than the multiplier of Canadian Tire Money currently seen. For example the current Options Mastercards earn 10x Canadian Tire Money for Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Marks and Atmosphere purchases and 2x Canadian Tire Money for all other purchases. The new cards will offer 4% back in the Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Marks category and 0.8% to 1% back for all other purchases except the Triangle World Elite Mastercard will also earn 3% back for grocery purchases (up to $12,000 in those purchases annually)

What we don't know yet is what the earn rate of Canadian Tire Money will be at these stores when you don't use their credit cards.

Update: Canadian Tire has reached out to us to let us know the Triangle Rewards earn rate without the credit card will be 0.4%.

The program has never published a set earn rate previously and the terms and conditions say the earn rate will vary from time to time. Also will be interesting to see if you can double dip in the new program as the old program did not allow that, it just multiplied the earn rate if you did use an options credit card. The base earn rate of these new cards are quite weak and really only make sense for those people who shop a lot Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Marks and Atmosphere stores.

Update from Canadian Tire: 
To confirm the process in-store – if the customer is not a Triangle Rewards member, or does not present proof of membership at the time of purchase, the customer will be offered physical Canadian Tire Money back if they make their purchase using debit or cash, otherwise, they’ll earn Canadian Tire Money back on their Triangle Rewards card.

So it almost seems like there will not be a double dip - you'll earn 4% when you use the Triangle Mastercard at their stores, not 4.4% that would happen with a double dip if they allowed it.

Once the new program is live and the credit cards are released we'll have more details and will also add the cards to our cash back credit card comparison charts.

April 3 Update: Tomorrow is the last day for Best Buy Reward Zone, the latest Aeroplan bonuses for Avis & Budget rentals and more.

This is only the second time and it will be the last time we cover Best Buy Reward Zone here on Rewards Canada! I received an email about 2 weeks ago and was reminded by Charles T. as he also got the email that Best Buy Reward Zone is ending here in Canada:

We are constantly evolving to bring you the best shopping experience possible. In line with this and based on member feedback, we've made the decision to retire our Reward Zone points program this year.
Important Info:
• You can continue earning Reward Zone points until April 4, 2018.
• Your outstanding points balance will then be converted to a final Reward Zone certificate on May 11, 2018.
• You will have six months (180 days) to redeem, with your final certificate expiring on November 07, 2018.

Tomorrow will be the last day you can earn Reward Zone points and as you can see above you'll have until November to use up the certificate you'll get from those points.

Posts since our last update:

• Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club and Spa - Carlsbad, California
  Formerly a Four Seasons resort, the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad California was our home base for a recent…
• Last day to register for Marriott and Starwood systemwide promotions - good for stays until April 15
  Today is the last day to register for the two major promotion from Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest. While…
• Delta SkyMiles - Earn double miles with non-airline partners who you have not earned with before (or did so but prior to 2017)
  Delta SkyMiles is encouraging to use some of their non-airline partners by offering Double SkyMiles when you do complete…

Travel Deals
Remember to visit Rewards Canada's Travel Booking site to book travel directly with many of your favourite airlines, hotels and more!

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 3,250 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on Avis rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide More... Until May 31, 18
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on Budget rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Until May 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- April Promo Awards - Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. More... Book by Apr 29 for travel May 31 - Jul 31, 18

American AAdvantage
- 500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on all rentals of three days or longer at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Mexico, Latin America, and Caribbean. More... Until Jun 15, 18
- 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on all rentals of three days or longer at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America, and Caribbean. More... Until Jun 15, 18
- Earn up to 6x AAdvantage Miles when you rent at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom. More... Until Sep 30, 18

Delta SkyMiles
- Double SkyMiles when you earn miles through non-airline partners that have you never earned with before or only earned with prior to 2017. More... Until May 31, 18

Marriott Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. More... Until Jun 30, 18
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Victoria. More... Jun 1 - Aug 24, 18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club and Spa - Carlsbad, California

Formerly a Four Seasons resort, the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad California was our home base for a recent family trip to Southern California.

The location is great for accessing the beaches and beach side towns of Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Oceanside. It’s close to Legoland and isn't too far from the Wild Animal Park either. I would say it is a little far from San Diego itself if you want to do all the attractions there like Sea World, the Zoo, Old Town, museums, etc. You are looking at a ~40 minute drive each way with some traffic - if the traffic is bad then it is much longer.

We booked ourselves two connecting rooms which were very large and offered two doubles in one room and a king in the other. Hyatt did offer a family discount for booking two rooms so the price for both was pretty decent. The decor may be a little 'old person' in the rooms but don't be dissuaded by that as the beds were super comfortable, there was tons of space in the room and the  bathrooms were huge with lots of space. They had double vanities, a separate shower and tub and Le Labo's Bergamote amenities.

The resort itself was quite beautiful as well and we spent a lot of time around the pool area as well the lounge near the lobby enjoying drinks and desert there. The pool area was nice with lots of loungers and lounge covers! All resorts should have lounge covers for use as it keeps the amount of towels that people grab lower. During our stay the cabanas around the pool were free, simply first come first serve. Apparently they do charge for them after Memorial Day weekend when the hotel gets into high season. Drinks were great at the pool along with the chips, salsa and guacamole. The service was slow but that could be due to it being low season and less people on staff.

There are two large pools, one for families and one an adult pool only in an adult only area. When we were there there was almost no one using the adult pool. It would be nice if during the low season the adult pool and patio area weren’t for adults only. In February that area gets the sun the longest and would have been nice to use. I mean we thought about it as our teenage daughters are very well behaved and maybe we could have got away with using but we in the end we didn't give it a try. During high season when the sun shines longer and there are lots more people around I can see the need for the adult pool but not during low season.

We ordered room service one night, it's kind of a treat we do once a trip as our girls have loved it ever since we did it once when they were young and now it has become somewhat of a tradition. Well let me tell you the room service food at the Park Hyatt Aviara was terrible. Spaghetti and Meatballs, chicken noodle soup, a salmon dish all terrible. The only saving grace was the creme brûlée, that was amazing and we ended up ordering several times via room service and also had it down at the lounge. Funny thing is upon check out I overheard the gentleman next to me who was also checking out remarking how his stay was great except for the chicken noodle soup they ordered from room service! I think they need a revamp!

On the service side all the staff were great at the resort, from valets to front desk to the wait staff - they all made the stay pleasant.

I only have one other gripe and that is the resort has Valet Parking only. As you may have read in our review of the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage we are a very spontaneous family who like to come and go a lot in our travels and having to call down or wait for our car every time we want to jet makes for a bit of a loss in that spontaneity feeling (not to mention a hit to the wallet each time for tipping the valet) This is a big resort with lots of space - enough for self parking unlike downtown hotels in major cities where valet really makes sense.

Overall we really enjoyed this resort and would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice family friendly place to stay in the Northern San Diego area.

Hotel details
Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club and Spa (Book here)
World Of Hyatt Category: 4
Points required for a free night (Standard Room) 20,000
Points required for a free night (Suite) 32,000 Points
Points+Cash Requirement: 12,000 Points + US$125 per night for standard rooms

Talk to us! Have you stayed at the Park Hyatt Aviara resort? What do you think of it? If not do you think you'll give it a try?