A week or so ago I wrote about the confluence of two deals that was making for some really cheap hotel stays [SEE ALSO: I’m confused: Why are more people not talking about this deal?]. Unfortunately, for scheduling reasons our family probably is not going to be able to really maximize this deal, but one thing we did want to do is spend one night at the historic Mariemont Inn. The Mariemont Inn is a 45 room boutique hotel that opened in 1926 and recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation.
It’s nearby our house and we’ve always wanted to stay but the cash cost is usually $200 / night or so (more than I want to pay for a staycation) and the points cost is 36,000 points / night (uhhh no).
The problem: blackout dates
So now that all Best Western hotels are temporarily only 10,000 points / night, I thought this was the perfect time to stay a night there. The only problem is that for the night we wanted to book it, it says there are no points rates available
This is even though there are cash rates available on that night.
Calling the hotel
Calling the main Best Western reservations line didn’t do anything – they just said “sorry, you can’t book this with points”. So I thought I’d try calling the hotel directly.
I was actually (pleasantly?) surprised that the lady I spoke to on the phone seemed to have no problem with it. When I told her I wanted to book with points, she took down all my information and booked the reservation
So… is this going to work?
But now I’m worried that it’s not going to work. Either we’ll get there and they’ll try to charge us the cash rate, or they’ll try to charge us 36,000 points. Even though the phone agent at the hotel said she’d email me a reservation, I never got one. When I log on to my Best Western account, I see the reservation, but there are no details
So…. what do you think? What are the odds that everything is going to go well? What would you do in this situation?
This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
This reminds me of people booking hotels months before the eclipse with points only having the reservation canceled at the last minute. Have a plan B.