The Early Booker Gets the Big Payoff

The first quarter of the year is when the nation's major hotel chains unveil their richest frequent-guest program promotions. Although specifics vary by chain, the basic marketing idea always is the same: Grab a greater percentage of your lodging business by offering lucrative incentives for multiple and repeat bookings. Now is the time to plan your first-quarter lodging strategies to score the best deal. Starwood Preferred Guest and Radisson Goldpoints have already posted details of their first 2010 promotions. Marriott Rewards has contacted many customers with a customized first-quarter promo—examine a representative pitch here—and Hilton HHonors, Hyatt Gold Passport, and InterContinental Priority Club will unveil their deals in a matter of days. Hotel loyalty plans and the value of their points are difficult to compare objectively, so you'll need the free time to calculate your best combination of points, places, and promotions.

Phone It In

Don't use a smartphone like a BlackBerry or an iPhone? Now that you have a few minutes to think, consider switching from a traditional (and dumb) cell phone. Not only are several mobile firms now offering flat-rate, all-you-can-eat rates for calling, texting, and email, handset prices are at all-time lows. The obvious exception: the iPhone. Apple and AT&T continue to keep prices artificially high while fending off claims from Consumer Reports about spotty call quality and coverage.

Status Seeking

If you've missed your preferred 2010 elite-status level in the frequent-flyer program of your chosen airline, you have two choices. You can do a last-minute "mileage run" by December 31. That entails more flying and another trip to the airport. Of you can call your airline's frequent-flyer program desk and ask what considerations they'll make or what options they offer to allow you to maintain your existing status. I recommend the latter option. Anything the airline asks is probably less painful than schlepping out to the airport for a last-minute trip to nowhere that you really don't want to take. Besides, haven't you flown enough this year already?

The Fine Print…

One final tip: Use the downtime during this holiday season to reexamine your dressing and packing strategies. Pack smarted. Carry less. If you slim down your traveling entourage, you'll have a less stressful 2010.