FAQ + Clarifications on “BOGO” Waldorf Astoria, Curio, Conrad Promotion

Last night I wrote about a truly awesome hotel deal: Visa Signature Hotel Collection is essentially offering a “buy one get one free” deal with selected Conrad, Waldorf-Astoria, and Curio properties. On top of that, you get a $75 Visa gift card, and $25 food & beverage credit at the hotel. A few questions have surfaced in the comments and from other readers, so I figure I’d do an FAQ.

How do I book this deal?

First, navigate to Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection’s website here. You will have to select the desired hotel on the right, and input the details of your stay. Multiple rate options might show up, so make sure you select the “Stay 2 – Enjoy a Free Night” rate to take advantage of this promotion.

Select the “Stay 2 – Enjoy a Free Night” option

Just to make sure, before you confirm your reservation, check to see that the rate rules does include the “Stay 2” language. As always, you should also review other aspects of the rate rules, including the cancellation policy.

Check that you are getting the benefit before confirming the reservation

Are you sure it’s BOGO? Not Buy 2 get the 3rd night free?

This promotion almost falls under the “too good to be true” territory, so there was quite a scare last night. A reader reported that the hotel says it’s really “buy 2 get the 3rd night free.” But the hotel has since wrote back via e-mail to say that’s not the case, that you indeed get the 2nd night free.

All in all, the language of the terms and conditions are pretty straightforward. As long as Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection does not pull back on the offer (which they technically could, according to the T&C), I am confident this promotion is indeed what we think it is.

If I book two rooms, will I get both of them BOGO?

Judging from the T&C, the “2nd night free” promo is deducted at the hotel upon check-out, rather than a rebate back to the credit card. In a sense, the last night free is built into the rate rules, much like when hotels offer 3rd or 4th night free themselves. As a result, you should be able to get as many room as you want BOGO, provided they are not back-to-back.

Is this “BOGO” offer stackable with the $75 gift card offer?

Yes, but probably with a limit. Both offers are advertised on each other’s pages. For example, on the “2nd night free” offer page, there is this banner saying “Book by November 30 and also receive a $75 USD Visa gift card.”

On the $75 Visa gift card offer page, this banner is also presented:

This suggests that these two offers are meant to be concurrently available and NOT mutually exclusive.

Is there a limit on how many times you can take advantage of the offer?

There is no limit to how many times you can take advantage of the “BOGO” (2nd night free) offer, as long as you are not making back-to-back stays, which is explicitly prohibited in the T&C.

The $75 gift card is another story. The T&C of the gift card seems to suggest this is a one-time deal (emphasis mine, below). I wouldn’t count on it being applicable more than once. However, they also didn’t explicitly say “limit one gift card per address” or anything like that, so we could all be pleasantly surprised. Regardless, I wouldn’t factor the gift card into my decision if I was booking more than one stay.

Offer valid at participating Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts™, Conrad Hotels & Resorts™, or Curio – A Collection by Hilton™ (“Participating Hotels”) only for stays booked between August 1^st, 2016 and November 30^th, 2016 and completed between August 1^st, 2016 and February 28^th, 2017. Offer must be booked with a U.S.-issued Visa Signature card through the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection website (VisaSignatureHotels.com) to receive a one-time $75 USD Visa gift card.

How do you get the $75 gift card?

It will be mailed to the address you provided at booking within 6 weeks after completion of your stay. They have actually offered the $75 gift card before in 2015 (link is to OLD, EXPIRED offer), and folks did report getting their gift cards within that time frame.

Do you get the $75 gift card if you book with Visa Infinite?

Interestingly, the languages differ slightly between the $75 gift card page and the BOGO page. Specifically, the $75 gift card offer page does not include “Visa Infinite” as an eligible card, which is curious.

Dan at Dan’s Deals reached out to Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection and got confirmation that Visa Infinite WILL work with the $75 offer.

Confirmation that Visa Infinite cards are eligible for the $75 Visa gift card offer

What about the $25 food and beverage credit?

This is a credit offered directly by Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection and applied by the hotel. It’s actually a standard offer for almost all stays booked with Visa Signature, not just under this promotion. You only get one credit per stay, but there is no limit on how many stays you make.

During your hotel stay you will receive a $25 USD credit at check-out. Limit of one $25 USD credit per room, per stay. A stay is defined as consecutive nights spent at the same hotel, regardless of check-in/check-out activity. Any charges over and above the credit described above will be applied directly to your account to settle upon departure. Credit has no cash value and is not valid on room rate or third party services.

How do I know if a card is Visa Signature?

Many credit cards that carry a $5,000 limit or above qualify as Visa Signature; to know whether yours is, look under the VISA logo on your card.

Look under the VISA logo on your credit card to see if it qualifies

Some credit cards are “by default” Visa Signature. For example, you won’t be approved for a Chase Sapphire Preferred unless they can extend you a $5,000 credit line, because the card has to be Visa Signature. Other credit cards are not so clear cut. For instance, you could open a Chase Freedom card with just a $500 credit line, and in that case the card is not Visa Signature. However, some Freedom cards are approved with a $5,000+ limit, and often those cards are Visa Signature.

It’s worth noting that Visa Infinite cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Chase Ritz-Carlton credit cards are also eligible for this promotion. I used a Chase Sapphire Reserve to confirm the reservation, and it went through.

It’s hard to come up with a “list”of all Visa Signature cards, because (1) there are too many and (2) it’s kind of variable. Visa has a list of Visa Signature cards, though it’s not exhaustive. It doesn’t contain cards issued by Chase or Citi, which are often the most lucrative in sign-up bonuses and day-to-day earnings.

Do I earn points and elite-qualifying nights with this promotion?

This is basically Visa Signature’s equivalent to AMEX’s Fine Hotel & Resorts, where you do earn points and stay credits. According to these FlyerTalk posts, you should earn points and elite-qualifying nights, as well as receive Gold or Diamond benefits that aren’t already covered by the promotion.

What if I’m staying more than 2 nights?

You can stay as many nights as you wish, but only the last night of your stay will be free. Therefore, if you are staying more than two nights, the promotion is not really “BOGO” anymore.

Some people have suggested booking two separate 2-night stays under different names. I am not sure whether that is technically allowed under the T&C, since for many foreign hotels, all guests have to register their name at the front desk.

Maximum one free night per room, per stay. Back-to-back stays within 24 hours at the same hotel are considered one stay, regardless of check-out and check-in activity.

To be safe, I think if you were going to go this route, have the second person check-in before you check-out of the first “2-night” block, so they do count as two separate stays.

Can I combine this offer with a free night certificate or reward night?

While you cannot combine other offers or promotions with this one, you are free to book extra nights with certificates and/or points. For example, if you book the first night with Hilton points, and then book two more nights under this promotion, the front desk staff should have no problem combining them for you, and you can take advantage of your last night free.

Can I combine this offer with any other Hilton offers?

The T&C of this promotion does not allow you to combine other Visa Signature offers, but in theory you should still be able to take advantage of Hilton’s own offers. There are three noteworthy ones right now:

• Earn double points for all Hilton stays until December 31: HERE
• Earn 5,000 points per 2-night stay at Waldorf-Astoria or Conrad properties until December 31: HERE
• Earn 2,000 points per night at Waldorf-Astoria or Conrad properties for stays until December 31: HERE

There’s no guarantee that these would definitely work, but it only takes a few seconds to register and could earn you a lot of points!