New Discover Card Cashback Vacation Options Available

Back in January we highlighted how Discover Card had added an option for 2 Six Flags tickets plus parking for redeeming $75 in cashback. Overall, the offer seemed pretty decent depending on which park you wanted to redeem your tickets.

I noticed over the weekend that several new travel rewards have shown up as options for redeeming your Discover Card cashback. The great thing I noticed is that you do not need to have the allotted cashback in your account to redeem for the offer. One can put the entire deal on their Discover Card, or break it up by paying a portion with your cashback and the remaining balance with your Discover Card.

2 Night Stay at Holiday Inn, Sheraton or Westin Hotel for $299

This offer includes 3 day/2 night accommodations for 2 adults (and up to 2 children 0 – 12 years of age) at either the Holiday Inn, Sheraton or Westin Hotel at select locations across the United States.

Important Terms

– The offer is subject to a specific list of blackout dates.
– The offer is fulfilled through a third party, Travel America Vacations. Once you receive the Redemption Certificate, guests must reserve exclusively through Travel America Vacations.
– Travel voucher is valid for one year from the date on the certificate.
– Travel arrangements must be done at least 60 days in advance.

What I do not like about this offer is that there appears to be no way to check if your destination is on the “select locations” list without calling Travel America Vacations. While $299 could be substantially lower than certain properties nightly rates, it is hard to compare how solid the savings can be without seeing what prices and properties Travel America Vacations offers.

Cancun Getaway – 4 Nights, All-Inclusive for $649

This offer includes:
• Accommodations for 2 at either the Ocean Spa Hotel or Laguna Suites
• Food and drink at your resort and the other three sister resorts (including The Royal Sunset and Sunset Lagoon)
• Free scheduled shuttle service between all sister resorts
• Travel must be completed within 18 months of purchase
• Trip must be booked at least 60 days prior to check in
• Blackout dates apply – see Offer Terms
• Please note that upon redeeming, this offer will be booked through Travel America Vacations

At first glance, this offer seemed like it could potentially be a great deal considering $649 is for 2 adults at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun. However, the couple of select dates I tried seemed to be less than what is being offered with this deal. Your mileage may vary.

Las Vegas Getaway – 2 Nights at Bellagio for $879

– Valid for 3 days, 2 nights
– Good 7 days a week

In my opinion, it seems pretty steep for $879 for only 2 nights stay, but depending on when you want to go, and provided it is not during blackout dates, maybe this offer could be decent for some. The offer does not state which type of rooms the voucher is valid on, which throws up a red flag. A quick search of some random dates this summer that appear valid for this offer show prices around $149 and up for the basic rooms. Therefore, the best potential for the biggest returns are on weekends, when rates go up substantially. However, looking at the Bellagio calendar of rates, I do not see anywhere that the rates go up to $440/night to even match the value of this offer, unless this is for premium rooms.

Orlando Adventure – 4 Nights for $1,999

– 4 Nights of hotel stay in the Orlando area
– A choice of

• (4) 3-Day Disney Park Hopper Passes
• (4) 3-Day Universal Studio Passes
• (4) 3-Day SeaWorld Passes
• (4) Combo (eg. 1-Day Park Hopper Pass, 1-Day Universal Pass, 1-Day SeaWorld Pass)

At first glance, I saw some great potential that you get 4 passes to each of Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld. However, the offer clearly states a choice of which ticket.

3-Day Disney Park Hopper passes run $287 each; therefore, $1,148 of this offer is taken up by just the passes, leaving $851 for 4 nights of hotel rooms. Considering customers have no idea which hotel Travel American Vacations is going to place you in, for an average of $213/night, it better be a pretty nice hotel.

By comparison, a 4 night stay in a Disney Value Resort with 3-day park hoppers on some random dates in August is only $1,710.92.

Overall, I am less than impressed by any of the current offerings. Discover Card is usually known for not only having the highest cashback bonus offerings, but they usually give the consumer some reasonable value for redeeming. Gift cards at select partners are usually at a discount ($40 for $50, for example). These vacation exclusives though leave less to be desirable. If you are looking at going to any of the places mentioned though, at least give these Discover Card options a look, as there is a chance they could save you a little bit of money, albeit with a little bit of inconvenience (dealing with Travel American Vacations).