These years with my annual former client random giveaway, I'll be planning to give out 6 prizes, and the top 3 prizes will include flights/trains:
1st Prize:
80k Avianca Lifemiles + the cost of the required fees for the flights, enough for 2 round-trip tickets to much of Northern Europe or up to 6 domestic round-trip tickets.
2nd Prize:
32k Avianca Lifemiles + the cost of the required fees for the flights, enough for 2 round trip domestic tickets to all of the NE of the US, Chicago, and parts of the SE.
3rd Prize:
12000 Amtrak Rewards + the cost of the required fees for the train travel, enough for 2 round trip tickets to locations like Newport news to Philadelphia in business class (non-Acela) or 4 round trip tickets to locations like Newport news to Richmond in business class (Non-Acela).
I go into the details and rules about their use here.
The 1st prize winner, 2nd prize winner, and 3rd prize winner will also get access to Wyndham Rewards. Used most effectively for hotels, you could save greater than $350/night with cash+points Wyndham Rewards, at a value per point of over 12 cents per point. Here is a spreadsheet with examples in the Wyndham Section.
Hotel Options Being Offered
Hotel options are available in essence if they are bookable online with cash plus points that don't exceed the following thresholds:
1st Prize Wyndham: 15000 points example (up to $1800 in value)
15k points is good for (1 bedroom rooms unless otherwise stated):
a. up to 10 $+points nights at a category 1 hotel (though I have had difficulty finding ones that provided 50% off the rate by using $+points)
d. up to 5 $+points nights at a category 2 hotel (category 3 on my map) example saving $1457.10 in Hawaii
2nd Prize Wyndham: 9000 points example (up to $1080 in value)
9k points is good for (1 bedroom rooms unless otherwise stated):
a. up to 6 $+points nights at a category 1 hotel (though I have had difficulty finding ones that provided 50% off the rate by using $+points)
d. up to 3 $+points nights at a category 2 hotel (category 3 on my map) example saving $1457.10 in Hawaii
3rd Prize Wyndham: 6000 points example (up to $720 in value)
6k points is good for (1 bedroom rooms unless otherwise stated):
a. up to 4 $+points nights at a category 1 hotel (though I have had difficulty finding ones that provided 50% off the rate by using $+points)
d. up to 2 $+points nights at a category 2 hotel (category 3 on my map) example saving $1457.10 in Hawaii
I go into the details about how to use the Wyndham Rewards most effectively here.
Image courtesy https://www.wyndhamhotels.com
Here's an example that would be helpful for anyone going by train or flight to DC:
Example saving $360.55/night ($.12/pt) in National Harbor, Maryland
Rules for Use of the hotel points:
Here are more details on how to best maximize the hotel portion of the 1st-3rd prize:
4th-6th prize winners:
Each of the 4th-6th prize winners will receive additional treats if in person, or an additional Amazon gift card if joining via Zoom.
Reviews:
It's generally best to check multiple review sources prior to booking.
Hotels:
It's good to check reviews on TripAdvisor (viewable on the Wyndham website typically) & Google Maps as well.