Two Hotels for the Chicago Marathon for FREE
If you didn’t already know, Lisa and I are big fans of destination races! We love traveling to different places around the world and incorporating a fitness goal helps keep us active while on the go. When it comes to Marathons, it doesn’t get much bigger than Chicago. The Chicago Marathon is a member of the Abbott World Major Marathons which includes the 6 largest marathons across the planet. The other 5 cities that host these giant races include New York City, Boston, Berlin, London, and Tokyo.
Chicago Marathon
Have you dreamed of attending the Super Bowl or a premier music festival? If you’ve ever tried to attend a large event before; you may know that hotels are often sky-high due to supply and demand. The Chicago Marathon is no different where you’ll find hotels booked up instantly and rates raised to over $400 per night! Paying these prices isn’t feasible for most people and it’s important to know that there are basic strategies to get around those sky-high prices.
After running the New York City Marathon last November; I set my sight on the next race and decided to proactively open a few credit cards. I opened the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card. At the time of opening, this card offered 75,000 Bonovy Points after spending $3,000 in the first three months. Please see below for the current offers. The Hilton Honors Surpass offered 130,000 Hilton Honors Points after spending $3,000 in the first three months. A key thing to remember with credit card offers is that the sign-up bonuses change frequently. Be sure to always refer back to our Top Credit Cards page for the latest offers.
$95 Annual Fee
Next, I completed the lottery application for the Chicago Marathon and patiently counted down the seconds until December 11th!
I received the word that I was in and feverishly started booking my hotels! Taking a look at where the finish line of the Chicago Marathon would be and decided to go with the Hilton Palmer and the JW Marriott. I booked both as quickly as they were stelling out fast. Knowing that the hotels allow free cancelations up to 3 days prior to your stay, I could make my final decision later.
The Hilton Palmer
The Nightly Rate using points was 60,000. I had 130,000 Hilton Honors Points from the sign-up bonus received after opening the Hilton Surpass Credit Card. In addition, I already had a stash of 100,000 points leftover from opening the standard Hilton Honors Credit Card that I had been saving for a rainy day.
Total Cost for three nights = 180,000 Hilton Honors Points + $6.99 in taxes and fees
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee.
The JW Marriott
The Nightly Rate using points was 35,000. I had 105,000 (5K from the spending requirement) from the Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card welcome bonus.
Total Cost for three nights = 105,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points + $0 in taxes and fees
$125 annual fee. (Rates & Fees)
What it should have cost
For some Basic Fun, I took a look at the nightly rates for the same three days at both hotels.
The Hilton Palmer would cost me $1,264.40 for the same three nights in the same room.
The JW Marriott would cost me $2,004.63 for the same three nights in the same room.
Using points to book these hotels has given me the opportunity to choose between two fantastic options! I have elite status with both Marriott and Hilton so I won’t have to worry about paying for breakfast which is also a nice perk.
The question is, which hotel do I choose?
Has anyone stayed at either hotel before? I’d love to hear about your experience down below in the comments section.
