One of my friends was moving back to Houston and needed a place to stay while he got situated with his living arrangements. Given that I have enough Club Carlson points to spare, I was able to get him a room for 5 nights and the Park Inn, a Cat 1 hotel in Houston. This only costed me 36k points since I was able to get the last room free because I’m a CC holder.
The hotel was recently renovated in 2011 and included free internet, complimentary breakfast and an outside pool and gym…all a guy needs! This saved him at least $100 per night and of course he was very grateful for the help.
I think vacationing for almost free is awesome but helping a friend out using miles or points just gives you the warm fuzzies 🙂