What Is Rocketmiles?

Here's my referral link. https://www.rocketmiles.com/refer/JERRREMY

Are purchases on Rocketmiles categorized as travel on the major credit cards (sapphire, citi premier, etc.)

I've used Rocketmiles before and got some very nice deals through it, but I've got to say that Pointshound offers a generally better value and more generous points than Rocketmiles.

I think the only thing that you failed to mention is that most/all of the bookings are non refundable...
That's the main reason I don't use it very often...

You earn the Miles per Night or per stay ?

Finally Ben,
Thanks for promoting such an awesome site
I am a huge fan of rocketmiles as i usually get wayyyy better value in points than the traditional loyalty program.
I always transfer mine to qatar frequent flyer!
Am saving up miles for my first business class trip from UK to singapore for my parents.
Too bad singapore does not have awesome credit card sign up bonuses 🙁

Here is my my link if any of your awesome readers wanna help me out 🙂
https://www.rocketmiles.com/refer/ANDREWGOH3993

Another great site is Kaligo - often they have a much more flexible cancellation policy and wider hotel selection.

I've used Rocketmiles since Qatar Airways sent me a promo email sometime last year. For the most part I do try and check their site and see if my preferred accommodation is being offered. Managed to rack up just under 60,000 miles. Plus I pay with a credit card that gives me miles. No complaints at all, other than a rather limited selection of hotels, and sometimes significantly higher rates than on other hotel booking sites.

Always look at their taxes/fees. They have always been higher than what a hotel charges, and this is also how they pay for your miles

Super useful post, thanks. For those like me, who spent a max of 15 nights/year in hotels, sites like Rocketmiles and Pointshound often represent better deals than buying into hotel loyalty programs. The hotel statuses I do have are through credit cards or airline loyalty crossovers, but they're not top-tier and often don't come with that much added benefit (the exception being Hilton Gold and Marriott Gold, which come with breakfast), but even then, booking a Hilton or a Marriott stay via Rocketmiles is the best way to obtain the nice loyalty freebies AND miles on top.

I find that Kaligo, a very similar site, has a better range of hotels in Asia than rocket miles, and the miles earned are slightly higher for the same bookings, however the rates at least when expressed in AUD, are slightly worse which make mean they are stiffing people on currency conversion. Can be useful but YMMV.

Here's a link if people are interested.

https://www.kaligo.com/refer/LZ5L8LRJ

Rocketmiles can be a terrific way to pad your accounts indeed. But for what it's worth, how good (or not) may also depends on what airline account you are crediting. I've consistently seen Rocketmiles offering 30% or more AC/UA miles than Krisflyer and some other programs.

I've been using Rocketmiles for a couple of months now, and sometimes and in some cities it presents enormous benefits. In others nothing much at all. I've noticed it to be really excellent in Washington DC and Bangkok so far. Anyone looking to sign up, please use this link! https://www.rocketmiles.com/refer/AJARVIS

Thanks for sharing this useful website. I found it very lucrative when making work-related hotel reservations. I'd be grateful to anyone who uses my referral link- https://www.rocketmiles.com/refer/COUNTINGOUTIME

Before Rocketmiles was bought out by Priceline, they offered amazing promotions. Using my RM account and my husband's RM account, we earned 28k Rocketmiles on 10 nights on a New Year's trip to Spain. Promotions were big - 5,000 mile bonus for booking 3 consecutive nights and such. After they were bought out, the promotions were small (500 miles) and rarely offered. It was a great ride for awhile. I agree with a previous post that Rocketmiles' lowest rate is almost always a nonrefundable rate and I don't like to book hotels that way. Good article though, Lucky. Keep us all learning and sharing.

Thank you Ben!

Just booked my first trip on Rocketmiles. What a great way to collect some extra miles.

I would be grateful if some of you could sign up through my referral link! Much appreciated!
https://www.rocketmiles.com/refer/AWATENAI

@Lucky Why do expedia/priceline bookings not earn hotel loyalty points the same way you would earn some if booking through a regular travel agent (i.e. commissionable rates)?

Thanks!

I signed up using a referral link above. Here's mine as well, would be grateful if someone used it as well! Thanks!

https://www.rocketmiles.com/refer/RAVIPATEL042

Interesting article... I'm always on the lookout for this kind of program for hotels, since I don't have enough hotel stays in a year to obtain anything worthwhile with specific hotel loyalty programs.

I've been using Hotels.com, which gives one free hotel night for every ten night stays (free night of the average value of the ten nights)... I've found this to be the best choice at the time. I would be curious to hear from anyone who's compared Rocketmiles, Pointshound, hotels.com, Kaligo... Are the sites that offer airline miles better than hotels.com ? Which of the sites that offer airline miles are better ?

I'm in the same situation as Steph : using hotels.com but willing to hear any comparison between Rocketmiles, Pointshound, Kaligo and hotels.com!

@Steph

I'm sort of in the same position, I keep top tier in a few programs but try to use hotels.com for other bookings. Over the last year I've started looking at virtuoso rates as well.

Bottom line for me is that it takes time and effort to learn a new program or site (hell, just to remember to look at 10 different sites to book a stay). I don't want to invest that time, so I stick with just looking up my corporate rate on the hotel sites and then comparing that with virtuoso. If I'm not top tier with the hotel, I also look at hotels.com. I'm probably not getting max value for every stay, but I also save time.

LOL Royal Ascot Hotel in Dubai is so not worth the $250...there is clearly some mistake here !

Great post i have newer heard about Rocketmiles, and i have been looking at hotels yesterday in DE, and I can see some of the hotels is same price as on hotels.com but with avios (BA) earnings and others are few bucks more but with even more avios.

But maybe Big Hoss dont like it, she just rolled her eyes and head 360 deg. and began talking Aramaic to me, she knows this will lengthen the booking process and not all of her wishes will be granted - extra avios but no pool i say yes she dosent, she isn't a fan of "optimizing" bookings, she just prefer to swipe a card.

Note that Southwest points earned through Rocketmiles count towards the Companion Pass.

It looks like you can get 13,000 miles for a one-night stay at the St Regis Aspen. So in that scenario, I'm ok forgoing the SPG points I would have otherwise received from Starwood. However, does anyone know if that night would still count as a "Stay" (ie, count towards the 25 annual stays needed for SPG Platinum)?

Rocketmiles is a SCAM. Look at the fees/taxes on your bill. You are being charged an average of $42 plus extra dollars on each reservation. Compare the rate plus tax on any website and you will see that they are padding the bill and pocketing YOUR MONEY. The hotel is not charging them these outrageous fees as they would have you believe when confronted. I was charged $42 dollars in tax and fees on a $52.00 room rate in Las Vegas. The rate for tax in Nevada is 12% so you do the math. BUYER BEWARE! Check the rate on any website with the tax included and you quickly see what they are doing!!

I just compared one night at the Palms Las Vegas, 12/11/16, Hotels.com v. Rocketmiles.
Hotels.com: $59.88 + 7.19 "taxes and fees" + 33.54 "resort fee" @hotel = $100.61 total. This is for a REFUNDABLE room.
Rocketmiles: 59.88 + 40.73 "taxes and fees" = $100.61 total. However it also lists a "local fee" of $33.54 to be paid at hotel. This is for a NON-REFUNDABLE room.

It seems surprising that the resort fee/local fee is exactly equal to the difference in the taxes and fees. I can only assume that this is by design to deliberately look like they are competitive to hotels.com when in fact they are $33.54 more?

I have been reluctant to use this thus far as my experience has shown me (and I have some insight to from a friend in the industry) that bookings at OTC's tend to be relegated to the worst rooms in the hotel regardless of status. Quite simply the hotels want you to book through their website and avoid the third party. Room allocation is the one way they can control it by making sure you subtly notice that your options at check-in have been diluted. An example, I once booked a stay at the Four Seasons LA for which I am at monthly and normally always get an upgraded room. I booked a really great rate at Expedia that was not on the FS site (most likely rooms that were pre-purchased and sold by the OTC's...a rarely talked about practice) and though they recognized me at check-in they gave me the dreaded 4th floor room at this property which has all of the constant traffic headed to the pool and gym adjacent.

However, the bonus miles are amazing at some hotels and I am sitting with my finger on the button of the Sacher in Vienna (private so no loyalty points otherwise) for next week that is offering a whopping 27,000 AAdvantage miles for three nights. And the rate is the same as the Sacher website. My only fear being that the room might be located over an alley with the morning truck deliveries and dumpster.

I have just used it one time and since they have an extra taxes+fees charge, which I assume is their service fee, it is way more expensive than buying from the hotel or other travel pages.

Have tried many time to use this company,all fail because of the useless webb site.I am english living in cyprus Turkish,try getting into the webb site in english not turkish.It does not work.
A regular visitor to Istanbul try bookings.com.

Rocket Miles is a total ripoff and SCAM. Please don't support or recommend them! Check out Trip Advisor. Many negative comments. Last week I received an email from what I thought was an Amazon partner, RocketMiles. I needed to book a room to attend a funeral so I hurriedly booked through this site without thoroughly researching their efficacy. Total mistake!!!!! They dangle the carrot of an Amazon gift card as a "rebate." So you think it's a good deal. The site charged me $167 for a one night stay at the Microtel in Ocala, Fl, not exactly a hot spot for tourists. Upon arrival, the hotel fee was $95. Plus tax. Total was $106. That is a 57% markup! I made several phone calls to RocketMiles concierge. The first guy was rude, the second person, a girl, was nice but couldn't do anything about the price discrepancy. I asked for a manager to call me. I received that call last night. The man told me, " we don't claim to have the best prices." There is NOTHING they could do to make it right. They obviously don't care about keeping customers by offering to fix a problem. They can just go out and scam more victims. I said that their site gives the impression that they offer competitive rates. They should tell people that there is a 57% mark up/service fee!!! I actually told him that his mother would be ashamed of him!!

I have a horrible experience with them. I booked for one night stay at a hotel in Germany via Rocketmiles. Rocketmiles charged my credit card in advance for that stay. However, their credit card in file did not work for the hotel, and the hotel later charged me again for my stay. When I notified Rocketmiles about the extra charge, they simply ignored my claim and did not refund me the extra payment. It is a big scam, stay away if possible.

I have booked and paid for a double room for a week in Bratislava on Rocketmiles.
However; Rocketmiles booked a Twin room in error and are refusing to change it because the price has now gone up by £8 per night and they're not willing to cover it.
DO NOT use Rocketmiles their customer service is appalling and they obviously don't give a dam regarding their 'promise' to customers.

NO HELP after a terrible hotel stay. They said TOO BAD and we can't help you. Hotel was old, dirty, mold and no breakfast as stated!

DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT BOOK A HOTEL WITH ROCKETMILES! Refund impossible and rude customer service. They charge you double so you can get the extra miles but it's not worth it!

If you book a room with them, I GUARANTEE you will be back here posting a negative review a week later! Nasty nasty customer service and extremely rude!

Who is going to issue the invoice to give to hotel guest: the hotel or Rocketsmiles?

BEWARE! They are legitimate with miles, but completely crooked on advertising. Read their fine print. They say right there that they take no responsibility for Misinformation provided about the hotel. There is false advertising abound. Of course, no one will take responsibility for it. They blame the hotel, the hotel blames them. My last reservation I very specifically was looking for certain amenities. Much to our dismay, they were not available. If you really want to use them that bag to get the miles and you need specific amenities, be sure to call the hotel first.