The view from my room at the Crowne Plaza Santo Domingo overlooking the Caribbean Sea. | GoPetranelle
Card: Chase Sapphire Reserve
Benefit: $250 Semi-Annual Hotel Credit (Chase Travel)
Hotel Booked: Crowne Plaza Santo Domingo
Stay: 2 nights, Thursday–Saturday
Compared Against: Hotel’s direct website, Google Hotels
One of the easiest ways to waste a travel credit is to book a hotel just because you have one to use.
This year, my Chase Sapphire Reserve came with a $500 annual hotel credit, split into two $250 credits through Chase Travel. It’s tempting to think, I have to use this before it expires and book the first decent-looking hotel that pops up. I don’t. Before I book any hotel, I have a process.
For my long weekend in the Dominican Republic, that process led me to the Crowne Plaza Santo Domingo. I stayed there for two nights, Thursday and Friday. It had ocean views, was close to Zona Colonial and the total came in almost exactly where I wanted it.
This Is the Process I Use Every Time
Before I book any city hotel, I follow the same process.
It doesn’t matter if I’m planning a weekend in the Dominican Republic or a trip somewhere completely new. I always start the same way. I choose the location first and the hotel second. I’ve found that it’s much easier to choose a hotel once I know where I’ll be spending most of my time. Otherwise, it’s easy to end up with a great hotel in the wrong part of the city.
Step 1: I Start With Google Maps, Not a Hotel Search
The first thing I do isn’t open Chase Travel or Booking.com.
I open Google Maps.
Most people start by searching for hotels. I prefer to figure out where I actually want to spend my time first. Once I know that, finding the right hotel becomes much easier.
On Google Maps, I turn on the Attractions layer and start looking for clusters. If I see three or four places I already want to visit within the same area, that’s usually where I want to stay.
For Santo Domingo, the choice was easy. I was planning a longer Dominican Republic trip, so I also mapped out the rest of the trip in my 4 Days in the Dominican Republic itinerary.
Almost everything I wanted to see was around Zona Colonial. The cathedral, museums, plazas, restaurants, and souvenir shops were all close together. Instead of spending my trip going back and forth across the city, I knew I wanted to stay somewhere with easy access to that area.
Only after I decided on the neighborhood did I start comparing hotels.
Step 2: Plug In Hotels and Measure the Distance
Once I’ve decided on the neighborhood, I start plugging in hotels to see how far they are from the places I actually want to visit.
For shorter trips, the hotel that’s closest usually wins. I’d rather spend my time exploring than sitting in an Uber.
If I do choose a hotel that’s farther away, I check two things before booking. First, I make sure it’s easy to get around using public transportation or Uber. Then I look at how far it is from the airport. A great hotel rate isn’t much of a deal if you’re spending that money getting from place to place.
For this trip, I narrowed my search down to two hotels, both under $200 a night. One was slightly cheaper, but it was farther from Zona Colonial. The Crowne Plaza cost a little more, but it checked every box that mattered to me. It overlooked the Caribbean Sea, was close to the attractions I wanted to visit and the total for two nights came in almost exactly where I wanted it to be for my $250 Chase hotel credit. At that point, the decision was easy.
Step 3: Do the Math
Before booking anything, make sure the hotel qualifies for the two-night minimum stay that’s required to use the credit. I’m not trying to find the cheapest hotel but getting the most value from the credit.
If I have a $250 hotel credit, I’d rather use all of it on a hotel I’d genuinely choose than spend $80 on a place I’m only booking because it’s cheap. For me, the credit should make the trip better, not just lower the bill.
I also look at the average hotel price for the destination before booking. That’s what tells me whether I’m getting good value.
For example, if the average hotel costs around $50 a night, I’m probably not spending $500 for two nights just because I have a $250 credit. On the other hand, if I’m visiting a city where hotels regularly cost $200 or $250 a night, using the credit makes a lot more sense.
That’s why I don’t look at the discount first. I look at what hotels normally cost, then decide if using the credit is actually worth it.
Tip: Before you use a hotel credit, check the average nightly rate for the city you’re visiting. A $250 credit goes a lot further in a destination where hotels average $75 a night than one where they’re already $300 a night.
Step 4: Always Double-Check the Price Elsewhere
One thing I’ve noticed and something other Chase cardholders have mentioned online, is that hotel prices in the Chase Travel portal aren’t always the same as booking directly with the hotel or through Google Hotels.
That’s why comparing prices is always part of the booking process. Sometimes the hotel credit still comes out ahead. Sometimes it doesn’t. Here’s what the numbers looked like for my two-night stay at the Crowne Plaza:
| Where I Checked | Price for 2 Nights |
|---|---|
| Chase Travel | $482 |
| Hotel’s Direct Website | $449 |
| Google Hotels | $455 |
On paper, booking directly with the hotel was the cheapest option at $449, which was $33 less than Chase Travel. After applying the $250 hotel credit, though, the total through Chase dropped to $232 for both nights. Even with the slightly higher starting price, Chase ended up being the better deal by more than $200.
Most hotel stays get booked using Chase Ultimate Rewards points because they usually stretch further than paying cash. Twice a year, though, the $250 hotel credit takes priority. There’s no point letting it expire, especially when it works out this well.
Tip: Before booking through your credit card’s travel portal, open the hotel’s website and Google Hotels in separate tabs. Compare the final price after your credit is applied, not just the advertised rate. That’s the number that matters.
Why the Crowne Plaza Was Worth It
In the end, the Crowne Plaza was the right choice.
The stay was for two nights, Thursday and Friday and the full $250 Chase hotel credit covered a big chunk of the cost. The hotel overlooked the Caribbean Sea, was only a short Uber ride from Zona Colonial, and fell comfortably within the mid-range price for Santo Domingo.
It wasn’t the cheapest hotel on my list, and that was okay. The location meant less time getting around the city and more time exploring. Combined with the hotel credit, it offered the best overall value for this trip.
Looking back, I’d book it again.
This hotel was just one part of my long weekend in the Dominican Republic. If you’re planning a similar trip, I’ve shared my full itinerary, including Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, transportation between the two, and where I stayed along the way.
Related: 4 Days in the Dominican Republic itinerary
Was It Worth Using the Credit?
Every premium travel card comes with perks but getting real value from them comes down to how you use them.
For this trip, the $250 Chase Sapphire Reserve hotel credit helped cover two nights at a hotel I was already happy to book. It gave me ocean views, easy access to Zona Colonial, and left more room in my budget for the rest of the trip.
That’s how I use travel credits. I don’t book a hotel just because I have a credit to use. I book the hotel that makes the most sense for the trip, then let the credit save me money. For this trip, it worked out exactly the way I hoped it would.
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