Earn a $40 Gas Card for Aloft, Element, Four Points Stays

The price of gas is on the minds of many would-be travelers, and this hotel promotion purports to allay that concern by partially offsetting the cost of driving.

But how much is a $40 gas card really worth?

Offers Details

Through September 15, travelers who complete stays of two or more nights at participating Aloft, Element, and Four Points by Sheraton hotels in North America will receive a $40 gas card.

Qualifying bookings must be made by July 31, through starwoodhotels.com/gas using rate plan SSBGAS.

Deal or No Deal

Assuming you use the gas card and realize its full $40 value, you're getting a rebate nominally worth that amount on a hotel stay that would probably average around $200 for two nights. That's a 20 percent discount.

Or it would be a 20 percent discount, if a) you don't place a value on the time it takes to get the gas card, and b) the eligible room rate is the lowest available rate.

In fact, obtaining the gas card is plenty time-consuming. From the offer's terms and conditions:

Guest will be contacted via email within 3-4 weeks after completed eligible stay with unique Gas Card Code to redeem for $40 Gas Card. Guest must provide a valid email address at time of booking to participate in this offer. Guest will then be provided details on how to utilize the unique Code to request the Gas Card sent to them via mail. Guest will have 30 days to activate the unique code.

Not exactly instant gratification.

And the required rate plan, SSBGAS, may not be the lowest available rate.

I test-booked a two-night stay at the Four Points at Los Angeles International Airport for later this month. The cheapest average room rate for the stay using the gas-card plan code was $129. But using the Auto Club code, the best rate was $110. So for a two-night stay, you'd pay $38 more to earn a gas card with a face value of $40.

Bottom line: There's less here than meets the eye.

Reader Reality Check

Gas card, anyone?

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