Rocket Miles and Virgin America Team Up To Offer 3,000-5,000 Bonus Miles With Your First Hotel Booking

This is a really good offer for the occasional traveler.  Rocket Miles is similar to Points Hound in that they award a generous “commission” on your hotel booking in the form of airline miles.  They’ve teamed up with Virgin America to offer bonus miles for your first hotel booking with Rocket Miles:

You can find full details of the offer here.  I found an even cooler tidbit in the T&C that state elite members of Virgin America’s program earn 5,000 bonus miles with their first booking.  I value Virgin American Elevate points at about 2 cents a piece, so this offer alone is worth at least $60 in airfare as a regular member of Virgin America’s program.

I prefer Points Hound for two reasons for future reservations.  First, they have more hotels signed up than Rocket Miles does.  And, second, they let you “Double Dip” and earn points from the hotel you’re staying at as well as recognize your elite benefits with the chain.  I’ve found the earning rates on Points Hound to be only slightly less for Double Dip properties than the bigger offers.  So, comparable amount of total points when you factor in the hotel points as well, plus elite benefits.

But, Rocket Miles gives occasional travelers two great ways to consolidate their earning in a more usable fashion.  Now, instead of earning a small amount of hotel points with a chain that you’ll never earn enough to qualify for a free night, you can get airline miles instead to boost you to your next free ticket.  I think this is a great option for the occasional traveler to maximize their earning capability.