June is my birthday month, and recognition is always nice. Recognition + saving money is even better! Kimpton just sent me an email where I will receive 20% off the best available rate and there will be a little something special waiting for me when I check in.
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Why is Kimpton my favorite hotel brand?
I love visiting the Kimpton properties because each location is so unique. No building is cookie cutter, like some other brands, and most of the locations have a specific theme that is carried throughout the property.
The Kimpton Karma loyalty program is pretty awesome. You can get status matched to Inner Circle status (I did from Hilton Diamond two years ago before my stays at the Eventi, 70 Park, Ink 48, and The Muse in New York) or earn it through 14 different stays. For every 7 stays, you earn a free night to any property in their portfolio. And if you stay at 10 unique properties in a calendar year, you earn an additional 2 free nights!
So, you can earn 3 free nights to any property with 10 unique stays of one night each. Best of all, they run Double Stay promotions a few times a year, which can accelerate earning free nights!
And the Kimpton colleagues make the stays so special. As an Inner Circle member, you can completely customize your Welcome Amenity to fit your personality. It isn’t worth a lot by most people’s measures of financial or other benefits, but it always make me smile when I see the handwritten notes that await me when I get to my room. I can honestly say that the Kimpton people I’ve met all seem to genuinely love their job, and it shows in the way that they treat guests.
Birthday month special
The email I received from Kimpton offered me a special promotion where I can save 20% off their best available rate throughout my birthday month at any participating property. In addition, there is supposed to be a “special birthday surprise” waiting for me. It’s hard to know what that means, but the Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel really went above the norm when we stayed there for my son’s birthday earlier this year.
There is also no list of which properties are those that are participating in this promotion. Your best option is to perform some searches at properties that you’re interested in and see if the promo code affects the rate they’re offering.
The promotion is only good on stays Thursday through Sunday nights, and blackout dates may apply. I would imagine that the blackout dates would primarily apply just to major holidays.
I checked on the San Diego Kimpton Palomar property and they offered a Best Available Rate of $239 and a Summer Slumber special for $215, which includes a Late Checkout of 1pm and a $10 savings on your parking.
When you click through on the email promotion, the promo code “WISH” will be applied (unless they change it each month).
For the extra $14 in net savings ($24 minus $10 parking discount) and the special birthday benefit, I would book using the birthday code rather than the Summer Slumber special since Kimpton Inner Circle members get a late checkout benefit when available. And I’ve almost always received a late checkout whenever I’ve requested one.
The birthday discount rates apply not only to the basic room, but all room types. So this additional discount may be a way to bring a top-tier room into someone’s budget.
After some consideration, I actually booked a room at the Kimpton Solamar San Diego instead of the Palomar because there are more room types, which means there should be more options available and the potential for an awesome upgrade is higher thanks to my Inner Circle status.
In order to start receiving promotions like this, just sign up for the Kimpton Karma Rewards program and complete your profile.
How I pay for my Kimpton stays to maximize rewards
Since Kimpton’s relationship with IHG doesn’t yet extend to the Chase IHG Visa, I would use the Barclay Arrival on short stays and the Citi Prestige on stays of 4 days or longer. With the Prestige, you get unlimited use of the “4th night free” benefit which could save you up to 25% on your hotel stays.
I can’t link directly to any of these cards, but I appreciate when you support the site by using my affiliate link below to apply for any cards.
