Free B&B Stays on Veterans’ Day
I wanted to highlight a post by my friend Ric from Loyalty Traveler that he made last week reminding us of a program offering free B&B nights for veterans. This is a great program, now in its 5th year, that offers up a free night on 11 November to military veterans in both the U.S. and Canada. I should take a moment to plug Ric’s blog which is the best one (IMHO) dedicated exclusively to hotels and hotel programs. He is a prolific writer and usually has the most detailed posts of anyone on BoardingArea.com.
Ric and I have both blogged about this in the past, but this year he remembered to bring it up in time to plan a vacation around it. Most of the places in the program are on the East Coast, but there is one in the Virgin Islands. You can earn some miles from a flight and then get a free stay – what’s not to like? Several of the B&B’s on the list already are indicating they are full so don’t wait to book your free stay!
Hi Glenn, My husband is a veteran of the Uniformed Services (USPHS) and with many of the deals you write about, i often wonder if it just applies to armed forces or to uniformed services as well. I had called the Veterans Advantage and they were stymied and told me just to check of Navy as his service. However, I don’t want to get somewhere expecting to have a special discount, etc and then find out that it doesn’t apply to us. Would love some help and clarification from you.
@Jane – I think the confusion stems from most people (including the military) not understanding that there are seven uniformed services. In addition to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, there are the US Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Here is a wiki page explaining it pretty well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniformed_services_of_the_United_States
Note that some things apply, such as the Service Members Civil Relief Act, while others do not, as in UCMJ. My best guide is that your husband is a veteran of the uniformed services, but not a military veteran. Guide yourself accordingly, but expect some puzzled looks along the way.