Joie de Vivre hotels give you $100 credit for your birthday

The Joie de Vivre hotel group has extended its “Birthday Bucks” special into 2011 and early 2012 -- good news for folks who like something more than cake on their special day. Stay two nights at one of the boutique hotels and you get $100 credit.

The deal: This deal got a mention last year in this Travel blog, and I feel it’s worth a mention again. Here’s why: Many hotel credit offers are limited to the hotel’s restaurant or specific amenities that typically don’t include spa treatments. With Birthday Bucks, the $100 comes off the bill -- whether you go to the spa, have a birthday dinner at the restaurant or just want to save money.

To get this deal, you have to stay two nights and check in within seven days of your birthday. Click here to check out the more than 30 California hotels where this offer applies.

When: Good Saturday through Jan. 15, 2012, for stays through Jan. 31, 2012.

Tested: The hotel rates that you find might vary seasonally, so how much you save partly depends on when you were born.

I checked rates around my birthday (May 7 to 9) and found that they started at $219 per night at the Galleria Park Hotel in San Francisco and $269 per night at the tony Gaige House in the Sonoma Valley. (Prices don’t include tax).

Contact: Birthday Bucks at Joie de Vivre hotels, (800) 738-7477