I've been reading scores of posts here which mention folks obtaining various hotel/restaurant discounts with things called the Entertainment Card/E-card/Entertainment book. Are all of these the same item? What is it exactly, and how does one obtain one? Thanks in advance!

The entertainment card is pasted into the front of the entertainment book. In San Antonio these books are sold by our local schools as fund raisers. The "card " is for use with better restaurants(numbers are punched out of the card that correspond to particular restaurants). The book itself has hundreds of coupons good for local merchandise and fast food places. Our family buys several books every year, they are wonderful ! There is also a complete and very lengthy list of hotels and motels that will give 50% off their rates. We have used the card every time we travel. We really use it when we stay at various Embassy Suites! Even if a hotel is not listed they will often offer an "entertainment" rate. Hope this helps!

Entertainment Card/ Entertainment Book

Ayns, there is a reason that some hotels that are not listed in your Entertainment Book offer Entertainment rates: different books list different places. I know that this sounds strange but it is true. For example, our local Entertainment Book lists six places in Portland, Oregon but the Phoenix book lists over forty! For this reason, it is wise to ask for an Entertainment rate everywhere. Unfortunately, one would need to contact all of the hotels to see if they have such rates. It would be nice if the different books were uniform in this area.

You can get it at www.entertainment.com. I think it only goes from Nov-Nov. though (so e.g. if you are planning a trip for the holidays this year you would want to wait and get the new book when it comes out). If a hotel is not listed as accepting the entertainment discount, call the hotel's 800 number and also call the hotel directly and ask anyway. One of the hotels in Kauai where we stayed was not listed as accepting it, and when I called the 800 number they said they do accept it but only for reservations within 30 days of the stay, and then when I called the hotel directly they allowed me to get the discounted rate immediately. So it pays to ask. Some hotels have blackout dates for when they will accept the discount, and others will only give you the discount if they are less than 85% booked for the nights you're staying. Your chances of getting the discount are better in the off-season. If you are worried about whether it's worth it, you may want to call the hotels you're interested in before you buy the book and see whether they will accept the discount. If they will, then you just reserve at the discounted rate and then buy the book later -- you don't have to show the card until you check in.