Get Extra Benefits and Cheaper Rates Just by Signing Up for Hotel Loyalty Programs
You don’t need to stay a bunch of nights or achieve some level of elite status to get value from hotel loyalty programs.
Before you make a reservation at any hotel, it is always worthwhile to join their loyalty program. Everyone who joins gets access to a few special benefits and usually reduced “member-only” room rates.
Don’t skip the step of joining the program because you don’t think you’ll stay often enough to earn a free night. It's worth joining even for a single visit. You’ll get some special benefits, it doesn’t cost anything, and it doesn’t take that much time to join. It will pay off every time you stay at one of the program’s hotels in the future, and by taking advantage of a free service called AwardWallet, you’ll be able to easily keep track of your membership information.
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Why become a member?
Becoming a member of the hotel’s loyalty program provides several benefits (even without any level of elite status).
- Free Wi-Fi and other perks. Even the entry level of most loyalty programs provides benefits like free Wi-Fi (at hotels that still don't offer it to everyone) and late checkout. Some hotels offer more unique benefits to every member. For example, Hyatt entry-level members get free breakfast at Hyatt Place hotels, and Acccor entry-level members get free access to bicycles and free rides in hotel-owned BMWs at Fairmont-branded hotels.
- Special members only rates. Almost every hotel company offers their members discounted rates. You’ll typically get a 5-15% discount.
- Effortless reservations in the future. When you sign up for a hotel loyalty program, it takes a minute or two to enter your contact and default payment information. However, once you've signed up, you don't have to enter this information each time you make a reservation. Over the long run, joining the loyalty program doesn't take extra time—it saves you time.
- Access to special promotions. Joining most programs gives you access to special promotions. For example, two stays at an (inexpensive) Marriott within a three-month period might be enough for a free night certificate that you can use on a future trip.
- Reward points or miles. While accumulating enough hotel points for a free night might take some time, your account balance will gradually grow. If you make the extra effort to take advantage of promotions or credit card signup bonuses, you can accumulate a bunch of points, even if you don’t stay very often. Or you can choose to earn frequent flyer miles, instead of hotel points, for your stays..
- Better treatment. If there is a problem with your reservation or your stay, you are likely to get slightly better treatment as a member of the hotel’s loyalty program. Don’t count on much, but it can help.
- Almost every hotel credit card gives you some level of elite status in the hotel's loyalty program. You'll get access to additional benefits and earn extra points on every stay.
- It usually isn't worth getting a hotel credit card just to get higher level status. With the exception of the Hilton cards, the free status level you get with the card doesn't entitle you to the loyalty program's most valuable benefits (such as free breakfast or hotel lounge access). While there is some chance you'll get upgraded to a fancier rooms, you'd have a better shot with higher status levels.
- But you might wind up getting one of these cards for other reasons. For example, you may decide you want the Hyatt, Marriott, IHG or Radisson cards for their free night certificates. Or you might temporarily wind up with one these cards just to collect their signup bonus. If so, you'll get access to higher level hotel status as a side benefit.
The big four hotel programs
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Every member gets access to member rates, internet access, and late checkout (upon availability). At the rare hotel with a standard extra fee for double occupancy, you’ll get your second person free. Hilton Status Benefits. Gold status from the Hilton Credit Cards also gives you the Hilton breakfast / snack benefits, the possibility of a room upgrade, free access to fitness centers, two free bottles of water per stay, and 80% bonus points on your stay. Diamond status from the Hilton Aspire Credit Card adds premium internet access and executive floor lounge access (at most properties). If you stay at least a few times per year, you'll definitely want one of these cards (or the Amex Platinum Card). |
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Every member gets access to member rates and free breakfast at Hyatt Place. Hyatt Status Benefits. Discoverist status from the Hyatt Credit Card also gives you premium internet access, free bottled water, the possibility of getting a slightly nicer room, 2pm late checkout (upon availability), American Airlines miles on top of your Hyatt points, and a 10% bonus on points earned at Hyatt. You may want this card anyway for its free night certificate (and potentially for its bonus elite night credits). |
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Every member gets access to member rates, a $30 in-room spa credit at certain hotels and internet access. IHG Status Benefits. Platinum status from the IHG Select Card also gives you the possibility of a room upgrade, extended check-out, priority check-in and welcome availability, a $30 “raid the bar” benefit at Kimpton hotels, and a 50% bonus on base points. You may want this card anyway for its free night certificate. |
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Every member gets access to member rates and internet access. Marriott Status Benefits. Gold status from the Marriott Credit Cards also gives you the possibility of a room upgrade and late checkout, a 25% bonus on base points, and 250-500 extra points per stay. You may want this card anyway for its free night certificate (and potentially for its bonus elite night credits). |
Managing your memberships
Signing up for a dozen or more loyalty programs isn’t completely painless. You’ll need to remember your account information, and you’ll probably starting getting a bunch of promotional emails.
- Fortunately, you can take the pain out of managing your loyalty accounts by using AwardWallet. It remembers the account numbers and sign-in information for all your loyalty accounts, tracks your point balances, and can even let you sign into your accounts automatically. Use AwardWallet to Easily Manage Your Loyalty Program Information.
- Manage promotional email. If you’re a travel discount junkie, you might appreciate the special promotions and deals that will be coming to your inbox. However, if you don’t want to get them, they are easy to avoid. When you go through the sign-up process, there will be a checkbox to turn-off these emails. Tips for Managing Promotional Emails.
What to do, if you don’t expect to earn many hotel reward points
One byproduct of always signing up for hotel loyalty programs is that you’ll eventually earn small numbers of points with many different programs. With most programs, you’ll lose those points after 1-2 years of inactivity. However, if you periodically earn or spend some points, your account will stay active, and you can keep your points indefinitely.
If you think you will gradually generate enough points to redeem for a free hotel night, that is always the most valuable use of your hotel points. If not, you have a few alternative options.
- Earn frequent flyer miles instead. Many hotel programs, particularly the larger ones, allow you to earn airline miles instead of hotel points. On paper, this is almost always a bad deal. The value of the hotel points you would be giving up is usually much higher than value of the miles you would receive. However, a handful of hotel points that will wind up expiring from your account aren’t worth anything. If you are never going to use them, you are better off earning some miles instead.
- Redeem for merchandise or gift cards. Another option, again mostly for the larger programs, is to use your points to purchase merchandise or gift cards. Like earning frequent flyer miles for your stays, this looks bad on paper. You are getting lower value per point than you would get by using your points for hotel nights. However, it is better to get a $10 gift card than to have your points expire or just sit around in your account forever.
- Just let them expire. You don’t need to lose a lot of sleep over just letting your hotel points (from infrequently used programs) expire. After all, you didn’t necessarily join the program to earn the points. You might have joined primarily to get the special benefits and the discounted room rates. Although, if you earned a lot of points through a credit card signup bonus or other route and you haven’t had a chance to use them yet, you definitely want to make sure you don’t lose them.
- Keep your account alive. With many programs, any sort of account activity is enough to keep you points alive. There are many ways that you can easily earn or redeem a small number of points and reset the clock. Keep Your Points from Expiring.
List of hotel loyalty programs
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