Beginner Series: Part 6
Intro to hotel points
In Part 7 of the Freequent Travel beginner series, I will cover program points and how you can build them so that you can redeem them for free flights and hotel stays. While I won't cover every hotel and airline program, the examples below can be applied to your airline or hotel program of choice.
Earning Hotel Points
To use hotel points, you must earn them in the hotel's respective loyalty program. There are several ways to earn hotel program points, and I will cover the most common ones below. Please note that these methods apply to all of the major hotel brands (Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Wyndham).
Earn with Stays Booked Directly with Hotels
The most common way (and most rewarding way) to earn hotel points is to book a stay with the hotel whose program you wish to earn points with. Hotel stays typically yield the highest return per dollar spent versus earning points with credit spend or any other methods of earning hotel points. For example, if you book a stay with Hyatt with your World of Hyatt (WoH) account number on the reservation, you will earn 5 WoH points per eligible dollar spent on that stay. Compare that to simply using the World of Hyatt card on everyday spend, where the maximum spend multiplier is 4 points per dollar spent on Hyatt stays booked directly with Hyatt.
An important note about earning points via hotel stays
Hotel programs will typically ONLY reward your stay with points and elite night credits if you book directly with them via their site or their reservation line. There are SOME exceptions if you book stays through third-party channels like bank travel portals, but these exceptions are very rare. Let's use Marriott as an example.
Buried DEEP in Marriott's terms and conditions, Marriott states:
-
A Member will earn:
-
i. ... base Points for each U.S. dollar, or the currency equivalent, that is incurred and paid for by the Member on Qualifying Charges ...
-
-
2.1.b. Qualifying Charges. “Qualifying Charges” are:
-
i. Charges incurred during a stay in a guest room at a Participating Property by a Member on their folio and up to two (2) additional guest rooms with same check-in and check-out dates ...
-
-
Charges that do not qualify for earning Points at Participating Outlets include ... charges from Participating Outlets managed or operated by a third party may not be eligible for earning Points ... Select charges may also be excluded from earn as determined by the Company or Participating Outlet.
Hotels do this because when reservations are made through third-party sites like Expedia or Chase Travel, a share of the revenue goes to the third party. Hotels have to dish out rewards to the guests on top of splitting revenue with the third party, which would make the hotel's profitability suffer. As far as the exceptions I mentioned earlier, Chase is probably the only bank travel portal that allows you to earn rewards and get your status benefits in very rare cases.
When booking through Chase Travel, if you see "[Hotel Program Name] Eligible", then the booking will allow you to earn hotel points and receive loyalty benefits, if applicable to you.
Earn with Cobranded Hotel Credit Cards
You can also earn hotel points with cobranded hotel credit cards. Each of the major hotel programs has partnered with a bank to offer a cobranded card that allows you to earn hotel points on your everyday spending. It works very similarly to earning flexible credit card points except for two distinct differences:
-
You need to provide a hotel loyalty program account number to earn hotel points with the cobranded card
-
Hotel points can only SOMETIMES be converted into airline miles (and even when you can, you probably shouldn't)
When applying for a hotel cobranded card, you will be prompted to provide your hotel loyalty program number. If the bank is unable to match the number you provide with their records, then a number will be automatically generated for you.
Transfer Flexible Points from a Credit Card
Cards that earn flexible credit card points allow you to transfer them to their respective hotel partners. Each issuer has specific relationships with hotel transfer partners, so be very mindful of the card issuer you choose to spend with. Below is a list of the major issuers and the hotel programs their points can be transferred into. Transfer ratios are denoted as (# of credit card points to transfer: # of hotel points).
-
American Express
-
Hilton (1:2 transfer ratio)
-
Marriott (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
Choice Privileges (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
-
Chase
-
Hyatt (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
Marriott (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
IHG (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
-
Capital One
-
Accor Live Limitless: (2:1 transfer ratio)
-
Choice Privileges (U.S.-based accounts only): (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
Virgin Red: (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
Wyndham Rewards: (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
-
Citi
-
Accor Live Limitless: (2:1 transfer ratio)
-
Choice Privileges: (1:2 transfer ratio)
-
Leaders Club: (5:1 transfer ratio)
-
Wyndham Rewards: (1:1 transfer ratio)
-
I personally love this method when it comes to Hyatt stays due to the value I get from World of Hyatt point redemptions. Other programs like Hilton and Marriott are not quite as valuable on average cents per point when transferring, but you can still get great value, especially during transfer bonus promos, like this 50% bonus transfer to Marriott offer from Chase, meaning the transfer ratio increases from 1:1 to 1:1.5. Point transfers to hotel partners are especially great when you want to "top off" the required points for a free night redemption, so don't only consider point transfers based on the avg cents per point for that program. Remember, everyone's situation is different and there is no "wrong way" to use your points!
Check out the example below for transferring Chase points to Hyatt.
Log into your Chase account and navigate to where it displays your Ultimate Rewards balance. Hover over the balance and click on the link.
At the top of the screen, click the Travel dropdown then click "Transfer points to partners".
Scroll down to the "Hotel" section to see the transfer options.
When you click Hyatt, it will take you to a landing page to confirm you want to transfer Hyatt points. Click "Transfer Points".
On the next page, enter your World of Hyatt account number.
Once you've entered your information, enter the number of points you'd like to transfer to your World of Hyatt account. Click "Next".
You will then be shown your new Chase UR points balance as a result of the pending transfer. Click Submit.
Finally, log into your account to ensure your points have been credited. Most transfers are immediate, but It may take up to 24 hours in some cases.
Redeeming Hotel Points
Now that you know how to earn hotel points, let's discuss how to redeem them for free stays. In the example below, we will use Hyatt and Marriott as examples, but the same concepts apply to the other major hotel programs.
Check Your Balance
Before you start checking dates and room availability, it's probably a good idea to first make sure you know how many hotel points you have in your account. It could save you some time when weighing options, and it will give you an idea of whether you will need to dip into any flexible points accounts to top off your balance to complete your points redemption.
To do so:
1. Log into your account
2. Once logged in, click on your name on the landing page, and you will see a summary profile page, which will include your points balance.
Search Availability
Once you know your balance, start searching for options that fit your preferences. When entering your desired dates and destination, make sure you indicate that you are using points to book your reservation. Not all reservations accept points, so this step will ensure that you are presented with options that do allow point redemptions.
Complete Your Booking
Once you've decided on a reservation that suits you, book the hotel the same way as you would if you were paying with cash. You will still be required to use a credit card to reserve the stay and cover any taxes or fees (if any). The only difference once you book using points is that your points balance will automatically be deducted to cover the cost, whereas when booking with cash, your card is sometimes not automatically charged. Otherwise, the booking process is the same. I should also mention that cancellation policies are usually the same when booking with points, so if you decide to cancel within the allotted timeframe, you should receive a points refund as long as you follow the cancellation rules.
Key Points
Hotel program points can be earned in a variety of ways, but the three most common ways are:
-
Book stays directly with the hotel and include your account number on the reservation.
-
However, booking through third parties can potentially prohibit you from earning hotel points.
-
-
Use a hotel cobranded credit card.
-
Transfer credit card points to a hotel loyalty program account.
Once you've earned enough points, you can book reservations that are eligible for point redemptions. When selecting your date and destination, make sure to indicate that you want to pay with points to streamline your search -- not all reservations allow points to book!
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Current Welcome Offer
100,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of card membership
The American Express® Gold Card
Current welcome offer
90,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $6,000 in the first 6 months of card membership
The American Express® Platinum Card
Current welcome offer
125,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $8,000 in the first 3 months of card membership
Top Card Picks
Coming soon!
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay on top of the latest news, direct to your inbox.