Best hotel rewards programs: How to decide which is right for you

When searching for a hotel, what matters most to you? Price? Location? Amenities?

Here’s a valuable tip: If you’re not booking through hotel loyalty programs, you’re missing out on great deals and leaving money on the table. These programs offer free upgrades, complimentary breakfast, access to exclusive lounges and even free nights once you accumulate enough points. Now the question is, which hotel program suits you best?

We’ve examined nine worldwide hotel rewards programs:

Let’s review each program briefly so you can more easily decide which one(s) to invest in.

Related: Best hotel credit cards

Marriott Bonvoy

JW Marriott Essex House New York in Manhattan. MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Marriott is an international hotel megachain. Its portfolio features over 30 brands and more than 8,800 properties across 141 countries and territories. No matter where you’re going, there’s bound to be a Marriott hotel nearby.

A key perk of the Marriott Bonvoy program is its fifth-night-free benefit. You’ll receive the lowest-priced night for zero points when you book five consecutive reward nights. This can save you a ton of points on expensive stays, especially if you redeem your points in a high-end destination like the Maldives.

Another notable benefit is that Marriott Bonvoy members can transfer points to its 39 airline partners, which include some of the hardest airline currencies to earn, like Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Asiana Airlines Asiana Club.

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Marriott Bonvoy members can get even more from the program if they reach one of the five elite status tiers. Some benefits include room upgrades, lounge access and Nightly Upgrade Awards (formerly Suite Night Awards).

There are several cards you can use to earn Marriott Bonvoy points, but six are available to new applicants — three from American Express and three from Chase:

The information for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Marriott is also a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, giving you plenty of ways to earn points.

Marriott Bonvoy is good for travelers who:

Aren’t sure where in the world they plan to travel
Want a huge collection of luxury properties
Want a selection of unique, non-cookie-cutter hotels
Frequently redeem points in five-night increments
Want to book extended-stay hotel rooms
Want to turn their points into airline miles

Hilton Honors

CANOPY BY HILTON CANCUN LA ISLA/HILTON.COM

Hilton is another global hotel chain, with over 7,800 properties across 24 brands and 126 countries and territories. Couple its size with the relative effortlessness of earning Hilton Honors points, and the Hilton Honors program may be the most all-around convenient hotel rewards option.

Like Marriott, Hilton offers the fifth consecutive award night free — but you must have at least Hilton Honors Silver elite status to unlock this benefit. Thankfully, you can achieve this simply by holding a Hilton credit card. The Hilton Honors American Express Card provides complimentary Silver status, and the following cards provide Gold status (enrollment is required) for as long as you keep your card account open:

Additionally, those with the Hilton Honors American Express Card can earn an upgrade to Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the following calendar year by spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year.

Hilton is also an Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner. For every Amex point you transfer, you’ll get 2 Hilton Honors points — or more if you find a transfer bonus.

Hilton Honors is good for travelers who:

Collect Amex Membership Rewards points
Aren’t sure where in the world they plan to travel
Frequently stay in five-night increments
Want to book extended-stay hotel rooms
Are satisfied with a modest collection of (amazing) luxury hotels
Are road warriors

World of Hyatt

World of Hyatt is a favorite hotel loyalty program among TPG staff, largely because it still uses an award chart and its award rates are relatively cheap compared to other hotel brands like Marriott and Hilton. For example, Hyatt’s most upscale hotels cost at most 45,000 points per night, while a luxury Hilton property may cost up to 150,000 points.

The downside is that Hyatt’s footprint is relatively small. More than 1,300 hotels in over 70 countries participate in the World of Hyatt loyalty program — including 700-plus Mr & Mrs Smith properties and 13 Under Canvas glamping sites — but most are in popular destinations and cities. If you often visit rural areas, World of Hyatt points likely will not serve you.

Not to mention, since World of Hyatt only offers two cobranded credit cards, points aren’t quite as easy to accrue as in the Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy programs. However, you can transfer points to Hyatt from Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. Here are some great credit card options for travelers focusing on World of Hyatt:

TPG staff and readers have repeatedly proven Hyatt Globalist status to be the most valuable hotel elite status. With free breakfast, waived resort fees and parking fees on award nights, and consistent suite upgrades, among other perks, the status provides just about as close to a VIP experience as you can get in the hospitality world.

World of Hyatt is good for travelers who:

Collect Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Bilt Points
Want luxury stays in popular destinations
Don’t often book hotels in smaller cities or remote locations
Want a ton of all-inclusive hotel options

Wyndham Rewards

For stays in small-town America, there’s no better hotel points currency than Wyndham Rewards. Wyndham has the most properties of any chain on this list, with over 9,000 hotels across 24 brands in 95 countries. Many of these are budget brands — such as Super 8, Days Inn and Microtel — ubiquitous in areas where you won’t find a Hyatt or Marriott. If your travel goals involve getting off the beaten path or road-tripping through towns with populations under 10,000, the Wyndham Rewards program is a great one to focus on.

Wyndham offers three cobranded credit cards, all issued by Barclays, to help you earn free nights. Each card offers a bonus of between 7,500 and 15,000 points for every card anniversary.

Additionally, you can transfer Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Wyndham Rewards at a 1:1 ratio.

Beyond Wyndham’s impressive portfolio of hotels, you can also redeem Wyndham Rewards points at Vacasa vacation rentals starting at 15,000 points per bedroom, per night. If you look hard enough, there are some absolute steals.

Wyndham Rewards is good for travelers who:

Collect Capital One miles or Citi ThankYou Rewards points
Travel to small towns
Aren’t interested in luxury stays
Want to book Vacasa vacation rentals

IHG One Rewards

IHG refreshed the IHG One Rewards program in 2022, making it more competitive with the most popular hotel programs. Due to dynamic pricing, IHG hotels are often a poor value for the points. However, IHG One Rewards points are easy to use, and IHG has properties in almost as many locations as Hilton, including some Six Senses resorts that are bookable with IHG points. These are extremely sought-after properties and a great win for IHG points collectors.

IHG offers three cobranded credit cards, all of which let you book a fourth consecutive award night for free. That’s unique among loyalty programs and a better value than Marriott and Hilton’s fifth-night-free policies.

You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Bilt Rewards points to IHG One Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, and you can often buy IHG points at a steep discount.

The program recently revamped its elite status tiers, meaning top-tier Diamond Elite members now get additional perks like free breakfast and a dedicated support line. Elite members can also earn Milestone Rewards — like annual lounge membership, bonus points and confirmed suite upgrades — by staying a certain number of nights in a calendar year.

IHG One Rewards is good for travelers who:

Collect Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Bilt points
Are road warriors
Are satisfied with a small collection of luxury hotels

Accor Live Limitless

Accor’s portfolio includes 50-plus hotel brands, with a slew of upscale and luxury options. Points in the Accor Live Limitless program are some of the most valuable — and straightforward — hotel rewards. For every 1,000 points you redeem, you’ll get 20 euros (roughly $22 at the time of writing) off your hotel bill. That comes out to a value of over 2 cents per point.

Although the simplicity of this program may appeal to many travelers, there are two areas in which ALL underdelivers:

The vast majority of its properties are concentrated in Europe or Asia.
Accor does not offer a cobranded credit card to help you earn points quickly.

Though Accor is a transfer partner of Capital One and Citi, both offer an underwhelming transfer ratio of 2:1. Still, Accor can be a great place to earn your hotel points if you’re primarily traveling in Asia or Europe.

The program has four status tiers, with the top-tier Diamond elite level offering free breakfast on weekends (or every day in the Asia-Pacific region), suite night upgrades and executive lounge access. You’ll also find brand-specific benefits at each status tier, which may include perks like complimentary bike rentals at Fairmont properties.

Accor Live Limitless is good for travelers who:

Travel to Europe and Asia often
Want a huge selection of luxury properties
Prefer a straightforward points redemption process

Choice Privileges

With over 7,400 properties worldwide, Choice’s footprint rivals that of more well-known points chains like Hilton and Marriott. However, the Choice Privileges program can serve you similarly to Wyndham Rewards in that its participating hotels are more prolific in smaller towns. It has now integrated properties from the Radisson Rewards Americas program into its portfolio as well.

Choice is famously valuable for anyone staying in Scandinavia, as its award rates remain extremely reasonable despite hotels in the region often being costly. There are also many properties to choose from, and the program regularly offers discounted redemption rates through its Sweet Spot Rewards promotions.

In terms of earning points, Choice now offers two cobranded credit cards. You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles to Choice at a 1:1 ratio, but Citi ThankYou Rewards points transfer to Choice at a better 1:2 ratio, halving the price of your Choice redemptions.

Unfortunately, Choice Privileges’ elite status tiers don’t bring much to the table. There are limited room upgrades and only a handful of brands that offer complimentary breakfast to top-tier elite members.

Choice Privileges is best for travelers who:

Collect Citi ThankYou Rewards points
Are road warriors
Travel to Scandinavia and small-town America
Aren’t concerned about free stays in luxury hotels
Don’t value extensive elite status perks

Best Western Rewards

With around 4,000 hotels ranging from budget to boutique, Best Western’s portfolio is in the middle of the pack. The Best Western Rewards program doesn’t get much attention in the points and miles world, partly because it has no transferable points currency partners, but it’s worth exploring if you often stay at Best Western properties.

One of the highlights is Best Western’s status match program, which makes it easy to earn top-tier elite status if you have even mid-tier status with a competing hotel chain. However, like Choice, Best Western’s elite status tiers offer relatively small benefits.

Best Western currently only offers one credit card, issued by First National Bank of Omaha.

Best Western Rewards is good for travelers who:

Want free breakfast without elite status
Don’t care about free luxury hotel stays
Don’t earn points with any of the major credit card rewards programs

Radisson Rewards

Radisson Rewards used to be an incredible loyalty program, but many changes, including a move to dynamic pricing, have stripped much of its value over the years.

The good news is that Choice Hotels acquired Radisson’s Americas operation in 2022 (including all properties in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, South America and the Caribbean) and integrated them into Choice Privileges, so you can earn and redeem Choice points at these hotels. The rest of Radisson’s portfolio still uses the Radisson Rewards program.

This international bend means Radisson Rewards no longer offers a U.S. cobranded credit card and has no transfer partners. You can only earn these points by staying at Radisson hotels outside of the Americas. This has made it difficult for many U.S.-based travelers to get much value from Radisson Rewards.

Radisson Rewards is good for travelers who:

Frequently stay at Radisson properties
Limit their travels to destinations outside of the Americas

Bottom line

A hotel can be far more than just a place to rest your head. Hotel loyalty programs can dramatically enhance your vacation — and even make it practically free.

We encourage TPG readers to sign up for all hotel loyalty programs, as there’s generally no cost to join. Even if you don’t think you’ll stay at a certain hotel chain, circumstances may dictate otherwise, and you’ll be glad you enrolled beforehand.

For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.

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