When it comes to travel, finding ways to save money without compromising on quality is always a priority. Hotel loyalty programs offer an excellent solution, allowing travelers to enjoy a host of benefits, rewards, and exclusive perks.
As you will see, you don’t have to be at the top tier of a hotel loyalty program to get member benefits that will help you on your travels. Plus, it is free to join a program.
In this comprehensive guide, I will cover some of the major hotel loyalty programs, their benefits, and strategies to maximize your experience.
Overview of Major Hotel Loyalty Programs
World of Hyatt
Tier Levels: Member (0-9 nights), Discoverist (10 nights), Explorist (30 nights), Globalist (60 nights)
Benefits: Points earning and redemption, room upgrades, late check-out, and more.
The World of Hyatt includes 26 different brands. There are 1,350 participating hotels that can be found in 69 countries.
The World of Hyatt’s loyalty program offers a range of tier levels, each providing its own benefits.
As a member, you can earn 5 points for each dollar spent on stays, member rates, earn points toward free nights, and small luxury of the world resorts benefits.
Another benefit as a member is waived resort fees on free night stays. If you look at this 3 night stay at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, you can see that there are over $600 in taxes and fees.
You not only wouldn’t pay for your room if you used points but you also wouldn’t pay any of the taxes and fees to get the room. As you can see, this can be a huge savings.
Discoverist members receive additional benefits, such as room upgrades, free bottled water, elite check in, premium internet, American Airlines AAAdvantage, and late check out.
Explorist members enjoy a guaranteed room 72 hours out. Globalist members receive the highest level of benefits, including, free parking on free nights, priority access to rooms and gift your rewards to someone when you gift them a reward.
IHG Rewards Club
Tier Levels: Club, Silver Elite (10 nights), Gold Elite (20 nights), Platinum Elite (40 nights), Diamond Elite (70 nights)
Benefits: Points earning and redemption, room upgrades, extended check out and more.
IHG Rewards Club is the loyalty program of InterContinental Hotels Group, encompassing 18 hotel brands like the InterContinental, Holiday Inn, and Crowne Plaza. The program has over 6,000 participating hotels worldwide.
The program offers multiple tier levels, each with its own advantages.
Club members can earn points for stays and enjoy benefits like extended check out, free internet and exclusive member rates.
Silver elite members earn all of the club members benefits along with 20% bonus points on stays, and points that don’t expire.
Gold Elite members receive additional perks, including a 40% bonus on points earned, and rollover points for next year’s status.
Platinum Elite members enjoy a 60% bonus on points earned, guaranteed room availability, and reward night discounts.
Diamond Elite members receive all of the benefits of the previous tiers, plus additional bonuses, and dedicated customer service.
Marriott Bonvoy
Tier Levels: Member (0-9 nights), Silver Elite (10 nights), Gold Elite (25 nights), Platinum Elite (50 nights), Titanium Elite (75 nights), Ambassador Elite (100 nights)
Benefits: Points earning and redemption, room upgrades, late check out, lounge access, and more.
Marriott Bonvoy is the loyalty program offered by Marriott International, one of the largest hotel chains worldwide with more than 8,500 participating hotels in 138 countries.
The program features a tiered structure, offering various benefits at each level. As a Member, you can earn points for stays and enjoy perks like free WiFi and mobile check in.
Another perk for members is member rates. As you can see in the below example, you can save a few dollars just by being a member.
Silver Elite members receive additional advantages, including 10% more points, ultimate reservation guarantee, priority late checkout, instant redemptions with points earned, and pay for stays with points and cash.
Gold Elite members additional advantages include 25% more bonus points, enhanced room upgrades, and a 2PM late checkout.
Platinum Elite members receive a 50% bonus on points earned, lounge access, an annual choice benefit, and dedicated elite support.
Titanium Elite members enjoy a 75% bonus on points, suite upgrades, a 48 hour guarantee of a room for you, complimentary United MilePlus Premier Silver Status, ultimate reservation guarantee, and a personal ambassador for assistance.
Ambassador Elite members receive the highest level of benefits, including a 75% bonus on points, choose your check in and check out times, exclusive personalized service, and access to the Ambassador Elite service line.
Hilton Honors
Tier Levels: Member (0-9 nights), Silver (10 nights), Gold (40 nights), Diamond (60 nights)
Benefits: Points earning and redemption, room upgrades, late check out, complimentary breakfast and more.
Hilton Honors is the loyalty program of Hilton Hotels & Resorts. There are 18 brands in the program, such as Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn and Home2 Suites to name a few.
There are more than 7,000 hotels in the network in over 120 countries. The program offers various tier levels, each with its own perks.
As a Member, you can earn points for stays and enjoy benefits like free WiFi and the ability to pool points with family and friends.
Silver members additional perks, including a 20% bonus on points earned, a late check out, free bottled water, and a fifth night free on reward stays.
Gold members enjoy room upgrades, complimentary continental breakfast, 80% bonus on points earned, and milestone bonuses.
Diamond members receive all the benefits of the previous tiers, plus a 100% bonus on points earned, premium WiFi and guaranteed room availability.
Choice Privileges
Tier Levels: Member (0-9 nights), Gold (10 nights), Platinum (20 nights), Diamond (40 nights)
Benefits: Points earning and redemption, room upgrades, extended check out, welcome gifts, and more.
Choice Privileges is the loyalty program offered by Choice Hotels. There are 13 different brands in the program, such as Comfort Inn, Quality Inn and Econo Lodge. There are over 7,000 hotels found worldwide.
The program features four tier levels, each offering its own set of advantages. Members earn 10 points for each dollar spent, reduced room rates, and free amenities.
Gold members can earn 10% more points each stay, access to a dedicated reservation line, early check in, late check out, and reserved parking.
Platinum members enjoy all the benefits of Gold, plus room upgrades, extended check out, 25% point bonus on eligible stays, and Avis Preferred status.
Diamond members receive the highest level benefits. These benefits include a 50% point bonus, executive lounge access at participating hotels and more and you can roll over 39 of your 40 stays to the next year to maintain Diamond status.
Wyndham Rewards
Tier Levels: Blue (0-4 nights), Gold (5 nights), Platinum (15 nights), Diamond (40 nights)
Benefits: Points earning and redemption, room upgrades, late check out, early check in, and more.
Wyndham Rewards is the loyalty program of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. There are 22 brands with more than 9,000 hotels in over 80 countries that are in the program.
The Wyndham Rewards tier structure is a straightforward program. As a Blue member, you can earn points for stays and enjoy benefits like free WiFi, member savings, earn points and the ability to book award nights.
Gold members receive additional perks, including late check out, dedicated member services, preferred room choices, and accelerated earnings.
Platinum members enjoy room upgrades, early check ins, Caesars Rewards Status match, and Avis and Budget car rental upgrades.
Diamond members receive all the benefits of the previous tiers, plus suite upgrades, welcome amenity on check in, and giving gold status to someone each year.
Best Western Rewards
Tier Levels: Blue (0-4 nights), Gold (5 nights), Platinum (7 nights), Diamond (15 nights), Diamond Select (40 nights)
Benefits: Points earning and redemption, room upgrades, late check out, early check in, and more.
Best Western Rewards is the loyalty program of Best Western Hotels. You can find 14 different brands in the Best Western brand of hotels. They are located in over 100 countries with around 4,300 total hotels.
The program offers tier levels with corresponding benefits. As a Blue member, you can earn 10 points for each dollar spent, points never expire, no black out dates, exclusive reservation line and reward nights go toward status.
Gold members receive additional benefits including 10% bonus for qualifying nights and complimentary water and points on arrival.
Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Select get all of the benefits but they also get 15%, 30% and 50% bonuses on bonus points for qualifying nights.
Benefits of Hotel Loyalty Programs
Points Earning and Redemption
Hotel loyalty programs allow you to earn points for each stay, which can be redeemed for free nights or other rewards. The more you stay within a specific hotel chain, the more points you can accumulate, providing opportunities for significant savings on future stays.
Room Upgrades and Enhanced Amenities
As you progress through the tier levels of a hotel loyalty program, you gain access to additional benefits and perks. One of the most sought after benefits is room upgrades, which can provide a significant improvement in the quality of your accommodations.
Higher tier members may also enjoy enhanced amenities such as access to executive lounges, complimentary breakfast and personalized services.
Priority Check In and Late Check Out
Elite status often comes with the advantage of priority check in allowing you to bypass long queues and enjoy a seamless arrival experience.
Similarly, late check out privileges can provide extra convenience and flexibility, giving you more time to relax or attend to other activities before your departure.
Exclusive Offers and Promotions
Hotel loyalty programs frequently offer exclusive offers and promotions to their members. These can include discounted rates, bonus point opportunities, limited time promotions and partnerships with airlines or rental car companies.
By staying informed and taking advantage of these offers, you can maximize your savings and rewards.
Personalized Services and Recognition
Elite status within a hotel loyalty program often leads to personalized services and recognition. From personalized greetings upon arrival to dedicated customer service and tailored recommendations, these programs aim to make your stay more enjoyable and memorable.
Strategies to Maximize Your Hotel Loyalty Program Experience
Focus Your Stays on Preferred Hotel Chains
To maximize the benefits of a hotel loyalty program, concentrate your stays within the preferred hotel chain. By doing so, you can earn points faster, progress through the tier levels, and unlock more valuable benefits.
If you stay in multiple different hotel chains, you may earn more points than staying at one brand. The problem is that your points are spread over a number of different chains instead of one. You may have a lot of points but not enough for anyone program to earn a free night.
Take Advantage of Co Branded Credit Cards
Many hotel loyalty programs offer co-branded credit cards that allow you to earn additional points for everyday purchases. These credit cards often come with sign up bonuses, accelerated earning rates for hotel stays, and perks like automatic elite status and free nights.
For example, the World of Hyatt credit card gives you 9x the points for each dollar spent at a Hyatt hotel, automatic Discoverist status, 5 nights towards your status, 60,000 point sign up bonus and a free night certificate at a category 1-4 hotel.
The following are credit cards for each of the different hotel chains in this post. Some hotel chains have numerous cards to select from.
- IHG credit cards
- Marriott credit cards
- Hilton credit cards
- Choice credit cards
- Wyndham credit cards
- Best Western credit card
Leverage Elite Status Benefits
Understand Elite Qualification Criteria
You will want to familiarize yourself with the requirements for achieving and maintaining elite status within your chosen loyalty program.
Make sure to strategize your stays and expenses to meet criteria, ensuring that you can enjoy the benefits associated with higher tier levels.
Plan Your Stays for Elite Benefits
Once you’ve attained elite status, plan your stays strategically to maximize the benefits. Take advantage of room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, and other perks that enhance your overall travel experience. You just need to know what is available to you and take advantage of those things.
Utilize Status Matches and Challenges
If you have elite status with one hotel loyalty program, consider exploring status match or challenge opportunities with other programs.
Some programs offer matching your status based on your existing elite level. This can jump start your benefits with another program and can broaden the choices that you have.
For example, if you have status with another hotel chain Hilton will put you at their Gold tier status for 90 days. If you complete a challenge of 8 nights during the 90 days, you will receive gold status until the end of 2025.
Exploring Unique Loyalty Programs and Niche Chains
Boutique Hotels and Independent Loyalty Programs
Even though major hotel chains dominate the loyalty program landscape, it’s worth exploring boutique and independent hotel loyalty programs. These smaller establishments often offer unique experiences and personalized rewards.
You will want to look at boutique and independent hotels that align with your traveling needs and preferences.
The following are some sites that are geared towards award programs for boutique and independent hotels.
Niche Chains and Regional Loyalty Programs
There are niche hotel chains and regional loyalty programs that cater to specific markets or regions. These programs may offer distinct advantages, tailored experiences, and localized perks.
If you frequently travel to specific areas or have a preference for niche hotels, exploring these programs can provide you with specialized benefits and opportunities.
Tips for Enhancing Your Hotel Loyalty Program Experience
Stay Informed with Program Updates and Changes
Hotel loyalty programs continually evolve, introducing new features, updates, and changes to their offerings. You will want to stay informed by regularly checking the program’s website, subscribing to their newsletters, and following social media channels.
Being aware of program updates allows you to take advantage of new benefits, promotions, and limited time offers.
Engage with Loyalty Program Communities and Forums
Joining loyalty program communities and forums can be a valuable resource for maximizing your experience. Connect with fellow travelers, share insights, exchange tips, and learn from experiences of others.
These communities often provide valuable information, insider knowledge, and exclusive deals that can enhance your loyalty program journey.
Plan Your Travel Around Bonus Point Opportunities
Keep an eye out for bonus point opportunities offered by hotel loyalty programs. These can include seasonal promotions, double or triple point earning periods, or targeted offers based on your travel history.
By aligning your travel plans with these bonus point opportunities, you can accumulate points faster and unlock rewards more quickly.
Final Thoughts
Hotel loyalty programs offer a wealth of benefits, rewards, and exclusive perks for frequent travelers.
By understanding the major hotel loyalty programs, leveraging their benefits, and implementing strategic approaches, you can maximize your savings and enhance your overall travel experience.
Start exploring the programs that align with your travel preferences, and embark on a journey towards unlocking a world of benefits.
If you need more help with travel credit cards, you can read my post titled “Picking the Best Travel Card.”
