Let’s face it, when it comes to redeeming points, hotels can be a bit of a conundrum. I’ve often found myself eyeing a cozy hotel room, only to be faced with a 50k points-per-night price tag that makes me think, “Is this worth it?” Especially when I’ve scored entire roundtrip flights for a fraction of that. Case in point: I recently booked a roundtrip to Seattle for just 14,000 points. Not bad, right?
But I’m not one to give up easily. The hunt for hotel savings is on, and I’ve dug up some gems that can help us all stay in style without draining our points account. Here’s what I’ve uncovered so far:
Time to add another tool to your travel toolkit: a hotel credit card. Trust me, having a varied set of cards in your wallet is like having an all-access pass to save on travel. While I’m already stacking points with my general travel card (one that transfers to multiple airlines) and my rent card (yes, rent—there’s only one like it!), I’m now eyeing a Marriott card. Why Marriott? Because both my travel and rent cards transfer points to Marriott, I can triple stack points. Elite status, bonus points, and quick point accumulation? Yes, please!
Got a hotel card? Check those perks! Many of these cards offer free nights at premium hotels—an excellent way to stretch your points further. Just don’t forget to mark your calendar with the expiration date for your free night. Another hack: some cards offer a free third or fourth night. So, if you’re the one booking the next friends’ getaway, you can score some major brownie points.
It costs zero dollars and zero points to sign up for hotel loyalty programs, so why miss out? Even if you’re not ready to commit to a credit card, you can still rake in perks like late checkout, room upgrades, and bonus points. I’m signed up for Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and World of Hyatt, and the perks are worth it—even for infrequent travellers.
Sure, third-party booking sites can seem tempting with their competitive rates, but booking directly with the hotel is often the smarter choice. Hotels are fighting back against those third-party booking fees by offering special rates directly on their sites. Not only do you avoid hidden fees, but you’ll also earn more points and status perks, which can mean free room upgrades, WiFi, and other goodies. Plus, more points = more free nights down the road!
Here’s a little trick I learned the hard way: sometimes, hotels won’t show award availability for your entire stay if you’re booking several nights in a row. Don’t give up just yet! Try searching night by night. You might be able to snag a couple of those nights on points and pay for the rest. It’s not a perfect system, but it can help get part of your stay covered for free.
So, here’s to us all scoring that elusive 5-star hotel stay—on points. I’m crossing my fingers, and I hope you are too 🤞. Happy point stacking!
Excellent tips!
Thanks!