Maximizing Hotel Points: A Beginner’s Guide to Free Stays and Upgrades

How to start maximizing hotel points and rewards for free stays and upgrades?

The value of hotel loyalty programs for travelers

Have you ever dreamed of being able to stay in a luxurious overwater bungalow in the Maldives?  Maybe it’s a five-star hotel in the heart of New York City, or maybe you love nature and want to stay in a luxurious resort at the Big Sur in California.  Wherever you want to go, there are different strategies that can allow us to earn free nights, extra perks like early check-in and late check-out, and even complimentary room upgrades!  This all comes from the power of hotel credit cards, and we want to share all of the benefits that come with having one and how to maximize the value of the points and benefits!

You may think that you need to have many stays over a year to be able to make these hotel loyalty programs worth it.  This is simply not the case, and even if you only travel once a year, we want to show you how to implement these rewards, so that even an occasional traveler can benefit greatly.

This guide will be a basic breakdown of some of the different hotel loyalty programs, including some of our favorites that we love using every year during our travel adventures.  We will go through some of the differences in the hotel loyalty programs, but for the most part, many of them provide similar benefits for whichever program you use.  We will also touch briefly on which credit cards from each program provide the most value.

Understanding Hotel Loyalty Programs

How hotel points work

Hotel points come in different currencies and have a different value from each other, and it can be a bit confusing when you are first getting into rewards, but we will explain each of some of the major hotel programs and break each their point systems down for a simple understanding.

Major hotel loyalty programs compared (Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, and World of Hyatt)

When talking about hotel loyalty programs, we would say the four main programs that are most familiar to everyone and the ones we frequently use include Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, and IHG One Rewards.  Of course, there are many other programs out there, but we will focus on these main four as they each have their own credit card that comes with unique benefits.

Point values and how they differ between programs

Even though all of these programs use the “points” currency, as universally every program does, a point from one of these programs has a different value than another point from another hotel program.  Just like the U.S. Dollar will have a different value than the British Pound.  It may take more points from one program to book a similar value of another.  We will list out each of the same loyalty programs above with each of their estimated average cent-per-point value:

• Marriott Bonvoy: 0.7 – 0.9 cent-per-point
• Hilton Honors: 0.5 – 0.6 cent-per-point
• World of Hyatt: 1.8 – 2.2 cents-per-point
• IHG One Rewards: 0.6 – 0.7 cent-per-point

Based on this list (keep in mind that these are general estimates) we can see that Hilton Honors points are worth the least, meaning that it will require more Hilton points to book a particular room type.  On the flip side, World of Hyatt points will have the most value out of the four hotel loyalty programs, meaning it will require a lower amount of points to book a similar room type of another program.  This can be especially useful if you want to transfer points from a “catch-all” travel credit card to one of these hotel programs.  Here are the two examples at similar tier resorts with their point redemption requirements:

These are two alike properties in very similar locations in Chicago, IL, one a Hilton hotel and one a Hyatt Hotel. As you can see, the cash rates are close with each other, but the points rate for each is significantly different (70,000 points versus only 15,000 points).

Elite status tiers and their benefits

Lastly, a lot of value that we find most people utilizing the least is having status with these large hotel programs.  Similarly to having status at some popular fast food restaurants by going to eat there, hotels also have a program that gives you status, and each tier will come with a list of value benefits with higher status including greater valued perks. 

Higher status can mean the difference between staying in the standard room that you booked or getting a complimentary suite upgrade with chocolate covered strawberries and champagne upon arrival to the room.  We don’t want to mislead you, thinking that you will be able to get a suite upgrade 100% of the time because that is simply not the case.  However, a majority of the time, at the very least, we have usually been able to get a preferred room upgrade (such as a nicer view room type), complimentary treats in the room, and early and/or late checkout options.

Earning status with these hotel programs can seem impossible with the required amount of nights booked with a particular hotel program.  However, there is a much easier way to obtain these statuses, and we will share them later in this article.  As we said with the point values, each hotel program will have its own status tiers with the included perks within a tier.  The four programs are similar, but have some minor differences.  We have each of the programs linked below with each of their requirements:

• Marriott Bonvoy:
  • Member: Create a Marriott Bonvoy account.
  • Silver Elite: 10 nights within a calendar year.
  • Gold Elite: 25 nights within a calendar year.
  • Platinum Elite: 50 nights within a calendar year.
  • Titanium Elite: 75 nights within a calendar year.
  • Ambassador Elite: 100+ nights AND at least $23,000 USD in qualifying spending in the same calendar year.
• Hilton Honors:
  • Member: Create a Hilton Honors account.
  • Silver: 10 nights, 4 stays, or 25,000 base points within a calendar year.
  • Gold: 40 nights, 20 stays, or 75,000 base points within a calendar year.
  • Diamond: 60 nights, 30 stays, or 120,000 base points within a calendar year.
  • (Lifetime Diamond): Earn Hilton Diamond status for 10 (non-consecutive) years and complete one of the following additional milestones:
    • Complete stays totaling 1,000 paid and reward nights.
    • Earn 2 million base points.
• IHG One Rewards:
  • Club Member: Create an IHG One Rewards account.
  • Silver Elite: 10 nights within a calendar year.
  • Gold Elite: 20 nights or 40,000 qualified points within a calendar year.
  • Platinum Elite: 40 nights or 60,000 qualified points within a calendar year.
  • Diamond Elite: 70 nights or 120,000 qualified points within a calendar year.
• World of Hyatt:
  • Member: Create a World of Hyatt account.
  • Discoverist: 10 nights or 25,000 base points within a calendar year.
  • Explorist: 30 nights or 50,000 base points within a calendar year.
  • Globalist: 60 nights or 100,000 base points within a calendar year.
  • (Lifetime Globalist): 1,000,000 lifetime base points.

Getting Started: Setting Up Your Accounts

How to sign up for hotel loyalty programs?

You will earn a number of perks with the lowest tier status just by signing up for a hotel’s rewards program.  Signing up for these loyalty programs are free, and it is very simple and straightforward to do.  We will give you a basic step-by-step overview of where to begin using Hilton as an example:

• Step 1: Visit the hotel program’s main website.
  • Marriott Bonvoy: https://www.marriott.com/
  • Hilton Honors: https://www.hilton.com/
  • World of Hyatt: https://www.hyatt.com/
  • IHG One Rewards: https://www.ihg.com/

• Step 2: Click “join”:

• Step 3: Fill out your personal information, and create a username & password on the next page:

• Step 4: Click “Join For Free” at the bottom of the page:

And just like that you have your free account and are part of the hotel program!

Downloading hotel apps and managing your profiles

Each of the hotel programs also have their own app, which makes viewing your account from your mobile phone extremely convenient to do.  There are also features like a digital key card and digital check-in & check-out with the apps.  We highly recommend downloading them, as you can easily manage your profile, check your reservations & upcoming stays, and even make a last minute booking from your phone.  Here is an example of the World of Hyatt page on the app:

Setting communication preferences

You will also have the option to set up preferences to receive notifications through your primary email as well as texts from your phone.  This is useful, especially if you need to contact the hotel prior to your stay.  You will also usually receive notifications about check-in & check-out times and what to expect upon your arrival as your reservation approaches.

Selecting a primary program based on your travel patterns

Sometimes the hardest part for beginners is choosing the right hotel program for you.  We will go into a brief overview of the pros and cons of each hotel program based on what they have to offer, and how easy (or difficult) it can be to find a good value for your points and rewards nights.  

Personally, we love using the World of Hyatt program because their point value redemptions are some of the best in the game.  We also like to stay at Hilton properties because of the ease of earning points and for some of the valuable perks of its Diamond status.  On the flip side, we rarely stay in Marriott Bonvoy properties due to the difficulty of finding the most value for our points, but that is not to say that Marriott Bonvoy isn’t a good program!  

The best thing to do is to just research and try each of the different programs to see which one may suit your needs best based on your travel habits and desired experiences.  Sometimes just preferring a particular theme of a brand of one of the programs is enough to decide a hotel program over the other.

Earning Your First Points

Booking direct vs. through third-party sites?

A big question can be if it’s better to book directly through the hotel’s site or to use third-party sites like booking.com, expedia.com, or hotels.com.  Our recommendation is to always try to book directly through the hotel’s site, as sometimes booking through third party sites will not honor your program’s status, and you will miss out on the value perks of having status with that hotel program.  We have also found that a lot of the rates offered from third-party sites don’t always have much cheaper rates than what you may find booking directly through the hotel.  They are usually pretty similar.

Another issue to consider with booking through a third-party site is that if there is an issue that arises with your stay, whether its billing error at check-out or trying to make a last minute change with your reservation, it can be hard to determine who to reach out to (do I reach out to the hotel program or the third-party?).

We would say the only time it can be worth it to book through a third-party site would be if you were to purchase a package (with flight included), as we have actually gotten great deals using this method.  Of course, this gives your travel itinerary a bit less flexibility, so you just have to take into consideration your travel plans and see what makes sense.

Signing up for promotional offers and bonuses

The major way of how we have been able to book our stays for free almost all of the time is by taking advantage of the hotel programs credit card perks.  These perks include everything from a free night certificate every year, having automatic status with the program, and accumulating points to be able to redeem more free rewards nights!

Taking advantage of welcome bonuses

Taking advantage of welcome bonuses is the gold standard to be able to accumulate a large amount of hotel points in the quickest way possible.  Additionally, if you have a partner that you travel with, referral bonuses can be another great way to accumulate even more points as well as earning another welcome bonus from a second hotel credit card.  You can also stack the two free reward night certificates to create a two-night stay for free!

Earning points through hotel stays (base points vs. bonus points)

When it comes to booking a free night with points, you always want to try your best to get points through sign-up bonuses and referral bonuses versus booking with the hotel or spending your way to get a sufficient amount of points.  After all, we are trying to stay at one of these luxurious properties for as little as we can spend.

Hotel Credit Cards: The Fast Track to Points

Overview of co-branded hotel credit cards

Most of the hotel rewards programs will have their own co-branded credit card, and all of the four different programs that we discussed have a variety of their own credit cards.  We want to share a little bit of the most beneficial credit cards of the programs and show you what we have personally.

Welcome bonus opportunities

When looking for welcome bonus opportunities, you will want to try to find the highest promotion that you can find as this will be the only opportunity (at least for a while) for you to earn this sign-on bonus.  For this reason, it can sometimes be best to wait for a great promotion.  However, if you have plans to vacation somewhere, you do not have to be worried about finding the best promotion out there as most of the offers today as of March 2025 are decent.  Here are a list of credit cards from each hotel program we can recommend to you as well as their current sign-up bonus offers: