When it comes to the ease of earning free nights based on paid stays, people always scoff when I cite Hilton HHonors and Club Carlson as the best hotel rewards programs. “What about Hilton’s inflated award chart?” “Club Carlson hotels suck!” These are actual quotes from readers and people I’ve talked to (the last one may have been paraphrased). The fact is, there are a lot of misconceptions out there about which hotel rewards program is the best in terms of earning free nights. Hyatt Gold Passport is very popular, but if you’re booking lots of paid stays, Hyatt doesn’t give you the most bang for your buck. Club Carlson and Hilton HHonors give non-elite members the biggest return for their money. Below is a breakdown of what every major hotel rewards program pays out to non-elite members, and the amount of paid stays required to earn a free night at each hotel category:
Club Carlson
- Non-elite point earning rate: 20 points per $1
- Club Carlson Award Chart
- Category 1 = $450
- Category 2 = $750
- Category 3 = $1,400
- Category 4 = $1,900
- Category 5 = $2,200
- Category 6 = $2,500
- Category 7 = $3,500
Hilton HHonors
- Non-elite point earning rate: 10 points + 5 points per $1 spent (Points + Points option)
- 5th night free on award redemptions
- Hilton HHonors Award Chart
- Category 1 = $333.33
- Category 2 = $666.67
- Category 3 = $1,333.33
- Category 4 = $1,333.33 – $2,000
- Category 5 = $2,000 – $2,666.67
- Category 6 = $2,000 – $3,333.33
- Category 7 = $2,000 – $4,000
- Category 8 = $2,666.67 – $4,666.67
- Category 9 = $3,333.33 – $5,333.33
- Category 10 = $4,666.67 – $6,333.33
Hyatt Gold Passport
- Non-elite point earning rate: 5 points per $1
- Hyatt Gold Passport Award Chart
- Category 1 = $1,000
- Category 2 = $1,600
- Category 3 = $2,400
- Category 4 = $3,000
- Category 5 = $4,000
- Category 6 = $5,000
- Category 7 = $6,000
IHG Rewards Club
- Non-elite point earning rate:
- 5 – 10 points per $1 spent
- 600 – 2,000 points per stay at ANA partner hotels
- IHG Rewards Club Award Chart
- Pointbreaks = $500 – $1,000
- Category 1 = $1,000 – $2,000
- Category 2 = $1,500 – $3,000
- Category 3 = $2,000 – $4,000
- Category 4 = $2,500 – $5,000
- Category 5 = $3,000 – $6,000
- Category 6 = $3,500 – $7,000
- Category 7 = $4,000 – $8,000
- Category 8 = $4,500 – $9,000
- Category 9 = $5,000 – $10,000
- Category 10 = $5,500 – $11,000
- Category 11 = $6,000 – $12,000
Marriott Rewards
- Non-elite point earning rate:
- 5 – 10 points per $1
- 2.5 points per $1 at ExecuStay and Marriott Executive Apartments
- 5th night free on award redemptions
- Marriott Rewards Award Chart
- Category 1 PointSavers = $600 – $1,200
- Category 1 = $750 – $1,500
- Category 2 PointSavers = $750 – $1,500
- Category 2 = $1,000 – $2,000
- Category 3 PointSavers = $1,000 – $2,000
- Category 3 = $1,500 – $3,000
- Category 4 PointSavers = $1,500 – $3,000
- Category 4 = $2,000 – $4,000
- Category 5 PointSavers = $2,000 – $4,000
- Category 5 = $2,500 – $5,000
- Category 6 PointSavers = $2,500 – $5,000
- Category 6 = $3,000 – $6,000
- Category 7 PointSavers = $3,000 – $6,000
- Category 7 = $3,500 – $7,000
- Category 8 PointSavers = $3,500 – $7,000
- Category 8 = $4,000 – $8,000
- Category 9 PointSavers = $4,000 – $8,000
- Category 9 = $4,500 – $9,000
Starwood Preferred Guest
- Non-elite point earning rate: 2 points per $1 spent
- 5th night free on award redemptions
- Starwood Preferred Guest Award Chart
- Category 1: $1,000 – $1,500
- Category 2: $1,500 – $2,000
- Category 3: $3,500
- Category 4: $5,000
- Category 5: $6,000 – $8,000
- Category 6: $10,000 – $12,500
- Category 7: $15,000 – $17,500
Wyndham Rewards
- Non-elite earnings rate: 10 points per $1 or 1,000 points
- All hotels 15,000 points per night = 15 paid stays or $1,500
As you can see, Hilton HHonors requires the lowest amount of paid stays ($333.33) to earn a free night at a Category 1 hotel. Compare that to Starwood, which requires $1,000 – $1,500 in paid stays before members earn the 2,000 – 3,000 points required for a Category 1 stay. In terms of earning award nights at top-tier hotels, Wyndham wins out because they require just 15,000 points per night for all award redemptions, regardless of hotel category. Since Wyndham pays out 10 points per $1 or 1,000 points per stay (whichever is higher), it takes just 15 paid stays or $1,500 to earn a free night at any hotel. Obviously, you’ll want to put this free night to use at a top-tier hotel to get the biggest return on your investment.
Wyndham has a unique reward program that’s tough to compare to others since all hotels require the same number of points for a free night. When it comes to reward programs with different hotel categories, Club Carlson requires the lowest amount of spend for top-tier award nights at just $3,500. Factor in the 10 points per $1 earned through the Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature card and you’re down to spending just $2,333 for a top-tier Category 7 award night. Hilton comes in second, requiring $4,666.67 – $6,333.33 worth of paid stays for a free night at a top-tier Category 10 hotel.
The worst program for earning a top-tier award night based on paid stays is Starwood Preferred Guest, which is often cited as one of the best hotel reward programs. Starwood requires a massive $15,000 – $17,500 spent to earn a free night at a top-tier Category 7 SPG hotel. Trailing behind Starwood is IHG Rewards Club, which requires $6,000 – $12,000 in paid stays to earn a top-tier Category 11 award night. These numbers are lowered when you factor in bonuses from credit card spending, but when it comes to earning free nights purely based on bonus points earned from a hotel rewards program, IHG and Starwood don’t fare so well.
While Hilton and Club Carlson’s seemingly inflated award charts are less than appealing, their comparatively higher earning rates on paid stays ranks them above every other rewards program when it comes to earning free nights.
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