Best Hotel Reward Programs
Want to be a tourist? How about a tourist that saves money on every hotel stay? Whether you are a luxury traveler or like to stay cheap this review of hotel reward programs will be of use to you. Here the summary of the 5 hotel reward programs I have looked at including Choice Privileges, Priority Club, Marriott, Hilton, and Starwood.
Choice Privileges vs Priority Club
Of the cheaper hotel brands I have to lean toward the Choice Privileges Program (Comfort Inn Brand). The average savings towards future hotel stays was a bit higher here than with Priority Club (Holiday Inn Brand).
I think Choice is best for staying on the cheap end of things although you can stay at their better hotels in the “Ascend Collection” for 25,000 points per night. Priority Club Rewards has a nice balance between cheap and nicer hotel brands, but the opportunity to earn points is not as good.
Marriott vs Hilton vs Starwood
The comparison of the hotel rewards between these 3 luxury brands came down to a tough call between for me and it just depends on the type of traveler you are. I was not that impressed with the Starwood Reward Program, but it has won many awards over the years. Starwood definitely has some unique hotels, but I think that most people will get more for their money with Marriott and Hilton.
The new Marriott Reward Program gives you every 5th night free when you book with your reward points and an upgrade to Silver Elite Status which includes a 20% point bonus when you sign up for the Marriott credit card.
The value of points with the Hilton Reward Program falls just below that of Marriott, but you will not get the 5th night free. You will however get an upgrade to Silver VIP status with a 15% bonus and extra points on everyday purchases with the Hilton credit card.
The Silver VIP status also entitles you to exclusive vacation packages like 6 nights at select category 5 hotels for only 25,000 points/night instead of 40,000 points/night. I think this is the best deal for non-business travelers to earn free vacations!
Cheap Hotel Comparison
| Hotel Rewards Program | Points/$1Hotel Stays | Points/$1 Non-Hotel | Rebate% | Best For: |
| Choice Privileges |
15 points | 2 points | 15%-27% | Cheap Stays |
Priority Club 
|
13 points | 1 points | 4%-25% | ? |
Luxury Hotel Comparison
| Hotel Rewards Program | Points/$1 Hotel Stays | Points/$1 Non-Hotel | Rebate% | Point_Bonus | Free Annual Stay | 5th Night Free | Best For: |
Marriott  |
15 points | 2 points air dining, car rentals, 1 point everything else | 9%-35% | Silver Elite Status (20% point bonus) w/ credit card | Yes | Yes | Luxury Hotel Value |
Hilton 
|
20 points | 5 points supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, dining , U.S. Postal Service, and wireless phone bill, 3 points everything else | 7%-21% | Silver VIP Status (15% point bonus) w/ credit card | No | No | Credit Card Spenders |
| Starwood |
4 points | 1 point | 4%-25% | Not w/ credit card, must stay 10 nights | 50% off rack rate certificate | Yes | Those Demanding Luxury |
This information was very helpful in choosing a hotel reward club, but I’m sure how you came up with the rebate percentage. How did you determine that value?
Thank you for your question Bill. The rebate % is a rough estimate that I came up with by looking at hotel prices during the second week of November in 5 major US cites.
Redeeming points in a city where hotels are very expensive like New York City could make the reward points you accumulate worth as much as 35% vs redeeming them for accommadations in Las Vegas where the points may only be worth 12% for the same reward tier.
Basically, a reward category 5 hotel is still a reward category 5 hotel regardless of which city you stay in. A room in New York City may run around $400 while a similar room in Vegas may run only $150.