Best Hotel Rewards Program
6:09 PMPosted by: Alina Comoreanu
The best hotel rewards programs provide a wide range of free perks. Members receive special amenities such as free Wi-Fi, late check out and bar credits. But that’s just the beginning. Most importantly, the top hotel rewards programs let you quickly earn free nights, redeem them with ease, and go about your business without worrying about fine-print restrictions.
Every major hotel chain has its own loyalty rewards program, you see, which anyone can join for free. But these hotel rewards programs are not equally rewarding for everyone. They all have different rules, earning rates and point values, plus a variety of other perks. And much ultimately depends on where you travel, how often you stay in hotels, and how much you’re comfortable spending per night.
So to help families, business travelers and explorers of all types save more time and money, WalletHub compared the 10 most popular hotel rewards programs using 21 key metrics, ranging from point values to booking blackout dates. And we did so for three different hotel budgets.
Here are the best hotel rewards programs:
- Wyndham Rewards
- Best Western Rewards
- Radisson Rewards
- Marriott Rewards
- Choice Privileges
Below, you can check out the rest of the results from WalletHub’s hotel loyalty rewards comparison. You can also crunch the numbers to find the best hotel rewards program for your individual needs using our custom calculator, which personalizes the results of this study based on your budget.
What’s the Best Hotel Rewards Program for You?Many aspects of a hotel rewards program are binary in nature: a program either has a certain feature or it doesn’t. But much also depends on the amount of money you spend with a given hotel chain each year. And while the Light, Moderate and Heavy hotel spending profiles used in this report cover roughly 60% of people, according to Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it’s certainly understandable if you want a more personalized recommendation.
The following calculator will provide just that. Simply input your annual hotel budget, and we’ll apply the methodology and data used for this report to your individual situation.
Annual Amount Spent On Hotel Stays Best Program Wyndham Rewards WalletHub Score: 73.07 Runner-up Best Western Rewards WalletHub Score: 67.90 Main FindingsFor the fourth year in a row, Wyndham Rewards is the best hotel loyalty program for travelers of all spending levels, earning an average WalletHub Score of 73.40.
The merger of Marriott, SPG and Ritz-Carlton created incremental value. The combined rewards program yields $10.85 per $100 spent, more than any of the three brands on its own in 2017.
Wyndham Rewards offers up to $14.30 in rewards value per $100 spent – most among major hotel loyalty programs.
IHG Rewards is the only hotel loyalty program offering less rewards value than in 2017.
Best Western is the only major hotel chain whose rewards points do not expire due to account inactivity.
You’d better know what you’re looking for in a loyalty program because very few hotels rank in the top five in more than two of the five major categories WalletHub considered.
| Hotel Rewards Program | Geographic Coverage Rank | Value of Rewards Rank | Earning Limitations Rank | Redemption Options Rank | Additional Features & Policies Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors | 3.00 | 9.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 3.00 |
| Marriott Rewards | 1.00 | 5.00 | 8.00 | 9.00 | 6.00 |
| Choice Privileges | 6.00 | 7.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| IHG Rewards Club | 4.00 | 10.00 | 8.00 | 7.00 | 10.00 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 2.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 8.00 |
| Radisson Rewards | 7.00 | 3.00 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 2.00 |
| World of Hyatt | 8.00 | 6.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 | 7.00 |
| Best Western Rewards | 5.00 | 8.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 1.00 |
| La Quinta Returns | 9.00 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 10.00 | 5.00 |
| Drury Gold Key Club | 10.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 1.00 | 9.00 |
All but one hotel allow members to redeem points for award nights at all brands/properties.
The value in purchasing hotel rewards points varies widely from program to program. With some, it’s a rip-off, while others make it a no-brainer.
None of the hotel rewards programs allows members to earn points on reservations booked through third-party websites, such as Kayak.com or Expedia.com.
You can find detailed scoring for each hotel rewards program in the next section. But after reading the headlines, you might be interested in a quick recap of the top options first. For your convenience, please find a summary below.
2018’s Best Hotel Rewards Programs
| Best for… | Hotel Rewards Program | Overall WalletHub Score | Number of Hotels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Wyndham Rewards | 73.40 | 9,000 |
| Rewards Value | Wyndham Rewards | 73.40 | 9,000 |
| Points that Won’t Expire | Best Western Rewards | 69.53 | 4,200 |
| Fewest Earning Limitations | Radisson Rewards | 68.89 | 1,400 |
| Redemption Options | Wyndham Rewards | 73.40 | 9,000 |
| Transfer Partners | Hilton Honors | 57.68 | 5,500 |
| International Travel | Marriott Rewards | 62.31 | 6,782 |
The best hotel rewards programs also have co-branded credit cards, which allow frequent guests to earn free nights on every purchase they make, wherever Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover is accepted. The rewards these cards provide vary widely, just like the loyalty programs they represent. So travelers may want to check out WalletHub’s picks for 2018’s best hotel credit cards before committing to a hotel chain.
Detailed FindingsThe following table illustrates the number of points each hotel rewards program received in each category evaluated by WalletHub.
| Scoring Categories | Maximum Score | Hilton Honors | Marriott Rewards | Choice Privileges | IHG Rewards Club | Wyndham Rewards | Radisson Rewards | Hyatt Gold Passport | Best Western Rewards | La Quinta Returns | Drury Gold Key Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Number Of Hotels | 6.00 | 3.65 | 4.51 | 4.59 | 3.67 | 6.00 | 0.91 | 0.47 | 2.78 | 0.57 | 0.07 |
| Country Coverage | 4.00 | 3.35 | 4.00 | 1.23 | 3.08 | 2.46 | 3.54 | 1.75 | 3.32 | 0.18 | 0.03 |
| Total Number Of Hotels In Top 10 Us Cities | 3.00 | 2.20 | 3.00 | 1.36 | 1.48 | 1.70 | 0.15 | 0.43 | 0.68 | 0.29 | 0.01 |
| Total Number Of Hotels In Top 10 International Cities | 2.00 | 1.29 | 1.95 | 0.78 | 2.00 | 0.98 | 0.33 | 0.29 | 1.46 | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Value Of Rewards Heavy Traveler | 25.00 | 14.54 | 16.15 | 15.58 | 2.34 | 25.00 | 24.84 | 15.08 | 15.37 | 22.91 | 17.92 |
| Value Of Rewards Moderate Traveler | 25.00 | 10.20 | 13.64 | 12.17 | 1.97 | 25.00 | 19.74 | 12.74 | 12.16 | 23.06 | 18.42 |
| Value Of Rewards Light Traveler | 25.00 | 10.20 | 13.64 | 12.17 | 1.97 | 25.00 | 19.74 | 12.74 | 10.86 | 23.06 | 18.42 |
| Earning Points For On-Site Expenses | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Do Reservations At All Of A Program’S Hotel Brands Earn The Maximum Number Of Points? | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| Third-Party Booking | 7.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Brand Exclusions | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Room Redemption Volatility | 2.00 | 0.20 | 1.30 | 1.60 | 1.40 | 2.00 | 1.32 | 1.30 | 1.65 | 1.70 | 1.73 |
| Blackout Dates | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
| Percentage Of Hotels With Award Night Availability | 6.00 | 5.54 | 5.44 | 5.68 | 5.48 | 5.44 | 5.87 | 5.64 | 5.73 | 5.77 | 6.00 |
| How Far In Advance Can Reservations Be Made? | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Short-Notice Reservations | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Points Expiration | 5.00 | 0.56 | 1.67 | 1.11 | 0.56 | 1.11 | 1.67 | 1.67 | 5.00 | 1.11 | 1.11 |
| Ease Of Achieving Top Membership Status | 2.00 | 1.61 | 1.03 | 1.65 | 0.82 | 1.57 | 1.64 | 1.05 | 1.80 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Number Of Transfer Partners With No Fee | 2.00 | 1.63 | 1.60 | 0.43 | 1.30 | 0.80 | 1.03 | 0.97 | 1.30 | 0.63 | 0.13 |
| Can Points Be Purchased At Fair Value? | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Can Earnings Be Shared Between 2 Or More Accounts For Free | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 |
| Can You Reinstate Lost Earnings? | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Valuable Membership Level Perks Heavy Traveler | 5.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 5.00 | 3.00 | 1.00 |
| Valuable Membership Level Perks Moderate Traveler | 5.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 3.00 | 1.00 |
| Valuable Membership Level Perks Light Traveler | 5.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 3.00 | 1.00 |
| Total Heavy Traveler | 100.00 | 60.57 | 64.65 | 62.01 | 45.12 | 74.07 | 72.29 | 61.65 | 72.11 | 57.18 | 54.00 |
| Total Moderate Traveler | 100.00 | 56.23 | 61.14 | 58.60 | 42.75 | 73.07 | 67.19 | 56.30 | 68.89 | 57.33 | 54.50 |
| Total Light Traveler | 100.00 | 56.23 | 61.14 | 58.60 | 42.75 | 73.07 | 67.19 | 56.30 | 67.59 | 57.33 | 54.50 |
For a deeper understanding of what both consumers and hotel chains get from these programs and how they impact the behavior of both parties, we posed the following questions to a panel of leading hospitality and consumer studies experts. You can check out their bios and responses below.
- Who benefits more from hotel rewards programs: consumers or hotel chains?
- How do hotel rewards programs impact consumer behavior?
- Do you think consumers under- or overvalue the benefits of hotel rewards program membership?
- To what extent do you think mergers, acquisitions and alliances of individual brands impact hotel loyalty?
Sung H. Ham Assistant Professor of Marketing in the School of Business at George Washington University
Douglas Hausknecht Associate Professor of Marketing & International Business and Assessment Officer at The University of Akron
Deepak Chhabra Associate Professor in the School of Community Resources and Development, and Senior Sustainability Scientist in the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University
Lei Huang Assistant Professor of Marketing in the School of Business at The State University of New York at Fredonia
Sung H. Ham Assistant Professor of Marketing in the School of Business at George Washington University
Douglas Hausknecht Associate Professor of Marketing & International Business and Assessment Officer at The University of Akron
Deepak Chhabra Associate Professor in the School of Community Resources and Development, and Senior Sustainability Scientist in the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University
Lei Huang Assistant Professor of Marketing in the School of Business at The State University of New York at FredoniaThis report compared the loyalty rewards programs operated by the 12 largest hotel chains in the U.S., based on number of properties, using publicly available information and company policies posted online. Where policies were incomplete or ambiguous, we confirmed them with the respective hotel chain’s customer service department. Once data collection was complete, we reached out to the public relations departments of each hotel chain to confirm our findings. Wyndham, Choice Privileges and Drury did not confirm the information. Data is accurate as of 11.27.2018.
The scoring framework used to evaluate each program, and ultimately identify the best option for different types of consumers, can be found below. Most of the metrics were first graded on a 100-point scale. Generally, full points were awarded to the best-performing program for that metric, while the zero-point level was set slightly below the worst program’s result. Point allocations for more-binary metrics that did not use this 100-point scale are explained below.
B. Country coverage (max score: 4 points) We collected the total number of countries in which each rewards program has properties.
C. Total number of hotels in top 10 U.S. cities (max score: 3 points) We tabulated the total number of hotels for each program within a 50-mile radius of the 10 best places to visit in the U.S., according to tripadvisor.com.
D. Total number of hotels in top 10 international cities (max score: 2 points) We tabulated the total number of hotels for each program within a 50-mile radius of the 10 best international travel destinations, according to tripadvisor.com.
2. Value Of Rewards (total score: 25 points) Using lodging expenditure data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Travel Association, we created three consumer spending profiles:
- Light Traveler: Makes $40,000 - $69,999 per year and spends roughly $593 on hotel accommodations
- Moderate Traveler: Makes $70,000 - $99,999 per year and spends roughly $916 on hotel accommodations
- Heavy Traveler: Makes $100,000 - $200,000 per year and spends $1,617 on hotel accommodations
These profiles, which reflect the fact that U.S. consumers spend an average of 1.08% of their annual income on hotel accommodations, helped us to more-accurately assess the value that members would glean from each hotel rewards program, as they feature graduated status levels that provide different earning rates and redemption options based on amount spent. Temporary promotions, such as holiday deals, have not been taken into account. Earning rates were calculated for the second year of program membership.
After tabulating the number of points that each type of traveler would earn via each hotel’s loyalty program, we calculated the value of those earnings based on the average value of a point when redeemed for a free night. Average point values were determined by comparing the cost of a three-night reservation purchased with dollars and points, respectively, in 20 of the most popular global travel destinations: 10 domestic and 10 international. Quotes were obtained for weekday and weekend travel during each destination’s high and shoulder travel seasons. Dollar costs were then divided by point prices, and the quotients were averaged to obtain an overall average point value for each program. Fees and taxes were excluded unless a given program’s points were attributable to such costs.
3. Earning Limitations (total score: 15 points)
- If members earn the maximum number of points on hotel expenses other than room reservations (such as food and beverage, telephone, laundry, pay-per-view movies, entertainment and recreational facilities) = Full points
- If consumers do not earn the maximum number of points on expenses other than the room = No points
B. Do reservations at all of a program’s hotel brands earn the maximum number of points? (max score: 5 points)
- If consumers are awarded the maximum number of points for reservations at all of the hotel brands under a chain’s umbrella = Full points
- If consumers are not awarded the maximum number of points across all hotel brands = No points
C. Third-party booking (max score: 7 points)
- If consumers are awarded points when booking stays through a third party (for example, booking websites such as kayak.com and expedia.com) = Full points
- If consumers are not awarded points when booking stays through a third party = No points
4. Redemption Options (total score: 25 points)
- If a rewards program allows members to redeem their points for any hotel brand within the hotel chain = Full points
- If a rewards program does not allows members to redeem their points for any hotel brand = No points
B. Room-redemption volatility (max score: 2 points) We divided the maximum number of points needed to book a room by the minimum in order to get a sense of the magnitude of the difference that exists in award night pricing.
C. Blackout dates (max score: 7 points)
- If a rewards program does not have blackout dates for award nights = Full points
- If a rewards program has blackout dates = No points
D. Percentage of hotels with award night availability (max score: 6 points) We determined whether award nights could be booked at each of the properties in a given program within a 50-mile radius of the city center in the 10 best places to visit in the U.S., according to tripadvisor.com, using four different sets of dates that include: high season weekend/weekdays and shoulder season weekend/weekdays.
E. How far in advance can reservations be made? (max score: 4 points)
- If reservations can be made 1 year in advance = Full points
- If reservations cannot be made 1 year in advance = No points
F. Short-notice reservations (max score: 4 points)
- If reservations can be made 36 hours in advance = Full points
- If reservations cannot be made 36 hours in advance = No points
5. Additional Features & Policies (total score: 15 points)
B. Ease of achieving top membership status (max score: 2 points) Based on the lowest room rate collected for each hotel program, we calculated the total spending needed to accumulate the requisite nights / stays / points for top membership status.
C. Number of transfer partners (max score: 2 points) We identified the total number of travel partners to which points can be transferred free of charge.
D. Can points be purchased at fair value? (max score: 2 points) We calculated how much it will cost to purchase the maximum number of points permitted per year by each program and how much those points would be worth upon redemption, on average.
- If the hotel chain earns a markup of 15 % or less on the transaction = Full points
- If the markup is higher than 15% = No points
E. Can earnings be shared between two or more accounts for free (max score: 2 points)
- If earnings can be shared between two or more accounts for free = Full points
- If earnings cannot be shared between two or more accounts for free = No points
F. Can you reinstate lost earnings? (max score: 2 points)
- If you can reinstate lost earnings = Full points
- If you cannot reinstate lost earnings = No points
G. Valuable membership level perks (max score: 5 points) After initially examining each hotel program, we created a list of membership perks that we believed to be most-valuable to consumers, regardless of membership level. The list comprises: late check-out, room-rate discounts, free health club and spa access, free room upgrades and priority / express check-in. We then used our consumer profiles to determine which perks each type of consumer would receive via membership in each program. Each perk is worth one point, which means that a program offering all the aforementioned perks would receive a full score. Please note, hotel programs are likely to offer more perks than the ones we have examined.
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