how to book hotels with points? Guide to Hotel Rewards
Travel hacking is the practice of using credit cards, travel rewards, and other strategies to travel for free or discounted rates. This guide to booking hotels with points breaks down how to leverage traveling hacking strategies to stay in hotels for free.
I love traveling in luxury, but don’t always have the budget for it. A couple years ago, I stumbled on the Points Guy Blog and was introduced into the amazing world of travel hacking.
Some people travel hack to be able to travel and others do it to travel more luxuriously. I do both! I’ve been able to plan entire trips on points that I would not have been able to go on otherwise.
I’ve also stretched a vacation budget to stay in nicer places by leveraging reward hotel stays.
Getting into travel hacking can be super overwhelming. It’s easy to wonder where to start, how to earn enough points, and how to determine a good deal.
Keep reading this guide to booking hotels with points to learn the answers to all of those questions. Below, I break down the steps in a simple and easy to understand way that is attainable for everyone.
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How to Earn Hotel Points
Before you can begin booking hotels with points, you first need to have points to spend. There are two main ways to earn points to redeem for hotel travel.
The first is through hotel loyalty programs and the second is through credit card spend.
By leveraging both methods, it’s easy to quickly grow your point bank.
1. Earning Hotel Points Through Loyalty Programs
One way to earn hotel points is through loyalty programs. By creating account with hotel brands, you can earn points based on nights stayed and money spent.
This was the way I initially got started with earning points, since it takes zero effort. Whenever you have a hotel booked, be sure to provide your loyalty number to earn points for the stay.
Below are the three top tips for maximizing loyalty rewards:
- Be Loyal – The reason hotel brands have loyalty programs at all is to incentivize people to always stay at their properties.
By aligning yourself with a brand, you can maximize your rewards and work towards status. Having many points with one brand is much easier to redeem than small amounts of points spread across brands.
In addition, earning status can get you free upgrades and other perks that I will touch on later.
- Never Leave Points on the Table – Although being loyal is a good strategy, there may be circumstances where you cannot stay with your priority brand. That is ok!
No matter what hotel you stay in, be sure to create an account and earn rewards. They may come in handy someday.
- Book Direct – Finally, always book direct. You will only earn points on stays that are booked direct, so avoid third party sites such as Expedia or Booking.com when possible.
2. Earning Hotel Points Through Credit Cards
The second major way to earn hotel points is through credit cards.
A quick disclaimer before we talk about credit cards: only open and use credit cards that you intend to pay off in full each month. If you carry a balance, the interest you will accumulate will negate any value of those points for travel.
When used responsibly, credit cards are a great way to earn points. Through lump-sum sign up bonuses, and points for every dollar spent, you can earn points on your everyday purchases.
- Sign up Bonus – Credit card sign up bonuses are the #1 way to quickly earn a large amount of points. A sign-up bonus is an incentive to open a card and spend a set amount of money within the first few months.
For example, with this card you can earn up to 60,000 points after spending $4000 in the first three months.
- Points per Dollar Spent – Once you have a credit card, you can earn 1x to 20x points per dollar spent based on the card and spending category.
For example, if you use this card on a Marriott purchase, you will earn 17 points per dollar spent. By using a credit card for everyday purchases, you can rack up points for travel without even trying.
The Best Credit Cards for Rewards Travel
There are two types of credit cards that earn points that can be redeemed for hotel stays.
1. Co-Branded Cards – A Co-branded card is a credit card associated with a hotel brand. For example, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card.
These cards can have high earning potential, but the points can only be used with that specific brand.
2. Bank Credit Cards – Major banks have credit cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve that earn points that can be transferred to a variety of hotel brands.
9 Tips to Maximize Your Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card
I recommend having at least on card in each category. Having a co-branded card for your priority brand will allow you to earn a lot of points when you book stays.
As mentioned above, this card allows you to earn a massive 17x points on Marriott purchases. Even though these points can only be used with one brand, it should be easy to use them since it’s your priority brand anyway.
Having a major bank card such as this one from Chase, an Amex Platinum, or a BILT Mastercard will allow you to earn super-valuable transferrable points. Owning transferrable points makes it much easier to find and book redemptions.
I personally use my co-branded card for all purchases with that brand and use my bank card for all other purchases. This allows me to have a good mix of both point currencies.
Table of the Top Hotel Rewards Credit Cards
| Credit Card | Fee | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless | $95 | If you are Marriott loyal, this credit card is a great option. It earns up to 17x points per every dollar spent at Marriott. In addition, it earns an annual free night certificate that will easily cover the annual fee. |
| World of Hyatt Credit Card | $95 | If you are Hyatt loyal, this is the equivalent card to the one above. The sign up bonus of 60,000 points will get a few night stay. It also comes with an annual free night certificate. |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | $550 | The Chase Sapphire Reserve is my favorite luxury travel credit card. It includes airport lounge access, $300 in annual travel credits, DashPass, travel protections, and much more. Chase points transfer to Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG. |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | $95 | The same transfer partners as the Reserve, above, but with a lower annual fee. |
| AMEX Platinum | $695 | This card has a ton of benefits that balance out the annual fee such as $200 hotel credit, $240 digital entertainment credit, airport lounge access, and more. Amex hotel transfer partners are Hilton, Marriott, and Radisson. |
| BILT | $0 | This is the only credit card that earns points on rent. If you’re a renter, this no annual fee credit card is a no-brainer. The BILT hotel transfer partners are Hyatt and IHG. |
Tips for Successful Hotel Rewards Travel
Now that you know how to earn points, let’s talk about how to use them on hotels. There are two ways plan hotel reward travel.
The first is choosing a hotel you wish to visit, then strategizing how to earn the points to make it happen.
The other way is taking inventory of your current points then finding hotels that you are able to book.
Either way, the below tips are things to keep in mind when trying to use points for reward travel.
1. Be Flexible – Flexibility will be your best friend when trying to book with points. Reward availability can be hard to come by, so flexibility allows you to have more options.
For example, instead of being set on booking the Andaz Maui for June 1-8, you will have better luck looking for a Marriott property on Maui for 7 nights in June.
2. Plan Ahead – There are two timeframes to find reward availability. The first timeframe is far ahead of time, around one year in advance.
The second timeframe is within a month of your travel. I much prefer to plan ahead instead of crossing my fingers for last-minute availability.
3. Always Compare with Cash – It can be easy to get excited by rewards redemptions. Be sure to always compare to the cash price to be sure you are getting a good deal.
Sometimes it’s better to pay for a stay and save your points for a flight or other redemption.
Booking Hotels Through Travel Portals
As there are two main ways to earn hotel points, there are two primary ways to spend them.
If you earn your points through a bank, there are portals to book directly through that bank. For example, you can use Chase Ultimate rewards directly on their website.
This option is very simple and allows you to book a wide range of hotels. Similar to a booking platform such as Expedia, you put in your destination and dates then a variety of hotel options appear to choose from.
Once you choose a hotel, you can check out directly through the portal and pay for the trip with your accumulated points from that bank.
A disadvantage to booking through these bank travel portals is lower valued redemptions. For example, through Chase, you get a value of 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point based on if you have a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve credit card.
Below, I show how to calculate a good value for redemptions, but as a frame of reference, I aim for 2 cents per point.
The other way to use points accumulated through bank credit cards is to transfer to their transfer partners. Once you transfer the points, you will book directly with the hotel, as I explain below.
Note: Do NOT transfer points to a partner until you confirm award availability
Booking Hotels Directly with Points
The second option for booking hotels with points is directly through their websites. This option works if you transfer from a bank or earn hotel points directly.
My first step for booking with points directly is finding my top 2-3 hotel options. However, only look at hotels where you have points or can transfer points.
I earn points directly with Marriott, so that is one of the first places I search. I also typically look at Hyatt because they are a transfer partner with Chase and usually have good value redemptions.
The specific brands you focus on will depend on your preferences and point portfolio.
Once you narrow down to 2-3 options with award availability, you can compare the redemption values. Simply book your choice hotel through that brand’s site and you’re set.
How to Determine Good Value for Point Redemptions
Something I have mentioned a few times throughout this guide is comparing the value of redemptions.
The simplest way to do this is by dividing the cash price of the stay by the number of points required.
For example, a $2000 stay for 100,000 points would be 2 cents per point or a $500 stay for 35000 points would be 1.4 cents per point.
As I shared above, I aim to get a 2 cents per point value to justify using points.
This threshold will be different for everyone, but using this formula is a good way to compare different stays when deciding what to book.
Other Ways to Use Hotel Rewards
In addition to the basis of booking hotels with points, there are a few other ways to maximize your reward hotel travel.
The first is free night awards (FNA) that can be earned from a credit card as a sign-up bonus or on an annual basis. For example, this card has a three-night FNA sign up bonus and annual one-night FNA.
If there aren’t good redemption options for a free stay, points can also be used for upgrades. This can be a fun and inexpensive way to celebrate a special occasion trip such as a honeymoon or birthday.
Finally, don’t underestimate the value of hotel loyalty status. Status is earned through night stayed and money spent at one hotel brand.
Status can give you higher point earning rates, free suite night awards, free upgrades, late checkout, free parking, and other perks.
These perks might not be free nights but will save you money.
Example of Booking Hotels with Points
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of booking hotels with points, here is an example of how it would work. For this example, I am trying to book a 6-night stay in Cabo for November 2023.
1) Take Inventory of Points – Let’s say I have 300,000 ultimate rewards and 300,000 Marriott points.
2) Find Target Hotels – I will look at the ultimate rewards portal, Marriott, and Hyatt due to my brand preference and point availability.
My top three choices are the JW Marriott for 320,000 points, the Cape for 126,000 points, or the Hyatt Ziva for 102,000 points
3) Calculate the Redemption Value
JW Marriott: $2328 / 320,000 points = 0.72 cpp
The Cape: $6810 / 126,000 points = 5.4 cpp
Hyatt Ziva: $2904 / 102,000 points = 2.8 cpp
4) Choose a Hotel – In this example, the Cape is by far the best redemption value and it’s a beautiful, luxury hotel.
5) Book – To book this hotel, I would double check the availability of the Cape Hotel then transfer 126,000 points from Chase to Hyatt then book through my Hyatt account.
This hotel is also available through Chase but would be 454,000 points at a 1.5 cent rate. This is an example of how booking directly often has better rates than through bank portals.
Summary of How to Book Hotels with Points
The key to how to use points for hotels is earning points efficiently and spending them strategically.
To earn many hotel points, use a combination strategy of brand loyalty and earn points with stays, combined with 1-3 targeted credit cards to earn points on everyday spend.
For the best credit card strategy, get a co-branded card for your loyal brand, such as the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless.
Then get 1-2 bank credit cards to earn transferrable points. For a beginner, I recommend the BILT card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which have a combined annual fee below $100.
Once you have accumulated points, using points for hotels is simple. Search for your desired location through the hotels directly and through booking platforms.
Then, calculate the cents per point, choose the best value, book, and enjoy your trip!
I know this stuff is complicated, so shoot me an email with any questions.
For more travel hacking tips, check out my guides to the World of Hyatt and Marriott Bonvoy programs. These in depth guides explain how to earn and redeem points for each of these hotel programs specifically.
Related Posts:
- Complete Guide to the World of Hyatt Hotel Rewards Program
- How to Earn and Redeem Marriott Bonvoy Rewards
- 9 Tips to Maximize Your Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card
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