WAG Hotel Loyalty Programs

[gymbeam]

We stay in hotels probably 4-5 times a season and then maaaaybe once or twice throughout the rest of the year for vacation. So probably a total of 14-16 nights per year.

Does a loyalty program really save more than just finding the cheapest (but decent) hotel wherever we go?

I am just not convinced we stay enough to get any real reward and that limiting ourselves to one chain may actually cost us more than shopping around currently does.

Any advice?

 

[raenndrops]

The loyalty programs are free.
Might as well join them all and then just pick whatever gives you the best price AT THAT TIME… and, if you happen to earn a free night - Bonus!

 

[bogwoppit]

They may not save you often, but they get you good perks. Try Marriott.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

The program is free. You will eventually have enough points to get free stays . And if you combine it with one of their credit cards you rack up even more points quicker . You also can get other perks like a later check out. Room preference..

It's really not is there a reason to have it . More why wouldn't you.

 

[John]

I use Hilton Rewards. Hilton owns many hotel chains. The rewards app lets you book at any of their hotel chains and gives rewards for all stays in any hotel chain Hilton owns. Sometimes when booking in the rewards app you get special members pricing. You also get preferred treatment when checking in.

 

[wandrewsjr]

We use Marriott rewards. We always check the Marriott chains prices first, then usually do a quick all hotel search to see what else is available. Unless something is significantly cheaper(say 20% or more) usually end up at one of the Marriott chain hotels because know it will at least be fairly nice.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Another long time Marriott rewards customer. Back in the day I was a platinum member, free wine and a room upgrade on check in. Those days are long gone. As are the quarter of a million points I had accumulated . Took us 10 years almost to use them all.

Marriott and Starwood have merged or rather Marriott bought Starwood . So you couldn't merge your rewards and have options that include Marriott, Westin, Sheraton, 4 Points, W, and I think Ritz Carlton.

 

[raenndrops]

I have Choice Privileges… but I am very much into not spending anymore than I have to. I have preferred brands within the Choice Hotels family of brands, but price and location are big for me and they usually have at least 1-2 in the areas I need.

I also have Marriott and Hilton, but use them less often.

 

[Flyaway]

We have Hilton and Marriott. Haven't racked up enough points to get any nights free yet, but at least we're working towards it with all these gym trips. Like someone said above, most programs are free so it's worth it to at least sign up.

 

[twinmomma]

We have Hilton, and a Hilton credit card, so purchases go towards points as well. We use Hampton Inn ALLLLLL the time for both gym and baseball and often have enough for a free room.

 

[CuriousCate]

We've just been booking on Hotels.com and you get a free night after 10 bookings. We actually just got a free night for DD's meet in two weeks! We have a Hiltons and Marriott Rewards # but haven't stayed there enough to earn anything yet.

 

[amiandjim]

We do Hilton as well because we often like to stay in Embassy Suites. They often have bonus periods where you get 2x points so that can add up.

 

[mommyof1]

My approach is to pick the hotel that is best for the situation (most convenient, best value). I have rewards accounts for all of the chains. In a tied situation I will tend to favor Marriott because I have generally found them to be the cleanest. I haven't found that being a rewards member gets you better rates--AAA rates are usually the best. It can take awhile, but eventually you will accumulate enough points for a free night.

I do not book through third-party websites. I prefer to book directly with the hotel chain for better customer service and cancellation policies.

 

[gymnastmom05]

We are Hilton people and stay at their properties as often as possible. If there price is outrageous when we're traveling for a meet, we will stay somewhere else but that doesn't occur very often. We use points a lot so it's hard to pay for another room and not get the points. We hoard points like crazy but did 12 days in Hawaii last year, all on points. We're currently in point savings mode to plan our next big vacation. Those vacations are what helps me look at the bright side when my husband is gone almost weekly and I'm stuck running kids all over the Earth for practices then homework, dinner and bed! Anyway, I would definitely sign up for them. It doesn't hurt. Heck we even have a credit card tied to Holiday Inn and get a free night once a year. Definitely worth looking into!

 

[honu]

We signed up for the various hotel reward programs mainly because like others have said it is free and maybe someday we will get a free night or two. We don't pick our hotel based on one loyalty program so it could be a long time before we reap much benefits. We choose our meet hotels based on convenience, cost, and where DDs peeps are staying. This past year we signed up for AAA. Between meet stays and a vacation that required several hotel nights we easily got our membership money back in savings.

 

[LGnyc]

We've just been booking on Hotels.com and you get a free night after 10 bookings. We actually just got a free night for DD's meet in two weeks! We have a Hiltons and Marriott Rewards # but haven't stayed there enough to earn anything yet.

Ditto. We do this all the time and due to husband's travel, vacation, and meets, we get a free room fairly frequently.

 

[gymbeam]

Thanks all. I think the only one I'm signed up for is Choice and I could have sworn points expire annually or something like that which made me think we would never travel enough to reap rewards.

So are you all saying that most programs accumulate points indefinitely?

 

[thefellowsmom]

we have Hilton and marriott/starwood. we try to stay at the Marriott whenever we can. this year we accumulated enough points to get two nights free.

the key when spending points at Marriott is to find where it is a good deal. example Boise isn't an expensive area so the points per night were low but the nightly dollar rate was really high due to such a big event so we we paid a low amount of points for what would have been an expensive night dollar wise. just an example.

we stick with Marriott where we can but have numbers at the others as well because sometimes even the rate is lower for members and we have received upgrades twice just for being a member I. the right place at the right time.

 

[thefellowsmom]

when you do the hotels.com thing can you change your reservation or cancel without penalty? that sounds like a good deal but we are always booking more than we need and then cutting back as we get closer and know when she is competing. just curious how change and cancel works for hotels.com

 

[mommyof1]

So are you all saying that most programs accumulate points indefinitely?

I have never had issues with points expiring at any of the other major brands.