Every major hotel chain has its own loyalty rewards program, 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, as well as a variety of unique benefits. Plus, a lot depends on where you travel, how often you stay in hotels, and how much you’re comfortable spending per night.
To help travelers of all types save time and money, WalletHub compared the 10 most popular hotel rewards programs using 21 key metrics, ranging from point values to blackout dates for booking free nights. You can see the overall rankings below, followed by a calculator that allows you to customize the rankings to your budget.
Best Hotel Rewards Programs:
What’s the Best Hotel Rewards Program for You?
Get a personalized recommendation for the best hotel loyalty program for you, using our hotel rewards calculator below. Simply input your annual hotel budget, and we’ll apply the methodology and data used for this report to your individual situation. 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, but it’s certainly understandable if you want a more personalized recommendation.
Annual Amount Spent On Hotel Stays
Best Program
Radisson Rewards Americas
WalletHub Score: 74.01
Runner Up
World of Hyatt
WalletHub Score: 72.96
Other Key Findings
Radisson Rewards Americas is the best hotel loyalty program for travelers of all spending levels, earning an average WalletHub Score of 73 out of 100.
Wyndham Rewards offers up to $12.84 in rewards value per $100 spent – most among major hotel loyalty programs.
Best Western and Sonesta Travel Pass are the only major hotel chains 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 three of the major categories WalletHub considered.
| Hotel Rewards Program | Geographic Coverage Rank | Rewards Value Rank | Earning Policies Rank | Redemption Options Rank | Other Features Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radisson Rewards Americas | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| World of Hyatt | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Hilton Honors | 2 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Choice Privileges | 6 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 7 |
| Best Western Rewards | 5 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| IHG Rewards Club | 4 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| Sonesta Travel Pass | 9 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 3 |
| Drury Rewards | 10 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 10 |
8 out of 10 hotel rewards programs allow members to redeem points for award nights at all brands/properties.
Purchasing hotel rewards points is a rip-off with some programs, while others make it a good value.
Point-markup percentages were calculated using the base price of points as well as their average value when redeemed for hotel nights. Promotions allowing for the purchase of points at a reduced rate or offering a bonus were not taken into consideration unless scheduled to last for at least the next 12 months.
Hotel rewards programs are offering 3% less value now than they did one year ago, on average.
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.
Best Hotel Rewards Programs for 2023
| Hotel Rewards Program | Best For | Overall WalletHub Score | Number of Hotels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radisson Rewards Americas | Overall | 73.10 | 1,650 |
| World of Hyatt | Earning Policies | 69.60 | 1,220 |
| Wyndham Rewards | Rewards Value | 69.32 | 8,950 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Geographical Coverage | 62.29 | 8,277 |
| Hilton Honors | Redemption Policies | 60.24 | 6,900 |
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 the best hotel credit cards before committing to a hotel chain.
Detailed Findings
The following table illustrates the number of points each hotel rewards program received in each category evaluated by WalletHub.
| Scoring Categories | Maximum Score | Radisson Rewards Americas | World of Hyatt | Wyndham Rewards | Marriott Bonvoy | Hilton Honors | Choice Privileges | Best Western Rewards | IHG Rewards Club | Sonesta Travel pass | Drury Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Number Of Hotels | 6.00 | 1.08 | 0.79 | 6.00 | 5.55 | 4.62 | 4.71 | 3.13 | 4.03 | 0.78 | 0.07 |
| Country Coverage | 4.00 | 3.66 | 2.08 | 2.90 | 4.00 | 3.73 | 1.25 | 3.05 | 3.63 | 0.24 | 0.03 |
| Total Number Of Hotels In Top 10 Us Cities | 3.00 | 0.13 | 0.63 | 1.83 | 3.00 | 2.41 | 1.35 | 0.61 | 1.20 | 0.16 | 0.00 |
| Total Number Of Hotels In Top 10 International Cities | 2.00 | 0.45 | 0.87 | 0.63 | 2.00 | 1.30 | 0.23 | 1.10 | 1.54 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Value Of Rewards Heavy Traveler | 25.00 | 19.60 | 21.86 | 25.00 | 15.57 | 14.01 | 20.01 | 14.29 | 5.49 | 3.75 | 12.00 |
| Value Of Rewards Moderate Traveler | 0.00 | 22.33 | 24.38 | 25.00 | 14.63 | 2.88 | 16.87 | 11.74 | 9.58 | 8.01 | 15.46 |
| Value Of Rewards Light Traveler | 0.00 | 22.33 | 19.81 | 25.00 | 14.63 | 2.88 | 16.87 | 7.39 | 9.58 | 8.01 | 15.46 |
| Earning Points For On-Site Expenses | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Do Reservations At All Of A Program’S Hotel Brands Earn The Maximum Number Of Points? | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 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 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Room Redemption Volatility | 2.00 | 0.24 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 1.25 | 1.04 | 0.13 | 0.69 | 0.21 | 0.07 | 0.24 |
| Blackout Dates | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 |
| Percentage Of Hotels With Award Night Availability | 6.00 | 5.42 | 1.63 | 2.89 | 5.60 | 5.39 | 6.00 | 3.56 | 4.97 | 5.48 | 0.00 |
| How Far In Advance Can Reservations Be Made? | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 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 | 4.62 | 4.62 | 2.31 | 4.62 | 4.62 | 2.31 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 | 2.31 |
| Ease Of Achieving Top Membership Status | 2.00 | 1.80 | 1.69 | 1.97 | 0.00 | 1.89 | 1.88 | 1.98 | 1.65 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Number Of Transfer Partners With No Fee | 2.00 | 1.28 | 1.28 | 0.46 | 2.00 | 1.33 | 0.62 | 0.67 | 1.90 | 0.00 | 0.10 |
| Can Points Be Purchased At Fair Value? | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Can Earnings Be Shared Between 2 Or More Accounts For Free | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 |
| Can You Reinstate Lost Earnings? | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Valuable Membership Level Perks Heavy Traveler | 5.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 |
| Valuable Membership Level Perks Moderate Traveler | 5.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 |
| Valuable Membership Level Perks Light Traveler | 5.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 |
| Total Heavy Traveler | 100.00 | 71.28 | 70.45 | 69.99 | 63.58 | 68.33 | 60.48 | 59.08 | 50.63 | 42.49 | 41.75 |
| Total Moderate Traveler | 100.00 | 74.01 | 72.96 | 68.99 | 61.64 | 56.20 | 57.33 | 56.53 | 54.72 | 46.74 | 45.21 |
| Total Light Traveler | 100.00 | 74.01 | 65.39 | 68.99 | 61.64 | 56.20 | 57.33 | 52.18 | 54.72 | 46.74 | 45.21 |
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.
Ask The Experts: Assessing The Value Of Hotel Rewards Programs
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?
Ask the Experts
Assistant Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University
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Associate Professor of Marketing & International Business and Assessment Officer at The University of Akron
Read More
Associate Professor in the School of Community Resources and Development, and Senior Sustainability Scientist in the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University
Read More
Methodology
This report compared the loyalty rewards programs operated by the 10 largest hotel chains in the U.S., based on number of properties, using publicly available information and company policies posted online. After collecting the data, we shared our findings with each hotel chain scored in the study. Sonesta is the only chain that didn’t provide complete feedback.
The scoring framework used to evaluate each program, and ultimately identify the best hotel loyalty programs 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.
This methodology also applies to WalletHub's individual reviews of the top 10 hotel rewards programs. Those individual program reviews include both "category ratings" and "editor's ratings." The category ratings are derived from the scoring process described below, and the editor's ratings reflect the sum of each rewards program’s scores across the study’s 5 major categories – earning policies, redemption policies, rewards value, geographical coverage and other features – adjusted to a 5-point scale and to create a representative distribution of ratings. Category rating scores are rounded up to the nearest decimal.
1. Geographic Coverage (total score: 15 points)
A. Total number of hotels (max score: 6 points)
- We collected the total number of properties each rewards program has worldwide, across all brands according to their official websites.
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 of the most popular 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 most popular international travel destinations, according to tripadvisor.com.
2. Rewards Value (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 $620 on hotel accommodations
- Moderate Traveler: Makes $70,000 - $99,999 per year and spends roughly $958 on hotel accommodations
- Heavy Traveler: Makes $100,000 - $200,000 per year and spends $1,691 on hotel accommodations
These profiles, which reflect the fact that U.S. consumers spend an average of 1.13% 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 Policies (total score: 15 points)
A. Earning points for on-site expenses (max score: 3 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 Policies (total score: 25 points)
A. Brand exclusions (max score: 2 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 most popular 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. Other Features (total score: 20 points)
A. Point expiration (max score: 5 points)
- We determined if and when points expire due to account inactivity with each loyalty rewards program.
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
Points markup percentages were calculated using the base price of points as well as their average value when redeemed for hotel nights. Promotions allowing for the purchase of points at a reduced rate or offering bonuses were not taken into consideration unless scheduled to last for at least the next 12 months.
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.
Note: Hotel rewards programs might offer more amenities and options, but we only scored those we felt were most beneficial to users.
Information was collected on 5/19/2022 and is likely to have changed since.
