Jason Steele

Updated

4 hours ago

Insider's experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive a commission from our our partners, however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.

Using travel rewards points, it's possible to get your hotel stays for free. Space_Cat/Getty Images

• You can use hotel points for award nights with brands like Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG.
• The best programs offer high-value redemptions for a reasonable number of points.
• You can earn points from hotel credit cards or by transferring from flexible rewards programs.
• Read Insider's guide to the best travel rewards credit cards.

I haven't paid out-of-pocket for a hotel in over ten years, and I doubt I ever will. The vast majority of the time, I use hotel points earned from rewards credit cards. And the only time I'll pay cash rates is when my company or client is reimbursing me. 

In fact, I find that hotel points are far more flexible and can be much more valuable than frequent flyer miles. That's because hotel programs do far less to restrict award inventory, impose fewer taxes and fees on awards, and even offer credit towards elite status when you pay with points. Best of all, hotel taxes are usually based on the amount paid, so my final bill is almost always $0 when I use points. 

Here are my favorite hotel rewards programs and the credit cards I use to earn points for free stays, ranked based on my personal preference.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

World of Hyatt: High value and a reasonable award chart

While most other hotel programs have steadily reduced the value of their reward points, Hyatt points have remained consistently valuable. Award nights start at just 5,000 points, but you should expect to pay 8,000 to 15,000 points per night at a typical property in small to medium-sized cities, and 20,000 or 25,000 points per night at luxury resorts and in the heart of large cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

I'm a big fan of staying at Hyatt Place and Hyatt House properties when traveling with my family as we typically enjoy two queen-sized beds, a sofa bed, and a free breakfast, often for just 8,000 points per night. So I consistently receive at least 1.5 to 2 cents in value per point redeemed.

Hyatt points are worth, on average, 1.5 cents each based on Insider's points and miles valuations, but the exact value you'll get depends on where and when you redeem your points.

I love that Hyatt doesn't impose resort fees on award stays, allowing me to avoid all charges on most stays. However, note that Hyatt charges more points for peak season awards, and less for off-peak. 

It's easy to earn Hyatt points and free night certificates using The World Of Hyatt Credit Card . New cardholders can earn 30,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening, and up to 30,000 more bonus points by earning with 2 points per dollar spent on purchases that normally earn 1 point, up to $15,000 in the first six months of account opening.

You also get a free night certificate on every card anniversary, valid at Hyatt Category 1-4 hotels, and a second when you use your card to spend $15,000 in a calendar year. This card offers you basic Discoverist elite status, five qualifying night credits toward the next elite level each year, and another two elite night credits per $5,000 spent.

Small-business owners can also consider the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, which currently has a welcome bonus offer of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

World of Hyatt is a Chase Ultimate Rewards® transfer partner, so if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can transfer your points to Hyatt instantly at a 1:1 ratio. You can also transfer points from the Bilt Mastercard® to Hyatt, also at a 1:1 ratio.

Wyndham Rewards: Great for travel off the beaten path

The lesser-known Wyndham Rewards program is great for two things. First, there are lots of budget properties in small towns, so it's ideal for road trips and staying in places where you won't find a Hyatt. But it's also a fantastic program to redeem points for stays at vacation homes, also known as timeshares.

These awards cost 15,000 points per bedroom, per night, and I often receive over 2 cents per point redeemed at these properties. 

You can expect to get an average value of 0.8 cents per Wyndham point, according to Insider's points and miles valuations. Here's our guide to earning, redeeming, and maximizing Wyndham Rewards points.

You can earn Wyndham points directly from the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Card and Wyndham Rewards® Earner Plus Card , and I'm a big fan of the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Business Card , which offers 8x points on gas. 

Wyndham Rewards is also a transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Rewards and Capital One miles, so even if you don't want to open a Wyndham-branded card, you've got options for earning points.

Hilton Honors: Hotels around the world at every price point

Hilton Honors is a solid program, and of course, Hilton has a huge number of properties spread across over two dozen brands in every price range.

You can earn points from co-branded Hilton credit cards such as the Hilton Honors American Express Cardand Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card . If you collect Amex Membership Rewards points with cards like the American Express® Gold Card or The Platinum Card® from American Express , you can transfer points to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio.

Just note that each Hilton point typically has a lower value than most other hotel points, but their credit cards also offer more points per dollar spent. Therefore, I only expect to receive about 0.3 to 0.5 cents in value per point redeemed.

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card currently comes with an increased welcome bonus offer of 130,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in purchases on the card in the first three months of card membership and a free night reward after spending $10,000 in purchases in the first six months of card membership (limited time offer ends 12/21/22). This free night reward can be used at nearly any Hilton hotel on earth — including those that cost 150,000 points per night.

Another benefit is that Hilton elite status — which you get automatically from any of the Amex Hilton credit cards — gets you the fifth night free when you book five or more consecutive standard award nights. Like Hyatt, Hilton also doesn't impose resort fees on award stays. 

Choice Privileges: Budget options and high-value potential

Like Wyndham Rewards, you can use Choice Privileges points to stay in a lot of budget brands located in places where you're unlikely to find a Hyatt or Hilton. The Choice Privileges program includes familiar brands like Comfort Inn, Clarion, Cambria, and Quality Inn.

I've also found exceptional value in Choice hotels available throughout Europe. You can earn these points from the Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card, or by transferring points from American Express Membership Rewards. In addition, Choice is a transfer partner of both Citi and Capital One.

In fact, Choice will even sell you points at close to 1 cent each, which is sometimes worth it when you redeem your points for free nights at expensive overseas hotels. I expect to receive about 1 to 1.5 cents per point from the best places to redeem rewards. 

Insider values Choice points at an average of 0.7 cent points each. Here's our guide to maximizing the Choice Privileges program with all the ways to earn and redeem your points.

Marriott Bonvoy: Thousands of hotels, at a price

Marriott's program has some strong points, but also some significant flaws. Like Hilton, its strength is in its numbers, as it offers thousands of properties over dozens of brands. And in some international locations, Marriott points can be very valuable.

But too often, I find that its peak award pricing simply requires way too many points compared to comparable Hyatt and even Hilton properties. And it imposes resort fees on award stays, which can really add up. That's why I think you'd be lucky to receive 1 cent in value per Marriott point redeemed, and usually much less.

Marriott points are worth 0.7 cents each on average, based on Insider's points and miles valuations. You can often squeeze more value from your points when you take advantage of the program's fifth night free on award stays.

Chase and Amex issue Marriott Bonvoy credit cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card. These cards both come with annual free night awards of varying values after your cardmember anniversary.

Plus, you can transfer both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards points to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio. However, I would strongly discourage you from doing so as you'll likely end up paying more than twice as many points as you would to stay in a comparable Hyatt, which is also an Ultimate Rewards transfer partner. 

IHG Rewards: Some nice properties, mixed value

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has some great properties, but it's been a long time since I've been able to find worthwhile value from this program. You can earn IHG points directly from the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card — which offer an anniversary free award night at hotels that cost up to 40,000 points — or the no-annual-fee IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card.

You can also transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Bilt Rewards points to IHG Rewards, but as with Marriott, you'll usually need to transfer at least twice as many points to IHG as you would to stay at a comparable Hyatt. I tend to receive about 0.5 cents in value per IHG point. 

Insider pegs IHG points as worth 0.7 cents each, on average — but again, the exact value you'll receive depends on how you redeem your points.

Other ways I use credit card rewards for accommodations

Admittedly, staying in properties affiliated with these major hotel programs leave out a lot of options, such as bed and breakfasts and independent hotels. Thankfully, there are two catch-all programs that allow me to use credit card rewards to stay just about anywhere.

First, there's the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal, which is similar to an online travel agency. As a Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholder, I can redeem points for 50% more value (1.5 cents each) towards travel booked through Chase.

Using this method, I've stayed everywhere from boutique hotels in Manhattan to safari lodges in South Africa and even a four-bedroom apartment rental in Tel Aviv, Israel. 

There's another option if you have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Spark Miles for Business , or Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business . These cards earn Capital One miles, which you can use to erase any travel purchases made with your card. Miles are worth 1 cent each as statement credits toward eligible travel charges, including hotels, lodges, resorts, and inns.

Bottom line

If you've been frustrated by trying to earn and spend frequent flyer miles, perhaps it's time to take another look at hotel rewards. By focusing on the right loyalty programs, and using the right credit cards you can stay anywhere you want, without worrying about the cost.