Travelers spend an average of $1,000 annually on hotel stays, according to recent research by WalletHub.
And rewards members may have different preferences for what incentives they want out of their hotel stays, such as late checkout. Business travelers may prefer access to a club-level concierge service, Wi-Fi and a Starbucks. A person who travels less often may just want to go to the hotel pool.
When it ranks rewards programs, WalletHub divides travelers into spending profiles of “light,” “moderate” and “heavy.” A light traveler, for instance earns $40,000 to $69,999 per year and spends about $593 on hotels. The moderate traveler spends almost twice as much on hotels, and earns $70,000 and up. A heavy traveler may travel primarily for business and spends almost $1,600 a year on hotels.
Each reward point a traveler earns equals a dollar amount that can be used to stay at one of the selected hotels across the country. Restrictions may vary when someone is redeeming the points—there may be blackout dates for reservations, points expiration and geographic restrictions, all of which were measured for the ranking.
However, these rewards programs are limited. If you are booking your hotel room through a travel site rather than through the hotel chain, the rewards points will not be counted.
These are the top hotel rewards programs, in ascending order, based on WalletHub’s research data (collected as of November 27, 2018):
10. IHG Rewards Club
This rewards program offers less value this year than last year. In 2017, IHG offered $8.6 for every $100 spent, but in 2018 each point is now worth $7.26 for every $100. Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are notable hotels in the program.
9. Drury Gold Key Club
The hotel rewards program offers $12.1/$100 for every point to all levels of travelers. For all travelers, the hotel chain program scored a 54, which was on the lower end.
8. La Quinta Returns
Overall, the rewards program scored a 57.33 for all types of travelers. Awarding $13.65 for every $100 spent, all travel types received the same value. La Quinta also has a negative markup percentage on point purchases (minus 7.69 percent).
7. Hilton Honors
The Hilton Honors Rewards gave $11.05 per $100 spent for the heavy traveler. Hilton marks up its rewards by 45 percent, the WalletHub report indicated. With 5,500 hotels, Hilton Honors was listed as favorable for a transfer with other partner hotels. The overall program had a score of 57.68.
6. World of Hyatt
For the heavy traveler, this hotel rewards program scored a 61.65 but dropped to 56.23 for the moderate or light traveler. The hotel rewards gave $11.22 per $100 spent for heavy travelers.
5. Choice Privileges
The overall score for the rewards program was a 62.01 for heavy travelers. The overall score drops to 58.6 for moderate to light travelers. Hotels included in the rewards program include Comfort Inn, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn.
4. Marriott Rewards
Marriott will award $11.55 for every $100 dollars spent for frequent/heavy travelers. Based on the report, international travelers benefited the most from Marriott’s rewards program.
3. Radisson Rewards
For those who travel often, Radisson offers $14.25 for each reward point. The hotel rewards program had the fewest earning limitations with 1,400 hotels. The overall WalletHub score was 68.89.
2. Best Western Rewards
The runner-up scored 67.90 and has 4,200 hotels nationwide. The hotel chain is the only one whose points do not expire, even if the account is inactive. The hotel chain expanded its award points to $11.31 per $100 spent, which was up from last year’s $9.66.
1. Wyndham Rewards
The hotel chain won Best Program for the fourth year in a row with a score of 73.07. For every $100 spent, Wyndham will give $14.30 in rewards. Good for all levels of travelers, this hotel rewards program offers the most points of any other rewards program. Twenty brand hotels are included in the program, including, Ramada, Days Inn and Super 8.
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