Here is a spreadsheet with the ten largest hotel loyalty programs worldwide and all their airline partners for earning miles and points-to-miles transfers.

Hilton HHonors is far and away the biggest program for airline partnerships. That can be a major factor for a frequent guest earning miles from hotel stays in a frequent flyer program where there might be few opportunities to earn miles other than flying.

• Hilton HHonors = 57 airline partners
• IHG Priority Club = 43 airline partners
• Marriott Rewards = 36 airline partners
• Hyatt Gold Passport = 35 airline partners
• Starwood Preferred Guest = 34 airline partners

There are 8 airlines that only partner with one of these ten programs.

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I will follow up this post with comments and details on airline miles differences in earning rates between different programs.

This seemed like a useful table to create as I work on my series of hotel points-to-miles exchange rates across loyalty programs for a selection of major airlines.

Loyalty Traveler – Airline Tables for Hotel Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates

United Mileage Plus hotel points-to-miles rates favor Marriott, Club Carlson, Wyndham(Feb 8, 2012)

Delta SkyMiles hotel points-to-miles rates in 9 hotel programs(Feb 7, 2012)

AAdvantage Miles for Hotel Elites with Credit Cards: SPG, Club Carlson, Wyndham and HHonors lead the pack(Feb 6, 2012)

American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates Compared for 9 Hotel Programs (Feb 5, 2012)

Delta is the second airline in my series of points-to-miles exchange rate tables for members earning frequent flyer miles from hotel stays. Delta Airlines Skymiles members will earn miles fastest from hotel stays with Wyndham Rewards, Marriott Rewards and Club Carlson as a basic hotel program member. Throw in elite status and a credit card and SPG matches and exceeds Wyndham Rewards for earning miles. 

Delta Skymiles members have an advantage over members of the other major U.S. airlines in that eight of nine major hotel loyalty programs allow points-to-miles transfers at each program’s best exchange rate.

Read More…

Club Carlson, SPG, Wyndham and Hilton are the best hotel chains for earning American Airlines AAdvantage miles from hotel stays. SPG is the best earning for the top elite, well-traveled Super 75 Platinum. Still, even if your lifestyle is only Super 8, Wyndham Rewards will get you there on an AA or partner airline flight by earning miles nearly at the same rate of hotel spend as SPG.

My Loyalty traveler series on hotel points-to-miles exchange rates for frequent flyer miles continues with a look at 9 major hotel loyalty programs and points-to-miles exchange rates. These tables look at the miles earned at set levels of hotel spend. Top-tier elite hotel status and the best earning hotel cobranded credit card for hotel stay payment are additional factors in the miles calculations.

Table 1: Comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows the actual exchange rate based on hotel spend for hotel stays. Credit cards and elite status are not considered.

Table 2: Top-tier elite membership factor when comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows how top-tier elite membership earning rate alters the total number of points earned at each level of hotel spend.

Table 3: Co-Branded Hotel Credit Card with hotel loyalty top-tier elite membership when comparing Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates in 9 major hotel loyalty programs for American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

This table shows the influence of top tier elite and credit card spend.

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Hyatt Gold Passport promotion registration is open for the 16 nights earn 44,000 points promotion running February 1 to April 30, 2012.

Registration is required by March 31.

Hyatt nights completed during the promotion period and prior to registration count as long as member registers by March 31.

Don’t delay. Sign up now!

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Hyatt Gold Passport informally announced its next loyalty promotion to the attendees of the Oneworld MegaDo in Dallas, Texas last night according to several attendees like ThePointsGuy. The promotion earns bonus points at 4-night increments, up to 16 nights. The nights do not need to be consecutive.

There is even a 25% bonus for stays paid with the Hyatt Visa credit card members. [update: Jan27, 4:00pm Pacific - Gold Passport Concierge posted on FlyerTalk that all Hyatt Visa card members earn bonus. There is no need to pay for the hotel stays with the Hyatt Visa.]

Register by March 31 for Hyatt Promotion.

• after 4 nights = 4,000 bonus points (1,000 more points if Hyatt Visa payment).
• after 8 nights = 8,000 more bonus points for 12,000 points total (2,000 more bonus points with Hyatt Visa).
• after 12 nights = 12,000 more bonus points for 24,000 points total (3,000 more bonus points with Hyatt Visa).
• after 16 nights = 20,000 more bonus points for 44,000 points total (5,000 more bonus points with Hyatt Visa).

This promotion offers the potential of earning 44,000 bonus points after 16 nights or 55,000 bonus points for Hyatt Visa card members.

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Hyatt Gold Passport offers 10% to 30% bonus points on points purchases from January 18 through March 15, 2012. The normal purchase rate of $24 per 1,000 points is charged, but the bonus points reduce the net cost. There is a calendar year limit of 40,000 points as the maximum purchase, yet this offer allows members to buy as many as 52,000 points for 2012.

• 1,000 – 9,000 points = 10% bonus points; reducing rate from $24/1,000 points to $21.82 per 1,000 points.
• 10,000 to 29,000 points = 20% bonus points; reducing rate to $20 per 1,000 points.
• 30,000 to 40,000 points = 30% bonus points; reducing rate to $18.46 per 1,000 points.
• Points must be purchased in increments of 1,000 points.
• Maximum annual purchase for Hyatt Gold Passport points is normally 40,000 points and this sale offer allows members to buy up to 52,000 points in 2012.

This is a good opportunity to load up on Hyatt Gold Passport points if you have specific plans for using the points in 2012. I could show you loads of hotels where this is a great deal compared to the published rate, but suffice to say this can be a route to discounted hotel rooms. DealsWeLike blog showed a couple of examples where buying points saves major cash outlay at a couple of resort hotels.

Assume you purchase 52,000 points for $960. Here is the table to showing room rate to reward rate equivalent after buying points at $18.46 per 1,000 points.

Hyatt Gold Passport Reward Nights  (Hyatt link to free night rewards)

• Category 1 hotels at 5,000 points = $92.30
• Category 2 hotels at 8,000 points = $147.68
• Category 3 hotels at 12,000 points = $221.52
• Category 4 hotels at 15,000 points = $276.90
• Category 5 hotels at 18,000 points = $332.28
• Category 6 hotels at 22,000 points = $406.12

This table shows the cost or reward nights at each hotel reward level when buying points with the 30% bonus. If the published rate after tax is more than the rate shown here, then the points option is cheaper. Keep in mind though that a Hyatt reward stay does not earn points or elite credit and for Diamond members, confirmed suite upgrades are not applicable to reward stays.

Buy and Transfer Points for Bigger Hotel Rewards is the column I wrote for InsideFlyer January 2012 issue showing the rules for buying and transferring points across the major hotel loyalty programs. The piece shares some strategies and opportunities available to members who may want to buy points for a hotel reward as a cheaper alternative to the published room rates.

One of the features of Hyatt Gold Passport is the free transfer of points between any two members to reach the level needed for a reward stay redemption. This gives a couple the opportunity to purchase and combine 104,000 points with this current Hyatt Gold Passport promotion.

You may only have as few as 6,000 points in your account today and tomorrow you could have 110,000 points after combining points with another member (spouse, parent, traveling companion). Five nights at a Category 6 Hyatt Hotel for $1,920 in points purchases can potentially be a huge discount at some Hyatt Resorts and aspirational properties.

Last week the winner of 110,000 points prize donated by Hyatt Gold Passport for the Passports with Purpose raffle was selected. Hyatt Gold Passport sponsored Loyalty Traveler for the PwP fundraiser to raise $80,000 for building libraries in Zambia.

Passports with Purpose 2011 Statistics

• Fundraising Goal was $80,000. Actual funds raised = $89,699.
• 137 bloggers signed up for 2011 PwP.
• Nearly 1,000 donors contributed 54% of the total $89,699 for chances to win 89 prizes.

Here is a message from Pam, Debbie, Michelle, Beth and Meg:

We raised a grand total of $89699.00 for Room to Read. That’s $9699 over our initial goal of 80k. We are continually honored and totally blown away by your support and participation in this initiative. We are so proud to work with you on PwP and more than that, we love it. We freaking love it. We love that it takes everything we do — traveling, telling stories, blogging, social media, making connections around the world — and creates something that makes the world a better place. Those libraries in Zambia, they’re yours and they are a lasting gift to those who will learn to read and write and share their own stories and make their own connections.

Hyatt Gold Passport 110,000 Points prize winner.

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Hyatt Gold Passport launches a new program benefit today with member options to redeem points for dining and spa credit and earn points for spend even when not a registered guest at the hotel.

Earning points for dining at a Hyatt Hotel restaurant when not staying at the hotel as a guest is a welcome benefit that matches Starwood Preferred Guest. I take visitors to the Hyatt Carmel Highlands Inn throughout the year as a beautiful setting for socializing and drinks. Unfortunately I now have a good reason for paying the whole tab to earn points.

Redeeming Points

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Last year I made a trip to southern California and stayed at three Hyatt Hotels in Santa Barbara, Westlake Village and Irvine. Recently Brian Kelly, The Points Guy, posted about his Thanksgiving stay at Hyatt Santa Barbara. Reading his review reminded me I never actually wrote a post about my Hotel Mar Monte stay Thanksgiving week 2010. The hotel is now called Hyatt Santa Barbara.

Highway 1 runs by my house in Monterey and becomes the Big Sur coast road just about five miles south once past Carmel. Highway 1 Big Sur driving can be 100 miles of highway bliss or hell, mostly depending on the weather. Read More…

Hyatt Stay Certificates and Weekend Certificates are potentially a huge rate savings at some hotels. These fixed-cost certificates cover room and tax. No elite qualification or points credit are earned on certificate stays.

Hyatt Stay Certificate Levels and Price Chart - Dec 13, 2011.

A property like my local Hyatt Carmel Highlands is available at the $249 per night Elite level certificate. These are capacity controlled certificates so you will need to check for room availability using the certificate. I can tell you though that Carmel Highlands Inn is rarely below $249 after tax and any night when you can redeem a $249 Elite certificate is probably going to save $100 or more per night. Read More…

December is my favorite month around Monterey, California.  Winter on the Central Coast of California between rainy season storms typically has air so clear that my eyes are amazed by the crisp definition of color in sea and sand and rocky coast.  The lines of mountain ridges visible all around reveal mountains beyond mountains set back from the water’s edge.

Walking around the coast the past few days has been like seeing the Monterey Peninsula in high-definition. Winter is when there are the least days with fog in this area which most summer visitors associate with Monterey. Over the years I am always amazed how clear the landscape features appear in my winter photographs.

Pacific Grove view across Monterey Bay to Fremont Peak.

Donate to Passports with Purpose for a chance to win 110,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points.

This post is not really about Hyatt Carmel Highlands and Highlands Inn. I have several posts featuring the Highlands Inn hotel with numerous photos that I will link to at the bottom of this post.

I mention Hyatt since they are sponsoring Loyalty Traveler with a 110,000 points raffle prize for the 2011 Passports with Purpose fundraiser (Loyalty Traveler post Nov 30). The Passports with Purpose travel blog charitable event has the goal of raising US$80,000 to build two lbraries in Zambia. Your $10 donation contributes to a grass-roots humanitarian effort and enters you into the raffle for 110,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points. Enter through December 16, 2011 for your chance to win this prize or one of many other prizes being offered. Passports with Purpose donation page lists about 100 travel prizes.

My two local Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt has two hotels in the Monterey Peninsula area. Hyatt Regency Monterey is close to my home. Tiger Woods could probably hit my roof in three out-of-bounds golf swings from the hotel’s location on the Del Monte Golf Course. The Hyatt Monterey property is a Hyatt Gold Passport category 4 hotel reward at 15,000 points per night. Here is a Loyalty Traveler hotel review from February 2010 with links to Picasa photo albums containing hundreds of hotel photos. I see I used the same Tiger Woods distance metaphor back then.

Hyatt Highlands Inn is eight miles south of my home on Highway 1 and is one of 13 Hyatt Gold Passport category 6 hotels in the U.S. for 22,000 points per night.

Win the Passports with Purpose raffle for 110,000 Hyatt points and you could come to this area of California for 5 to 7 nights.

Loyalty Traveler hotel reviews

In the Heart of the Carmel Hyatt Highlands Inn (Jan 5, 2009)

(Feb 21, 2010) This post about Hyatt elite status has photos of Point Lobos Suite at Hyatt Carmel Highlands.

The Clarity of Winter

Hyatt Highlands Inn is eight miles south of my home on Highway 1. Locals around here do not refer to Highway 1 as PCH or Pacific Coast Highway. That is Southern California nomenclature for their section of the coast highway. The signpost name around here is actually Cabrillo Highway, but nearly everyone just says “Highway 1″.

Say “PCH” and we know you are not a local.

Highway 1 south of Big Sur, California

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is about one mile north of Hyatt Carmel Highlands.  This park was established in 1933 and protects one of only two native Monterey cypress groves remaining in the area. Yesterday I needed out of the house and I drove south on Highway 1 ten minutes to hike around Point Lobos.

Cars are a $5 fee to enter the park. Walkers and bicyclists can enter free. The park has walking trails off the paved road. There are portable toilets in some car parking locations and fixed structure restrooms at the picnic grounds. The park is walkable, but around the coastline, especially at Allan Memorial Cypress Grove, the trails are more rugged with rocks and require basic agility. In other words, you are not getting a wheelchair through most of the native and endangered cypress grove path along the coast. There are currently two wheelchair accessible paths in the park and a third under construction.

Point Lobos trails offer a good day outing with trails along the coastline and in the woods for two to four hours exploring in a leisurely day in the park. A quick car tour can be done in less than an hour with a hike around Allan Memorial Cypress Grove Trail and Pacific Ocean coastline photo opportunities from several other locations.

The Monterey Cypress is rare in nature with only two remaining natural groves, Point Lobos and Cypress Point, Pebble Beach about five miles north across Carmel Bay from Point Lobos. The trees are often said to be among the oldest living trees on the planet, but that is not correct. The old trees here are about 200 to 300 years old. They just look so much older due to the harsh effects of wind and sea.

Wind shaped Monterey cypress in Allan Memorial Grove, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Pebble Beach, California a few miles to the north claims the Lone Cypress as a copyrighted image. Point Lobos has some of its own lone cypresses and this one does not even require cable supports like its famous 17-mile drive moneymaker Monterey cypress relative in Pebble Beach.

Point Lobos cable-free lone cypress on the rocks.

Good news this year in December is the whales have yet to pass Monterey Bay in their large numbers heading south. Point Lobos is a good viewing location for sighting whales from the coast along with Cypress Point, Pebble Beach. On a good day with binoculars you can spot dozens of gray whales as they surface and blow spray. I consider a day with any whale sighting a special day. [Update Dec 7: This YouTube video shows humpback whales in Monterey Bay at time I wrote this post.]

Viewing Cypress Point, Pebble Beach across Carmel Bay from Point Lobos.

Point Lobos also has a nice beach, though there was a bit of seaweed on the sand yesterday. Even yesterday in the 58 degree sun there were two sunbathers on the southern exposure beach. The temperature is more like 70 when up against the cliffs in white sand on a sunny day.

Point Lobos sandy beach cove at southern edge of park.

December and the winter months are a great time to visit Monterey. Dungeness crab season is full on. I paid $15 for 3.5# for fresh dungeness crab at Safeway in Carmel yesterday.

Point Lobos sandy beach, south of China Cove.

Best of all reasons for visiting Monterey-Carmel-Big Sur in winter is the hotel rates locally are among the lowest rates of the year. Visitors come in August and pay $500+ per night for Hyatt Carmel Highlands. The hotel is under $300 per night most weeknights in December ($251 AAA rate December 14). If you are within driving distance, then come to this area last-minute when you know there will be clear California good weather. We really do get hammered by some Pacific storms during the rainy season and that might keep you confined by the fireplace at the Hyatt Highlands Inn for your stay.

Life is tough here at times. Life is gorgeous here today.

View from Point Lobos south along Big Sur Coast. Hyatt Carmel Highlands is visible from this vantage point, but not too much so.