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.

[click on image to see full-size in new window]

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)

There are loads of Priority Club reward rooms available right now in London for Priority Club points. I found reward rooms for the opening ceremonies at Holiday Inn Kensington Forum for three nights Friday-Saturday-Sunday July 27-30 at the Points & Cash reward rate of 15,000 points + $60 per night for a room with a published rate at 305GBP or US$485 per night.

I found reward availability at multiple hotels in London for hotel stays throughout the Olympics dates.

25,000 points or 460GBP per night. Better yet is 15,000 points + $60 per night. That is a $670 value for 15,000 points. Buy points at $6 per 1,000 points from Priority Club and redeem for $45 per 1,000 points in hotel rate savings.

The image below shows Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum available for a 3-night points reward on the weekend with the London Olympics 2012 opening ceremonies  Friday, July 27, 2012.

Act Fast!

Hotel rewards using points for the London Olympics 2012 have been a rare find. I checked Hilton HHonors today and there was one hotel with Premium Room Reward availability at 195,000 points per night. Starwood Preferred Guest has reward night availability at Sheraton Heathrow Airport for 10,000 points per night on some dates. The availability of reward nights at a variety of IHG hotels in London is a real bargain during the Olympic Games from Friday, July 27 through Sunday, August 12.

Rates at most brand name hotels are over US$500 per night.

Priority Club members can buy 50,000 points in a calendar year at the rate of $11.50/1,000 points or $575 per 50,000 points. Priority Club members may also gift a member 50,000 points in a year. This means a couple can purchase 200,000 Priority Club points in all buying 50,000 points maximum purchase for yourself and as a gift to your partner. Your partner does the same. For $2,300 you can buy 200,000 points.

Typically buying points might not be a good deal, but when hotel nights are US$500 or 15,000 points and $60 for each night in London during the Olympics, then you are paying $232.50 for a room night buying points and redeeming for a Priority Club Points & Cash reward.

A hotel reward night is 15,000 points + $60 for several IHG hotels in London during the Olympics. These reward nights might be around all  week or may not last the day before reward night availability is gone.

And remember hotels like Hotel Indigo London Paddington can be booked for the old 25,000 points rate through March 18, 2012 by calling Priority Club customer service.

Here is a sample of IHG hotels in London with reward night availability for 8 nights from July 27-August 4, 2012.

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.

Hilton HHonors members have a lower points-to-miles transfer rate at only 1,000 Skymiles for 10,000 points compared to American Airlines AAdvantage at 10,000 points = 1,500 miles. You are likely better off keeping the HHonors points for hotel stays rather than use points-to-miles exchanges for Delta Skymiles.

Most hotel stays earn only hotel points or only frequent flyer miles with the exception of Hilton HHonors ‘Double Dipping’ policy that allows members to earn both miles and points on the same hotel stay.

In general, earning points with hotel loyalty programs and transferring points-to-miles results in more miles compared to earning miles directly from a hotel stay.  Many hotel brands allow a member to earn 250 or 500 miles per hotel stay. Hilton HHonors is the exception to this general rule due to its low points-to-miles exchange rates. HHonors Points & Miles earners earn miles at a higher rate and HHonors runs regular bonus miles promotions to improve the rate of earning miles from hotel stays.

The methodology used to compare points-to-miles exchange rates in different hotel loyalty programs:

I have created three tables to compare points earned at set levels of hotel spend for three types of hotel loyalty members:

• hotel loyalty member has no elite status or hotel program co-branded credit card.
• hotel loyalty member has top-tier elite status, but no hotel program co-branded credit card.
• hotel loyalty member has top-tier elite status and the highest earning hotel program co-branded credit card.

TABLE 1 – Hotel program comparison of points-to-miles exchange rates for Delta Airlines using base points earning rate.

TABLE 2 – Hotel Top Tier Elite earner hotel program points-to-miles comparison for Delta Airlines.

TABLE 3 – Hotel Top Tier Elite Earner and Co-branded Credit Card member hotel program points-to-miles comparison for Delta Airlines.

Commentary:

Tables are set up in columns to show how many points are earned at set levels of spend for $1,000; $2,000; $3,000; $5,000; $7,000; $10,000 and $13,000 in hotel stays counting only points earned from hotel spend base points, top-tier elite bonus points and highest earning credit card bonus points for each program.

The hotel spend amount is not the important number in these tables. The dollar amounts are simply a way to align different hotel programs to make a comparison of points-to-miles rates.

When I show $10,000 earns 50,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, that is the maximum spend needed to earn 50,000 points. Actual spend to earn 50,000 Hyatt points will likely be far less than $10,000. I have shown in a recent post how a Hyatt Gold Passport member can earn over 50,000 points from real travel for under $1,250.

The hotel spend needed to earn points depends on the types of hotel promotions available, welcome amenity points, and other points earning offers and partner activity.

Observations on Table 1:

• Wyndham Rewards, Club Carlson and Marriott Rewards have the best points-to-miles exchange rates.
• Wyndham Rewards has the highest earning fixed rate for hotel points-to-miles exchange. $800 in hotel spend at Wyndham Rewards earns 3,200 Delta SkyMiles.
• At $1,000 in hotel spend the different programs are remarkably similar in points-to-miles exchange rates. Differentiation between programs comes at higher levels of spend. Most programs have a fixed points-to-miles exchange rate regardless of the number of points being transferred to miles.
• Variable points-to-miles exchange rates with Marriott Rewards and Club Carlson give a higher rate of miles at higher levels of points transfer. Starwood Preferred Guest (20,000 points) and Hyatt Gold Passport (50,000 points) both give 25% more miles at the specific transfer level shown here.
• Starwood Preferred Guest does not have a points-to-miles advantage to other programs based on its points-to-miles exchange rate giving a 25% bonus when transferring a block of 20,000 Starpoints. Wyndham, Marriott and Club Carlson have better points-to-miles exchange rates than SPG. The competitive advantage to SPG for miles earners is the 50% bonus for mid-tier Gold elite (10 stays or 25 nights in a calendar year) is the highest elite bonus for the lowest level of hotel stays. SPG American Express credit card spend at Starwood Hotels earns 100% base points. Even more impressive is the high rate of earning points for everyday spend at $1 = 1 point = 1 mile in many frequent flyer programs. This rate exceeds all other hotel loyalty credit cards for miles earning rate, although Wyndham Rewards Visa is close to SPG with $1 = 2 points = 0.8 miles. Wyndham Rewards has fewer airline partners than SPG, but Visa is accepted in places where American Express will leave you stranded.

What about Residence Inn and Staybridge Suites and hotel brands that earn fewer base points per dollar?

Marriott Rewards is probably the program most impacted by lower points earn rates at Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites where stays earn only 5 base points/$1 compared to 10 base points/$1 used in table. The miles shown in these tables will be reduced by the proportion of hotel spend at lower earning hotel brands. About 25% of all Marriott hotels are Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites.

Marriott Rewards – Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earn 5 points/$1.

IHG Priority Club – Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites earn 5 points/$1.

Choice Privileges – Rodeway Inn, EconoLodge, Mainstay Suites, Staybridge Suites earn 5 points/$1. Other brands earn 10 points/$1.

Wyndham Rewards – Hawthorn Suites earn 5 points/$1.

The tables do not consider promotion bonus points. The idea is to keep these tables simple and evergreen (until the next program change). Hotel loyalty promotions are constantly changing.

Table 2: Commentary: Elite Status

Club Carlson, Marriott Rewards and now Starwood Preferred Guest have a 75-night top-tier elite. The points earned are high rates, but the loyalty required to reach that level of membership is a small portion of hotel travelers.

Club Carlson Concierge at 75% bonus points sets that program apart for miles earners. The advantage Club Carlson has over Marriott Rewards is a standard points earn rate across all its hotel brands. The miles shown for Marriott Rewards will drop with hotel stays at Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earning a lower rate of base points.

Wyndham Rewards does not have elite tiers or elite bonus points and drops in ranking when elite bonus points are a factor. Most hotel programs offer 50% bonus points for top tier elite members. These elite bonus points increase the earning rate of hotel points and make other programs more attractive than Wyndham Rewards for points-to-miles exchanges as an elite member with loads of points. Still, it is nice to know that the budget traveler can pull in miles at rates comparable to the best elite programs even while sleeping at Days Inn.

Hyatt Gold Passport drops noticeably in rank compared to SPG when top-tier elite status is factored. Hyatt and Best Western only offer 30% bonus points for top tier elite hotel spend. SPG offers 50% bonus points for Gold and Platinum and 100% for Platinum-75 members as of March 1, 2012.

The elite tables do not factor welcome amenity points for top-tier elites typically earned on hotel stays.

Why are there no tables for low-tier and mid-tier hotel elite levels?

I have not created tables for mid-tier and low-tier elites due to the difficulty of comparing these elite levels across different programs. Are SPG Gold and Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum comparable elite levels?

These tables only show top-tier elite to allow a comparison of programs for the most frequent guests and highest earning members in each program.

I will likely add tables comparing credit card members and the associated elite status since most credit cards give some elite level of membership as a cardmember.

Table 3: The Credit Card Factor

One tip to share is my observation that rates for earning credit card bonus points are generally equivalent to the rate of earning bonus points as a top tier elite member.

Hyatt Gold Passport Visa, Hilton HHonors American Express Surpass, SPG American Express and Best Western MasterCard earn bonus points at an even higher rate per dollar than hotel stays as a top-tier hotel loyalty program member earning bonus points. In terms of earning points, members in these programs are better off having a cobranded credit card than being a top-tier elite member.

That is the sad state of the hotel industry that bank loyalty is more rewarding in hotel point bonuses than hotel stay loyalty. Of course most programs offer hotel stay benefits for their top-tier guests that are the primary value-added component for hotel loyalty members besides points.

Perhaps I’ll have to start promoting hotel loyalty program credit cards and pick up some referral cash. Or not.

Why Hilton HHonors is difficult to compare with other programs

The tables show the number of points earned based on hotel spend and then the miles earned from a points-to-miles transfer. Hilton HHonors is the exception since members can earn both points & miles for hotel stays.

Most hotel loyalty programs will earn more miles overall when the member earns points for a hotel stay and then makes a points-to-miles exchange into the frequent flyer program. Hilton HHonors has a low points-to-miles exchange rate compared to other hotel programs and the HHonors member will likely earn more miles choosing HHonors Points & Fixed Miles for hotel stays when the hotel spend is under $500 per stay.

I provide an estimate of miles earned for HHonors Points & Fixed Miles earner. This is a rough estimate based on an average hotel stay costing $200 and earning 500 miles.

Hilton HHonors Points & Variable miles is a more precise comparison of miles earning to other hotel programs, however, the member staying at Hilton brands other than Home2 Suites, Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn will earn more miles choosing Fixed Miles for any hotel stay under $500.

The miles shown for HHonors Points & Fixed Miles is likely at the high end of a typical traveler’s earning pattern since it excludes any stays at Hampton Inns. Also a person with an average stay rate over $200 will have a lower miles earning rate.

The precise miles earned for a Hilton HHonors member is likely between the Variable Miles earning rate at the low end and the Fixed Miles rate near the high end in these tables.

Related Posts:

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

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

The next post in this series will look at United Airlines Mileage Plus miles earning rates across these nine hotel loyalty programs.

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.

Basic Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates Compared to Rate Points Earned from Hotel Spend without consideration of:

• Elite Status
• Cobranded Credit Card

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

This table was discussed in my Loyalty traveler post yesterday.

The main point I’d like readers to see is Wyndham Rewards is a great program for earning small levels of points for points-to-miles exchange. Wyndham Rewards has a high rate of exchange at 10 points = 4 miles. The minimum transfer is 8,000 Wyndham Rewards points = 3,200 miles. This is $800 in hotel spend at Wyndham Hotels.

Most programs take $1,000 in hotel spend to earn the minimum number of base points for a points-to-miles transfer.

Club Carlson is the minimum hotel spend leader for its ability of a base member (no elite status) to earn 2,000 points for the minimum points-to-miles transfer at 2,000 points = 250 miles after just $100 in hotel spend.

SPG Platinum members have no minimum exchange rate and even 1 Starpoint can be exchanged into 1 mile in several programs. This is useful for some promotion offers where partner activity earns a bonus and 1 Starpoint can be transferred into a frequent flyer program for that partner activity.

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.

Table 2: Discussion

The numbers here do not factor additional points for online booking bonus (Club Carlson) or Welcome Amenity points earned per hotel stay in many of the programs.

Club Carlson is one of the top three highest standard points-to-miles exchange rates among the 9 leading hotel loyalty programs. Club Carlson has the second highest top tier elite bonus at 75% base points earning rate.

SPG Platinum-75 (sounds radioactive) earns 100% elite bonus points as of March 1, 2012 and moves up in ranking for this AAdvantage miles comparison.

SPG asterisk * in the $13,000 column for SPG Platinum/Gold elite is due to using $13,334 since this small $334 incremental hotel spend raises the points earned from 39,000 to 40,000 points and increases miles earned by 5,000 miles.

Hilton HHonors has so many earning variables that predicting how many AAdvantage miles you will earn after $5,000 in hotel spend is mind-boggling. But guaranteed Hilton is better than Marriott Rewards for earning AAdvantage miles. Marriott Rewards and American Airlines cut their ties in 2010 so you can’t earn any Advantage miles through Marriott hotel stays.

Choice Privileges and IHG Priority Club sit in the middle of the pack, but pale in comparison to the Club Carlson miles earner.

Hyatt Gold Passport and Best Western Rewards top-tier elites both suffer from the lowest elite bonus points percentage at just 30% when most programs are 50% and Club Carlson at 75% and SPG at 100% leap-frog ahead in points-earning ability.

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.

Here is a comparison of major hotel loyalty programs for the fastest earning AAdvantage Miles from hotel stays for the high elite frequent guest using a hotel co-branded credit card to pay for hotel stays.

Non-hotel spend on the cobranded hotel credit card is not considered in this analysis. It is far easier to compare earning for non-hotel spend in isolation from hotel stays.

SPG jumps to the top for American Airlines AAdvantage miles when the credit card is added to the mix. Earning 2 points/$1 for Starwood Hotels spend is a 100% base points bonus and no other hotel program offers that high a proportion of base points as a credit card bonus for hotel spend.

Hilton HHonors American Express Surpass is close at 90% base points. Hyatt Visa is 60% base points. The other chains are 50% bonus for credit card spend at hotels.

Club Carlson is the only program without a co-branded credit card. Supposedly a credit card deal is in the works for 2012 and that will push Club Carlson higher in the ranking. Club Carlson still fares well against SPG considering the Club Carlson program does not even have a cobranded credit card to help its position in this race.

Concluding comments:

These tables tell me that American Airlines AAdvantage members seeking miles from hotel stays are in one of the best frequent flyer programs for maximizing miles earning.  Hilton HHonors looks impressive in this matchup, but lower points-to-miles transfer rates will lower its ranking for most other airlines. Marriott Rewards will take a top rank place for several other airline frequent flyer programs with its high points-to-miles exchange rates.

American Airlines AAdvantage miles can be earned at a high rate from hotel stays regardless of your market segment with Wyndham Rewards, Club Carlson and Starwood Preferred Guest all offering high points-to-miles rates.

This series will continue with a look at Delta Airlines SkyMiles. This is a program where the rankings will change as Marriott Rewards shows its competitive edge and Hilton HHonors reveals its poor points-to-miles exchange rate for most frequent flier programs.

P.S. There is a load of data here. Hopefully no math errors. Please leave a comment if something doesn’t look correct.

Feel free to ask questions and carry on a discussion in the comments.

Priority Club Rewards | Redeem

http://www.priorityclub.com/rewards/us/en/redeem/catalog/hotel/last-minute-reward-nights

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts SAN FRANCISCO

20,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts VIENNA

20,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts CAIRO SEMIRAMIS

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts CHICAGO O’HARE

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts DALLAS

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts HOUSTON NEAR THE GALLERIA

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts MALTA

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts QINGDAO

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts SANTIAGO

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts TABA HEIGHTS

15,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza ACAPULCO

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza ASUNCION

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza CHICAGO OHARE HOTEL & CONF CTR

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza CITY CENTER NINGBO

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza CITY CENTRE CHANGSHA

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza GREENVILLE-I-385-ROPER MTN RD

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza HOUSTON-DOWNTOWN

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza JERUSALEM

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza MSP AIRPORT – MALL OF AMERICA

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza SAN MARCOS GOLF RESORT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn BASINGSTOKE

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn BURBANK-MEDIA CENTER

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn CHARLESTON AIRPORT & CONV CTR

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express BEDFORD

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express BLOOMSBURG

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express COLORADO SPRINGS (AIRPORT)

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express HARRISONBURG

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express LONDON – LUTON AIRPORT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express PADUCAH

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites RATON

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites SIOUX FALLS AT EMPIRE MALL

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites WALTERBORO I-95

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn FRANKFURT AIRPORT – NORTH

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites SAVANNAH AIRPORT – POOLER

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites ORANGE PARK – WELLS RD.

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts MANHATTAN AT THE CAMPUS

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn KINGSTON-WATERFRONT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn SANTEE

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn SHENYANG ZHONGSHAN

12,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites Hotel in MONTREAL

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn ALLENTOWN CENTER CITY

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn CHARLOTTE-AIRPORT CONF CTR

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn ENFIELD-SPRINGFIELD

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express EXETER M5, JCT. 29

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GREENSBORO-(I-40 @ WENDOVER)

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express LEEDS CITY CENTRE – ARMOURIES

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express OSAGE BEACH

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express STOKE ON TRENT

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SWINDON – WEST M4, JCT.16

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites DAYTON-HUBER HEIGHTS

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MILWAUKEE-NEW BERLIN

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MINNEAPOLIS AIRPORT-MALL AREA

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MT. HOLLY-NJ TNPK EXIT 5

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ST. PETERSBURG NORTH (I-275)

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites TAMPA -USF-BUSCH GARDENS

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites TAMPA-ANDERSON RD/VETERANS EXP

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites MILWAUKEE AIRPORT

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites OVERLAND PARK-CONV CTR

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites PUEBLO

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts SHANGHAI VISTA

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn LARAMIE

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn MIDLAND

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn PERRYSBURG-FRENCH QUARTER

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn SEATTLE-SEATAC INTL AIRPORT

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn SHREVEPORT WEST

10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn UNIVERSITY PLAZA-BOWLING GREEN

10,000 pts.

StayBridge Suites GLENVIEW

10,000 pts.

Candlewood Suites CHICAGO-WHEELING

7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites CHICAGO/NAPERVILLE

7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites DETROIT – AUBURN HILLS

7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites EASTCHASE PARK

7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites MINNEAPOLIS-RICHFIELD

7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites OMAHA

7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites OMAHA AIRPORT

7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites PHILADELPHIA-MT. LAUREL

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ATLANTA-PERIMETER/DUNWOODY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn DENVER EAST – STAPLETON

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express BRISTOL – NORTH

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express CEDAR RAPIDS (COLLINS RD)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express FORSYTH

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express HALIFAX-BEDFORD

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ROSEVILLE-ST. PAUL

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SIMPSONVILLE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ASHTABULA-GENEVA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites BAY CITY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites BROOKSVILLE WEST

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites DENVER AURORA – MEDICAL CENTER

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG(DUNCAN)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites HOWELL

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MEBANE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ROCKY MOUNT/SMITH MTN LAKE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites WILSON I-95

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn FLINT

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn GRAND ISLAND (BUFFALO/NIAGARA)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel And Suites RALEIGH-CARY (I-40 @WALNUT ST)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites COLUMBIA N I 77 TWO NOTCH RD

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites PARSIPPANY FAIRFIELD

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites TRINIDAD

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites WARREN

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn KINGSTON

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn PHILADELPHIA NE – BENSALEM

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn QUINCY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ALPHARETTA – ROSWELL

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express BIRMINGHAM OLDBURY M5, JCT.2

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express CHICAGO-ARLINGTON HEIGHTS

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GIRONA

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express LA JUNTA

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express NEW BERN

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SHANGHAI ZHABEI

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites BLYTHEWOOD

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites DAYTON NORTH – TIPP CITY

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites DECATUR

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites DETROIT – UTICA

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites EASTLAND

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LE MARS

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LOGANSPORT

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites WALLACE-HWY 41

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn GREENVILLE-I-85 @ AUGUSTA RD

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn HANGZHOU XIAOSHAN

5,000 pts.

The main thing to know with these discount rates is they are prepaid, nonrefundable hotel room reservations.  The terms also state no Priority Club points are earned. This offer is not good for hotel promotions and points, but at these room rate discounts the points may not really matter. Just be aware that you forfeit the entire prepaid amount if you need to cancel your reservation.

The “2-for-1” and “3-for-2” rates are special offers available through this UK link and discounts are based on the Best Flexible Rate. The default page is set to search “IHG Weekend Breaks” in the UK for 35% off Best Flexible Rate.

Use the bullet menu on the right to change rate from 35% off weekend rates to the “2-for-1” or “3-for-2” rates.

The 2-for-1 offer is a 50% discount on Best Available, whereas Senior and AAA rates when available typically offer only a 10% discount.  Availability is most widespread across the UK. European cities offer some deals too, although these are more hit and miss. Paris never seems to participate much.

These discount rates are primarily for Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza. In London these rates tend to be available for Hotel Indigo too.

In Europe there are sometimes 2-for-1 rates at InterContinental Hotels. A few years back the InterContinental Cannes was a steal with these rates. My search today found the InterContinental Vienna on a 2-for-1 rate.

There is a maximum stay of two consecutive nights at any single property with the 2-for-1 rate. You can hotel hop in a place like London with dozens of discounted IHG hotels and book the 2-for-1 rate at several hotels for a 6 to 8 night discount hotel vacation if you choose.

Here are sample “2 nights for the price of 1” rates:

Feb 1-3

• Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow T-5 = US$50.29 per night.
• Holiday Inn London – Kensington Forum = US$106.08
• Holiday Inn London Regent’s Park = US $117.87

Feb 16-18

• Holiday Inn Nice, France = US$95.30 (extra person charge of 15EUR starts with 2nd person in room).

March 12-14

• Crowne Plaza Madrid Airport = US$52.58

April 8-10 (Easter Sunday)

• Crowne Plaza – London Docklands = US$70.72
• Crowne Plaza London – The City = US$129.66
• Hotel Indigo London – Tower Hill = US$146.16
• InterContinental Vienna = US$130.60 (99.50EUR)

July 25-27 (London Olympics opening ceremony is July 27. Rates triple for July 27 from rates shown below to over $500 per night.)

• Holiday Inn London Mayfair = US$208.24 ($250 after VAT tax)
• Holiday Inn London Regent’s Park = US$220.02  ($265 after VAT)

Bookmark the UK/Europe IHG discount rates page. This is your best friend when traveling around the UK and Europe this year. Even if you don’t earn Priority Club points on these stays.

Terms & Conditions for IHG Discount Rates available through August 31, 2012.

Up to 35% Discount Terms and Conditions

• Offer applicable for stays taken up until the 31st August 2012 at participating IHG hotels in the UK.
• Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights (some hotels may offer limited midweek availability – please check when booking).
• Discount represents a saving against our Best Flexible rate per room, per night for two adults sharing a standard double/twin room (inclusive of VAT). Room only, breakfast not included.
• Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults.
• Offer valid on new bookings only, full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
• All bookings are subject to availability of rooms allocated to this offer at participating hotels. Rates may vary by date of booking.
• A maximum of 2 rooms can be booked under any one reservation.
• This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
• Priority Club points do not apply.

Half price Discount Terms and Conditions

• Offer applicable for stays taken up until the 31st August 2012 at participating IHG hotels in the UK.
• Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights (some hotels may offer limited midweek availability – please check when booking).
• Discount represents a saving against our Best Flexible rate per room, per night for two adults sharing a standard double/twin room (inclusive of VAT) for a minimum of two consecutive nights. Room only, breakfast not included.
• Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults.
• Offer valid on new bookings only, full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
• All bookings are subject to availability of rooms allocated to this offer at participating hotels. Rates may vary by date of booking.
• A maximum of 2 rooms can be booked under any one reservation.
• This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
• Priority Club points do not apply.

2 Nights for the Price of One – Terms and Conditions

• Offer applicable for stays taken up until the 31st August 2012 at participating IHG hotels in the UK & Europe.
• Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights with many hotels offering midweek availability – please check at time of booking.
• 2 for 1 offer is based on the Best Flex Rate and consists of two consecutive night stays for the price of one, based on two adults sharing a standard twin/double room (max.2 adults per room) at participating hotels only.
• Full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
• Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults, if suitable accommodation is available.
• Single supplement will be charged at the full room per night price.
• All rooms are subject to availability with a limited number of rooms available at these offer rates. Rates may vary by date of booking. Limited availability may be applicable over public holidays.
• Offer not available to groups and can not be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
• A booking made pursuant to this offer is non transferable.

3 nights for the price of 2 Terms and Conditions

• Offer applicable for breaks and reservations made from 1st January 2012 to 31st August 2012.
• Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights with many hotels offering midweek availability – please check at time of booking.
• 3 for 2 offer is based on the Best Flex Rate and consists of three consecutive night stays with the 3rd night at no charge, based on two adults sharing a standard twin/double room (max.2 adults per room) at participating hotels only.
• Full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
• Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults, if suitable accommodation is available.
• Single supplement will be charged at the full room per night price.
• All rooms are subject to availability with a limited number of rooms available at these offer rates. Rates may vary by date of booking. Limited availability may be applicable over public holidays.
• Offer not available to groups and can not be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
• A booking made pursuant to this offer is non transferable.
• Priority Club points do not apply.

IHG Discount Rates booking page link.

Prior posts have discussed the earning rate for hotel points with stays in each of the hotel brands (links to other posts in this series are at end of this post). The rate points are earned is only one factor for earning loyalty points. Limited time promotions for earning bonus points and bonus points for partner activities are other factors on the earning side of the equation.

The cost of hotel rewards in each of the three hotel loyalty programs must be compared to the rate of earning to determine if any program has a competitive advantage in one way or another for Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards and IHG Priority Club.

Paris, France Hotel Reward Search for March 16-20, 2012

Assume the dates are set in stone for a four night Paris trip. Here are the options in the big chains of Hilton, IHG and Marriott where you can burn your points.

Hilton (2 hotels)

• Hilton Arc de Triomphe is 285EUR prepaid (US$371) or 330EUR BAR (US$430) or 59,695 points per night as Premium Room Reward. Redemption rate is $6.21 to $7.20 per 1,000 points for two queen beds. HHonors category 7 = 50,000 points per night. Tripadvisor.com hotel rank = #107 of 1,848 hotels.
• Hilton Paris La Defense  is 475EUR prepaid (US$619) or 535EUR BAR (US$697) or 96,778 points per night for the 750 sq. ft. Presidential Suite on a Premium Room Reward. Redemption rate is $6.38 to $7.19 per 1,000 points. This is a decent redemption rate for HHonors points. HHonors category 6 = 40,000 points per night.

This is an example of the impact Premium Room Rewards have had on the value of Hilton HHonors points. These two hotels have no rooms available as standard rewards at 50,000 points for a Category-7 hotel and Hilton La Defense is more than double the 40,000 points per night rate as a Premium Room Reward. But staying in a Presidential Suite does sound nice – if you have 400,000 points.

Hilton HHonors offers elite members a 15% discount with 4-night extended stay rewards. Rather than 200,000 points for a four night stay, the VIP reward rate is 170,000 points for Hilton Arc de Triomphe – if there were standard room reward availability. As it is, this stay will cost 240,000 points for four nights.

IHG Priority Club

The advantage of Priority Club is the large number of hotels in central Paris including two InterContinental Hotels, one Crowne Plaza, and ten more Holiday Inn properties within three miles of city center.

A check of TripAdvisor.com, FlyerTalk and MilePoint to read hotel reviews gives better insight to hotels after checking rates and reward options. Great redemption rate offers little comfort if crowdsourced reviews are generally unfavorable to the hotel.

There are 1,848 hotels listed for Paris on TripAdvisor.com. I listed the TripAdvisor.com hotel ratings beside each of the properties. The closer the rank is to #1, the better. The highest ranked IHG hotel is the Holiday Inn Express at #251 closely followed by InterContinental Le Grand at #269.

Those results make checking FlyerTalk reviews imperative for more information.

IHG in Paris

Points & Cash reward nights are available at every Priority Club hotel offering standard reward nights.

The redemption value for points is abbreviated as RV and based on 1,000 points. Points & Cash rewards sell Priority Club points at rate of $6.00 per 1,000 points.

• InterContinental Paris Le Grand – 305 EUR = $US397 or 50,000 points or 40,000 points + US$60. TripAdvisor Rank #269.
• (This hotel is actually still available for booking at 40,000 points until March 18, but I use the new rates for this analysis to compare the published rates for each hotel program).
• 305Euro = US$397/night. Redemption value = $7.94 per 1,000 points. The redemption rate is over $6 per 1,000 points. This makes the Points & Cash option an opportunity to buy points for $6/1,000 and redeem for over $8/1,000 points. This is a good stay to use a Cash & Points reward for $8.43 redemption value.
• InterContinental Paris – Avenue Marceau – 306.50 EUR = US$399 or 50,000 points (RV = $8.00/1,000 points) or 40,000 + $60 (RV=$8.48). TripAdvisor Rank #424.
• Crowne Plaza Paris Republique – 154.25 EUR = US$201 or 35,000 points (RV = $5.74) = or 25,000 points + $60 (RV = $5.64). TripAdvisor Rank #552. This hotel increased 40% in reward cost with the change from 25 to 35K. The reward redemption value is low at 35,000 points standard reward cost for this $200 room rate.
• Holiday Inn Paris – Notre Dame 180EUR = US$234. No Reward Rooms Available (25,000 points).
• Holiday Inn Paris Opera – Grands Boulevard 122 EUR = US$159. No Reward Rooms Available (25,000 points). TripAdvisor Rank #943.
• Holiday Inn Paris Gare de l’Est 111.50 EUR = US$145 or 25,000 points (RV = $5.80) or 15,000 points + $60 (RV=$5.67). TripAdvisor Rank #630.
• Holiday Inn St. Germain des Pres – 141.25 EUR = US$184 or 25,000 points (RV = $7.36) or 15,000 points + $60 (RV=$8.27). TripAdvisor Rank #427.
• Holiday Inn Paris Bastille – 137 EUR = US$178 or 25,000 points (RV=$7.12) or 15,000 points + $60 (RV=$7.87). TripAdvisor Rank #310.
• Holiday Inn Paris Elysees – 186.75 EUR = US$243 or 25,000 points (RV = $9.72) or 15,000 points + $60 (RV=$12.20). TripAdvisor Rank #773.
• Holiday Inn Paris Montmartre – 120 EUR = US$156 or 25,000 points (RV=$6.24) or 15,000 points + $60 (RV=$6.40). TripAdvisor Rank #1,129.
• Holiday Inn Paris Gare Montparnasse – 147.38 EUR = US$191.75 or 25,000 points (RV=$7.67) or 15,000 points + $60 (RV=$8.78).
• Holiday Inn Paris Montpernasse Pasteur – 94.12 EUR = US$122 or 25,000 points (RV=$4.88) or 15,000 points + $60 (RV=$4.13). TripAdvisor Rank #1,114.
• Holiday Inn Express Paris Canal de la Villette – 121.50 EUR = US$158 or 25,000 points (RV=$6.32) or 15,000 points + $60 (RV=$6.53). TripAdvisor Rank #251.

All the Holiday Inn hotels are already in the 25,000 points top tier reward for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands. Priority Club reward night tiers are 10K, 15K, 20K and 25K points for these two brands that comprise the majority of IHG hotels worldwide The January 18, 2012 Priority Club Rewards changes added the 20K tier for Holiday Inn and HI Express.

Points & Cash Rewards – The $6 rule.

TIP: Do not buy Priority Club Points & Cash Reward when standard redemption rate is less than $6.00 per 1,000 points.

The basic rule with Priority Club Points & Cash Rewards is look for the redemption rate of a standard reward over $6.00 per 1,000 points which is the rate a member can buy 10,000 points when booking a Points & Cash Reward night. The Points & Cash Reward will have an even higher redemption rate than the standard reward.

The flip side is any hotel with a standard redemption rate less than $6.00 per 1,000 points ($6 redemption value means $150 room rate is 25,000 points reward) will have an even lower redemption value with Points & Cash.

The Holiday Inn Paris Elysees has the highest redemption value of $12.20 per 1,000 points on the Points & Cash Reward. Buying 10,000 points for $60 to save $122 is a good deal.

IHG has numerous options for Paris. Priority Club is a good program for a free night, but the quality of these hotels appears to be less than aspirational based on the low ratings in TripAdvisor.com.

Marriott Rewards

Marriott has good standard award availability in the Paris area for several hotels during the March 16-20 dates. A four-night stay is an unfortunate length of time for Marriott Rewards since the 5th night free reward is the same cost as a 4-night stay reward.

Starwood and Hilton also have 5th night free rewards. IHG does not offer any discount for extended stay rewards. Hilton is only program to have a discount on four night stays (15%). Hilton HHonors also has the best discount for stays of 6 or more nights at 25% off standard rates.

• Renaissance Paris Vendome  309 EUR = US$402 or Marriott Rewards category 8 hotel = 160,000 points for 4 nights. Redemption Value = $10.05 per 1,000 points. TripAdvisor rank = #154
• Marriott Paris Rive Gauche Hotel & Conference Center 194 EUR  = US$253 or Marriott Rewards category 6 hotel = 120,000 points for 4 nights. RV= $8.43. TripAdvisor rank = #301
• Marriott Paris Champs Elysees 399 EUR = US$519 or Marriott Rewards category 8 hotel = 160,000 points for 4 nights. Redemption Value = $12.98 per 1,000 points. TripAdvisor rank = #148.
• Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe 279 EUR = US$363 or Marriott Rewards category 7 hotel = 140,000 points for 4 nights. Redemption Value = $10.37 per 1,000 points. TripAdvisor rank = #14.
• Renaissance Paris Le Parc Trocadero  269 EUR = US$350 or Marriott Rewards category 7 hotel = 140,000 points for 4 nights. Redemption Value = $10.00 per 1,000 points. TripAdvisor rank = #249.
• Courtyard Paris Arcueil 139 EUR = US$181 or Marriott Rewards category 5 hotel = 100,000 points for 4 nights. Redemption Value = $7.24 per 1,000 points. TripAdvisor rank = na. This hotel is outside the city center district. There are three Courtyard Hotels about five miles outside city center at category 5 rewards. Marriott Rewards Premier Visa credit card members receive annual free night voucher good for up to category 5 hotels.

Marriott Rewards wins the hotel reward redemption value comparison based on the ease of finding reward nights at a variety of hotels and the high quality of the hotels as rated in TripAdvisor.com in hundreds of reviews for each hotel. Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe is ranked #14 out of 1,848 hotels in Paris and the redemption value is over $10 per 1,000 points. The redemption would be even better if staying five nights for the same number of points.

Conclusion:

IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards both have plenty of hotel options. Hilton has only two central Paris properties and both were limited to Premium Room Rewards. Hilton does not fare well in this comparison of hotel rewards.

The room rates at Marriott and Hilton brand hotels is rather high compared to Priority Club locations with the numerous Holiday Day Inn options. This also reflects the different market segments of the hotels. Holiday Inn is the place for lower rates.

The question is how does one compare 240,000 points ($1,484 room rate) for the Hilton Arc de Triomphe to 160,000 Priority Club points + $240 for a 4-night stay at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand on a Points & Cash reward ($1,588 room rate – $240 = $1,348 savings) to 140,000 points for the Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe ($1,452 room rate).

Hotel base spend required to earn points for 4-night Paris stay in respective loyalty programs:

• $14,000 Marriott Rewards (no elite status), as long as few Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites stays.
• $16,000 Hilton HHonors Points & Points earner (no elite status).
• $16,000 Priority Club (no elite status).
• $14,546 Priority Club (Gold elite status 10% bonus points).
• $13,913 Hilton HHonors Points & Points earner (Silver elite 20% bonus points).
• $12,800 Hilton HHonors Points & Points earner (Gold elite 25% bonus points).
• $11,667 Marriott Rewards (Silver elite 20% bonus points).
• $11,200 Marriott Rewards (Gold elite 25% bonus points).
• $10,667 Hilton HHonors Points & Points earner (Diamond elite 50% bonus points).
• $10,667 Priority Club (Platinum elite 50% bonus points).
• $9,334   Marriott Rewards (Platinum elite 50% bonus points).

The hotel spend needed for these reward redemptions are virtually identical amounts across the three programs if Marriott Champs-Elysees at 160,000 points for a 4-night stay is used in this same comparison.

Promotion Bonus Points Really Matter

The difference between the rate members earn points in these three programs really comes down to the program that offers more opportunities to earn promotion bonus points.

I am fond of saying on Loyalty Traveler:

Promotions make all the difference in earning points in a hotel loyalty program.

Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe ranks #14 hotel on TripAdvisor.com

The next article in this series comparing the mega-chain hotel loyalty programs of Hilton HHonors, IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards will look at recent promotions and points earning opportunities in these loyalty programs.

Loyalty Traveler series: Comparison of Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards and IHG Priority Club hotel loyalty programs

1. Hilton, Marriott and IHG Hotel Brand Market Segments(Jan 15, 2012) – this post lists the different hotel brands, number of hotels in the brand, percentage of hotels in each brand and brand’s hotel market segment.

2. Hilton, IHG Marriott: Earning Base Points and Miles(Jan 17, 2012).

3. Making Elite with Marriott, IHG, Hilton(Jan 18, 2012) – Discussion of elite qualification requirements, elite status challenges and status matches.

4. Hotel Rewards Comparison: IHG, Marriott and Hilton (Jan 21, 2012)

Priority Club members can buy points for $11.50 to $13.50 per 1,000 points. 5,000 points is $67.50 and the rate drops to $57.50 per PointBreaks night if you buy 26,000 or more points at a time. Members can buy up to 50,000 points in a calendar year.

Hopefully you already have points in your account. The availability of the Holiday Inn Express in Fortuna, California has me thinking about a coastal road trip north into Humboldt County this winter.

The selection is primarily in the USA this round with few hotels elsewhere in the world.

InterContinental Tahiti at 5,000 points per night is a deal if you can find a reservation and swing the airfare. Hint: Look in Asia.

Tahiti was not bookable when I tried just before posting this. The rate still showed 30,000 points per night. Sometimes it takes a few hours or even a day before the hotels are bookable.

Comparing hotel rewards is one of the most technical aspects of hotel loyalty programs. The rate of earning points is different in each hotel loyalty program with Hilton members earning as many as 15 points per dollar for hotel spend while Marriott and IHG Priority Club earn as few as 5 points per dollar for certain hotel brands. Promotions offering bonus points also affect the rate of earning points in each program.

And even if the hotel loyalty member earns 10 points per dollar in each program, then is a 25,000 point hotel reward comparable in each program? How does one compare a Marriott Rewards category 5 reward night (25,000 points), Priority Club Crowne Plaza reward night (25,000 points) and a Hilton HHonors category 3 reward night (25,000 points)?

The logical way to compare hotel rewards across programs is to compare the published rate for the hotel night to the reward night cost in points. The problem is the reward cost is a fixed cost while the room rate fluctuates and might be $150 tonight and $250 tomorrow night for the same 25,000 points free night. The other variable is a 25,000 points hotel reward might save $100 at one Marriott Rewards category 5 hotel and save $250 at a different Marriott hotel.

The bottom line is hotel reward redemption value is dynamic and fluctuates depending on date and hotel. The best a member can do is try to use points in a way that maximizes their redemption value.

I have tackled this issue before and found Marriott Rewards to be the highest value points compared to the other two programs. This means 25,000 Marriott Rewards points tended to save more money than 25,000 points in Priority Club or Hilton HHonors. But I did not do many of these analyses in 2011.

Standard Hotel Rewards

IHG Priority Club

Priority Club changed its reward structure this week for the first time in several years. New tiers were added to each of the seven IHG hotel brands. Priority Club is different than other hotel loyalty programs by setting reward levels based on brand rather than categories where hotels in every brand are distributed based on average daily rate, reward demand and hotel occupancy. A Courtyard by Marriott property in New York City will be in a higher category reward level and cost more points than a Courtyard in Greenville, South Carolina. Priority Club had the problem that a Crowne Plaza in New York City with an average daily rate close to $300 was the same 25,000 points reward cost as the Crowne Plaza in Greenville, South Carolina with a much lower average room rate.

Rather than switching to hotel reward categories similar to other hotel loyalty programs where hotels are placed in categories typically based on average daily rates, Priority Club chose to add new tiers to each of the hotel brand rewards.

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express formerly had three tiers for reward nights at 10,000 points, 15,000 points and 25,000 points. A new fourth tier was added at 20,000 points to fill in the gap. Regrettably, Priority Club chose to be intransparent regarding the new hotel reward tiers. They will not publish the changes of 2,000 or so hotels in new reward tiers as of this week, even though they state that you can request the lower tier reward level for bookings through March 18, 2012. You have to call Priority Club to find out if the hotel you are booking required fewer points prior to January 18 changes.

Each of the other five IHG brands added new higher reward tiers with Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites adding a tier at 5,000 more points and InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo adding a new tier at 10,000 more points. Hotels in the new higher tiers are 25% to 40% more points.

Priority Club has three reward types providing discounts to the standard reward rates shown in the table: PointBreaks, Points & Cash, Last Minute Reward Nights.

Priority Club PointBreaks

Undoubtedly the lowest cost hotel reward nights of any hotel loyalty program are Priority Club PointBreaks for 5,000 points per night. Even if you do not currently have any Priority Club points, members can purchase up to 50,000 points in a rolling 12-month period. The cost is $67.50 to buy 5,000 points and the rate drops to $11.50 per 1,000 points with a 20,000 points purchase reducing the cost of a PointBreaks reward night to $57.50.

Priority Club PointBreaks typically are a list of about 100 hotels among the 4,500 IHG hotels globally. PointBreaks hotels only offer these low reward rates for about two months from the time the list is published. PointBreaks hotels drop off the list once the capacity controlled rooms are booked. PointBreaks are a great value, but limited to those who are in the right places at the right time to take advantage of these bargain reward nights.

The current PointBreaks list was posted around November 22 and is valid for hotel stays through January 31, 2012. A new PointBreaks list will likely post sometime during the next four days.

Priority Club Points & Cash Rewards

One of the best features of Priority Club Rewards is the availability of Points & Cash Reward Nights as a potential discount on standard reward nights. Points & Cash Rewards allow the Priority Club member to buy 5,000 or 10,000 points at the time of booking a reward night.

• 5,000 points = $40 or
• 10,000 points = $60.

A Crowne Plaza Points & Cash hotel reward night at 25,000 points standard reward level can be purchased for:

• 15,000 points + $60 or
• 20,000 points + $40.

Points & Cash Rewards saves points in your account balance while allowing the member to buy points at the discount rate of $6.00/1,000 points when buying 10,000 points for a reward. This is nearly 50% off the standard purchase rate ($11.50 to $13.50 per 1,000 points) and the 50,000 points annual purchase limit for Priority Club points does not apply to points bought for Points & Cash rewards. A member is limited to buying $240 in Points & Cash Reward points per day (40,000 points when buying 10,000 points on 4 reward stays).

Cheap Trick Cancellation

Points & Cash Reward stays require the member to buy 5,000 or 10,000 points during the reward stay booking process. When I book a Points & Cash Reward stay at a Crowne Plaza for a 25,000 points reward, my $60 buys 10,000 points instantly and only 15,000 points are removed from my account balance.

If I subsequently cancel the reward reservation, the entire 25,000 points are deposited back into my account. Basically, the cheap trick is a member can book a Points & Cash reward stays as a way to buy Priority Club points for $6 per 1,000 points. But you do not want to abuse this cheap trick or you may find your account flagged. Priority Club certainly knows members use this workaround to buy cheaper points, but no attempt has been made to change the rules in the past two years since Points & Cash Rewards were added to Priority Club. The primary changes to occur are the cost for 5,000 points increased from $30 to $40 and there is a $240 per day limit in purchase points through Points & Cash rewards.

One other thing to know about Points & Cash Rewards is the points purchased for these rewards are the only Priority Club points I know about that do not count as elite qualification points. All other points earned from hotel stays, partner activities and other promotion bonuses count for elite status with Gold elite at 20,000 points in a calendar year or Platinum elite for 60,000 points in a calendar year. Elite qualification on points is quite easy with Priority Club which is one reason why there are limited defined benefits with Priority Club elite status compared to Hilton and Marriott.

Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights

This 50% points discount reward has turned out to be probably the most useless hotel reward option in hotel loyalty programs since they debuted in May 2011. Hotels participating in Last Minute Reward Nights are only valid for stays during the first full weekend of the month for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is supposed to be an email sent out on Monday before the Friday weekend, but I have never seen a Last Minute Reward Nights email.

Here is a Loyalty Traveler post with the January 2012 Last Minute Reward Nights list of 50% off InterContinental Hotels.  Normally I try to list all the hotels available each month. I wrote about Last Minute Reward hotels on Wednesday, January 4 when I first saw the list. These rewards were only available for the nights of Friday, January 6 to Sunday, January 8. That was a great deal if you happened to be in Frankfurt and got the InterContinental for 15,000 points. It will be 40,000 points per night after March 18. Seriously, how many people took advantage of InterContinental Moorea in the deep South Pacific at 50% off with just three days notice?

Bottom line: Jackpot if you are somewhere with a 50% off Last Minute Reward hotel available.  I have not used this Last Minute Reward yet due to limited locations. The January 2012 list was my best opportunity with two San Francisco Holiday Inn hotels available, but it was just too gorgeous to leave Monterey that weekend for city life.

Marriott Rewards

Marriott Rewards unquestionably had the best hotel rewards value until the program went to a 5th night free reward table in 2009. Prior to the changes hotel rewards were lower in cost for each additional night stayed. The discount was as high as 40% off reward nights for 7-night hotel stays. The trade-off for an across the board increase in all extended stay rewards other than 5 night stays was balanced by Marriott’s new “No Blackouts” policy for rewards.

Since 2009 Marriott spun off Ritz Carlton Rewards and tiered the hotel brand into five levels of hotel rewards from 30,000 points to 70,000 points per night with the 5th night free option.

Marriott Rewards competitive advantage over Hilton HHonors is a higher distribution of hotels in the Marriott Rewards lower hotel categories 1-4 in its eight category hotel reward structure.

Marriott Rewards hotel reward levels

• Category 1 = 7,500 points
• Category 2 = 10,000 points
• Category 3 = 15,000 points
• Category 4 = 20,000 points
• Category 5 = 25,000 points
• Category 6 = 30,000 points
• Category 7 = 35,000 points
• Category 8 = 40,000 points
• Ritz-Carlton Tier 1 = 30,000 points
• Ritz-Carlton Tier 2 = 40,000 points
• Ritz-Carlton Tier 3 = 50,000 points
• Ritz-Carlton Tier 4 = 60,000 points
• Ritz-Carlton Tier 5 = 70,000 points

All Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Standard and PointSavers Reward stays offer the fifth night free. Stay 5 nights and pay the points for four nights. Fifth night free stays may be combined.  A ten night stay gets two free nights. There are no discounts for extended stays of other lengths. A 9-night stay only gets one free night.

Marriott Rewards PointSavers

PointSavers are discount rewards reducing the hotel reward night cost at the participating hotel by one category level.

For example, a Category-6 PointSavers hotel reward is 25,000 points per night. PointSavers for Category-1 hotels are a 20% discount at 6,000 points.

The Marriott Rewards PointSavers list was updated in the past month with dozens of hotels offering PointSavers rates with dates primarily in January through March 2012.

Ritz-Carlton PointSavers offer 10,000 points per night savings. Since 2009 I have seen few PointSavers at Ritz-Carlton hotels posted on the website. Members are directed to phone reservations to request PointSavers.

Marriott Travel Packages (Hotel + Air)

These are high-priced, high-value rewards starting at 200,000 points that offer a 7-night hotel stay available at any hotel category level and from 35,000 miles, up to 120,000 miles. The cost of these rewards ranges from 200,000 to 540,000 points. I will discuss Marriott Travel Package rewards further when comparing points-to-miles exchanges in these hotel loyalty programs in a future post.

Hilton HHonors Rewards

Hilton HHonors restructured its reward chart at the beginning of 2010 when it added Category 7 hotel rewards at 50,000 points, eliminated Opportunity Hotels, and shifted the cost of Category 1 and category 2 hotels down. Bottom line is more than 80% of the hotels worldwide increased in cost for a reward night.

Hilton HHonors Standard Reward Levels

• Category 1 = 7,500 points
• Category 2 = 12,500 points
• Category 3 = 25,000 points
• Category 4 = 30,000 points
• Category 5 = 35,000 points
• Category 6 = 40,000 points
• Category 7 = 50,000 points
• Waldorf Astoria Hotels = 50,000 to 80,000 points

One of the tasks I see I need to update is a hotel rewards distribution comparison for Hilton and Marriott to backup my claim that Marriott has more hotels in the lower categories. I did not do this analysis in 2011, so here is a comparison from tables I created two years ago.  Once the 2012 hotel category shifts are published I will update the distribution of hotels in each reward category for Hilton and Marriott with 2011 and 2012 data.

The table shows that fewer than 15% of Marriott brand hotel rewards were more than 20,000 points in 2010 compared to nearly 60% of Hilton brand hotels being more than 30,000 points in 2010. Hilton HHonors charges far more on average for hotel rewards, even considering Hilton Points & Points earners earn 15 points per dollar compared to 10 points per dollar for Marriott stays. The extra points needed for Hilton hotel rewards negates the extra points earned from Hilton hotel stays. In Hilton’s favor is the easier route to HHonors Diamond elite and 50% bonus points compared to Marriott Rewards Platinum elite for 50% bonus points.

HHonors Extended Stay Discounts

The competitive advantage for Hilton HHonors is the best discount for extended stays using points at hotels in Category 3 to Category 7. HHonors provides a discount on reward stays four nights or longer for members with at least HHonors Silver elite status (4 stays or 10 nights in a calendar year or HHonors credit card member).

HHonors VIP Elite Extended Stay Reward Discounts

• 4-night VIP Reward = 15% discount off standard reward rate.
• 5-night VIP Reward = 20% discount off standard reward rate. This matches the Marriott Rewards 5th Night free discount. Five nights at a category-4 hotel normally 30,000 points per night is 120,000 points.
• 6-night or longer = 25% discount off standard reward rate. This exceeds the discount offered by any other hotel loyalty program. A category 7 hotel reward for six nights at 50,000 points per night is only 225,000 points rather than 300,000 points.
• Amazingly, Hilton HHonors VIP reward chart has not been updated to separate the category 3 rewards from category 4. Category 3 hotels receive the same 15% to 25% discount shown below for other category hotels, but the HHonors reward chart does not display the discount rates for Category 3 hotels. FlyerTalk member Beltway created the table below showing the discount rate for VIP Rewards.

The chart shown above is from Post #3 on this FlyerTalk thread providing a comprehensive list of Hilton HHonors rewards.

AXON 4-Night Rewards

AXON rewards are available to HHonors American Express cardmembers for a discount on 4-night stays that is even greater than the VIP 15% reward discount.

• Category 6: 125,000 points  (VIP Reward = 136,000 points)
• Category 7: 145,000 points  (VIP Reward = 170,000 points)

Points & Money Rewards

• Category 1: not applicable
• Category 2: 6,250 points + US$30
• Category 3: 12,250 points + US$40
• Category 4: 15,000 points + US$50
• Category 5: 17,500 points + US$60
• Category 6: 20,000 points + US$70
• Category 7: 25,000 points + US$85
• Waldorf-Astoria: 30,000 points + US$100
• The data shown here was removed from the Hilton website soon after I published the table in my analysis of Points & Money Rewards on Loyalty Traveler in October 2011. These amounts are currently the amounts still used for Points & Money Rewards, however, Hilton has left open the possibility to change these levels at anytime with this wording in the Hilton HHonors FAQ.

What are Points & Money Rewards™?
If you don’t have enough Hilton HHonors™ points to book a room using Standard Room Rewards, or simply if you prefer to use fewer points, you can combine points with money to book a standard room. This is a great option if you need just a few hundred more points to achieve a reward stay. Availability of Points & Money Rewards varies by participating hotels and stay dates at the time of booking. The number of points required to redeem Points & Money Rewards varies by room, hotel, and booking date.

 

In 2011 Hilton HHonors introduced Points & Money Rewards offering hotel rewards for 50% points and a cash supplement. This new reward option replaces PointStretcher Rewards that have been eliminated for 2012. PointStretcher Rewards offered a 40% discount off standard reward points at select hotels on select dates. Points & Money offer a greater points discount, but also require cash.

I think Points & Money will be a better program feature as long as this reward choice is commonly available at hotels in many places. There were few hotels and very restricted date availability for PointStretcher Rewards over the past several years. Paying a cash supplement and 50% points is a good hotel reward option for HHonors members. The Points & Money Rewards option is still too new and too scarce to determine if this is a better replacement to PointStretchers.

HHonors Premium Room Rewards will be discussed in a separate post on suite upgrades.

The follow-up post to this “Hotel Rewards Comparison” will be to show a couple of locations and compare the reward cost in Hilton HHonors, IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards hotel stay rewards and calculate the point value in each program based on the room rates for hotels in the same location and similar market segment.

Loyalty Traveler series: Comparison of Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards and IHG Priority Club hotel loyalty programs

1. Hilton, Marriott and IHG Hotel Brand Market Segments(Jan 15, 2012) – this post lists the different hotel brands, number of hotels in the brand, percentage of hotels in each brand and brand’s hotel market segment.

2. Hilton, IHG Marriott: Earning Base Points and Miles(Jan 17, 2012).

3. Making Elite with Marriott, IHG, Hilton(Jan 18, 2012) – Discussion of elite qualification requirements, elite status challenges and status matches.

4. Hotel Rewards Comparison: IHG, Marriott and Hilton (Jan 21, 2012)

Here are observations I made concerning the changes to InterContinental Hotel reward tiers.

InterContinental Hotels in the USA (25 hotels in 50 states and Puerto Rico).

• None of the 8 InterContinental Hotels formerly at 30,000 points increased tier. They are still 30,000 points. Atlanta Buckhead is the only hotel in the USA to decrease from 40,000 to 30,000 points tier.
• In contrast, 7 of 17 hotels in USA and Puerto Rico increased from 40,000 points to 50,000 points. This means 41% of the hotels in the USA that were 40,000 points per night increase 25% in reward night cost. Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York (2 hotels), Scottsdale, Arizona and San Juan Puerto Rico are now in top tier.
• In total 1 of 25 (4%) InterContinental Hotels in the USA decreased by 25% and 7 of 25 (28%) InterContinental Hotels increased 25% in reward cost for US properties.

Global Changes

InterContinental Perth is the only hotel to jump from 30,000 points to 50,000 points for a 67% increase in reward cost. InterContinental Sydney is one of only 10 hotels outside the US to increase to 50,000 points.

Australia in general has seen all hotel chains raise reward tiers. Currency exchange rates are a major factor in the increase in Australia hotel reward rates.  Since January 2003 the USD dropped from US$1.00 = AUD$1.70 to the current exchange rate of USD$1 = AUD$0.95. The huge devaluation of the dollar is detrimental to hotel point values which are based on the US dollar exchange rate.

And if you think hotel rates are bad, check out the price of beer in Australia after exchanging US dollars.

Other hotels rising to the 50,000 points reward tier are limited to a few key locations like Bora Bora (2 hotels), Paris (2 hotels), Cannes (1 hotel), Rome (1 hotel), Tokyo (2 hotels) and Hong Kong (1 hotel).

• 19 hotels are currently in 50,000 points reward tier. Only one hotel, InterContinental Ixtapa Resort in Mexico was 50,000 points prior to the new tiers of Jan 18, 2012.
• 11 hotels outside the USA increased to 50,000 points reward tier. 7 hotels in USA and Puerto Rico increased to 50,000 points.
• 19 international hotels decreased from 40K to 30K (27% of formerly 40,000 points hotels).

Formerly 40,000 points reward tier InterContinental Hotels (68 hotels)

• 18 hotels increased from 40K to 50K (26%). About 25% of InterContinental Hotels worldwide formerly at 40,000 points jumped to 50,000 points tier.
• 31 hotels remain at 40K (46%).
• 19 hotels decreased from 40K to 30K (28%).
• 19 hotels now at 50,000 points. 6 hotels in USA, 1 Puerto Rico and 12 international hotels.
• 1 hotel (Perth, Australia) increased from 30,000 to 50,000 points (67% jump).
• 7 hotels in USA and Puerto Rico increased from 40,000 points to 50,000 points per night (7 of 17 hotels or 41% of hotels in USA formerly at 40,000 points went up.)

Formerly 30,000 points reward tier (99 hotels)

• 99 hotels were 30,000 points before changes.
• 108 hotels or 10% more hotels are 30,000 points on Jan 20, 2012.
• 9 international hotels increased from 30,000 to 40,000 points (9% of 30K hotels). One of these hotels is InterContinental Geneva which had just dropped from 40K to 30K in 2010-2011.
• 1 international hotel (1%) increased from 30,000 to 50,000 points InterContinental Perth.
• All 8 IC hotels in USA previously at 30,000 points remained at 30,000 points.
• In all, 89 hotels at 30,000 points before remain at 30,000 points now (90%).
• 19 additional hotels were lowered to 30,000 points from 40,000 points.

Distribution January 15, 2012 among 168 hotels:

• 99 hotels (59%) = 30,000 points
• 68 hotels (41%) = 40,000 points
• 1 hotel (<1%) = 50,000 points

Distribution  with new reward tier levels on January 20, 2012 among 168 hotels:

• 108 hotels (64%) = 30,000 points
• 41 hotels (25%) = 40,000 points
• 19 hotels (11%) = 50,000 points

InterContinental Hotel Reward Tiers

The spreadsheet image below shows the former tiers of 168 InterContinental Hotels at 30,000 points in blue and 40,000 points in yellow in the first column. The hotels were shifted to the new 30K, 40K and 50K tiers to illustrate by color and position the former and current tiers.

Click on spreadsheet image to open full size in a new window.

New 2012 InterContinental Hotel Reward Tiers - Loyalty traveler