Use your vacations to your benefit — beyond a break from day-to-day life.
Many hotels will reward you for your stay, and a recent analysis by WalletHub can help narrow down your search for the loyalty program with the biggest payoff.
Choice Privileges came out on top, offering up to $14.23 in rewards value per $100 spent. For comparison, Hilton Honors offers just up to $6.66 in rewards value per $100 spent, ranking last in that category.
The Choice Privileges loyalty program received an overall score of 63.35 out of 100 and offers “a wide range of points redemption options, status levels that are relatively easy to qualify for and few earning limitations,” according to WalletHub.
Compared with a year ago, hotel rewards programs are offering, on average, 0.74% more value. Choice Privileges accounts for about 33% of that increase.
For the ranking, WalletHub compared the nine largest hotel companies. They scored the companies based on their earning policies, the value of the rewards, redemption policies, geographic coverage, difficulty in moving up in tiers and more.
Consumer spending profiles also helped in assessing the value members could gain from each hotel rewards program. Light travelers spend around $684 per year on hotel accommodations, while moderate and heavy travelers spend $1,057 and $1,865, respectively.
Choice Hotels International runs the Choice Privileges program and is a major conglomerate that also owns Quality Inn, Sleep Inn, Comfort, Country Inn & Suites and more.
The primary bonuses of Choice Privileges, WalletHub says, are the ease of earning elite status, the bonus points and discounts available to elite members and the number of properties and popular brands. Another pro is that there are no blackout dates for rewards on standard rooms.
But while there may be a number of participating locations in the U.S., one con to Choice Privileges is its lack of international options compared with competitors. Also, points expire after 18 months of inactivity.
Just because other hotels don’t rank at the top for rewards value, however, doesn’t mean they don’t provide good value to their loyal members. Value is relative to the traveler to an extent.
But for someone who does a moderate amount of travel, the following hotel reward programs ranked in the top five based on their overall scores, according to WalletHub:
- Choice Privileges: 63.35 out of 100
- Wyndham Rewards: 62.8
- World of Hyatt: 60.84
- Hilton Honors: 56.42
- Marriott Bonvoy: 53.87
Want to find more bang for your travel buck? Check out our recent coverage in “Here Are the Best Airlines and Airports for Flight Deals in America.”
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