Hotels

Hotel Redemptions

Hotel redemptions can be complex due to varying transfer partnerships and the challenges of maximizing value. Here's a breakdown of strategies and tips:

Transfer Partners for Hotels

• Chase: Transfers points to Hyatt and IHG.

• American Express: Transfers to Marriott and Hilton.

• Capital One: Transfers to Wyndham and Choice Hotels.

• Hilton: Only accepts transfers from American Express.

Key Insight: Hotel point redemptions often yield poor value, with the exception of Hyatt, as highlighted in previous examples. For this reason, our family stays at Hyatt properties about 90% of the time.

Challenges with Hotel Redemptions

1. Award Room Availability

• Popular Hyatt properties, like the Grand Hyatt Kauai, allocate a limited number of rooms for point redemptions. These must be booked months in advance.

• Solution: Plan and book early, especially for high-demand resorts.

2. Room Capacity

• Many hotels, especially in Japan and Europe, restrict award rooms to two adults or two adults and one child, which poses a challenge for families of four.

• Workarounds:

  • Book two rooms simultaneously.

  • Choose rooms that allow four guests, though these often only have two beds. We bring an inflatable twin mattress for our kids to avoid issues when rollaway beds aren’t available.

  • Pro Tip: Avoid “sneaking” an extra guest into a room. Instead:

    • Book a room on points, then pay for an upgrade to a family room.

    • Call the hotel after booking to add a fourth guest if the room permits.

Marriott Free Night Awards

When I signed up for a Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card, it included 5 free nights at Marriott hotels. However, the fine print revealed additional restrictions:

• Free nights are capped at 50,000 points per night, with an option to add up to 15,000 points (transferred from Chase or Amex) for rooms priced up to 65,000 points per night.

• Popular resorts often exceed the cap by just a small amount, such as 66,000 points per night, making them ineligible.

Example: In Hawaii, only three resorts were under the cap. We used our free nights at one of these properties.

Important Note: Free night awards expire after 1 year. We almost lost ours but ended up booking a last-minute Hawaii trip to avoid wasting them (a classic first-world problem).

Club Access

Some hotels offer club access rooms that include access to an exclusive lounge with food and drinks available throughout the day. These can be a worthwhile perk:

• Food Options:

  • Light breakfast and snacks are typically offered.

  • While not always a full meal replacement, they’re particularly helpful with picky eaters.

• How to Gain Access:

  • Book a club access room (sometimes the only available award room).

  • Earn hotel status through loyalty programs.

Experience: We’ve found club access to be hit or miss, but it can significantly offset food costs during a stay.

Hyatt Discoverist Status

I held Hyatt Discoverist Status, but it wasn’t worth maintaining or pursuing.

• Perks Included: Room upgrades (when available), late checkout, and a complimentary bottle of water.

• Our Reality:

  • Never received an upgrade.

  • Rarely needed late checkout.

  • The bottle of water? Not exactly a game-changer.