When Booking A Hotel With Points Makes Sense
Hilton,  Marriott

When Booking A Hotel With Points Makes Sense

Are there any situations that booking a hotel with points makes sense over cash? Obviously it means your stay is ‘free’… but where does the real value lay in booking with points? Lets have a look at some of the situations/reasons that booking a hotel with points makes sense!

This article focuses mainly on Hilton and Marriott points redemptions as they are the two schemes I mainly use. The principles here often apply across all loyalty schemes however.

Does booking a hotel with points always make sense?

Before booking always work out what value you are getting for your points compared to the cash rate. Is it worthwhile for you and your own valuation of your points? Check other options available too… Does it have to be a Hilton/Marriott? Or can you find a nice independent hotel for a good cash rate. Hotels.com & Booking.com are great places to start.

The cancellation policy

Unlike the cheapest rates you can book with most hotels points reservations normally have more flexible cancellation policy. So if you are not sure if you can go, you can pencil in a booking with your points without worrying if closer to the time you can’t make it or can’t get it off work.

New Years Eve (and other ‘holidays’)

As demand is really high for hotels over the many different holiday periods the cash rate for hotels is often extremely high. Point rates however do not suffer the same extremities. There is some variation in point rates with Hilton’s dynamic award calendar and Marriott’s on-peak/off-peak pricing (coming soon.) However if you need/want to stay somewhere it’s often a good opportunity to use points over cash! Take the London Marriott Hotel Park Lane currently 60,000 points or £749 for the night (yikes!)

Events

As you might expect with events hotels get booked up pretty quickly! So unless you are on the ball and book your hotel straight away the cash rates can get pretty high! Here using your points can be a great redemption, particularly if you’ve had to fork out a lot for your event tickets! Take for example the Hilton London Wembley for a concert coming up on the 15th June 2019, currently 50,000 points or £586!

Aspirational (High end hotels) booking

If you are staying for a special event such as a honeymoon or anniversary you may wish to redeem points. The main reason for this is maybe the cash rates for these sort of hotels you would never dream of paying. Points allowing you to experience these hotels and locations without breaking the bank or remortgaging your house! Take a look at the beautiful Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai, currently 85,000 points or 3969AED (about £820)

Last minute bookings

Ever needed a hotel right at the last minute? Often rates are higher than normal as it’s captive market! Never fear if you have points you still might get a good value redemption. Take the The London EDITION tonight, 60,000 points or £818 (OUCH!)

What’s the best hotel points redemption you’ve ever made? Let us know in the comments below! If you are looking to make a discounted cash booking don’t forget to check out our guide to Use Marriott Best Rate Guarantee To Save On Hotels.

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For full details of how your data is used and stored, please see GDPR policy page here.