Not Signed Up For Hotel Loyalty Programs? You Are Leaving Money On The Table

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I get it.

Life is busy.

It takes time to do things like sign up for a hotel loyalty program.

The other day I ran into a woman who had several Hilton stays without being a Hilton Honor’s member.

This was a lot of free money lost.

She travels often in neighboring states for her kid’s sport team games.

She said she had been doing this for years.

She probably had over $500 or more in missed free hotel stays.

Before you stay at any hotel, you must sign up for their loyalty program.

You don’t get points if you are not signed up before a stay.

I am signed up for all the major programs.

I think you should be too.

It just takes seconds, so I will include links at the end of this post.

I have not stayed at a Choice hotel in a decade, but I am signed up for the loyalty program.

Over the five years I have been in the points and miles hobby, I have probably had 20-30 free or partially free hotel stays.

Two of those years were when I traveled less, so it probably would have been more.

This is simply too much money to leave on the table.

After credit card sign up bonuses, actual stays at hotels are some of the best ways to get your next free hotel stay.

After so many stays, you will get a free hotel.

It can even benefit people who only stay at hotels once or twice a year.

Don’t overspend to get a free stay though.

Hotels reward you for spending money.

Stick to your budget.

If you overspend, you are making hotels richer and losing out.

How do hotel loyalty programs give you free stays?

Hotel loyalty programs award points for each stay if you are a member of their loyalty program.

For instance, the Hilton Honors programs gives you 10 points for each dollar you spend.

So if you stayed at a $100 (not including taxes) hotel, you would get 1000 points.

Next, you are given points if you are an elite member.

At Hilton, elite members are given the following bonus points:

7 points for Silver
8 points for Gold
10 points for Diamond

So if you were a Diamond member, you would get an additional 10 points for your elite status, bringing that $100 hotel stay to 2000 points.

If you think elite status is for only road warriors, think again.

I will write a post about this later, but basically you could get Silver status at Hilton just for having the no-fee American Express credit card.

Few people are road warriors.

The rest of us just get elite status with a credit card.

I currently have the following elite status:

Hilton Gold (later want Diamond status)
Marriott Silver (later want Marriott Platinum)
IHG Gold (later want my Platinum status back)

All of this was through credit cards.

Lastly, hotels run promotions.

For instance, a popular Hilton hotel promotion doubled points.

So that $100 hotel would be 2000 points and again 3000 points if you were a Diamond member.

As you can see, the points add up quickly, and you would quickly be at your next free hotel stay.

Think of it like a savings account.

Every time you spend at a hotel, you are earning dividends.

Even one stay a year would earn you something as you saw from the earlier example.

Not convinced yet.

Here are seven reasons you must sign up for hotel loyalty programs:

7 Reasons To Sign Up for Hotel Loyalty Programs

1. You will be leaving money on the table if you don’t

As I mentioned earlier, every hotel stay can get you closer to a free hotel stay.

For instance, Marriott category 1 hotels start at 7500 points.

In the past, I have gotten one of these after a couple of stays.

For instance, a $150 hotel would earn me 1500 (each stay earns 10 points per dollar).

With Silver status and the latest promotion added, that would be another 1000 points for a total of 2500 points.

After 3 stays, I would have enough points for a category 1 hotel.

Hotels are not cheap without points.

This is the first reason to sign up.

That is simply too much money to leave on the table.

RELATED: 12 Easy Ways To Save On Hotels

2. Members get discounts

It may be a small discount, but members pay less than non-members.

Looking at the Hilton app now, I may have an upcoming trip to Atlanta soon.

The member flexible rate for the Hilton Atlanta is $155 or $187 after taxes.

The non-member flexible rate is $164 or $196 after taxes.

That was $9, but I have seen much more of a difference than that.

Over a 5 day stay, you would save $50.

Honestly, for my trip to Atlanta, I like paying closer to $100 plus taxes, so I don’t have to stay in downtown Atlanta.

One of our tactics to save money on hotels is to stay further out from the city center.

In places like Boston where a hotel in the center of the city can cost $300-500 after taxes, this can save hundreds.

I will write a post about it later.

Honestly, there are only a couple cities like New York, Los Angelas, and Boston that are this high.

We believe in helping you live large for free, so there are other tactics to stay in these pricy markets and get prime hotel location.

I used the previous method a little too much in the past, so now I stay in the center of the city in most places without spending a lot of money.

I just mention the tactic of staying further out because not everyone knows they can save money by doing this.

3. Free wifi

Most loyalty programs give their members free wifi.

Wifi is important in our digital world.

For signing up with a loyalty program, you don’t have to worry about it.

Elites even get faster wifi for free.

4. Early and late checkout

If you are a member of the loyalty program, and you need to leave late, this is something that can be granted.

I have gotten both late and early check-in too many times to count.

5. Free breakfast

Many loyalty programs offer free breakfast to their members.

Some only give it to their mid and upper elites, but some hotels will give you free breakfast as just a member.

6. Room upgrades

Just for being a member, many programs will upgrade your room.

You can be given a bigger room.

A lot of the big upgrades are only given to top elites, but things like preferred room and a bigger room can be given to any member.

Sometimes, you will even luck out and get a big upgrade.

A year or so ago, I was given an upgrade at a Westin only given to Gold members.

I was only Silver at the time.

I was Marriott Gold for years, but because I was traveling less than usual, I was Silver.

You can get Marriott Silver with almost any Marriott credit card.

At this Westin, I was upgraded despite not being Gold.

So, you never know when you can get an upgrade.

In the new Marriott program, Platinum is the sweet spot anyway.

That is where you get free breakfast.

In the past, you used to get free breakfast with Gold.

I want Platinum status later.

Platinum status is obtained after 50 stays in the Marriott program.

This sounds like a lot, but most Marriott credit cards give you 15 credits, so that leaves 35 stays.

Award nights count too.

Not everyone cares about free breakfast or upgrades though.

In that case, even just a member status may do the trick.

7. Fifth Night Free

Most major hotel programs like Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt offer the fifth night free on either paid or award stays to their members.

This can come in handy on long vacations.

Just by being a member, you can pay for four instead of five nights and get a night free.

How to sign up for hotel loyalty programs

It is completely free to sign up for a hotel loyalty.

Hotels make money when you book directly.

Go to the hotel website
Set up a username and password
Enter your information

That’s it.

So sign up now.

I have seen people forget to sign up before their stay.

It just takes a couple of minutes to sign up for the major programs.

Major Hotel Programs

Hilton Hotels at Hilton.com
Marriott Hotels at Marriott.com
Hyatt Hotels at Hyatt.com
Intercontinental Hotels at IHG.com
Choice Hotels at Choice.com

Summary

Many people think loyalty programs are only for road warriors.

This is simply not true.

Infrequent and budget travelers who are not loyal to any chain can benefit too.

There is literally no reason to not sign up for a hotel loyalty program.

Hotels make more when you book directly with them, and they don’t have to pay commission to online travel agencies or other middlemen.

It is free to sign up.

It is quick.

You don’t have to stay any amount of times.

This is simply too much money to leave on the table if you don’t sign up.

So sign up today.