Finding and Booking Hotels

My last post focused on how to search for flights to use your points and this post, as the title suggests, focuses on hotels; includes which hotels chains you can book on points, some hidden fees, and some advantages.

I know hotels are not a priority for some and I can appreciate that. For years, we were a short-term rental family too. But now that my kids are a little older and we can all go to bed at the same time; hotels also can have their conveniences.

Finding and Booking Hotels

Let's start off by reviewing transfer partners. Not always, but often times, you will be able to use less points/get more value out of your points, by transferring flexible points from the bank to specific travel partners (hotels and airlines). If you don't know how to transfer points, you'll want to take a look at this post.

Each bank has their own set of partners, some which overlap and some that are interdependent to only one bank (which is just another reason to diversify your points across different banks!).

Chase Hotel Partners

• Hyatt
• IHG
• Marriott
• Wyndham

Capital One Hotel Partners

• Accor (2:1 ratio)*
• Choice Privileges
• Preferred (IPrefer) (1:2 ratio)*
• Wyndham

American Express Hotel Partners

• Choice Privileges
• Hilton (1:2 ratio)*
• Marriott

Of all the hotel partners, Hyatt has been a long time sweet spot. This is because historically Hyatt has had a 3-tier standard award chart - meaning the amount of points it costs to stay at a Hyatt are fixed, The amount of points is not tied to the cash price. Hyatt point cost depends on what Category (Luxury) Level the hotel is (Levels 1-8 or A-F for All Inclusives) and what time of year you're traveling: Off Peak, Standard, or Peak. In February 2026, Hyatt announced changes to it's award chart that expand the 3-tier points costs to 5-tier. You can read more about the award chart changes and Hyatt specific tips and tricks here.

A major downfall for Hyatt is that it has a smaller footprint (less hotels) not only in the US, but internationally.

Unlike Hyatt, most of the other award partners use what's called dynamic point pricing; which means that the point price to book a stay will vary, depending on the cash price. Because of this, most other hotels, when booked on points, cost a significant amount of points more during peak travel times (and in general, compared to Hyatt).

However, there are still opportunities to find some great non-Hyatt stays! Let's go through some hotel booking tips and tricks

Hotel Booking Sweet Spots

Transfer Ratio

If you scroll up to the list of hotel transfer partners, you'll see an asterisk (*) on some. This is because these hotels don't transfer at a 1:1 ratio.

Both, American Express to Hilton and Capital One to Preferred Hotels, transfer at a 1 to 2 ratio; meaning you DOUBLE your points when you move them to from either of these banks to the corresponding hotel.

Amex to Hilton, 1:2 transfer

Book # Number of Nights, Get a Free Night

This is another fav sweet spot to be aware. Unlike Hyatt, other hotel chains will offer a free night if you book 3 or 4 nights on one reservation, under certain criteria.

• Hilton 5th Night Free: If you have Hilton Silver Status Silver (earned by staying 10 nights, 4 stays, or spending $2,500 in a year on a Hilton card) , then you can get 5th night free on award stays!

• One of my favorite ways to utilize 5th night free is by holding the American Express Platinum Card. With this card, you will earn a hefty sign up bonus (here's my post on "Good" sign up offers) AND this card also comes with Hilton Gold Status.

• I used these benefits when I booked Tabacon Resort in Costa Rica. Booking on Hilton, the hotel was 80,000 points per night; so 80,000 * 5 nights, would have cost me 400,000 Hilton points. Because I was transferring Amex points and got the 5th night of my stay free (thanks to my Amex Platinum), then I needed 80,000 * 4 nights, 320,000 Hilton points. Because of the 1:2 transfer ratio, I needed only 160,000 Amex points (to book a 5 night stay that would have cost 400,000 Hilton points!)

• I know the high Amex Platinum Fee scares a lot of people, but this one example of utilizing just one Platinum Card benefit, saved me over $500 (compared to having to pay for the 5th night of our stay); not to mention all of the other "easy" benefits this card now has like, $300/yr Lululemon, $300/yr streaming credit (pays for our Disney/HBO!), and $400/yr Resy credit.

• IHG 4th Night Free If you hold the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, IHG One Rewards Traveler Card, or IHG One Rewards Premier Business Card, then when you book 4 consecutive nights with points at an IHG property, you would pay 0 points for the 4th night. If you want a bit of a longer stay, you could book an 8 night trip and pay 0 points for nights 4 and 8!

• Marriot 5th Night Free All Marriott Bonvoy members automatically will receive the benefit of 5th night free, when using points to book five consecutive nights, under one reservation.

Free Breakfast

That's right, some hotels include free breakfast - which can be a huge cost savings!

• Hyatt Place: most Hyatt Place hotels include free breakfasts and several we're stayed at have more than just cereal and prepackaged muffins! (Note: some Hyatt Places are transitioning to needing Hyatt Discovery Status (10 nights) or higher, to qualify for free breakfast)

• Hyatt (with Status): Similar to Marriott, if you have top tier Hyatt status (Globalist) OR if you have "temporary" Globalist status (which is to say, you've been gifted a Guest of Honor), then you are eligible for free breakfast/food/beverage credit for up to 2 adults and 2 children. My Hyatt post mentions how I obtain Guest of Honor (GOH) awards.

• Hilton: With Gold Status or above (easily achieved by opening a Hilton card or American Express Platinum card), you qualify for Daily Food and Beverage Credit or Continental Breakfast (varies by brand and region)

• Marriott (with Status): With Marriott Platinum, Titanium or Ambassador status, guests will received $100 breakfast credit if continental breakfast isn't available; at select Marriott Brand Hotels (JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Delta Hotels, Autograph Collection, and Renaissance Hotels)

Family-Discount

Have a larger family or traveling internationally where room occupancy limits require you to book more than one hotel room? Select Hyatt properties offer family pricing discounts; when you book one room (on points or cash), you can add a second room at half off the standard room rate; but you must pay in cash! To take advantage of this offer, directly contact the hotel you want to book or World of Hyatt and ask for the "Hyatt Family Plan Rate". Not all Hyatt properties offer this discount.

Premium Card Benefits

In the past year, many of the major bank "premium" credit cards now come with hotel booking benefits in the bank's travel portal. Remember how I said we almost "always" want to transfer points from the bank to hotels to book directly? This is the exception.

• Chase Sapphire Reserve/Reserve Business both come with:
• Qty (2) - $250 "Edit" Credits a year: To utilize this credit, search in the Chase Travel Portal for hotels labeled "Edit" for a 2 night stay or longer. You can only use one credit at a time (they do not stack for $500 off). Using this credit not only will give you a $250 statement credit, but also gives you benefits during your stay like guaranteed late check out, possible room upgrades, breakfast for 2 and $100 resort credit (usually available to use at hotel spa, restaurants, and even parking fees). You can combine use of cash and points.
• Qty (1) - $250 Select Hotel Credit: This was added in 2026 and is a credit for select Chase Hotels booked in the portal. This credit DOES stack with the Edit Credit. If you're booking a 2-night stay or more, if your selected hotel is an Edit hotel and one of the brands that call under this category, you'll receive a total of a $500 statement credit!

• American Express Platinum Card

Summary

This post really was intended to cover tips and tricks of booking hotels with points; rather than the mechanics of "how to book" hotels on points. If you need help with the "how to", please feel free to reach out!

If you're overwhelmed, don't worry - that's natural. Earning points can be easy, but redeeming points and understanding how to redeem to spend as little points as possible, and/or maximize your point value is a skill that comes with time and practice!

If you have points you're ready to use to book, but don't have the time or patience to go down the rabbit hole of possibilities that is award flights, I'm happy to do the work for you! Check out my award booking intake form!

If you want to open any of the cards I refer to, I would SO appreciate if you utilized my referral links to open cards. This doesn't cost you anything, but provides me with some extra points and keeps all of my content free! Thank you in advance!

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