It is time for the conclusions on the Most Rewards Hotel Loyalty Program-series that I have been writing in the past month. I hope that you are still hanging there after all the spreadsheets that I have done.
In order to evaluate the different hotel loyalty programs in terms of earning points and to capture the number of points that you earn on average, I constructed two scenarios:
1. Top tier elite traveler with 60 hotel nights per year over 30 stays.
2. Mid tier elite traveler with 30 hotels nights per year over 15 stays
I included the elite bonuses, amenity points, and points earned using credit card affiliated with the chain.
This analysis was done for the following six chains and you can access the each of the reports by clicking the link:
Club Carlson (access here)
Hilton HHonors (access here)
Hyatt Gold Passport (access here)
InterContinental Hotels Group – IHG Rewards Club (access here)
InterContinental Hotels Group – IHG Rewards Club Ambassador / Royal Ambassador (access here)
Marriott Rewards (access here)
Starwood Preferred Guest (access here)
Club Carlson
Club Carlson really showers members with points. The credit card gives around 24% earning boost at the Concierge level.
Hilton HHonors
The number of points that you earn as a Diamond member is only 10% higher compared to being Gold member. The credit card boost earnings by 59% at the Diamond level and 66% at the Gold level.
Hyatt Gold Passport
There is a huge difference on the number of points that you earn between a Platinum and Diamond member.
IHG Rewards Club
The credit card boos here is 33% at the Platinum and 45% at the Gold level.
IHG Rewards Club Ambassador / Royal Ambassador
I made a separate analysis for Ambassador & Royal Ambassador members that have different earning structure at InterContinental hotels.
Marriott Rewards
Marriott has a relatively tight range on the number of points that you earn compared to other chains.
Starwood Preferred Guest
Starwood doesn’t shower you with points like Club Carlson does. Having SPG affiliated Amex cards enhances point earnings 45% at the Platinum level and 67% at the Gold level.
Comparison Point Earnings At The Top Tier Levels
Here’s the number of points comparison at the top tier level that you earn as Club Carlson Concierge, Hilton HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond, IHG Rewards Club Platinum and SPG Platinum.
Comparison Point Earnings At The Mid Tier Levels
And here’s the same analysis for the mid tier status.
Conclusion
It is important to establish the number of points that you earn on average, so that we can start comparing the spend that is required for a free night. This is coming next. Stay tuned.
