Best hotel rewards programs in the world: Which one is right for you?

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Every year, the TPG Awards honor excellence in credit cards, loyalty programs and travel. Please click here to read more about our winner selection process and methodology for the 2024 TPG Awards.

If you're not booking through hotel loyalty programs, you're missing out on great deals and leaving money on the table. These programs offer free upgrades, complimentary breakfast, access to exclusive lounges and even free nights once you accumulate enough points. Now the question is, which hotel program suits you best?

For the 2024 TPG Awards, our first-ever data-driven honor for the Best Hotel Loyalty Program went to Marriott Bonvoy, which eked out the top spot over the other major chains thanks to its massive global footprint, valuable elite status and extensive credit card portfolio. However, the best hotel program for you depends on your preferences and priorities. Here, we'll cover the top hotel rewards programs and help you decide which one(s) to invest in.

How to choose a hotel rewards program

There are many factors to consider when choosing a hotel rewards program, including:

The hotel brand's footprint: Do you mostly travel internationally or in the U.S.? Do you frequent major cities or small towns?
Types of properties offered: Do you prefer luxury stays, no-frills budget brands, or boutique properties with plenty of character?
Amenities: Is elite status important to you? If it is, which perks are most valuable?
Credit cards: What cobranded cards does the hotel program offer to help you earn more points?
Transfer partners: Which transferable currencies do you collect, and which hotel programs do they transfer to?

Let's dive into the pros and cons of each program.

Related: Best hotel credit cards

Marriott Bonvoy: Best for luxury travelers

Marriott is an international hotel megachain. Its portfolio features over 30 brands and more than 9,000 properties across 142 countries and territories, ranging from standard offerings to safari camps and cabins. No matter where you're going, there's bound to be a Marriott nearby.

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A key perk of the Marriott Bonvoy program is its fifth-night-free benefit. You'll receive the lowest-priced night for zero points when you book five or more consecutive reward nights. This can save you a ton of points on expensive stays, especially if you redeem your points in a high-end destination like the Maldives.

Another notable benefit is that members can transfer Bonvoy points to 39 airline partners, including some with hard-to-earn currencies.

You can get even more from the program if you reach one of its five elite status tiers. Benefits include room upgrades, lounge access and Nightly Upgrade Awards (formerly Suite Night Awards).

There are several Marriott credit cards you can use to earn Bonvoy points. Marriott is also a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, giving you plenty of ways to earn points via transferable currencies.

Marriott Bonvoy is good for travelers who:

Aren't sure where in the world they plan to travel
Want a huge collection of luxury properties
Want a selection of unique, non-cookie-cutter hotels
Frequently redeem points in five-night increments
Want to book extended-stay hotel rooms
Want to turn their points into airline miles

Hilton Honors: Best for Amex members

Hilton is another global hotel chain, with over 8,000 properties across 24 brands and 139 countries and territories. Couple its size with the relative effortlessness of earning Hilton Honors points, and the Hilton Honors program may be the most all-around convenient hotel rewards option.

Like Marriott, Hilton offers the fifth consecutive award night free — but you must have at least Hilton Honors Silver elite status to unlock this benefit. Thankfully, you can achieve this simply by holding any Hilton credit card. Some cards also offer valuable free night certificates or statement credits.

Hilton is an Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner. For every Amex point you transfer, you'll get 2 Hilton Honors points — or more if you find a transfer bonus. You can also transfer Bilt Rewards Points to Hilton, though at a lower 1:1 ratio.

Hilton Honors is good for travelers who:

Collect Amex points
Aren't sure where in the world they plan to travel
Frequently stay in five-night increments
Want to book extended-stay hotel rooms
Are satisfied with a modest collection of (amazing) luxury hotels
Are road warriors

World of Hyatt: Best value

World of Hyatt is a favorite hotel loyalty program among the TPG staff, largely because it still uses an award chart and has relatively cheap award rates compared to other hotel programs. For example, Hyatt's most upscale hotels (excluding all-inclusive resorts, Miraval resorts and Mr & Mrs Smith properties) cost at most 45,000 points per night, while a luxury Hilton property may cost up to 150,000 points.

The downside is that Hyatt's footprint is relatively small. More than 1,300 hotels (and a few glamping sites) participate in the World of Hyatt loyalty program, but most are in popular destinations and cities. If you often visit rural areas, World of Hyatt points likely will not serve you well.

Plus, since World of Hyatt only offers two cobranded credit cards, points aren't quite as easy to accrue as in the Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy programs. However, you can transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards at a 1:1 ratio.

TPG staff members and readers have repeatedly proven Hyatt Globalist status to be the most valuable hotel elite status. With free breakfast, waived resort and parking fees on award nights, consistent suite upgrades, and more, this status is about as close to a VIP experience as you can get in the hospitality world.

World of Hyatt is good for travelers who:

Collect Chase or Bilt points
Want luxury stays in popular destinations
Don't often book hotels in smaller cities or remote locations
Want a ton of all-inclusive hotel options

Wyndham Rewards: Best for small-town America

There's no better hotel program for stays in small-town America than Wyndham Rewards. Wyndham has the most properties of any chain on this list, with over 9,000 hotels across 24 brands in 95 countries. Many of these are budget brands — such as Super 8, Days Inn and Microtel — ubiquitous in areas where you won't find a Hyatt or Marriott. If your travel goals involve getting off the beaten path or road-tripping through towns with populations under 10,000, the Wyndham Rewards program is a great one to focus on.

Beyond Wyndham's impressive portfolio of hotels, you can also redeem Wyndham Rewards points for Vacasa vacation rentals, starting at 15,000 points per bedroom, per night. If you look hard enough, there are some absolute steals.

Wyndham offers three cobranded credit cards, all issued by Barclays, to help you earn free nights. Additionally, you can transfer Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Wyndham Rewards at a 1:1 ratio.

Wyndham Rewards is good for travelers who:

Collect Capital One miles or Citi points
Frequently travel to small towns
Aren't interested in luxury stays
Want to book Vacasa vacation rentals

IHG One Rewards: Best for road warriors

Due to dynamic pricing, IHG hotels are often a poor value for the points. However, IHG One Rewards points are easy to earn, and IHG has properties in almost as many locations as Hilton, including some Six Senses resorts that are bookable with IHG points. These are extremely sought-after properties and a great win for IHG points collectors.

IHG offers three cobranded credit cards, all of which let you book a fourth award night for free. That's unique among loyalty programs and a better value than Marriott and Hilton's fifth-night-free policies.

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Bilt Rewards points to IHG One Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, though you can often buy IHG points at a steep discount, which could be a better option.

IHG One Rewards offers a solid elite status program, and elite members can earn Milestone Rewards — like an annual lounge membership, bonus points and confirmed suite upgrades — by staying a certain number of nights in a calendar year.

IHG One Rewards is good for travelers who:

Collect Chase points or Bilt points
Are road warriors
Are satisfied with a small collection of luxury hotels

Accor Live Limitless: Most valuable hotel points

Accor's portfolio includes over 5,000 properties in 110-plus countries, with many upscale and luxury options. Points in the Accor Live Limitless program are the most valuable — and straightforward — hotel rewards. For every 1,000 points you redeem, you'll get 20 euros (roughly $23 at the time of writing) off your hotel bill. That comes out to a value of just over 2 cents per point.

Although the simplicity of this program may appeal to many travelers, there are two areas in which ALL underdelivers: The vast majority of its properties are concentrated in Europe or Asia, and it does not offer a cobranded credit card to help you earn points quickly.

You can transfer Bilt points to ALL at a less-than-ideal 3:2 ratio; Capital One miles and Citi points transfer at an even worse ratio of 2:1. Still, Accor can be a great place to earn hotel points if you primarily travel in Asia or Europe.

The program has four levels of elite status, with top-tier Diamond status offering free breakfast on weekends (or every day in the Asia-Pacific region), Suite Night Upgrades and executive lounge access. You'll also find brand-specific benefits at each status tier, such as complimentary bike rentals at Fairmont properties.

Accor Live Limitless is good for travelers who:

Travel to Europe and Asia often
Want a huge selection of luxury properties
Prefer a straightforward points redemption process

Choice Privileges: Best for no-frills stays

With nearly 7,500 properties worldwide, including Radisson Rewards Americas hotels, Choice's footprint rivals that of more well-known points chains like Hilton and Marriott. However, the Choice Privileges program can serve you similarly to Wyndham Rewards in that its participating hotels are more prolific in smaller towns.

Choice Privileges is famously valuable for anyone staying in Scandinavia, as its award rates remain extremely reasonable despite the region's often costly hotels. And in 2025, the program expanded its award booking window from 100 days to 50 weeks — bringing it more in line with the other programs on this list.

In terms of earning points, Choice offers two cobranded credit cards. You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles to Choice at a 1:1 ratio, but you can transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points and Wells Fargo Rewards points at a better 1:2 ratio.

Unfortunately, Choice Privileges elite status offers few perks. There are limited room upgrades, and only a handful of brands offer complimentary breakfast to top-tier elite members.

Choice Privileges is best for travelers who:

Collect Citi or Wells Fargo points
Are road warriors
Travel to Scandinavia and small-town America
Aren't concerned about free stays in luxury hotels
Don't value extensive elite status perks

Best Western Rewards: Best for free breakfast

With around 4,300 hotels in over 100 countries and territories, ranging from budget to boutique, Best Western's portfolio is in the middle of the pack. The Best Western Rewards program doesn't get much attention in the points and miles world, partly because it offers only one credit card and has no transferable rewards currency partners, but it's worth exploring if you often stay at Best Western properties.

One of the highlights is Best Western's status match program, which makes it easy to earn top-tier elite status if you have even mid-tier status with a competing hotel chain. However, as with Choice Privileges, Best Western's elite status tiers offer relatively small benefits.

Best Western Rewards is good for travelers who:

Want free breakfast without elite status
Don't care about free luxury hotel stays
Don't earn points with any of the major credit card rewards programs

Radisson Rewards: Best for Radisson loyalists

Radisson Rewards used to be an incredible loyalty program, but many changes, including a move to dynamic pricing, have stripped much of its value over the years.

The good news is that since Choice Hotels acquired Radisson's Americas operation in 2022, you can earn and redeem Choice points at these hotels. The rest of Radisson's portfolio still uses the Radisson Rewards program.

This international bent means Radisson Rewards no longer offers a cobranded credit card in the U.S. and has no transfer partners. You can only earn these points by staying at Radisson hotels outside of the Americas. This has made it difficult for many U.S.-based travelers to get much value from Radisson Rewards.

Radisson Rewards is good for travelers who:

Frequently stay at Radisson properties
Mostly travel to destinations outside of the Americas

Bottom line

A hotel can be far more than a place to rest your head. Hotel loyalty programs can dramatically enhance your vacation — and even make it practically free.

We encourage TPG readers to sign up for all hotel loyalty programs, as there's generally no cost to join, and register for hotel promotions. Even if you don't think you'll stay at a certain hotel chain, circumstances may dictate otherwise, and you'll be glad you enrolled beforehand. You don't have to limit yourself to a single program, either; there are benefits to using multiple hotel programs.

Whichever program(s) you end up using, be sure to understand when your hotel points expire and how to keep them active.

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