7 mistakes to avoid when redeeming hotel points

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

As the saying goes, “Everyone makes mistakes.” This applies to many aspects of life, including using your hotel points. Even the most seasoned award traveler can slip up, resulting in a less comfortable room, extra costs or even the inability to travel.

Fortunately, the most common mistakes when booking hotel award stays are easy to avoid. In this guide, I’ll discuss some common errors and explain how to ensure your future redemptions go as planned.

Missing out on bonus nights

This first mistake is common among inexperienced travelers. Hopefully, many of you know that some hotel loyalty programs let you maximize longer stays by using a free night benefit. Here’s a quick rundown of several major loyalty programs that offer this perk:

• Hilton Honors: Hilton elite members get every fifth night free on award stays, up to four free nights per stay. You can easily earn Hilton status through a Hilton credit card.
• IHG One Rewards: Members who hold the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card or IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card get the fourth night free when redeeming IHG points for stays of four nights or longer.
• Marriott Bonvoy: Marriott Bonvoy members get the lowest-points-value night free for every five consecutive nights paid for with Marriott points, thanks to the “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” perk.

The nice thing is that these discounts show up automatically when you redeem your points online. The mistake comes when you plan a shorter stay, not knowing that the next night would be completely (or almost completely, in the case of Marriott) free.

Related: Get your fourth or fifth night free on hotel award stays

Ignoring points-and-cash options

Another common refrain is, “I don’t have enough points, so I can’t book an award stay.” This is not always true, as most hotel loyalty programs allow you to use a combination of money and points to pay for hotel stays. Again, here’s a quick rundown of the most popular programs:

• Hilton Honors: You can use Hilton’s Points & Money feature to specify the number of points (in increments of 1,000, starting at 5,000 points) you want to use for an award. The cash copay is adjusted based on the number of points you choose, but you can use any combination of points and money to pay for your stay.
• IHG One Rewards: IHG’s Points & Cash awards let you redeem 5,000 or more points from your account and buy additional points using cash.
• Marriott Bonvoy: Marriott’s Cash + Points option lets you redeem a combination of points and cash for your stay.
• World of Hyatt: Hyatt’s Points + Cash awards let you redeem half of the usual number of points along with a cash copay. You can redeem 50% of the points required for the stay and get 50% to 70% off the standard rate for your room.

It’s always worth checking whether these points-and-cash options are available and, if so, whether or not they’re a good deal.

Related: Combination of points and cash: How I strategize my award redemptions

Not checking revenue rates

If you’re like me, you want to maximize the value you obtain when redeeming your points. That’s why it pains me to hear that friends or family members used their points for suboptimal redemptions.

Since most hotel loyalty programs now use dynamic award pricing, you’ll usually get decent value when redeeming hotel points for standard rooms. But the value you get when redeeming for upgraded rooms can range from excellent to poor.

TPG’s monthly valuations give you an idea of what to aim for when redeeming your points and miles. Check revenue rates and calculate your redemption rate before booking an award stay. Sometimes, you may find better value by booking a paid stay and saving your points for another trip.

Related: When to pay with cash, points, miles, a free night award or a credit card benefit

Transferring to an airline

Another mistake regarding hotel points is transferring them to airline partners. For the most part, transferring your hotel points to an airline partner is a terrible value proposition. Most hotel loyalty programs give you very poor transfer ratios, and you typically lose significant value through the conversion process.

The one exception is Marriott Bonvoy, which has many unique airline transfer partners and offers reasonable transfer ratios. Even so, you’ll usually get the most value from hotel points when you use them as originally intended — for award nights at hotels and resorts.

Related: When does it make sense to transfer Marriott points to airlines?

Ignoring resort fees

While you usually aren’t on the hook for regular room taxes on award stays, you may need to pay a resort fee. Most programs will list resort fees (where applicable) at some point during the award booking process — and you’d be smart to pay attention to them.

Hilton and Hyatt automatically waive resort fees on award stays. But if you’re staying with other programs, resort fees can set you back a significant amount per night (seeing a resort fee of $60 or more isn’t unheard of).

Related: World of Hyatt members don’t pay hotel taxes or fees on award stays

Forgetting to cancel

Another mistake that can be costly is forgetting to cancel an award stay within the hotel’s published cancellation window. You might think this isn’t a huge deal, assuming you’ll only forfeit the points you’d redeemed. Unfortunately, that’s not how most hotel loyalty programs operate.

When you don’t cancel an award reservation, most properties will charge you one night plus tax at the best available rate for that date, which could easily be hundreds of dollars. When booking an award stay using points, you should pay attention to each program’s stated cancellation policy.

Related: Book now and then periodically check for hotel and airline price drops

Ignoring credit cards

The final mistake isn’t specific to using your hotel points but will still affect your hotel award stays. Many credit cards offer complimentary elite status just for holding the card and (in some cases) paying an annual fee. A credit card that offers elite status as a perk can unlock valuable benefits like room upgrades, premium internet and bonus points.

Your card may even unlock a redemption option that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. For example, Hilton’s fifth-night-free benefit is restricted to elite members, and IHG’s fourth-night reward is only available to select cardholders.

Here’s a quick rundown of some cobranded cards that provide hotel elite status as a perk:

• Hilton Honors: Get Diamond status as a cardmember of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, Gold status as a cardmember of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card or Silver status as a cardmember of the Hilton Honors American Express Card.
• IHG One Rewards: Get Platinum Elite status as a cardmember of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card or Silver Elite status as a cardmember of the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card.
• Marriott Bonvoy: Get Platinum Elite status as a cardmember of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, Gold Elite status as a cardmember of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, or Silver Elite status as a cardmember of the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card or Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card.
• World of Hyatt: Get Discoverist status as a cardmember of the World of Hyatt Credit Card.

The information for the Hilton Amex Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Most Hyatt and Marriott cards give you elite night credits toward earning higher elite status. Some cards also offer extra elite night credits or higher status when you reach specific spending thresholds in a calendar year.

Related: Guide to Marriott and Hilton elite status with the Amex Platinum and Business Platinum

Bottom line

Hotel stays for zero dollars out of pocket can be a wonderful thing. But mistakes can sap some of the value out of your redemptions. Hopefully, this list has given you some strategies to avoid common mistakes on your next award booking.