MilesBuzz! - Using points for lower end hotels

Many FT have a preference of using miles/points for aspirational travel (flights and/or hotels) and there are many threads posted here and in hotel program forums that highlight best uses from that perspective. While I do aspire to fly in comfort (especially long-haul flights), I don’t really have a strong desire/need to stay in luxury hotels in order to feel pampered. It just came to me recently, as I wasn’t able to quickly get an airport hotel from PL, that using points for lower end hotels could be a reasonable redemption option for me (and perhaps some other FT members). In my specific example, I could get 8K points/night at a Hyatt Place or 4K points/night at an Aloft, both are airport hotels and would be good use of my points as the cash rates were relatively high. The hotel points are, by large, earnings from CC spend: 1 *wood points per dollar spend on SPG Amex, 2 Hyatt points per dollar spend on Sapphire Preferred (transferred from Chase UR). So, on the surface the above redemption (8K Hyatt points and 4K SPG points were earned from the same dollar amount of spend on CC. I have not been to either of the hotels in person and don’t have a strong preference between these 2 brands (Hyatt Place vs. Aloft) in general.

I’m interested in your thoughts/experience for redeeming hotel points for lower end hotels, and furthermore whether/how you value points from one particular hotel program over another in normal (i.e., non-aspirational) travel situations.

Waste of points to book lower end hotels

If the point redemption rate is low and the cost of the room is high then its totally worth it in some instances. Figure out what hotel points are "worth" to you then figure out whats worth more for future stays, paying cash or spending your points.

I've heard of many redeeming their points for Hampton Inns during crowded times. Seems it can be worth it to me.

The value at which I redeem miles/points should exceed the cost at which I earned them.

That's it. That's all.

If the point redemption rate is low and the cost of the room is high then its totally worth it in some instances. Figure out what hotel points are "worth" to you then figure out whats worth more for future stays, paying cash or spending your points.

I've heard of many redeeming their points for Hampton Inns during crowded times. Seems it can be worth it to me.

I agree. Finding out how you value points is key...and this obviously varies person to person. Would you prefer to have 3k SPG points in the bank or $100 in the bank? If you are points rich but $$$ poor, use points. If you can get more than $100 in value for the 3k points at a nicer hotel in the future and are not strapped for cash, pay with cash.

I've used plenty of Hhonors points at a Hampton in the middle of nowhere. The Hampton I stayed in was brand new, went for $120+taxes and was a Cat 2 hotel. That put my redemption value at just over a penny a point. That's not too far off my upcoming redemption value at the Tokyo Conrad. The other Hampton that I frequented was a Cat 3 with the same price... I paid cash.

Many FT have a preference of using miles/points for aspirational travel (flights and/or hotels) and there are many threads posted here and in hotel program forums that highlight best uses from that perspective. While I do aspire to fly in comfort (especially long-haul flights), I don’t really have a strong desire/need to stay in luxury hotels in order to feel pampered. It just came to me recently, as I wasn’t able to quickly get an airport hotel from PL, that using points for lower end hotels could be a reasonable redemption option for me (and perhaps some other FT members). In my specific example, I could get 8K points/night at a Hyatt Place or 4K points/night at an Aloft, both are airport hotels and would be good use of my points as the cash rates were relatively high. The hotel points are, by large, earnings from CC spend: 1 *wood points per dollar spend on SPG Amex, 2 Hyatt points per dollar spend on Sapphire Preferred (transferred from Chase UR). So, on the surface the above redemption (8K Hyatt points and 4K SPG points were earned from the same dollar amount of spend on CC. I have not been to either of the hotels in person and don’t have a strong preference between these 2 brands (Hyatt Place vs. Aloft) in general.

I’m interested in your thoughts/experience for redeeming hotel points for lower end hotels, and furthermore whether/how you value points from one particular hotel program over another in normal (i.e., non-aspirational) travel situations.

I'm finding that Hyatt's uses are bimodal -- at the low end and high end. At the low end, I've been thrilled to redeem at a Category 1 property in Cincinnati, and yet another at the Bali Hyatt. At the end high end, the top tier hotels are capped at 22k points, so when prices go through the roof, you can get some value there.

OTOH, SPG points are best for lower tier properties. My favorite redemptions are Cat 1-3 C&P redemptions. I'll redeem up to Category 5 (hate the peak season surcharge, will typically avoid that) but never 6 or 7.

In some places, "not nice" is pretty crappy. Paris and NYC come to mind. In these places, "nice" is pretty high end, or at least pretty expensive. In other places, low category hotels are far from dumps, and are quite suitable. For example, I have an affinity for SPG Cat 1-3 properties in Asia, particularly in Thailand and Malaysia.

Waste of points to book lower end hotels

Radisson Celebration Resort Orlando, International Drive. Cat 1. 9K points.

Please tell me how that is a waste of points.

Radisson Celebration Resort Orlando, International Drive. Cat 1. 9K points.

Please tell me how that is a waste of points.

yeah I thinkwe can all pretty much agree that there are values to be had in different types of redemption and can't just simply claim one or the other is a waste.

I can easily out earn the miles and points I can actually spend in a year. I started collecting hotel points recently because I amassed such a huge quantity of airline miles.

Rather than focus on the value/pt for hotel redemptions, I focus on spending $0 out of pocket, so I have no problem redeeming for low-mid tier hotels.

The other thing to consider is that most of the high value per points you see quoted are using a hotels list price. You can usually stay in an equivalently rated hotel for much cheaper through Priceline, so I consider these values to be generally inflated. Even if you don't want to consider Priceline, you can always get 17% off hotel list price through hotels.com, top cash back, and credit card cash back.

I also tend to redeem this way.

This weekend, in fact, I used 25k PC points for a $250 Holiday Inn. That's a penny a point. Could not have gotten it on priceline, since everything was sold out in town.

I probably would have spent as much as $125 anyway, so even at that, it's half penny a point. Decent value.

One of my favorite promotions is Marriott's MegaBonus - the version that offers a free low-end (category 1-4) hotel night with every two paid stays. Have gotten great value from that.

I'm not against really nice hotels. But it's quite possible to get them via priceline at great rates and also to find quite nice low-end hotels at low redemption rates.

"Don't let the haters bring you down."

i think i spend the vast majority of my hilton points at hamptons. they are always reliable for a family of four, and we can find them practically anywhere we go.

a few years ago my spouse and i were living apart in LA and atlanta, which meant i made gold with delta. with so many mileage earning opportunities, i was earning 25,000 skymiles every two trips, and i more than happily spent those miles as i earned them.

i don't think i've ever used points or miles for a fancy resort or a business/first class flight. i might not be getting the best "bang" for my points, but my family is happy to be saving money when we get the chance.

There are two different kinds of point redemptions, both of which should always be a better value than paying cash.

First is the person who isn't rich, but wants to stay at high-end hotels. Paying 500$ a night isn't possible, but the points are there so why not redeem them? Of course this is limited to the chain properties, which is why just about every trip report is about PH Tokyo or PH Vendome Paris. I just combined cash and points stays at the IC Samui, which offered relatively decent value - 30k points vs $400/night. I booked $ nights first and managed to keep my upgrade :) This property is excellent for redemptions because the standard rooms are actually good with a nice view.

Then there are the bargain seekers, usually 'noobies' who just want to save some $. Nothing wrong with this, just make sure that value exceeds $ spent on the points. PC points are king for these people IMO because of easy acquisition and the wonderful PB list.

Cash + Points, both SPG and Priority Club, fits this market nicely. This week I booked a 1200 SPG and $25 for a property that would otherwise be $110(+$20 tax) and was not falling. As it is not a full points redemption, I still get a stay/night credit and my 600 SWA points. I have done this 3 other times this year at SPG category 1 and 2s.

While I have noticed my travel standards increasing over the past 10 years I do not see the aspirational properties as something I will strive toward. I am low maintenance and travel for the destination, not the hotel. I prefer frequent comfortable getaways over the hoarding I would need to do to pull off a week at the 5 star jawdropping Asian properties.

I prefer frequent comfortable getaways over the hoarding I would need to do to pull off a week at the 5 star jawdropping Asian properties.
There it is. It's not a noobie desire ( :mad: )... it's a quantity over quality decision, above a certain threshold.

Even though our style seems to be in the minority on FT, I want to believe we can all learn to value and respect each other. :p

There it is. It's not a noobie desire ( :mad: )... it's a quantity over quality decision, above a certain threshold.

Even though our style seems to be in the minority on FT, I want to believe we can all learn to value and respect each other. :p

I don't think there is a disrespect toward the value oriented smart traveler here, possibly a lack of patience with the single deal noobies that the likes of Grand Slam and Radisson giveways draw in. Disclosure: I avidly participated in both.

I will to have to write up a trip report on the exotic Fourpoints and Hyatt Places of Missouri. The ground activities are covering the SWA points for airfare to and from. ;)

I don't see any problems using points for lower end hotels. It's not always about maximizing cpp. If there's no way I'd pay $200+ for a nice room in a given city, then it's not a valid comparison. If I could have booked a decent non-chain hotel for $100, then it's the comparison between that and the points options. I factor in location, breakfast, internet, etc, then choose whether to book some hotels.com revenue room, or to use HHonors, Club Carlson, PC, etc to book a room.

Sometimes, the cheaper hotels are actually the "nicer" ones :) Hyatt Place often has 2 beds + the pull-out bed. Hyatt Regency Vancouver only has 2 beds per room - no pull-out beds or sitting areas. I also got breakfast at a Hyatt place :)

Waste of points to book lower end hotels

Not really, I redeem my points for lower hotels all the time. Hyatt Place Richmond VA Airport, and Jacksonville FL Airport. Both cost only 5000 pts per night. These two hotels are about $100/nt.

I stayed also redeemed my SPG points for hotel in Allentown PA and Orlando Airport. Both are about 3000 to 4000 pts per night. These two are also about $100/nt.

I went to Virginia Beach last summer used my SPG points for Aloft and Sheraton hotel cost me arount 3000 - 4000 SPG/nt. If paid in cash, would cost $120 to 150+ tax. Tax alone already $15. Totally worth it to me.

Sometimes, the cheaper hotels are actually the "nicer" ones :) Hyatt Place often has 2 beds + the pull-out bed. Hyatt Regency Vancouver only has 2 beds per room - no pull-out beds or sitting areas. I also got breakfast at a Hyatt place :)

Agreed. Over Springbreak, we were at Orlando Hyatt Place near disney. A family of 2 adults and 3 kids stayed in 1 room with 2 queens + pullout bed. Plus nice hot breakfast for all five people for only 8000 pts/night. :D

Cash + Points, both SPG and Priority Club, fits this market nicely. This week I booked a 1200 SPG and $25 for a property that would otherwise be $110(+$20 tax) and was not falling. As it is not a full points redemption, I still get a stay/night credit and my 600 SWA points. I have done this 3 other times this year at SPG category 1 and 2s.


Are you sure you still earn the airline miles on SPG Cash and Points?

It earns stay credit alright since SPG changed its policy this March. However AFAIK, based on Williams the SPG Lurker's posts, that Cash + Points are still award stays that DONT earn points or miles. Although being GLD or PLAT, you do still get amenity options which including SPG pts.

I have done several cash + pts stays this year and certainly haven't seen any earning from those stays.

I am a value oriented traveler. I feel more relaxed and comfortable in a nice clean Hampton than in an expensive, high end, pretentious 5 star hotel. Although I really enjoy saving miles and points for European adventures I would not otherwise be able to afford, and I will happily take a well-located, 5 star hotel if it makes my dream vacation happen!

There is nothing wrong with low end hotel redemptions, use your points in whatever way makes you the most happy or makes the most sense to you.

Are you sure you still earn the airline miles on SPG Cash and Points?


Double checked and a C+P stay for May 2012 did generate the SWA credit without any prompting for me. There was a room charge if that might be the trigger.

Double checked and a C+P stay for May 2012 did generate the SWA credit without any prompting for me. There was a room charge if that might be the trigger.

So only the one with room charge has generated the airline credit, out of all your cash + point stays?

I always have the preference of earning set at SPG pts. May be I need to change to airline for the sake of experiment.

The best values for us on the low end are the following:

1. Priority Club 5000 pt Pointsbreak specials.

Great deals, especially the intl Intercontinentals on the list!! I look forward when that list comes out. (note to self: ;) When a nice San Diego property comes out on the list, I should book alot of stays when the list first comes out. When I put off booking, that hotel disappeared off the PB list. :mad:

2. Starwood Cat 1-4 Cash & Points bookings. Worked well when we went to Austria last year where rates were fairly high relative to the points & cash value. Also got alot of benefit with domestic hotels.

3. Mentioned earlier in this thread, the Carlson Orlando for 9K/night. A great deal.

4. We will investigate other programs as we have some Hilton & Marriott points.

We also do priceline bidding when we can get a great deal. We just booked 1 weekend night in the San Francisco area (a nice Eastbay Hilton for $47 bid, $59ai for one night).

Bottom line: We do whatever we can to get the best deal. Whether with points, cash, BRG, PL bidding etc, we look at all the options. ;)

There is nothing wrong with low end hotel redemptions, use your points in whatever way makes you the most happy or makes the most sense to you.

This +10

You are the only person who knows what makes the best value for you. ^

I'm sure there are opportunities. I do like Hyatt Place, I have seen then for 8K and 12K, and some people have mentioned 5K. Valuing points at 1.25 cents, an 8K redemption is $100. If you have a family and want the extra bedding, fridge, and the TV with DVD hookups, it's probably worth the points. OTOH, I have gotten Hyatt Places in Las Vegas (Paradise Road) and Orlando (International Drive) for about $55-60 all-in on Priceline. But I also "risk" getting a Courtyard or Hilton Garden Inn. To me it doesn't matter which I get, to someone else it might. Then again, the HP in Vegas was 12K/night, and at that rate wouldn't be worth it.

There's no universal rule here. One of the main purposes of FT is to enable all of us to analyze and use our points in the optimal way based on our own preferences.

....I have gotten Hyatt Places in Las Vegas (Paradise Road) and Orlando (International Drive) for about $55-60 all-in on Priceline. But I also "risk" getting a Courtyard or Hilton Garden Inn. To me it doesn't matter which I get, to someone else it might. Then again, the HP in Vegas was 12K/night, and at that rate wouldn't be worth it.

I think Orlando and Las Vegas have way too many hotels compete for business, that's why you were able to get it in that range with Priceline. The best deals are in the off peak season.

That said, the program you collect in makes a difference too. Some hotel points are better used for aspirational awards, but at end of day the value of an award is up to you...

The best values for us on the low end are the following:
1. Priority Club 5000 pt Pointsbreak specials....
2. Starwood Cat 1-4 Cash & Points bookings....
3. Mentioned earlier in this thread, the Carlson Orlando for 9K/night.....Yep, you nailed those first three just right !
I have enjoyed Stockholm/Vienna/Saigon IC's,
and some great SPG C+P's in Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia.
Still working up to Carlson now that I have a good balance. :D

Thanks everyone for your input – lots of useful information!

I see a number of us have similar attitude towards hotel stays. I tend to try PL first if I wasn’t working towards a hotel program promotion. If PL doesn’t work or prove to be cost inefficient, then I’d compare redeeming points (cash + points if available) vs. paying cash. The challenge for me is how to compare which points to use (across several hotel programs) and more importantly how best to guestimate the value for future use across the hotel programs. For me personally, I acquire PC points faster/easier than UR (Hyatt) points than SPG points, thus I tend to be a bit more cautious with using SPG points to ensure I’d retain a healthy balance for future needs.

DHAST – many thanks for the insight on SPG and Hyatt points redemptions niches. It’s exactly the info what I was looking for across the hotel programs.

A number of you mentioned Hampton Inn and I agree it can be of good/great redemption value. First of all, I like Hampton Inn for its consistency and value. I redeemed HH points earlier this year for an award stay at the Hampton Inn Soho for out of town guests. The cash price was high and we could’ve booked another even higher (cash) priced hotel that may result in the appearance of higher point redemption rate; however the Hampton Inn Soho was the perfect location for their purpose and the hotel itself was superb (highly rated by Tripadvisor). We went with HI Soho and it was proven a better value for my points from a utilitarian point of view.

The challenge for me is how to compare which points to use (across several hotel programs) and more importantly how best to guestimate the value for future use across the hotel programs.
Find a best cash price, priceline or whatever, for a few typical stays you would have.

Then find the cheapest property on points (or points plus cash) that would work for each of those stays, in each program.

Divide the net cash cost by how many points you need, across all of those typical stays.

Will give you a typical value for a point in each program, for your travel patterns.

Then when you book, use that average value as a reference to determine which program (or cash) is the best value in that particular situation.

For example: If I typically get 1/4 cent value from a Hilton point and 2 cents value from an SPG point, and I have the choice of 25000 Hilton points, 5000 SPG points, or $85 cash on PL for a stay, I would calculate:

$62.50 vs. $100 vs. $85, and use Hilton points.

There it is. It's not a noobie desire ( :mad: )... it's a quantity over quality decision, above a certain threshold.

Even though our style seems to be in the minority on FT, I want to believe we can all learn to value and respect each other. :p

My Philosophy: Most points don't pay dividends. Many investments do. Keep your cash in the market and churn & burn as far as miles go, as long as you're redeeming somewhere near the median redemption value.

I only avoid using points when I want to choose a different hotel for convenience or if I'm at a conference/event related to a sole proprietorship, which is a business expense. If there is any possible way to use points, I will, unless it is a business expense, out of convenience, or the redemption value is absolutely terrible (well below the median value).

Likewise, if I can get a direct flight on Allegiant for $150 RT vs. 25,000 in miles, it's a no-brainer. I would never like to use airline miles for less than 1 cpm when compared with a reasonable cash alternative, but I'll redeem all day long at 1.5+ cpm to take kids to Disney Parks. Doing so really helps us afford trips we might not otherwise be able to take at this stage in our family life and careers.

I, too, recognize that I am in the minority, but I frankly would rather be able to take the family on vacations AND fully fund our IRAs than to stockpile points for a trip I'm not likely to take until 10-20 years in the future. By then, I may just snag a deal on TravelZoo and pay cash (assuming the Zoo is still around).

I agree with LowFlyOver, earn 'em and burn 'em.

I travel enough so that I have plenty of miles for "emergencies", or for situations when I need/want to go somewhere and the cost of the last minute ticket makes it hard to rationalize the ticket. On the flipside it is also hard to rationalize paying, for say a $100 Holiday Inn room somewhere when you can get the room for 10,000 points and you have enough points to get any award they offer, and you generate a lot of points every year. There are a lot more things I can do with $100 cash in my pocket vs 10,000 hotel points.

I also use points for magazines, which some people think is insane. However it seems very rational to use 1,000 points or miles for a subscription that you want and the lowest cost you have found for the magazine is $50. When you realize you will get twice those numbers of points on your next round trip ticket it really doesn't take to much thinking.

Like money, the more points/miles, you have coupled with the more you earn every year tends to make you value them less than the person who might have less. A higher level elite flyer isn't going to value an upgrade award as high as someone who travels infrequently and received most of their points through a credit card.

There are too many variables and the perceived value of the points/miles by people to have a concrete value structure. It isn't money, and although unlikely the programs could go away. Also like money, the points don't have any real value to you until you use them.

I agree with LowFlyOver as well. The downside is I'm sitting on enough miles where the wife and I can fly J wherever we want for the next four years... we're planning on one nice trip a year. I'd rather do that than waste miles just to get rid of them. But I'm not saving them for retirement either.

When it comes to hotel points and using them for free nights as a rough estimate...each hotel chain has a aslighly different formula...

for Marriott I see 10,000 pts= $100. I have no problem using 10K pts for a hotel rate of $150 or higher. I wouldnt use 20K points for a hotel that I can get a room for $85/night

With best western and Choice I look at 16,000 pts = $100.

There are seasonal bargains at some lower tier hotels. Mardi Gras in New Orleans, summer at the beach, Jan/Feb in south Florida, etc.

Last year we stayed at a great Holiday Inn beachfront during summer in Ocean City, Md. for about 5K PC pts + $50 night. Rooms were running $300/night.

Hard to get sometimes but a bargain if you can.