Best time to join hotel rewards programs?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
Best time to join hotel rewards programs?
I'm a member of a number of hotel rewards programs at the moment (IHG, Hilton, Starwood), which I joined when I realized that I would be staying at that property for business or leisure related travel - thus, most of my impetus for joining the rewards programs I have is, "I might as well get some points out of this trip I'll make anyway." Naturally, my mentality has rather changed since then and I think about travel different. With that said, I have heard that some hotels offer bonuses for signing up for their rewards program while staying at the property, or give sign-up bonuses just for signing up at certain times. Can other members mention/recommend any specific rewards programs that do this (or if I've got this totally wrong?) I'll be staying at a couple of hotel chains that are new for me soon (Marriott, Hyatt), and I"m wondering if I should sign up for membership now, or whether I should wait for some kind of 'offer' or 'bonus' to come along just for signing up for the program (hey, sometimes it happens!)
#2
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Location: Massachusetts, USA; AA Plat, DL GM and Flying Colonel; Bonvoy Platinum
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Not a direct answer to your question, but close: Starwood has bonuses for getting their affiliated American Express credit card. That applies even though you're already in their program. Having it also gives you a two-stay, five-night head start toward elite status.
If you know someone who has SPG AmEx, they often have an offer where they can get a bonus for referring you and you still get the bonus for signing up.
If you know someone who has SPG AmEx, they often have an offer where they can get a bonus for referring you and you still get the bonus for signing up.
#3
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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Marriott has a referral program where you can earn 2000 points upon your first stay and the person who refers you also gets 2000 points.
There's a thread on the Marriott page with referrals, feel free to PM me for my referral link (note I'm not a blogger), use someone else in that thread, or have a friend / spouse / other be the reference. Easy 2k points for both parties.
There's a thread on the Marriott page with referrals, feel free to PM me for my referral link (note I'm not a blogger), use someone else in that thread, or have a friend / spouse / other be the reference. Easy 2k points for both parties.
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
Marriott has a referral program where you can earn 2000 points upon your first stay and the person who refers you also gets 2000 points.
There's a thread on the Marriott page with referrals, feel free to PM me for my referral link (note I'm not a blogger), use someone else in that thread, or have a friend / spouse / other be the reference. Easy 2k points for both parties.
There's a thread on the Marriott page with referrals, feel free to PM me for my referral link (note I'm not a blogger), use someone else in that thread, or have a friend / spouse / other be the reference. Easy 2k points for both parties.
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
Not a direct answer to your question, but close: Starwood has bonuses for getting their affiliated American Express credit card. That applies even though you're already in their program. Having it also gives you a two-stay, five-night head start toward elite status.
If you know someone who has SPG AmEx, they often have an offer where they can get a bonus for referring you and you still get the bonus for signing up.
If you know someone who has SPG AmEx, they often have an offer where they can get a bonus for referring you and you still get the bonus for signing up.
#6
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
Just make sure you know expiration dates for each hotel program, and keep track of that (if you're not staying in every program you belong to at least once a year).
The last thing you want to do is sign up for a new hotel program, then forget about a previous hotel program's expiration policy, and lose more points in the previous program than you earned in the new program.
I mention this because, for example, one of your current programs is Hilton, and they expire you after just one year of no activity.
The last thing you want to do is sign up for a new hotel program, then forget about a previous hotel program's expiration policy, and lose more points in the previous program than you earned in the new program.
I mention this because, for example, one of your current programs is Hilton, and they expire you after just one year of no activity.
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
You know, it's interesting; I think the only points I have with Hilton are from dining with them (I have no idea if those expire the same way as Hilton points earned other ways, but probably)...and another question, do points earned by dining with Hilton count as "activity"?
I do try to keep track of these all in my head so that I don't lose points by forgetting to use them, though I have an extra special place in my heart for miles that don't expire (Skymiles, how I love thee). My question though was more about bonuses that hotels might give for signing up for their program while staying at their hotel (I could've sworn Marriott was running a promotion like that, where you get extra points if you sign up for their program while you're staying there).
I do try to keep track of these all in my head so that I don't lose points by forgetting to use them, though I have an extra special place in my heart for miles that don't expire (Skymiles, how I love thee). My question though was more about bonuses that hotels might give for signing up for their program while staying at their hotel (I could've sworn Marriott was running a promotion like that, where you get extra points if you sign up for their program while you're staying there).
#8
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The above answers would be more complicated if elite status were an issue. Then there are suble rules that effect when to request a status match or challenge.
#9
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You know, it's interesting; I think the only points I have with Hilton are from dining with them (I have no idea if those expire the same way as Hilton points earned other ways, but probably)...and another question, do points earned by dining with Hilton count as "activity"?
Here's the FT thread for the Citi card (which I think has the bigger signup bonus right now):
#10
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Join Date: May 1998
Location: Massachusetts, USA; AA Plat, DL GM and Flying Colonel; Bonvoy Platinum
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(That doesn't mean that HHonors is a worse program than SPG, any more than giving a conversion rate between two currencies means that the lower-valued unit is somehow "worse." It's just a fact that some people might not be aware of.)
#11
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
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But keep in mind that all points are not created equal. There is no universal standard for what a hotel "point" ought to be. Hilton points, in terms of what you can get for them either in hotel stays or conversion to airline miles, are worth about a third of Starwood points.
But the OP already belongs to both Hilton and Starwood, so presumably knows the difference.
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
Starwood is the outlier here. Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Club Carlson, Choice, and Best Western, they're all "calibrated" similarly at 10 points earned (at least many brands) per dollar spent on hotel stays (not counting any credit card or elite status), while SPG only earns 2 points per dollar. (Hyatt is the only other one that's similarly "calibrated".) So both earning and redemption at Starwood are completely differently "calibrated" than most other hotel programs.
But the OP already belongs to both Hilton and Starwood, so presumably knows the difference.
But the OP already belongs to both Hilton and Starwood, so presumably knows the difference.
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
If they show as points in your HHonors account, they do count as "activity". The thing to watch out for with Hilton is their shorter-than-usual expiration, of just 12 months. Hilton has two no-annual-fee-ever credit cards, one from Citi and one from Amex. If it's not always easy for you to dine or stay with them at least once a year every year, you may want to get one of those cards. It'll give you tens of thousands of points as a signup bonus (if you do a modest amount of spend over the first few months), but beyond that, if you use the card for something at least once a year (or to be safer two times a year), you'll have activity in HHonors keeping your HHonors account alive and you'll have activity on your card keeping the bank from cancelling the card for inactivity. (Yes, banks do that too!)
Here's the FT thread for the Citi card (which I think has the bigger signup bonus right now):
Here's the FT thread for the Citi card (which I think has the bigger signup bonus right now):