Originally Posted by
Happy
... Regarding hotel programs - keep in mind, most hotel chains only credit stays and thus let you earn hotel points when bookings are made directly with the hotel chain itself. That often translates to a much higher rate than when you book thru discounted, 3rd party bookings...
This has not been my experience, nor have I ever heard of it. In my experience, hotel reservations made through travel booking sites such as Expedia, hotel booking sites such as hotels.com, and the few human travel agents who still do that sort of thing, count for full credit: hotel points and/or airline miles as applicable, plus stay credit toward status. Bookings made on opaque sites such as Priceline, where you don't pay a published rate, don't earn credit (though you may occasionally get it by mistake).