Originally Posted by
youranut
Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll have to consider diversification. That sucks for me because I don't spend enough to make progress in more than one program. If I spend money for rooms it will be with AirBnB. I love the points thing though because it seems like a free trip. And free trips are infinitely more relaxing for me than ones I pay for. If I am paying for a trip I feel "pressured to get my moneys worth". On free trips I have a super grateful and content feeling and have a much better time. Yes I'm neurotic.
Well, Hotels.com has a program where if you stay 10 times, you can get a free night.
I built up my 10 hotels and was hoping for a nice hotel as a reward, alas the way it works is that they average the 10 stays, and that's what you get, not necessarily a free night.
So it turns out my "free night" was actually a discount equivalent to average of previous 10 stays, because next hotel cost more. So not free, but a significant discount, and had I stayed at a cheaper property, it would have been free.