Too many reward programs
 

Please help me settle a disagreement I am having with a traveling relative.

I have an IHG CC card which gave me some bonus points and I now use it for most of my travel. Basically, I travel for leisure 6 to 10 times a year and most of the places I travel to or through are medium sized to small cities that are not near major metropolitan areas. IHG has a lot of properties in these types of cities so it works well for me. It's either an IHG hotel or a locally owned hotel. Of course, I am a member of the IHG rewards program as well as many other hotel reward programs.

But, I will at times spend a bit more (usually $5 to $20 a night more) to stay in an IHG property rather than another equivalent big brand, because I figure that if I spread out my stays among a number of hotel companies I will never earn much int he way of upgrades, bonus points, etc.

My traveling relative thinks I am nuts. His argument is that if Brand H will sell me a room for $10 a night more, I should take the deal and, eventually, I will get an upgrade/bonus of some type from one of the hotels. And I can spend the savings on buying an upgraded room if that is what I really want.

I suspect that people are all over the map on this. But, I would appreciate hearing your story, and how it worked out for you.

My take is that if you are Mr. Nobody to Brand H hotel, why would they give you an upgrade/bonus? Unless you talk your way into it or buy it outright. Versus getting an upgrade/bonus via loyalty to IHG, which is easier since you are Platinum and you stay at smaller places.

Ps.- where does the "too many rewards program" from your title come into play?

Sometimes I think their isn't enough programs giving out. Points...IMHO

If you aren't staying in one chain enough to get status* then you should opt for the best deal every time and not be loyal to any one chain. You can factor in the points you will earn for the stay if you know you can get a certain value out of them.

*You'd need to get high enough status that matters (above what the hotel's co-branded card gives). So Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Platinum, etc.

If you don't have a (high enough) status, why should they upgrade you? They won't even upgrade you at 12am check-in even if you would be the only guest in the entire hotel and they have 10 empty suites.

Did you ever consider getting status X with brand Y if they offer a fast track that fits your scheduled travel plan? Or why don't you consider being part of promo N of brand O that will end up in a lot more points or even free nights? Why being loyal if all the chains will devaluated your points in Z months anyway and you won't get any benefits otherwise.

There is nothing wrong with sticking to a chain to collect enough points for your next reward night. But most often this will take many, many nights that might or might not be worth it. Or you stick to a program since you value them more for a similar price as another program. But that's in your best interest. Hotels will never work in your best interest unless you pay heavily for it.

FWIW, some of the hotels I may stay at offer me a room for 15,000 points which, given the best rate they offer, makes the points worth about .8¢ each. Assuming they don't devalue them. :eek: :td:

What country are you based in? If in the US, it's a lot easier to get second level up status (Platinum) at IHG by getting the Chase IHG credit card (which btw gives you, after the first year, an uncapped free night most anywhere in the IHG program in exchange for a measly $49 annual fee). And you get a 10% rebate on IHG points redemptions too.

It's status that gets you upgrades, not a random number of stays (but insufficient to earn status) in the same program. So unless you're not based in the USA, why not get status this easy way, and then you won't have to pay extra when IHG is more expensive just to achieve status with them.

Having said that, in many small towns all you get it with IHG is a small Holiday Inn Express, and there's not necessarily much to be upgraded to in many of those.

For really small towns (in the USA), the programs that are most common are Best Western, Choice, and WyndhamRewards. But upgrades with those are rare even with status, and WyndhamRewards doesn't even have true status (yet?).


Anyway, how it works for me it that I value a free breakfast and/or lounge access (not something you tend to get with status at IHG much, though, compared to a few other programs). But the benefits of an upgrade, while nice, are (a) not dependable, and (b) generally not worth any extra money (or points) for me. I belong to lots of different programs, and evaluate price against bonuses (in the points program) against location against in-hotel benefits (either due to the brand benefits or my status benefits).

So upgrades are low on my list of why I like hotel status. Besides breakfast and/or lounge access (in some programs), greater likelihood of extended checkout, less likelihood of being the one "walked" (if the hotel is overbooked), etc, are more important to me than the rarely-obvious upgrade.

Thanks for the information and thoughts. And clearing up the status issues in my mind. Overall, for me, getting an occasional free or reduced cost room is probably a better goal than getting status. That is seems clear. And I should be able to do that now and then on some trips. I do have the IHG card.