best Hotel rewards program for the budget-conscious?
 

In todays struggling economy, hours being cut, travel being cut, Etc. What is the best hotel rewards program for the budget-conscious among us? I make money, i just ain't rich! Al of your opinions are greatly appreciated and welcomed.

Jordan

Maybe not budget, however Hyatt is by far my favorate. I just have not had the same quality experience with Raddison (GOLD), Wydham and the like. It's really a hard call, I mean being a Best Western Diamond is really nothing and Holliday Inn is not much better. What does that leave you with, Choice?

Can you give a little more information? A lot depends on where you wan to go, and just what you want out of a hotel program. SPG, HHonors, Choice Privileges, and Priority Club are all good for different reasons.

I go to DFW, LAS LAX LGA Hartfor CT, on a regular basis from orlando, and sometimes i do the night before the flight (because teh flights early.) I don't mind spending 100/night but rather not go over that for points/rewards. I just want a decent program where it is possible to easily redeme free nights without a ton of hastles and disclaimors included.

Hyatt place might work for you then, thus Hyatt would allow you to earn great perks and points for really nice properties.

I used Priority Club quite a bit last year (aka holiday inn) and I think it could work for you. If I understand right you're looking to spend as little as possible on your stays, and the main benefit you'd like to receive is award nights. I think this makes sense, since low cost hotels often don't have premium rooms to upgrade to and already include benefits like internet and/or breakfast.

I just searched Dallas for Monday-Thursday next week and found 19 Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Suites properties <$100, plus 1 Crowne Plaza. I found similar for LA. I think the abundance of properties will give you a good shot at finding a low rate wherever you're going.

You can earn top tier status in as little as 3 stays with the right bonuses. Nice, but it also means there are lots of people with top tier status. Benefits like room upgrades are not guaranteed and depend heavily on how stingy the owner of the hotel is. I see lots of complaints in the Priority Club forum about not receiving benefits, but I got either club level or suite upgrades about 80% of the time. It can really vary depending on where you stay.

I think the earning and redemption structure might be good for you. Earning points is heavily skewed towards per night and per stay bonuses, rather than being more based on dollars spent. Since you're looking for lower cost nights, this really benefits you. Someone spending $100 a night at a HIX can usually get 80% of the points someone spending $200 a night at a Crowne Plaza. Bonuses dominate base points.

Here's my results from 2009:
I'd say 10k points per night is a good amount to shoot for. With free nights at 15k for HIX and Candlewood, 25k for Holiday Inn, and 40k for Intercontinental you really get free nights quickly. They also offer some BOGO promotions and other ways to earn additional free nights. You can also reduce the points needed by 5k/10k for $30/$60. And there is a limited selection of 5k per night Pointsbreak hotels. They're not very common but I was able to use 2 pointsbreak hotels for stops on a Texas to Michigan roadtrip last year, so when you do get the opportunity it's a huge savings (I even got a suite upgrade on one of those 5k stays).

Hyatt's also worth a look though. Hyatt Place in my opinion is a great value with those big plasma TVs and rooms big enough for a couch in a mini-living room. You can earn middle tier status easily, top end is tough but maybe the benefits are worth it.

1. Hyatt, if you have Hyatt Place stays when they have their (regular) stay-2-get-one-night free promo going on. Those redemption periods are limited, though, so be sure you can actually use those stays for something during the timeframe.

2. Tie: PC vs. Priceline rewards. Priority Club isn't going to get you much, but you can rack up the points (though they might be cracking down on this. I can't get 10K/stay. I think I get about 5K/stay.) Right now, they have a promo-after your second weekend (Fri or Sat night stay) you can get a $50 gift card to a store (your choice, includes Target and Amazon). PC elite rarely gets you anything if you stay at Holiday Inns.
Priceline rewards-just to remind you that the value hotwire and Priceline can outweigh traditional methods. Hotel points are a good deal in Europe and places where the dollar isn't strong. But you can get steals on Priceline...Look at the "with your money can you justify hotel status" thread in this forum for more.

If you have a strong showing at another hotel chain Hyatt will status match up to Diamond. Also Bonus points are all over the place and many hotel stays are only 5000-8000pts. It is possible for a one night stay to get 3,000+ points. The diamond bonus are great, and with the economy where it is some Hyatts (like Tampa) are less than $80. Diamond would get you free breakfasts, Club floor upgrades, special room amenities, including a 1,000pt bonus. Did I mention, that you get free Wi-Fi and internet during your stays?

Priority Club is nice. It was somewhat forced on me due to travel locations but I have come to love it after 4 years and stay with it after a complete change of travel habits, all is out of pocket now.

YTD I have stayed 15 nights, 9 paid and 6 award. Total out of pocket including taxes is $940 or $64 per night. Free internet at all locations, free breakfast of some sort on all stays, 3 room suite upgrades, and many free drinks. I also don't play the (un)targeted promotions to the extent most do so it has the potential to be more lucrative.

If my travels were more urban and/or I wasn't personally footing the bill, SPG with their branded Amex is very appealing.

I will defer to others on the pros and cons of the other programs.

I think the advice so far is sound, but still maybe directed more mid-tier.
Honestly, if you're spending your own money and staying as cheaply as possible, you're more likely to be in a Wyndam or Choice or Best Western property, and ought to belong to one or two of those programs.

I use whatever method I can to get the cheapest hotel room that I am happy to stay in (bidding on Priceline is one common method), and I also collect Starwood points. In my experience, Starwood points are the easiest hotel points to get via credit card (I'm in Canada), and the redemption value in many cases is superb.

For direct bookings, I have so few with other chains that I typically choose to collect frequent flyer miles (Aeroplan in my case) rather than hotel points.

If by 'budget-conscious' you mean more along the line of motels, short stays, and no need for major "frills" I would recommend Choice Hotels.

They have a huge presence, over 6,000 locations, and are going to be coming out with a new credit card in July which should help accrue lots of points. They also have a nice range of partners to get points with (or transfer points to).

If you want something a bit better in terms of amenities, higher quality locations, etc, Priority Club might be the way to go. They have a good blend of budget places (HI Express, etc), as well as mid-range stuff like regular HI, and you can then redeem points for their higher end product like Intercontinental and Crowne Plaza's.

As for Hyatt, SPG, etc you might be a bit hard pressed to find rates regularly under $100/night.

Beware expiration with Choice if you are accumulating or spending slowly!

Points expire 2 years after the Dec. 31 of the accumulation year REGARDLESS OF ACTIVITY!

If you accumulate choice, make sure you spend them.

Thx for the warning! Is their $50 gc redemption time limited as well??

Lots of Hilton family hotels all over the country, including reasonably priced chains such as Hampton Inns. Not sure how this compares with the other options folks have mentioned, but you might want to check it out.

I believe that some chains within Hilton might include free breakfasts for all guests. Regardless, if you make Gold status through enough nights or via getting a Hilton Surpass Amex card, breakfast is included in all Hiltons.