A good friend of mine just lately embraced the factors and miles way of life. Currently, we have spent some enjoyable afternoons discussing methods to earn and use factors and miles. Throughout one among our latest classes, he requested a wise query:
“Once I plan a visit, how do I determine if I ought to pay money, use factors, a free night time award or a bank card profit for a resort keep?”
I really like that query as a result of considering via your preferences now will enable you to sort out this conundrum extra successfully every time you propose a visit.
It additionally helps to repeatedly run via your choices so you do not neglect a few profitable chance. That is particularly vital as you construct factors balances in a number of packages and improve your portfolio of bank cards with all types of value-added advantages.
Step 1: Take into account your resort choices
Begin originally. You need to e book a resort and, after all, make the most effective choice about pay for it.
Have a look at your goal vacation spot and draft an inventory of locations to remain. Sweep the foremost loyalty packages for choices: Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt.
In the event you’re a price range traveler, it could pay to verify Greatest Western Rewards, Alternative Privileges and Wyndham Rewards. In the event you’re a luxurious traveler, peek at Accor Stay Limitless — with high-end manufacturers like Raffles, Banyan Tree, Fairmont and Faena.
Utilizing this course of for a visit to Paris, for instance, I would see that each one the packages talked about above have motels within the Metropolis of Gentle. My major resort packages are World of Hyatt, Marriott and IHG, and I really feel like a luxurious trip, so my brief record of motels would possibly appear like this:
- Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome or Resort du Louvre (World of Hyatt)
- Resort de Berri Champs-Elysees, a Luxurious Assortment Resort, Paris or Prince de Galles, a Luxurious Assortment Resort, Paris (Marriott Bonvoy)
- InterContinental Paris — Le Grand or Kimpton St Honore Paris (IHG One Rewards)
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Comply with that with a brief record of motels outdoors of loyalty packages the place you’d pay money or use a bank card such because the Capital One Enterprise Rewards Credit score Card, which allows you to use your miles to repay any assertion cost coded as a journey expense. (The ratio is 1 cent per Capital One mile.)
For my functions, I would add Shangri-La Paris and Resort de Crillon, A Rosewood Resort to the resort record.
When your resort record is full, choose two or three choices that you simply’d choose and jot down the money and factors costs to your dates. Persevering with on the Paris theme, I would go for the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome, the Prince de Galles or the Kimpton St Honore Paris.
Step 2: Overview money, factors and miles balances, plus awards and bank card advantages
Subsequent, contemplate your money available and factors balances for the packages of your goal motels. We’ll discuss when to make use of money or factors in a sec. Let’s record what you may have accessible first, although.
Do any of those resort loyalty packages provide a fourth or fifth night time free on a factors keep? Learn these tales to study how one can get a free night time when paying with factors:
As you full this train, it additionally helps if you already know what every level is price. In the event you do not have already got a private calculation, try TPG’s month-to-month loyalty forex valuations for main banks, airways and resort packages.
All the time evaluate the resort’s money worth versus the factors worth. If the money worth of the factors required for an evening’s keep is lower than the money worth, it is a good redemption.
Step 3: Take stock of any free night time awards
Now, put any free night time awards or certificates, like these, on the proverbial desk:
It is simple to neglect about all of your redemption devices. Most free night time certificates expire, so you’ll want to plan to make use of them so they do not go to waste. A great rule of thumb is to e book a resort keep along with your free night time certificates as quickly as you earn it so you do not danger letting it expire. You may e book the keep for a future date, however attempt to not e book it too near its expiration date. That manner, in case your plans change, you continue to have time to rebook and use the certificates elsewhere earlier than it expires.
This is some recommendation on when to redeem free night time certificates as a substitute of resort factors. I’ll all the time use my certificates earlier than dipping into my factors steadiness.
Step 4: What bank card resort advantages do you may have?
It is time to layer any bank card advantages into the equation. Do any advantages make paying money extra engaging for this specific keep?
Take into consideration the playing cards in your pockets. Holding sure bank cards could confer computerized elite standing, which may web perks like complimentary breakfast and late checkout.
Some premium playing cards provide much more profitable advantages. Do you may have The Platinum Card® from American Categorical? If that’s the case, think about using your annual $200 pay as you go resort credit score when reserving a property that is a part of The Resort Assortment. Or, e book by way of the American Categorical Tremendous Inns + Resorts program, which confers the next advantages, whatever the size of your keep:
- Room improve upon arrival, when accessible at check-in (properties could exclude some room sorts, and a few could solely offer you a room with a greater view)
- Each day breakfast for 2 individuals
- Assured 4 p.m. late checkout
- Midday check-in, when accessible
- Complimentary Wi-Fi (when a property consists of Wi-Fi in a compulsory resort charge, you may obtain a each day credit score equal to the Wi-Fi price)
- Expertise credit score (the expertise needs to be valued at $100 or extra and often consists of a property, eating or spa credit score)
It pays to have a look at all of your choices as a result of typically you may discover candy offers. This is an instance from Amex’s Tremendous Inns + Resorts program. Along with the above advantages, sure stays are additionally eligible for a free third night time (included within the common nightly price proven within the screenshot under).
Many premium bank cards provide resort advantages, so bear in mind to verify your pockets and evaluation what you may have entry to earlier than reserving a resort keep.
Step 5: Take into account your bank card’s journey portal for a money or versatile factors or miles reserving
In fact, you possibly can merely e book a resort via your bank card’s portal, such because the Chase Journey℠ portal or the Capital One Journey portal and pay with both money or versatile factors or miles (on this case, Chase Final Rewards factors and Capital One miles, respectively).
Nonetheless, there are downsides to utilizing these reserving strategies, and I choose to e book straight with the resort program. My reasoning is twofold.
1. Typically, it is a greater worth to switch my Chase Final Rewards factors, for instance, to World of Hyatt and e book there fairly than pay money or use my Final Rewards factors for a resort reserving via Chase’s portal.
2. If a problem arises along with your resort, I discover it a lot simpler to get help if I e book straight with the resort chain as a substitute of a web-based journey company, which these bank card journey portals are.
Making your alternative: Money, factors, miles, certificates or bank card advantages
As soon as you have surveyed all of the choices and gathered the info, you possibly can determine e book and pay for the resort.
When to pay money
The best place to start out is deciding when you have an urge for food for paying with money within the first place. For instance, originally of the 12 months, I hardly ever need to pay money for a resort keep as a result of the top of the earlier 12 months is often a money drain with vacation purchasing, life insurance coverage funds and annual home-owner affiliation dues. You may additionally have a particular time of 12 months when it is extra advantageous to pay with factors, miles or awards as a substitute of money.
Take into account paying money in these circumstances as properly:
- If you’re staying at a resort that is not a part of a loyalty program and likewise will not be bookable by way of Chase Journey, Capital One Journey or one other portal for which you need to use your versatile factors or miles or pay money to earn factors or miles.
- If you’re keen to forgo elite night time credit score and advantages and as a substitute rack up factors or miles by way of a reserving portal akin to AAdvantage Inns.
- When reserving a couple of room on a visit for household or mates. Guide your room on money to earn extra factors or miles whereas utilizing your factors or miles to pay for the opposite room(s).
When to pay money by way of a bank card portal
- When you may have a bank card profit that can prevent cash, such because the annual $200 resort credit score on The Platinum Card by American Categorical, or can e book via a program like Amex’s Tremendous Inns + Resorts for perks like free breakfast, room upgrades upon availability, late checkout and spa or food-and-beverage credit.
- When there is a profitable promotion that you would be able to solely make the most of when paying money.
When to pay with factors or miles
- If you need to preserve money, it does not matter if you happen to’re getting the most effective worth. What’s extra vital to you now is occurring the journey with out spending {dollars}.
- When factors or miles are an unimaginable worth. In different phrases, when the worth of the factors or miles you may use is way lower than the money worth.
Let’s take a look at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome for example of an excellent factors redemption. I checked money and factors costs for a one-night keep on Dec. 22, 2025. The member money price was $1,548, whereas it will take simply 40,000 factors to e book the identical room.
TPG’s February 2025 valuations peg World of Hyatt factors at 1.7 cents every. Meaning 40,000 factors are valued at $680 (40,000 occasions 1.7 equals 68,000; divide 68,000 by 100 to get 680).
When to make use of a free night time award or certificates
Free night time certificates can signify a implausible worth or be an albatross you all the time let expire earlier than utilizing. If you’re always busy and having bother monitoring little particulars in your private life, free night time certificates is probably not the fitting factors or miles perk to chase.
Nonetheless, if used for max worth, a free night time certificates can shortly develop into your favourite reserving methodology. Try to make use of a free night time award:
- If you find yourself reserving a resort that is on the higher restrict of the certificates (for max worth)
Backside line
What you must take away from this dialogue is that, relying in your circumstances, there isn’t any unsuitable technique to e book a resort. Nonetheless, some strategies can be more cost effective or a greater worth than others. However, typically, getting the most effective worth out of your factors or miles merely entails utilizing them for the journey you need on the dates you want. Take into account all of your reserving choices, and use the most effective automobile for every distinctive state of affairs. This is to a future crammed with loads of resort award redemptions!
