Every of the three important lodge loyalty applications – Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and World of Hyatt – have their very own model of a free night time award certificates, which go by completely different names.
Whereas free night time certificates are usually not technically free since each comes with an acquisition value, they continue to be some of the invaluable advantages provided by lodge loyalty applications by way of co-branded bank card membership and/or finishing stays at properties.
On this article, we’ll pit the free night time certificates out there by way of Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and World of Hyatt in opposition to one another to find out that are essentially the most highly effective, in addition to the alternatives and limitations that include each.
Which Resort Free Evening Certificates Are There?
Previous to diving into the evaluation, let’s revisit the various kinds of certificates which might be out there in every program, and the right way to earn them within the first place.
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott Bonvoy gives a couple of variations of Free Evening Awards, which vary in worth relying on which avenue was used to amass it.
Marriott Free Evening Awards might be earned annually both by holding a Marriott Bonvoy co-branded bank card issued in Canada or the US, or as an Annual Alternative Profit for incomes Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite standing.
In Canada, there are two Marriott Bonvoy co-branded bank cards, with each the Marriott Bonvoy American Specific Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Enterprise American Specific Card every providing cardholders one Free Evening Award price 35,000 factors annually on the cardboard’s anniversary date, starting within the second yr.
Canadian Marriott Bonvoy Credit score Playing cards
Within the US, there are 5 co-branded bank cards that provide Free Evening Awards only for being a cardholder. These certificates are issued annually on the cardholder anniversary date, with the next values:
Moreover, you may earn extra Free Evening Awards of assorted values by reaching an annual minimal spending threshold on the next US-issued co-branded bank cards:
As talked about above, in case you attain Titanium elite standing within the Marriott Bonvoy program, you may select a Free Evening Award price 40,000 factors as your Marriott Bonvoy Annual Alternative Profit.
To place all this data collectively extra clearly, we’ve created this chart to indicate the out there Marriott Bonvoy Free Evening Awards.
It’s price noting that there are typically extra methods to earn Free Evening Awards, akin to by way of bank card welcome bonuses or promotions.
Hilton Honors
The methods in which you’ll be able to earn a Hilton Honors Free Evening Reward are extra restricted than with the Marriott Bonvoy program.
As with the Bonvoy program, Hilton’s Free Evening Reward certificates might be earned by way of co-branded US-issued American Specific bank cards; nevertheless, there is just one card that gives a certificates only for being a cardholder.
The Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card gives a Free Evening Reward whenever you develop into a cardholder, and yearly that you just renew thereafter.
Moreover, the Hilton Honors American Specific Surpass Card gives a Free Evening Reward, however requires that you just spend $15,000 (USD) so as to entry this perk.
You may additionally discover Free Evening Rewards included as a part of a card’s welcome bonus, or by way of the occasional promotion.
World of Hyatt
As with the Marriott Bonvoy program and the Hilton Honors applications, a World of Hyatt Free Evening Award will also be earned by signing up for a US-issued co-branded bank card.
The World of Hyatt Visa from Chase gives cardholders a Free Evening Award legitimate at any Class 1–4 lodge or resort yearly after their cardmember anniversary. The cardboard additionally lets members earn a second Free Evening Award of equal worth upon spending $15,000 (USD) in a calendar yr.
One other method to earn Hyatt Free Evening Awards is thru the World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards.
When you’ve earned 30 qualifying nights or 50,000 base factors, you’ll attain Explorist standing inside the World of Hyatt loyalty program, and also you’ll additionally obtain a Milestone Reward of 1 Free Evening Award certificates legitimate at any Class 1–4 Hyatt lodge or resort.
For those who make it to 60 qualifying nights or 100,000 base factors, in addition to at 100 nights, you’ll obtain a Class 1–7 Free Evening Award, and also you’ll have earned Globalist standing.
Upon reaching 150 nights in a calendar yr, you’ll be bestowed with an Final Free Evening Award, which is legitimate at any Class 1–8 lodge, Class A–F all-inclusive resort, or Miraval resort.
Worth of Every Free Evening Certificates
Now that we’ve laid out the free night time certificates that may be earned, let’s check out some estimated values for every of them.
The Marriott Bonvoy program gives 4 completely different Free Evening Awards, price 35,000, 40,000, 50,000, and 85,000 factors, respectively.
We worth Marriott Bonvoy factors at 0.8 cents (CAD) or 0.6 cents (USD) apiece, which might give the above Free Evening Awards the next values:
- 35,000 factors = $280 (CAD) or $210 (USD)
- 40,000 factors = $320 (CAD) or $240 (USD)
- 50,000 factors = $400 (CAD) or $300 (USD)
- 85,000 factors = $680 (CAD) or $510 (USD)
The Hilton Honors Free Evening Rewards are distinctive in that they haven’t any limitation on the purpose/money worth for which they are often redeemed, so long as there’s Customary Room Reward availability. Customary Room Rewards cap out at 150,000 factors per night time, so you need to use a Free Evening Reward for a lodge that prices 5,000 factors, or for one which prices 150,000 factors per night time.
This lack of an higher limitation signifies that a Hilton Free Evening Reward can be utilized to e book some very aspirational properties, such because the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi (extra on this later).
We worth Hilton Honors factors at 0.7 cents (CAD) and 0.5 cents (USD) every, and at its most, we’d estimate {that a} Free Evening Reward is price $1,050 (CAD) or $750 (USD).
World of Hyatt has three varieties of Free Evening Awards. The primary is legitimate for Class 1–4 motels, which has a price of as much as 18,000 factors, the second is legitimate for Class 1–7 motels, which has a price of as much as 35,000 factors, and the third is legitimate for Class 1–8 motels, Class A–F all-inclusive resorts, and Miraval resorts, which has a price of as much as 72,000 factors.
We worth World of Hyatt factors at 2 cents (CAD) or 1.5 cents (USD) every, giving the Free Evening Award certificates the next most values when used at varied properties:
- Class 1–4, as much as 18,000 factors = $360 (CAD) or $270 (USD)
- Class 1–7, as much as 35,000 factors = $700 (CAD) or $525 (USD)
- Final Evening Award at Class 1–8 motels, as much as 45,000 factors = $900 (CAD) or $675 (USD)
- Final Evening Award at Class A–F all-inclusive resorts, as much as 58,000 factors = $1,160 (CAD) or $870 (USD)
- Final Evening Award at Miraval resorts, as much as 72,000 factors = $1,440 (CAD) or $1,080 (USD)
In earlier articles, when figuring out the worth of a free night time certificates, we’ve checked out the price of buying the certificates within the first place, akin to the price of the annual price or the required bank card/lodge spend.
Of the free night time certificates being mentioned, some are earned by merely holding a selected bank card and paying the annual price for a yr or two; nevertheless, a few of the free night time certificates can solely be acquired by way of bank card spending or by reaching completely different loyalty program standing ranges and milestones.
Within the latter instances, it’s way more troublesome to find out the greenback worth value of buying the certificates.
On condition that attempting to nail down a greenback worth comparability for the price of buying every certificates is like evaluating apples and oranges, we received’t strive to try this right here.
As an alternative, wanting solely on the factors worth of every certificates, we are able to see that essentially the most invaluable free night time certificates primarily based on our valuations is the Final Evening Award from World of Hyatt. Nevertheless, it’s additionally extraordinarily troublesome to acquire, since you need to earn 150 elite qualifying nights annually to earn one.
If we put the Final Evening Award apart, then the Hilton Honors Free Evening Reward comes out on prime by way of estimated worth primarily based on the utmost quantity of factors it may be used for.
The completely different certificates from Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt characterize pretty comparable worth by way of straight valuations, with each applications providing lower-value certificates price $280–400 (CAD) or $210–300 (USD), and higher-value certificates price $680 (CAD)/$510 (USD) and $700 (CAD)/$525 (USD), respectively.
Limitations with Resort Free Evening Award Certificates
Some of the vital limitations that exists for incomes lodge free night time award certificates is the power to entry each within the first place.
As talked about above, most free night time certificates can solely be accessed by holding a co-branded bank card or by spending a major amount of cash on an annual price and/or with the lodge model.
Moreover, the Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt co-branded bank cards are solely out there in the US, making it tougher for Canadians and different world residents to entry these certificates within the first place.
One other limitation is that a lot of the free night time certificates from every of the three lodge loyalty applications expire 12 months after they’re issued, with a few of the World of Hyatt Free Evening Awards expiring six months after situation.
By way of making an award reserving, each Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt allow you to use their on-line reservation programs for reserving with Free Evening Awards.
Comparatively, reservations utilizing the Hilton Honors Free Evening Reward can solely be booked over the cellphone, making it tougher to substantiate redemption availability forward of time.
By way of worth, the Hilton Honors certificates has no higher sure on Customary Room Rewards, making it very versatile and opening up entry to some very spectacular properties worldwide.
World of Hyatt makes use of fastened pricing that varies inside a variety primarily based on whether or not the date of the reserving falls inside peak, normal, or off-peak occasions.
This can be a simple construction, and has potential to be fairly invaluable in case you’re trying to e book a room throughout a peak time (e.g., New 12 months’s Eve, Mardi Gras), and also you’re capable of finding an out there normal room.
Essentially the most restricted program on this space is Marriott Bonvoy, which makes use of a dynamic pricing construction.
With dynamic pricing, the associated fee in factors of an evening’s keep can fluctuate significantly relying on the demand, however the higher restrict worth of the Free Evening Award certificates doesn’t change to accommodate this.
Which means that you could possibly e book a room one night time with a Free Evening Award, however not the following if demand is excessive and the worth has risen.
Remember the fact that Marriott Bonvoy permits you to prime up your Free Evening Award with as much as 15,000 factors, which means {that a} Free Evening Award price 35,000 factors might be topped as much as e book a keep that prices as much as 50,000 factors, assuming you’ve got the additional 15,000 factors needed to take action.
This feature permits for some extra flexibility by way of utilizing a Free Evening Award for a desired reserving inside the dynamic pricing construction.
Alternatives with Resort Free Evening Certificates
To greatest illustrate the worth out there with every of program’s free night time certificates, let’s take a look at some examples of properties which might be accessible with every.
Marriott Bonvoy
One of the best ways to make use of a Marriott Bonvoy Free Evening Award is for a keep that has a excessive money worth and a redemption value inside the vary of your certificates.
Based mostly on our factors valuations, we’d worth a Free Evening Award price 35,000 factors at $280. Nevertheless, you may definitely get extra worth than that, maybe for an evening’s keep on the The Pearle Resort & Spa, Autograph Assortment, which may have a money worth of $400.
With a Marriott Bonvoy Free Evening Award, it’s also possible to take a look at reserving rooms that value as much as 15,000 factors greater than the certificates’s worth by utilizing this system’s choice to prime up the worth utilizing your personal factors stability.
For instance, you may e book the Moxy Halifax Downtown utilizing a Free Evening Award price 35,000 factors, after which add 2,000 factors out of your account, permitting to basically trade 37,000 factors for a keep priced at $450 (CAD).
In case you have entry to a Marriott Bonvoy Free Award price 85,000 factors from the US-issued Marriott Bonvoy Sensible American Specific Card, you may maybe use it to take pleasure in an beautiful keep at Al Maha, a Luxurious Assortment Resort & Spa in Dubai, which has money costs of over $1,200 (USD) per night time.
Hilton Honors
As beforehand talked about, the Hilton Honors program has no higher restrict by way of the redemption worth of Free Evening Rewards, so long as you’ll find Customary Room Rewards.
Which means that you need to use a Free Evening Reward to e book some unimaginable experiences, together with certainly one of Hilton’s costliest properties, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
Though it might take a good bit of dedication to search out Customary Room Rewards at this property and different top-tier motels, in case you’re in a position to be versatile and plan far sufficient forward, a Free Evening Reward can offset what would in any other case be a major value, particularly in case you can snag a number of nights in a row.
Hilton Free Evening Rewards have nice utility nearer to dwelling, too. For instance, you need to use it to e book a winter getaway on the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa, which may have money charges of over $800 (CAD) per night time.
World of Hyatt
Since World of Hyatt makes use of fastened pricing for its award redemptions, a Free Evening Award can come in useful for reserving in peak seasons and through occasions when the money value of rooms is elevated.
For instance, a Class 1–4 World of Hyatt Free Evening Award could possibly be used to e book an evening on the Hyatt Centric French Quarter throughout Mardi Gras, which might in any other case value $382 (USD).
The World of Hyatt certificates are additionally invaluable for motels which might be typically costlier resulting from their location. Because the certificates is predicated on classes, so long as you’ll find a typical room in a lodge of the appropriate class, you need to be capable to e book utilizing a Free Evening Award.
For instance, a Free Evening Award could possibly be used to e book an evening on the Hyatt Place Anchorage-Midtown in Anchorage, Alaska on July lengthy weekend.
On this case, the Free Evening Award could possibly be redeemed in opposition to a typical room money value of $444 (USD), which is significantly increased than our $270 (USD) valuation of the 18,000 World of Hyatt factors that the redemption is listed at.
After all, the Class 1–7 Free Evening Award and Final Evening Award can unlock much more invaluable stays at higher-end properties, which may bump up the worth even increased.
Which Free Evening Certificates is the Most Highly effective?
The query of which free night time certificates is essentially the most highly effective is a bit difficult to reply.
On condition that accessing every free night time certificates comes with a unique set of necessities, and every certificates has completely different limitations and alternatives, it’s troublesome to counsel that there’s an unquestionable winner on this area.
By way of greenback worth, the World of Hyatt Final Evening Award has essentially the most potential; nevertheless, it additionally has the best barrier to acquisition, and is way out of attain for most individuals.
However, the Hilton Honors Free Evening Reward is definitely accessible and has the potential to unlock wonderful worth. For a lot of, it’s a adequate cause to pay the $550 (USD) annual price on the Hilton Honors Aspire Card yearly, since you need to use it to e book motels that value way more.
It additionally has the additional benefit of being earned as quickly as you develop into a cardholder, whereas the Free Evening Awards acquired by way of the opposite co-branded bank cards are usually not earned till the second yr of card membership.
As potential runner-up for essentially the most highly effective certificates, the Marriott Bonvoy Free Evening Award price 85,000 factors additionally strikes a pleasant stability of a excessive redemption worth and ease of acquisition by way of a co-branded bank card; nevertheless, it’s not awarded till the second yr of card membership, which means you’ll must pay the annual price twice earlier than having fun with the perk.
The World of Hyatt Class 1–7 Free Evening Reward has a excessive redemption worth, nevertheless it’s solely acquired after incomes 60 qualifying nights or 100,000 base factors at Hyatt properties, making it out of attain for a lot of.
On the entire, Marriott Bonvoy has essentially the most Free Evening Awards, and so they’re additionally the best to entry, so there’s worth to be discovered there, too.
In a perfect world, you’d be capable to leverage as many free nights by way of bank cards and standing annually throughout a number of applications, maximizing at each step alongside the best way.
Conclusion
Free night time certificates are wonderful perks provided by way of co-branded bank cards and thru finishing qualifying stays at main lodge chains. Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and World of Hyatt supply their very own variations, every with their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Essentially the most highly effective free night time certificates is finally the one that you just’re in a position to entry and make use of, and this could differ fairly a bit from individual to individual relying in your spending habits, your loyalty to a selected lodge model, and the place on the planet you’re primarily based.
With a little bit of planning and strategic use, you need to be capable to squeeze outsized worth out of any free night time certificates, which regularly justifies the hassle or value required to earn it within the first place.
