It seems that in the Frequent Flyer and
Hotel points categories are where the largest differences exist between the US and Canadian cards.
Not exact matches
The Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort is a
category 2
hotel and at only 4,000
points per weekday night and 3,000
points per weekend night, you would have enough
points to book two rooms for five nights at 28,000 SPG
points.
Additionally, the Marriott
points required are determined by the
category under which a
hotel falls.
Everything you earn under the 5x
points category goes towards a single cap of $ 50k, while all gas station and nights booked directly with your
hotel go towards a separate but still single cap of $ 50k.
Most travel rewards credit cards will offer bonus
points or miles for spending in travel
categories, like airfare, car rentals,
hotel stays, dining, and entertainment.
These low
category hotels are not usually expensive, so even if it is good value to use your
points, it might worth it to save them for a luxury redemption.
With Hilton, 15,000
points was enough for a 3 - night stay in a
Category 1 Hilton
hotel.
The system also allows the search of
point of interest
categories, but when the vehicle is in motion, you're only given the five nearest choices in a
category, for example the five nearest gas stations or
hotels.
Most travel rewards credit cards will offer bonus
points or miles for spending in travel
categories, like airfare, car rentals,
hotel stays, dining, and entertainment.
Category 1 Club Carlson properties start at just 9,000
points per night, but redemptions surge to 70,000
points per night for their highest end
hotels.
Better yet, free
hotel stays at SPG properties start at just 2,000 per night — and even higher end
Category 4 properties are just 10,000
points per night.
The value of your
points also depends on the Hilton
hotel category with which you book your stay.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card offers 2x
points on a far broader «travel»
category, which includes things like
hotels and taxis.
Earn 30,000 Bonus
Points after your first use, redeemable for up to 4 free nights; plus receive 2 free night stay e-certificates upon account approval, that's enough up to 6 free nights at a
category 1
hotel
Reward nights at qualifying
hotels range from 2,000 to 35,000
points, depending on the
hotel category, ranging from 1 to 7.
Redeem 1,000
points (across all 7
hotel categories) and receive a certificate for 50 % off the regular rack rates for up to a 5 night stay.
The sign - up bonus is lucrative at 80,000
points for $ 2,000 in spend (first 3 months) and it has bonus
categories for expenses other than
hotel bookings (gas, grocery, restaurants).
For instance, a level one
category hotel that would cost 2,000
points is available for 1,200
points and $ 25.
You get a free night each year (at certain
categories of
hotels), bonus
points for adding an authorized user, instant Discoverist status with Hyatt, and bonus
points for purchases with airlines and car rental agencies.
My preferred way to redeem 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards
points is to transfer them to Hyatt and redeem for 2 nights in a top
category 6 Hyatt
hotels such as the Park Hyatt in Paris, Tokyo, or the Maldives where I could get to experience a
hotel room which I would otherwise never be able to afford ($ 500 or more per night).
Or splurge on 2 nights at a
category 6
hotel (25,000
points per night), like the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa where Emily and I stayed.
Freedom gives you five
points per dollar spent in quarterly rotating
categories, such as gas,
hotels and specific retailers, and the Freedom Unlimited card gives you 1.5
points for all purchases.
For example, one night at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtwon
Hotel (
Category 4), costs $ 99 - or 27,500 Amtrak
points.
For example, you'll need 7,500
points for a one night stay at a Marriott
category 1
hotel.
Point redemption starts at 10,000
points per night for a
Category 1
hotel and up to 60,000
points per night for a
Category 11
hotel.
A night at a
Category 1 Starwood
hotel starts at 2,000
points.
The amount of
points required to claim a free night depends on the rewards program and the
hotel category so it's worth reading up on the different programs before committing.
Under the new program, it'll cost you 7,500
points for a free night at a
Category 1
hotel while on the higher end of things, it'll cost you 85,000
points for a
Category 8
hotel.
For reference, currently it takes 3,000 SPG
points or 7,500 Marriott
points to get a free night at a
Category 1
hotel.
It's important to note that many
hotels will be recategorized to fit within this new
category scale and there will be no blackout dates for
points redemptions, meaning you can claim a free night any day of the year including holidays.
Redeeming for free nights at Hyatt starts at just 5,000
points / night for a
Category 1 Standard Room, while a night in a
Category 7
hotel will cost you 30,000
points.
One benefit of your new Marriott Rewards Premier Plus account is an Anniversary Free Night Award e-certificate every year after your account anniversary, valid for a one night
hotel stay at a property with a redemption level at or under 35,000
points, instead of the
category 1 - 4
hotel e-certificate valued up to 20,000
points you received on your Marriott Rewards account.
Common
categories for the best rewards
points card include travel, airlines,
hotels, rental cars, gas, groceries and restaurants.
I knew that the potential use of Starwood Preferred Guest
Points would be ideal, and looked into
category 6 Starwood
hotels The Westin Excelsior and The St. Regis.
Category 1 properties are often available for as few as 7,500
points, which means your bonus can be enough
points for at least 10 award nights at a Marriott
Hotel.
There are also opportunities to redeem for PointSavers
hotel stays, which start as low as 6,000
points for one night in a
Category 1 property.
On top of the
points you'll get from day - to - day spending, this card awards one free night every year in a
category one to five
hotel.
Note: If you don't have Hyatt elite status (and can't get upgraded) you can book suites at
Category 6 Hyatt
hotels, like the Hyatt Centric Times Square, for 40,000 Hyatt
points per night.
For the sake of brevity, important caveats about
categories have (generally) not been elucidated and only cards that earn cash back or
points with cash value (close to 1 cpp) are included — so no
hotel or airline cards.
For example, a night at a Marriott
Category 5
hotel cost 25,000
points.
However, transferring it 1:1 from Chase will rarely get you a value of over 0.8
points a night, unless you're looking at
Category 1 and 2
hotels.
For example, a room in the Andaz 5th Avenue in New York (a
Category 6
hotel) costs $ 525 / night, or 25,000
points.
If you're willing to stay at what may be viewed as a lesser
hotel (considered a
category 1 by Hilton), your
points can go further.
The highest
category rated
hotels will eat up 70,000 to 95,000
points per night.
A
Category 4 or 5 room goes for 15,000 - 20,000
points / night, while a night in a
Category 7
hotel will cost you 30,000
points.
For example, for a
Category 5
hotel, you can pay 30,000
points, or 25,000
points + $ 40, or 20,000
points + $ 70.
Of course, you can stretch out your
points for more stays at lower level
category hotels.
With the current sign - up bonus of 30,000 Starwood
points on the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (personal and small business), you can get up to 6 award nights at Starwood Category 4 hotels with Cash & P
points on the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (personal and small business), you can get up to 6 award nights at Starwood
Category 4
hotels with Cash &
PointsPoints.
For example, you could book three nights at a
Category 8 property like the St. Ermin's
Hotel, Autograph Collection in London for a total of 105,000
points (at a rate of 35,000
points per night when booked at the PointSavers level; you'd earn that extra 5,000
points by meeting the minimum spending requirement of $ 5,000) in late September, when rooms start at about 227 GBP ($ 331) per night.
Begin your search for participating
hotels and corresponding reward
categories now, or view instructions on how to redeem
Points for a
hotel reward.