Which hotel groups give you a free night when you book on points?
- Sam
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Did you know that some hotel groups give you a free night on points stay? I apologise for never having spoken about this sooner.
Marriott and Hilton are both selling points at a discount at the moment, which is what prompted me to write this. And it just so happens that they are the two groups where the free night is easiest to get hold of.
So let's briefly explain this for you, as this is one of the main reasons to collect hotel points.
Which hotels do free nights using points, and who doesn't
For this, we're going to focus on the big hotel chains. Essentially, you'll need to book a run of consecutive nights at the same hotel, pay for the whole thing in points (part paying with points will not work), and one of those nights costs you nothing.
There's no code to enter and nothing to claim afterwards, it just comes off the total when you book.
Marriott Bonvoy. Five nights for the points of four, for every member, no status needed. The nights have to be consecutive, at one hotel, on a single booking, and paid entirely in points, so part paying with points will not work. The deducted free night is not necessarily the fifth night, but instead the cheapest of the five. This offer repeats on 10 and 15 night stays, again, the free nights are the cheapest ones. (there are currently boosted sign-up bonuses running on both of the Marriott debit cards)
Hilton Honors. Also five for four. Your booking must be a standard reward room (no special offers basically) paid in full points. It repeats up to four free nights on a twenty night stay, though Hilton is literal about which ones and charges you nothing for the 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th whatever they cost that day (you see how powerful this could be). You can get Hilton Silver with the £60 Hilton Honors debit card, the £150 Plus version gives you Gold (and this card currently comes with a boosted sign-up bonus of 50,000 Hilton Honors points, until early September). If you have an Amex Platinum, this comes with Gold anyway.
IHG One Rewards. Every fourth night free, which is the best of the three. But don't get too excited... it only comes with the American IHG credit cards. The Revolut IHG cards we got over here give you Silver and Gold status, but not the fourth night free perk, boooooo.
Hyatt, Accor, Best Western, Choice and Radisson. Nothing.
Which leaves Marriott and Hilton as the two most of us can actually use, and they just so happen to have points sales on right now, in addition to their boosted card sign-up offers. But this does all come with a caveat, which I'll say now.
JUST BECAUSE IT'S "FREE", DOES NOT ALWAYS MAKE THIS THE BEST OPTION.
Lets say that five nights at a Hilton costs 60,000 Hilton points a night, totalling 240,000 points once the free night comes off. At the current buying rate that's £990. If the hotel will sell you those same five nights for £700, that free night has just cost you £290 and you'd have been better off paying cash. I am exaggerating slightly as for hotels the points price usually tracks with the cash price, but always check the cash price and compare to the points price.
Anyway...
Marriott is running a targeted bonus until 9th September, so what you're offered could vary. 50% is the best they can offer you, but mine is 45% on purchases of 40,000 points or more and 35% below that or 0.64p a point. Check yours before you work things out based on my rate. Prices are in dollars so use a card with no foreign transaction fee.
Hilton is doubling anything you buy from 5,000 points upwards until 25th September. 5,000 points plus a 5,000 point bonus is £41.26, so 0.41p a point, which is the same rate as April's promotion. Don't buy under 5,000, because there's no bonus below that. Lastly, points are priced in pounds, so use whatever card you want.
Any questions please do leave them below, but happy hunting for your next trip!
Sam
Points Well Made is a passion project from Sam and Helena. If you've enjoyed this and want to help us keep the lights on, please consider buying us a Ko-fi or subscribing monthly. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for more of the same. Thanks for reading.
