Best Hotel Rewards Programs for Luxury Stays

I Prefer Hotel Rewards is our pick of the best hotel rewards programs for travelers who choose the hotel first. It is free, and its first tier already lists member rates, room upgrades and late check-out, when the hotel has space, at independent hotels such as Montage Los Cabos.
If one chain gets most of your nights, pick World of Hyatt. At 60 nights a year, its Globalist members get club access or breakfast, upgrades that reach standard suites, and a 4 p.m. checkout, each as available.
The chains ask for nights before breakfast. Hilton gives a food credit or continental breakfast from Gold at 25 nights, Marriott lounge breakfast from Platinum at 50 where a brand has lounges, Accor weekend breakfast from Platinum at 60, and IHG breakfast as a Diamond welcome choice at 70.

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It’s 11 a.m. on your last day, the pool is right there, and the front desk would like your room back.

A loyalty card with enough status fixes that. With it, the hotel offers the late checkout, the better room and the breakfast, space permitting.

We picked six programs for their luxury hotels and their perks: I Prefer, World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards and Accor ALL. Each one has a spec table, then what the perks really ask of you.

The best hotel rewards programs

Our favorite comes first.

I Prefer Hotel Rewards: Perks from your first stay

Infinity pools above the bay at Montage Los Cabos, a Preferred Hotels & Resorts Legend hotel - Luxe Digital

Hotels and residences: 625+
Countries: 80
Free to join: Yes
Tiers: Silver, Gold, Titanium
Top tier: Titanium, 50,000 points in 12 months
Standout perk: Upgrades and late check-out, as available

I Prefer is the rewards program of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, a group of independent hotels such as Montage Los Cabos, pictured. The perks start with your first stay: member rates, in-room Wi-Fi, room upgrades, and early check-in and late check-out.

Those perks depend on the hotel. You get an upgrade only when a better room is free at check-in, and some hotels don’t offer upgrades or late check-out at all.

Members also get offers. Stay More, Save More takes up to 30% off three nights or more, and Preferred Bed & Breakfast adds daily breakfast for two at the hotels taking part. There are also honeymoon stays and a last-minute offer.

Best for: You pick the hotel first and the program second.

Join free: I Prefer Hotel Rewards: Perks from your first stay at I Prefer Hotel Rewardsat I Prefer Hotel Rewards · Free to join, perks from the first stay

World of Hyatt: The best perks, if you can give it 60 nights

Cliff-edge pool facing the Indian Ocean at Alila Villas Uluwatu in Bali - Luxe Digital

Hotels: 1,500+
Countries: 84
Free to join: Yes
Tiers: Discoverist, Explorist, Globalist
Top tier: Globalist, 60 nights a year
Standout perk: Club access or breakfast at Globalist

Hyatt’s Globalist members get club access or breakfast, upgrades that go as far as a standard suite, and a 4 p.m. checkout. Each one is “as available”.

Discoverist, at 10 nights, gets a preferred room within the type you booked and a 2 p.m. checkout, both as available. Explorist, at 30, gets an upgraded room short of a suite when one is free. That’s 30 nights for a better room and no breakfast.

You earn 5 base points per dollar at most Hyatt hotels, where Marriott and IHG start at 10, and Globalists add 30%.

If you take two or three holidays a year, 60 nights is a long way off. If you travel for work and can steer those nights to Hyatt, this is the one to hold.

Best for: Giving one chain 60 nights a year and getting suites back.

Marriott Bonvoy: The most luxury names on one card

Ocean-view room with a private plunge pool at Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, in Puerto Rico - Luxe Digital

Hotels: 10,000
Countries: 146, with territories
Free to join: Yes
Tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum, Titanium, Ambassador
Top tier: Ambassador, 100 nights and $23,000 a year
Standout perk: Your24 at Ambassador: you choose your check-in time

Marriott Bonvoy puts The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St. Regis, JW Marriott, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels and EDITION on one account. One exception: Bulgari hotels sit outside the program, so don’t count on points there.

Ritz-Carlton guests don’t get the lounge breakfast. From Platinum, at 50 nights, Marriott gives you lounge access with breakfast and a welcome gift that can be breakfast. But The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve and EDITION don’t offer the lounge, and at Ritz-Carlton and EDITION the Platinum welcome gift is 1,000 points a stay. Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico, pictured, is a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, so your Platinum card won’t open a lounge there.

Platinum also brings upgrades that can include select suites, and a 4 p.m. checkout, though resorts and convention hotels give it only when they can. The ladder runs Silver at 10 nights, Gold at 25, Platinum at 50 and Titanium at 75. Ambassador adds a personal Ambassador, and Your24 lets you keep the room until the same hour you checked in.

You earn 10 points per dollar at most brands, and Titanium adds 75%. Book five award nights in one go and you pay for four.

Best for: You want Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis on one account.

Marriott, Hilton and Accor say in their terms that a room booked through an online travel agency earns no points or elite perks. Their buttons on this page book the pictured hotel on Expedia. That earns OneKeyCash instead. If you have status with the chain, book direct.

Check rates: Marriott Bonvoy: The most luxury names on one card at Expediaat Expedia · OneKeyCash with free One Key

Hilton Honors: Breakfast from Gold

Overwater villas above the lagoon at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island - Luxe Digital

Hotels: 9,600+
Countries: 144, with territories
Free to join: Yes
Tiers: Silver, Gold, Diamond, Diamond Reserve
Top tier: Diamond Reserve, 80 nights or 40 stays, plus $18,000 a year
Standout perk: Food and beverage credit or breakfast from Gold

Hilton puts breakfast at 25 nights, half the nights Marriott asks for its lounge breakfast. The credit or continental breakfast depends on the brand and the region. Gold also has routes for people who stay shorter: 15 stays or $6,000 of spending in a year gets you there too.

Hilton has 28 brands. Its luxury names include Waldorf Astoria, Conrad and LXR. Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, pictured, is one of them.

Diamond Reserve, the top tier, comes with one Confirmable Upgrade Reward, and a second at 120 nights: an upgrade of up to a one-bedroom suite, confirmed ahead, on a stay of up to seven nights at select hotels. A 4 p.m. checkout is guaranteed.

Best for: You want breakfast on 25 nights a year, and the odd Conrad weekend.

Check rates: Hilton Honors: Breakfast from Gold at Expediaat Expedia · OneKeyCash with free One Key

IHG One Rewards: Six Senses and Regent, with a catch

A guest at the window of a harbour-view room at Regent Hong Kong - Luxe Digital

Hotels: 6,000+
Free to join: Yes
Tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond
Top tier: Diamond, 70 nights or 120,000 points a year
Standout perk: 2 p.m. late checkout for every member, when available

IHG One Rewards counts Six Senses, Regent and InterContinental among its brands, but IHG’s terms say the program applies only at specific Six Senses properties. Check the resort before you plan to earn or spend points there.

IHG’s list doesn’t add that “participating” qualifier to Regent or InterContinental. Regent Hong Kong, pictured, looks across the harbor.

The ladder is Silver at 10 nights, Gold at 20, Platinum at 40 and Diamond at 70. Platinum brings upgrades and early check-in when the hotel can manage them. Breakfast waits for Diamond, as one of three welcome amenities you can choose.

You earn 10 points per dollar at most brands, and Diamond doubles that.

Best for: You stay at Regent or InterContinental and can reach 70 nights.

Check rates: IHG One Rewards: Six Senses and Regent, with a catch at IHG Hotels & Resortsat IHG Hotels & Resorts · IHG One Rewards points on direct bookings

Accor ALL: A discount you can count on at Raffles

The white colonial facade of Raffles Hotel Singapore - Luxe Digital

Hotels: 5,400+
Free to join: Yes
Tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond
Top tier: Diamond, 26,000 status points a year
Standout perk: Every 2,000 points take €40 off a stay

Accor’s points have a fixed value, so you know what a point is worth before you book. Classic members earn 25 points per €10 at its standard brands. That works out to about 5% back.

Raffles Hotel Singapore, pictured, earns them, and so do Fairmont, Sofitel, Orient Express and Banyan Tree hotels.

A big night costs a lot of points. At €40 per 2,000 points, a €1,000 night takes 50,000. Status perks are modest too. Platinum, at 60 nights, gets a next-category upgrade that stops short of a suite, lounge access, and breakfast at weekends (daily in Asia Pacific). Diamond, at 26,000 status points, adds Fairmont Gold lounges and ten €10 vouchers for dining or the spa at participating hotels.

Best for: You want fixed-value points at Raffles and Fairmont.

Check rates: Accor ALL: A discount you can count on at Raffles at Expediaat Expedia · OneKeyCash with free One Key

The perks without the status

You can get many of these perks with no status at all, by booking through someone who has already negotiated them. If you hold an eligible American Express card, Fine Hotels + Resorts lists noon check-in, an upgrade when one is free, daily breakfast for two, a $100 experience credit and a 4 p.m. checkout on its bookings. Virtuoso travel advisors get a package that varies by hotel, such as breakfast for two and an upgrade if one is available. Neither asks you for a single night first. If you’d rather hand over the whole trip, our guide to the best luxury concierge services covers the people who’ll take it.

How the programs compare

Every perk below depends on availability unless it says guaranteed.

Program	Breakfast from	Late checkout	Top tier
I Prefer	Any member, at hotels in the Bed & Breakfast offer	Any member	Titanium: 50,000 points
World of Hyatt	60 nights (Globalist), club or breakfast	2 p.m. from 10 nights, 4 p.m. at 60	Globalist: 60 nights
Marriott Bonvoy	50 nights (Platinum), where there’s a lounge; none at Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve or EDITION	4 p.m. from 50 nights	Ambassador: 100 nights plus $23,000
Hilton Honors	25 nights (Gold), credit or continental breakfast by brand and region	Guaranteed 4 p.m. at Diamond Reserve	Diamond Reserve: 80 nights plus $18,000
IHG One Rewards	70 nights (Diamond), as a welcome amenity	2 p.m. for any member	Diamond: 70 nights
Accor ALL	60 nights (Platinum), weekends outside Asia Pacific	Platinum (60 nights)	Diamond: 26,000 status points

Planning a once-in-a-decade splurge instead? Our ranking of the most expensive hotels in the world shows where the suites start.

For everything else, count the nights you spent in hotels last year. Under 25, take the free I Prefer card and keep choosing the hotels you love. Between 25 and 60, Hilton’s breakfast starts at Gold. Over 60 with one chain, give them to Hyatt.

Frequently asked questions about hotel rewards programs

Which hotel chain has the best loyalty program?

If one chain gets 60 of your nights a year, World of Hyatt. Its Globalist tier, at 60 nights a year, brings club access or breakfast, upgrades up to standard suites and a 4 p.m. checkout, as available. If you don't stay with one chain, I Prefer lists upgrades and late check-out on its free first tier at Preferred Hotels' independent hotels, when the hotel has space.

Is the Marriott or Hilton loyalty program better?

Hilton gets you breakfast sooner: Gold members, at 25 nights, receive a daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast, depending on brand and region. Marriott starts lounge breakfast at Platinum, 50 nights, at brands with lounges, and doesn't offer the lounge at Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve or EDITION. Marriott's luxury names include The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and EDITION.

Which hotel rewards program is the most rewarding?

It depends on how you travel. If you spread your nights across hotels you choose one by one, I Prefer gives perks from the first stay and offers up to 30% off three nights or more. If you give one chain 60 nights a year, World of Hyatt's Globalist tier adds club access or breakfast, standard-suite upgrades and a 4 p.m. checkout, as available.

Which hotel loyalty program is best for earning points?

Marriott, IHG and I Prefer start at 10 points per US dollar at most hotels, and Hyatt at 5. Accor states the value up front: Classic members earn 25 points per €10 at its standard brands, and every 2,000 points take €40 off a stay.

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