Redeem Hotel Points for Friends Easily
Ah, the joy of miles and points! One of the great perks is the opportunity to spread a little wanderlust with friends and family. While it’d be great to tag along on every trip, sometimes that’s just not feasible—and that’s okay.
You might be asking yourself, can you share your precious points with those nearest and dearest? Excellent question! Let’s dive into the realm of hotel loyalty programs and their slightly sneaky policies. Brace yourself; some hoop jumping may be required.
Hotel Policies on Redeeming Points for Others
Most of the big-name hotel loyalty programs allow you to redeem points for others. Sometimes it’s as easy as pie, but other times, you’ll need to play a little point-transfer game before you can book a room for someone else. Here’s the scoop:
- This is strictly for treating friends and family, not strangers or selling the points—doing so is a no-no that could land you in hot water.
- Don’t expect to earn points or elite credit when booking for someone else, and they likely won’t enjoy any elite goodies you usually would.
Right, now onto the juicy details…
Accor Live Limitless
When it comes to Accor Live Limitless (ALL), they don’t really roll out the red carpet for giving your points away. But don’t fret; you can still use your points for your stay or anyone tagging along. Just don’t expect to pass them on like a family heirloom—it’s a no-go zone for gifting.
Choice Privileges
Choice Privileges wants you to share the love, at least with the folks you’re related to. You can give a reward night to immediate family members—think spouse, parents, siblings, that sort of thing.
There are two ways to pull this off: Pop into your online account and pop the guest’s name in a special request box, or simply phone your booking in and whisper the secret family name to the reservations wizard.
Hilton Honors
If you’re burning a Hilton Honors stash for someone else, the slickest move is a points transfer. Hilton, bless their hearts, lets you share up to 500,000 points a year, and receive up to two million.
Alternatively, call them up, and staff might help you book a gift stay, but transferring points is a smoother sail all around.
IHG One Rewards
With IHG One Rewards, it’s a bit DIY. Just make a booking and toss in the second guest’s name for a smooth handover. You can even scribble a note about the gifting gesture while booking. Practical and fuss-free.
Marriott Bonvoy
With Marriott Bonvoy, giving is all about the small print:
- Hit up customer support to arrange everything by phone.
- Limit yourself to five gifted bookings per year.
- Stick to gifting points—sadly, free night awards aren’t shareable.
Or, cozy up to the idea of combining accounts if transferring points is more your gig and beware, 100,000 points a year only go so far.
World of Hyatt
World of Hyatt offers a few straightforward options. You can call them and get the gifting process started, or tap into their neat perk: transfer certificates to others with a simple call.
Oh, if you fancy, share your World of Hyatt Globalist status perks with a lucky friend or kin using Guest of Honor certificates, and honestly, this perk is delightful.
And because sharing is caring, Hyatt also lets you combine points with someone at no cost, though you can only do so every 30 days and they need a purpose like redeeming an award.
Wyndham Rewards
Good news folks, Wyndham Rewards cuts all pretenses. You can gift points freely to friends and family. Punch it in online or give them a call—no hoops, no tricks, just good old points-sharing goodness.
Bottom Line
In the wild world of hotel loyalty programs, redeeming points for others is a mixed bag, but it’s usually feasible. Whether transferring points or booking directly, the key is ensuring you’re aware of the rules—especially no bargaining, and remember any perks you have might not be included.
Have you ever shared your hotel points? What was your experience?