If we told you that spending money on every day life could earn a “free” night at a five star hotel which costs up to $1000 a night with one program, or get you just one night in a $100 three star hotel with another, for the same amount of spending, it’s safe to assume which one you’d pick.
When it comes to converting your transferrable credit card points into hotel points, it can literally be just that simple. Choose door A, get something great, behind door B – not so much. Here’s the most rewarding program for converting credit card points into luxury stays, and a breakdown on why…
Converting Credit Card Spending Into Hotel Nights
Most credit card points convert into airline or hotel loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio, or similar. Basically, you can turn 1,000 credit card points into 1,000 airline miles or hotel points with the click of a button but how much they’ll be able to get you once you do, will vary.
What matters most when you do wish to turn your credit card points into hotel points, is how many points you need from the airline or hotel for what you want.
Assuming you want the best, the very best, and nothing but the very best, let’s look at what a five star hotel in a leading destination would cost with each major hotel points program that’s tied to a credit card transfer option. Think five star hotel or resort in a major city, or leading beach getaway..
- World of Hyatt : 25,000-30,000 points per night.
- Hilton Honors : 70,000 – 110,000 points per night.
- Marriott Bonvoy : 50,000 – 100,000 points per night.
- IHG Rewards Club : 60,000 – 70,000 points per night.
Obviously, there’s a very glaring option standing out here. Hyatt properties max out at 30,000 points per night, even in cities like New York, Tokyo or the Maldives, whereas most others reach the upper limits of their points ranges.
Assuming you’d earn an equal amount of credit card points across each program (Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Bank of America, etc), moving points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt is the quickest and least costly route (in points) to a high end hotel redemption.
Put simply, if you had 60,000 points with every transferrable credit card point currency, Chase to Hyatt is the only one which would unlock two nights at a top tier property, whereas any of the others would unlock one or less. If moving credit card points to cover luxury hotel stays is your game, this is the best avenue to get there.
Earning 3X points on airfare and dining with Chase Sapphire Reserve would mean that $10,000 in spending would unlock 30,000 points, which is equal or greater than what you’d need for a night at a leading hotel.
Hotel Specific Credit Cards Are Totally Different
Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with earning from co-branded credit cards, like the World Of Hyatt Credit Card, Bonvoy Boundless, IHG Premier or Hilton Aspire and so forth. Those each have fantastic earning rates, which more or less equal things out with each program.
The difference with those cards versus your transferrable points spending is that spending via a Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Venture, Citi Thank You or Amex Membership Rewards Points earning card will earn points which give you lots of redemption options with multiple airlines and hotels, whereas the co-branded credit cards lock you into one specific program.
There’s no judgement here. Some households, businesses or individuals have lots of monthly spending to do, and if you’re earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, it’s incredible to be able to save $500+ a night by spending just 25,000 – 30,000 points at a time via the World of Hyatt loyalty program.
There’s always the opportunity cost lost by not converting your points to an airline, in hopes of covering another expense, but there are plenty of ways to cover those with other points as well. Hello, cash back cards and other credit card travel rebate opportunities. Even playing devils advocate, this is a wickedly tough combo to beat…
