Hotel Loyalty Programs

[mogandave]

What do you think is best & why?

I like Carlson as I seem to get more free rooms faster.

Hilton is pretty good as well.

[siam2007]

Hilton is a giant crap nowadays, I was a status member and after a heated argument with a typical rude "US customer service agent supervisor" I cancelled my membership entirely. I know of many members who said goodbye to Hilton after they changed their miles-earning-rules two years ago or so.

I like IHG so far, they still give full 500 Miles per stay and once you have been a GOLD member, you can relatively easily maintain the status as they will offer you a moderate challenge in case you did not fulfill the requirements in the next year.

Accor is not too bad either as you get automatic room upgrades as a Gold member and the have a larger variety of chains, basically from 1 to 5 star.

Best Western I only use to earn some miles as my FF program still gives me 500 Miles per stay - but I don't like most of their hotels.

I am a dormant Carlson member - they have very few properties in South-East-Asia so I rarely used them

[mostexpatsrlosers]

Why would you stick with a hotel loyalty program when this isn't likely to offer much flexibility in Thailand? Hilton? lol. How many Hiltons are in Thailand? 5 or 6 maybe? Agoda has a new program that lets to use one of many airline loyalty rewards cards to earn miles on hotels offered through Agoda. That way you can select the hotel you want and receive miles on the airline of your choice.

[Diplomatico]

I remain with Hilton Honors because I receive free internet and a hot breakfast buffet. Most of the time (depends upon availability) I'll receive an upgraded room also. I also get five nights for the price of four on award stays (AXON) because I hold a Hilton co-branded AMEX card (which also automatically confers Gold level status).

There are half dozen Hilton properties in Thailand and many people travel outside of Thailand as well. KL, HK, Singapore, Hanoi, Chinese cities in Asia.....many cities across Europe, etc. They all have Hiltons.

I'd rather get hotel points than 500 airline miles from a stay...more valuable to me. 500 miles added to a FF account isn't going to get you very far. You can rack up hotel points pretty quickly if you combine the hotel's loyalty program with the co-branded credit card. A stay earns points from the hotel and then more points from the credit card used to pay for the same stay.

I stopped with Club Carlson when they eliminated the "last night free" on award stays. That was a great benefit. CC hotels are more widely available in Europe, though. Mainly kept it around for Bangkok stays.

[mogandave]

When I am in Thailand I don't need a hotel as I stay at my home.

I travel mostly for business, and I book travel using the company website, which generally has negotiated rates with large chains.

When I travel for pleasure, I use the points I generate from business travel to book free rooms.

[siam2007]

Why would you stick with a hotel loyalty program when this isn't likely to offer much flexibility in Thailand? Hilton? lol. How many Hiltons are in Thailand? 5 or 6 maybe? Agoda has a new program that lets to use one of many airline loyalty rewards cards to earn miles on hotels offered through Agoda. That way you can select the hotel you want and receive miles on the airline of your choice.

I saw this new agoda feature too, but you need to emphasize it comes with a price tag (higher rates).

In my case, I still would consider using it if I can fill up my ENRICH account to get that C-Class flight to Europe before miles expire, but ENRICH of Malaysia Airlines let's you redeem via a "miles + cash" system, which I made use of to redeem a C-class ticket to US in 2014. so the benefits r limited.

my StarAlliance miles on LH never expire though, maybe I will give it a try there sometimes

[Farangdanny]

I have used MARRIOTT REWARDS for many years and STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST for a while. I have recently found out that it is usually easy to book direct with hotels direct as a non member FOR LESS MONEY, and still receive the points !!!!

[abrahamzvi]

Hilton is a giant crap nowadays, I was a status member and after a heated argument with a typical rude "US customer service agent supervisor" I cancelled my membership entirely. I know of many members who said goodbye to Hilton after they changed their miles-earning-rules two years ago or so.

I like IHG so far, they still give full 500 Miles per stay and once you have been a GOLD member, you can relatively easily maintain the status as they will offer you a moderate challenge in case you did not fulfill the requirements in the next year.

Accor is not too bad either as you get automatic room upgrades as a Gold member and the have a larger variety of chains, basically from 1 to 5 star.

Best Western I only use to earn some miles as my FF program still gives me 500 Miles per stay - but I don't like most of their hotels.

I am a dormant Carlson member - they have very few properties in South-East-Asia so I rarely used them

I agree with you on the Hilton program, which I cancelled few years ago. I think the SPG program is the best of the lot, although the Accor one, of which I am a gold member is not bad. I have been a SPG member for over 10 years with over 500 stays and have been awarded Platinum Status for life. It can hardly get better.

[Farangdanny]

Hilton is a giant crap nowadays, I was a status member and after a heated argument with a typical rude "US customer service agent supervisor" I cancelled my membership entirely. I know of many members who said goodbye to Hilton after they changed their miles-earning-rules two years ago or so.

I like IHG so far, they still give full 500 Miles per stay and once you have been a GOLD member, you can relatively easily maintain the status as they will offer you a moderate challenge in case you did not fulfill the requirements in the next year.

Accor is not too bad either as you get automatic room upgrades as a Gold member and the have a larger variety of chains, basically from 1 to 5 star.

Best Western I only use to earn some miles as my FF program still gives me 500 Miles per stay - but I don't like most of their hotels.

I am a dormant Carlson member - they have very few properties in South-East-Asia so I rarely used them

I agree with you on the Hilton program, which I cancelled few years ago. I think the SPG program is the best of the lot, although the Accor one, of which I am a gold member is not bad. I have been a SPG member for over 10 years with over 500 stays and have been awarded Platinum Status for life. It can hardly get better.

Then you are in for a shock. I am also an SPG member. I have found out that it is possible to book direct with hotel at much cheaper rate and still get the SPG points. Last time was last weekend in Chiang Rai !!!

[Bob12345]

Accor gold member here, and working hard to earn platinum status.

Been very happy with them as they often have great deals with bonus points, 50% discount on food if you come with 2 (great for their buffet menus), and free room upgrades.

They did just announce that rules are changing making it harder to maintain a certain status level, not sure if I would therefore recommend their loyalty program in a couple of years.

Previously you just had to stay in the hotel 1 day per year to maintain status, this will change in 2017.

[ozyjon]

I stopped using loyalty rewards years ago,

i book direct with whatever hotel i want,

works out cheaper and more flexible.

[2fishin2]

Marriot member for many years. Probably one of the best if not best rewards program there is. All depends on where you are traveling and access to the type of hotel you want.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I am a hilton diamond and ihg platinum. I don't understand how can you say ihg is a better program than Hilton. There are absolutely no benefits except a room upgrade while at Hilton (even gold) you'll get a lounge access and a great breakfast buffet.

Even for earning points hhonors beats ihg by a mile. That being said i would like to have a status with spg the most.

[mogandave]

I stopped using loyalty rewards years ago,

i book direct with whatever hotel i want,

works out cheaper and more flexible.

Being a member is free and does not compel you to book any particular hotel.

I can book direct with whatever hotel I want just like you, but I have the added benefit of getting a free room occasionally.

Much like airline miles, there is no real downside to collecting them.

[sydneyjed]

Im with starwoods but agree it is easier for me just to phone them direct and book rather than using any of the hotel booking sites..a good site to join up is the John Ollia LoyaltyLobby.com blog as it gives daily up to date info' on the best programmes out there...and the worst!Very informative

[robhufton]

I have had platinum elite with SPG and platinum spire elite with IHG for some years and for me the main pros and cons are:

SPG:

Pro: Upgrade to Executive Club room from any room booking

Con: Reaching platinum elite status achieved on number of nights only (so you must stay 50 nights, although free/reward nights do count towards it)

IHG:

Pro: Reaching platinum elite status can be achieved by points as well as nights (with double points etc. it makes it much easier to reach)

Con: Room upgrade is 1 level only (if you book Superior room, you will only get upgrade to Premier, so need to book Premier room for Executive Club upgrade)