Planning summer vacations are exciting, but maximizing your savings with the right hotel rewards program that fits your needs and budget isn’t always easy. To help travelers save the most money and time this summer, WalletHub released its Best Hotel Rewards Program Study for 2023, which ranks the loyalty programs of the most popular U.S. hotel chains.
While there are countless hotel loyalty programs out there that travelers can join for free, Wallethub compared the 10 most popular hotel rewards programs in the U.S. across 21 metrics, including the average value of a point, point expiration policies and the volatility of award-night pricing to determine the best hotel rewards programs. Five hotel chains earned top scores for offering the best hotel rewards programs overall.
The Best Hotel Rewards Programs for 2023:
- Wyndham Rewards
- World of Hyatt
- Radisson Awards Americas
- Choice Privileges
- Hilton Honors
Wyndham Rewards takes the top spot as the best loyalty program in the U.S. overall, earning an average rating of 68 out of 100. Wyndham Rewards is a great option for all traveler types, but those who travel less may get the most out of the Wyndham Rewards program. Wyndham Rewards scored a value of 71 out of 100 for light travelers, 68 out of 100 for medium travelers and 66 out of 100 for heavy travelers. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts features 9,000 hotels that offer Wyndham Rewards, giving travelers many hotel locations and travel destinations to choose from when taking advantage of the rewards program.
World of Hyatt landed at second overall with an average score of 67 out of 100. The Hyatt rewards program scored highly for its earning policies and rewards value, which was an average value of $13.07 per $100 spent in 2022. Additionally, The World of Hyatt Credit Card is the best hotel credit card for 2023, according to WalletHub, which can save the average person roughly $1,400 over the course of two years.
With an overall average score of 65 out of 100, Radisson Rewards Americas offers many benefits for all traveler types, but may be the most valuable for moderate travelers, scoring 68 out of 100 for the moderate traveler.
At No. 4 overall, Choice Privileges earned an average score of 63 out of 100, ranking highly for its earning policies and rewards value. Choice Privileges offers the highest average rewards value among the top five loyalty programs, offering an average rewards value of up to $15.50 in 2022.
Hilton Honors earned an overall average score of 66 out of 100 and ranks among the top rewards programs for its redemption options and geographic coverage. With over 7,000 hotels with the Hilton Honors reward program, travelers have many destinations to choose from when planning their next summer vacation.
Read the full Wallethub report here.
