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Hotel expenses can add up when you’re traveling, which is why points are so important. In fact, I know people who forego earning airline miles and focus exclusively on hotel points because it accounts for a bigger chunk of their travel expenses. It’s definitely good to plan ahead and start accruing hotel points well in advance of a trip. But if you’re in a time crunch, here are five of the best ways to earn hotel points quickly:
Get a Hotel Credit Card
How does a hotel credit card help you earn hotel points quickly? Most hotel credit cards offer at least two free nights in return for relatively low spending requirements (i.e. $1,000 – $2,000). Most folks can meet these spending requirements quickly by charging their everyday expenses, household bills, and even prepaying things like insurance. Granted, you’ll need to wait for your statement to close to get your sign-up bonus, but hotel credit cards are a great way to get a ton of hotel points (or free nights) 1-2 months before a trip.
For a list of hotel credit cards with great rewards, head here.
Transfer points
Transferring flexible rewards is the best way to stock up on hotel points quickly. Are you short on Hyatt points? Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer pretty much instantly. Need Hilton points? Both Citi ThankYou and Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to Hilton. Not at a particularly lucrative ratio, but it’s still something. In fact, you could even transfer Hawaiian Miles to Hilton at a 1:1.5 ratio if you need to.
Share Points
If you want to transfer hotel points at a favorable ratio without incurring fees, sharing or pooling points is the best way to go. Hilton allows point pooling between up to 10 people free of charge. Hyatt lets you share points with virtually anyone. Starwood lets you send points to a spouse. All without paying a cent to do it. Got flexible rewards you want to transfer to another person’s hotel account instead? You can do that with Chase, though there are a few rules to be aware of.
Use Arrival Miles
Arrival miles from the Barclay Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard are super handy during those times when you’re short on hotel points. For starters, I often find that redeeming Arrival Miles makes more sense than using hotel points. That’s especially true when it comes to cheap room rates and those times when I want to book a premium room. But more importantly, if you can’t get hotel points fast enough, Arrival miles are ideal because they post pretty much instantly. As soon as a purchase posts, the miles are in your account – no need to wait until the end of the billing period. The best part? Even if you can’t earn the miles in time for your booking, you have 120 days to redeem them.
Buy Points
I’m generally not a fan of buying points – especially hotel points. There are occasional sales that make topping off your account worth it. I believe Hilton has one right now that offers But I’ve rarely found it prudent to buy hotel points. You might have a different take on that. My only suggestion is if you’re buying hotel points, don’t focus on the “value” you’re getting – think about whether you’re willing to spend that same amount on a standard hotel room. Too many people get caught up in the value they get for spending an extra $xx amount of money and lose sight of the fact that it’s way past their budget.
That’s my take on how to earn miles quickly. As usual, I recommend getting an early start when it comes to stocking up on hotel points. More importantly, use every resource available to you to ensure you’re earning the most points possible. That includes taking advantage of credit card category bonuses, cash back portals, annual spending bonuses and adding authorized users to help you get there faster.
I’d love your feedback: How do you get hotel points in a time crunch?
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