Just Breathe. Yes, There Is Life Beyond Hyatt

My Favorite Hotel Programs

Hyatt was the crowned jewel of travel loyalty programs for a very long time. We put World of Hyatt up on a pedestal and many people only checked the Hyatt site when searching for hotels. Well, Hyatt didn’t get the memo because they have been eroding value for several years now. That was until they took a sledge hammer to the program in 2026. That had me saying chasing Hyatt status is dead, which upset some people. I get it, change is hard. There is no doubt that Hyatt will still play a major role in our travels, but it is time to look at life beyond Hyatt. That is why I wanted to share my favorite hotel programs and how I use each of them.

Where I Prioritize My Hotel Points

I figured the best way to do this is share different hotel types and then which programs I use to book those types of hotels. As someone who started prioritizing other currencies over Ultimate Rewards a few years ago, this has been my path for a little while now. Even though I say they are “my favorite hotel programs” I think every program can have a space in your tool belt. It is just finding the sweet spot for each, or at least the sweet spot that works for you.

Luxury Hotels – All Accor & Hilton

When I am looking to book super high end hotels I lean into the ALL Accor and Hilton programs.

ALL Accor

Accor’s ALL program gives you around 2.2 or 2.3 cents per point (depending on exchange rate) which makes expensive hotels obtainable. We booked an $850 suite in Bermuda for 36,000 points for example. That feels similar to the Hyatt program of old.

The great part of the ALL Accor program is its flexibility. You can book any room with points. That means no hotels playing games with award space here! You are able to pay for pretty much anything on property with your points too. I loved that we were able to grab a second room at 50% off in London, thanks to a family booking discount, and paid points for both rooms. That is something no one else lets you do.

I take advantage of transfer bonuses from Bilt and Citi when they come around and stock pile points here a bit. That is because the transfer rate is below 1 to 1 normally. Just be aware of their expiration rules and transfer in new points to extend the life of your points.

Hilton

Hilton? Did he just say Hilton? He must love paying 200,000 points a night or something? No, but I do love Hilton free night certificates. It is almost like I have points in the program as a byproduct of earning free night certificates. That is why I go the route of having multiple Surpass cards instead of playing the Aspire game. I earn my free night certs plus a ton of points (for non luxury hotel stays) via the spend. I also prefer the quarterly credits on the Surpass card over the resort credit on the Aspire card.

Having those free night certificates unlocks hotel stays at up to 250,000 points a night. You just need to have a standard award available to book it. Hilton dropping the weekend stay requirement during covid was huge for these awards too. These free night awards are single handily the best thing in hotel travel.

Plus, if you a status lover – Hilton is as easy as it gets to have somewhat meaningful status for those bougie stays.

Bonus – Chase The Edit Hotels With Points Boost, FHR Credit & Choice Hotels?

A bonus option for this is booking via the Ultimate Rewards Chase Travel portal when there is a points boost available. This is getting harder and harder to come by, but there are great redemptions out there. Especially if you can get 2.5 cents per point!

Using FHR credits for a one night stay is another good option here. You will likely have to come out of pocket for it, but you get some top tier elite status level perks to offset a lot of that with these bookings.

Choice Hotels is a bit of a flyer here, but it is because of their partnership with Preferred Hotels and Resorts. Using Choice Hotels to book these I Prefer hotels is actually better a lot of the time because they show more award space. This can include some really high end hotels too.

Mid Tier To Lower End Luxury (Big Cities etc.) – Hyatt & Marriott

Middle of the road hotels are where a lot of my Hyatt points go. Think secondary cities with Hyatt Regency or Hyatt Centric hotels. I think these are a good option for Marriott hotels too.

Hyatt 

I think this is where a lot of the category 3-5 hotels live for Hyatt. That is where I usually find the sweet spot of getting decent value during my travels. Those prices will be quite a bit more in a few months, but I still think they will compare well to the competition.

Marriott

I don’t actively collect Marriott Bonvoy points, but this is where I would use them if I did. I would pair it up with some of their free night certificates, which would likely require some topping off depending on the free night certificate cap.

Bonus – Hilton & Bilt / Citi Hotel Card Credits

Hilton can still dance in this arena too. Part of that is because of how easy it can be to rack up their points compared to competitors. The real perk here is the 5th night free on awards though. That can drop an 80K – 90K a night hotel down to 64K – 72K a night on average.

The annoying part of the Bilt and Citi hotel card credits is the two night minimum requirement. Topping off the Bilt credit with Bilt cash gives you a little more room there. Requiring two nights is why I think these are best for mid-tier hotels. You should be able to cover a lot of the cost that way. They don’t come with the perks of an FHR booking either, which means you can’t offset the higher end bookings with bonus credits.

Low Tier / Roadside Hotels – IHG, Hyatt, Choice & Hilton

If you are on a road trip, visiting family in suburban America or found that gem location in the middle of nowhere – then IHG, Hyatt and maybe Hilton will be good here.

IHG

This is the real sweet spot of IHG. The 100,000 person town Holiday Inn Express will cost you like 20K -25K a night. It is where Hilton used to be on these stays, but they have jumped the shark a bit. I loved the refresh of the IHG Premier card years ago and am always happy to have a stash of IHG points for this very reason.

Hyatt

Hyatt used to rule this arena with category 1 and 2 Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels. The downside was that their footprint was limited. Well, the tide has washed away those footprints a bit because Hyatt has bumped a lot of those hotels to category 3, 4 and 5 properties. There is still a little meat left on this bone, but it isn’t like it was.

Choice

I find myself gravitating towards Choice a bit more internationally, but it has its uses in the US too. That is especially true in small town America. The issue is the consistency between hotels can be wild, so be sure to check reviews carefully.

Hilton

Finding a 30K or less Hilton hotel is a lot more difficult than it was. With the fifth night free you can still pull it off at times. That is if you are staying put in the middle of nowhere for a bit.

Bonus Option – Delta Stays Credits

I used to overlook the Delta Stays credits on my cards. That was extremely dumb on my part. Over the last year or so I have really grown to love these credits. They are perfect for that one (or even two) night stay in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere when using points isn’t offering the kind of value you would like.

All Inclusive Hotels – Hyatt & Wyndham

If you like a set it and forget vacation then I think Hyatt and Wyndham offer you a great option.

Hyatt

There is no doubt that Hyatt has tried to become the most influential all inclusive company out there. They have grown in this area more than anywhere (or anyone) else the last five years or so. The problem is they have systematically jacked up the prices on a lot of their most beloved AI hotels. There is still a lot of value out there if you look outside the more known properties though.

Wyndham

Probably weren’t expecting this one were you? I am going off my buddy Matt’s recommendation here though. He is the king of the all inclusive and says Wyndham has a quite a few affordable options that are pretty nice. The real reason I am adding this here is because of the new 1 to 2 transfer ratio that Wells Fargo just rolled out. Combine those two things and you could be cooking with gas here.

Bonus Option – Hilton

Hilton is probably the best program at allowing free night certificates at all inclusive hotels. They do limit it to only some of their AI hotels. Here is the exclusion list. That is why this could be a sneaky good option. I think using a free night cert even gets around the extra charges for four people in one room, but don’t quote me on that.

Credit Card Hotel Credits

I know I talked about credit card hotel credits / card perks above, but I thought it was worth highlighting again. It seems like loyalty program inflation has been outpacing cash rate inflation the last few years. That has made these credits less annoying and more beneficial. I usually look to use these first whenever possible, since they have an expiring clock. They have really come in clutch for us the last couple of years. I used to let many go unused – not any longer though! I gobble up the value of every single one now.

My Favorite Hotel Programs: Final Thoughts

The real theme of my favorite hotel programs is to be a free agent. Look for the sweet spots in each program. Have a stash of each currency, or transferrable points that transfer at good rates, so that you can take advantage of the best option. Don’t forget those credits you are probably overflowing from with your stack of credit card perks either. Each one has a specific type of use in my book.

Let me know how you are planning life after Hyatt. What are your favorite hotel programs? Drop a comment down below or over in the MTM Facebook Group.