Top 20 Hotel Group loyalty programs compared

The table below lists the top 20 based on number of hotels. Click on the link in the Loyalty Program column to see my review. While I have focused mostly on Global chains which I actually use, I may eventually get to the rest.

¹Note: H World Group is technically larger than Marriott by hotel count, but many of its properties are small-scale economy units in China. Ranking varies by whether "Global Managed" or "Total Franchised" units are the primary metric. ²OYO's numbers fluctuate significantly due to their business model; 4,000+ represents their core managed/franchised "premium" segment.

Then there is GHA Discovery ..

GHA DISCOVERY (Global Hotel Alliance) which I reviewed is unique because it isn't a single hotel group like Marriott or Hilton. Instead, it is an alliance of 850+ independent hotel brands, much like Star Alliance or Oneworld in the airline industry.

Primary regions: UAE, Thailand, Singapore, UK

Notable Brands: Kempinski, Capella, Anantara, Viceroy, Niccolo, The Leela, Pan Pacific, PARKROYAL, Outrigger, NH Hotels (partially integrated), GLO Hotels.

How do you pick a loyalty program?

My suggestion is to pick based on region first. It all depends on your mixture of regional travel. If you don't have regular travel plans to any particular region, the Global ones (Best Western, Wyndham, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott) are your best bet. If you pick a regional one, you may lose out on benefits when you do end up going outside of your regular region.

Second, I would pick based on availability of budget AND style. If you're like me, you spend conservatively when traveling solo but may occasionally splurge more when traveling with your family.

The bigger hotel chains will generally offer more choice of hotel budget and be present in more countries and major cities. There's always a cheaper hotel somewhere, but I prefer a combination of affordable but trendy or well-designed brands where possible.

For me, this means Hilton (Motto), Hyatt (Caption, UrCove) and Marriott (Moxy, Aloft) to name a few brands. IHG has something, but not so much selection and availability globally.

Here are some locations where I think the Global players don't do so well:

• Langkawi, Malaysia
• Outside Auckland, New Zealand

Third, pick based on how easy/likely you will reach the hotel loyalty tier with the benefits you want. I have summarized the higher-tier - but not the highest tier - benefits most people care about the most in the table below for some of the programs I am in. I have intentionally ordered it from hardest requirements to easiest, and you can see there is a correlation in terms of benefits also.

Depending on how much you travel, you may also want to pick a program that has a more generous points expiration policy:

Top 20 Hotel Group Points Expiration Policies

*Excludes Elite members; IHG points for Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members do not expire as long as status is maintained.

What Benefits do you value?

Free Breakfast

GHA Discovery is the easiest to attain and maintain, but it literally has 1/9th the number of hotel locations as Hilton, and the hotel brand/budget might not be what you're looking for. GHA leans towards the high-end.

Hilton Gold - not Diamond - is the next easiest at 15 stays or 25 nights. Hilton is zero effort if you have an AmEx credit card offering Hilton Gold or higher.

I value this benefit the most because hotel breakfasts for a couple or a family of three can easily run from USD $50 to $100 per day. My personal opinion is Hilton and Hyatt both offer the best high-quality breakfasts in Asia. Amazing Hyatt breakfasts will require a Park Hyatt stay though. Any Hilton is awesome. Hilton is differentiating by having a dedicated - usually quieter and less packed - seating area as well as special menu for Gold or higher status.

Lounge

GHA is the only one that doesn't offer lounge, so if you care about lounge, GHA is not for you. Having said that, other than breakfast in the lounge, it depends on how you use and value lounge. If you somehow need a coffee you can't make in your room, or perhaps are in Asia where the food may be dinner-worthy, lounge might be interesting. For me lounge is when you have a picky (young) kid and you need something simple, free and quick for dinner. I honestly don't travel all this way overseas for mediocre hotel lounge food, cheap wine, and not hanging out with local friends in some cases. Great local food and buying a bottle of wine is just better and still affordable. A USD $20 bottle of wine is almost certainly better than lounge wine.

Room upgrade

They are all worded differently between hotel groups, but generally they are subject to availability. In no circumstances will you get the best suite which is usually the Presidential suite.

• Hilton and Radisson offer you the best that is available. I can attest that even as Hilton Gold during Covid, I surprisingly beat everyone else at a fairly full hotel and managed to get an amazing 120 sqm suite which was 2 levels higher than what I paid for.
• Hyatt and Marriott might give you a suite, but not the best suites. Hyatt has standard vs premium suites. Marriott has select suites which are typically 1-bedroom.
• GHA is 2 levels higher which seems more generous than other programs that may just try to get away with getting your 1 level up or a preferred room of the same type but on a higher floor or away from the lift.

See my GHA Titanium Parkroyal Langkawi review where I got upgraded to a monstrous suite.

Late check-out

You essentially minimize wasting an activity day by being able to do something in the morning. This is most useful when you need to shower/bathe after whatever morning activity you had earlier as you can always just leave your luggage with the concierge even after you check-out. Most, but not all hotels offer free luggage storage for the day. Of course, you may feel safer if your luggage is in your room instead of shared storage which may be less secure.

• Marriott and Hyatt offer a guaranteed 4pm check-out, so pick either one if you highly value 4pm late check-out. Once, I was even offered a 6pm check-out at a Marriott!
• GHA, Hilton and Radisson are subject to availability, which means it may not be as late as 4pm. Keep in mind it's super easy to reach GHA Titanium, so it truly is a roll of the dice whether you get this. Only Hilton Diamond Reserve (80 nights or 40 stays AND $18K spend) guarantees you 4pm check-out. I'd rather stay 50 nights at Marriott if I care about late checkout. Hilton Diamond Reserve is a high bar to meet.

Points Earn Rate

This is the most complex topic of all as you have to take into account expiration policy based on tier, whether the hotel use static or dynamic pricing, as well as credit cards for some of you. At these status tiers, the points are generally valid for 24 months. Generally speaking, I think Hilton is the best here for earning points, but their hotels are not the newest, cheapest or best deal in Asia; that goes to Marriott.

• GHA can be as short as 12 months at the entry-level Silver tier, but as long as 24 months for Titanium tier.
• Marriott points do not expire if you reach lifetime status, which starts at 250 nights AND 5 years of Silver or higher for Lifetime Silver. Points are interesting for Marriott because you only use 4-nights of points for a 5-night points redemption. i.e. 1 night is free.
• Hyatt offer the least bonus percentage, but they have fixed rates depending on hotel category. I would say it's more predictable than other programs, but you shouldn't be expecting lots of good deals based on points instead of cash as the points required for a redemption are dynamic in nature. What you benefit from is potential savings when you redeem with points instead of cash as taxes are not applicable when paying with points and you can get free parking and resort fees waived. The higher the tax, the better off you are paying with points.
• Hilton - If you have a Hilton AmEx Aspire card, you can get up to 34 Pts/$1 as Hilton Diamond (240% bonus) or 36 Pts/$1 as Hilton Diamond Reserve (260% bonus). Points are interesting for Hilton because you only use 4-nights of points for a 5-night points redemption. i.e. 1 night is free.
• Radisson is the winner here with 350% bonus, which means you can earn free nights based on spend quickest. You can always pair with a credit card that earns additional rewards based on online or foreign currency spending to further increase returns.

Conclusion

Marriott is generally the best in APAC due to number of locations. Back Marriott status up with Hilton or Hyatt status just in case for some specific regions. Treat points as a free extra benefit. There are too many ways for the hotels to make points devalue and/or ways for some people to earn crazy numbers of points via credit card. You will rarely feel or find points redemptions to be a good deal unless you are Hilton or Marriott which gets you your 5th day extra night free when redeeming with points.

If you're certain you will stay 60+ nights/year, Hyatt Globalist is awesome because you earn based mostly on spend and the benefits such as suite upgrades certificates are confirmed at the point of reservation. You also get additional benefits every 10 additional nights above 60. You need to reach another 25 nights after hitting Marriott Platinum to reach Titanium - for a total of 75 nights - where the only useful incentive is the option of 5 suite upgrade nights.