Hotels.com is one of the best-known third-party hotel booking platforms with access to over 1 million properties around the world. The company is part of the Expedia Group of travel companies and has 85 websites in 34 languages. Its inventory includes hotels, motels, resorts, bed and breakfasts, apartment hotels, condos, hostels and other types of commercial lodging.
Disclaimer: this blog post contain affiliate links. I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click on a link and book or purchase a product through these links.
How Hotels.com rewards work
It is free to sign up for the Hotels.com Rewards program and the program is super simple – when you book and stay for one night at eligible properties, you’ll get one stamp. Once you collect 10 stamps, you’ll get one reward night to redeem at any eligible property. Your reward night will be the average value (before taxes and fees) of the 10 stamps you collect.
You can collect stamps over multiple stays for business or leisure, and for family and friends bookings made from your Hotels.com account.
There are some limitations – you can’t collect stamps or redeem reward nights when you pay using a discount coupon or if you’re making a reservation for a package vacation. Also, some hotels or apartments will allow you to earn Hotels.com rewards stamps but not eligible for a reward night.
Secret Prices & Double Stamps
Secret Prices are additional discounts that are only available to Hotels.com Rewards members. While secret prices are usually modest discounts, I’ve personally made reservations up to 25% off the advertised rate offered on other websites.
Hotels.com also regularly provides members with double stamps offers. This is where, for a limited time, you can earn two stamps for every one night you stay. This allows you to earn a reward night after staying just five nights or booking five rooms rather than the usual 10! Make sure to subscribe to Hotels.com newsletter to receive these emails.
Hotels.com rewards tiers
The program has three tiers: Hotels.com Rewards, Hotels.com Rewards Silver and Hotels.com Rewards Gold. You will join as a Hotels.com Rewards member and automatically achieve Silver status after earning 10 stamps in a membership year. This will unlock travel benefits like a price guarantee, priority customer service, and exclusive benefits like free breakfast and spa vouchers at certain VIP Access properties.
Achieving Gold status requires 30 stamps collected in a membership year. This level of elite status can score you complimentary room upgrades and guaranteed two-hour late check-out and early check-in (when available) at VIP Access properties.
Hotels.com rewards do expire
Stamps and reward nights do expire if there is no activity in your Hotels.com account for 12 months from the last date of collecting a stamp or redeeming a reward night. Due to the pandemic, all stamps and reward nights have been extended until at least December 31, 2021.
How to redeem your reward night
Redeeming your reward night is simple. Reward nights are credited to your account after you collected the 10 required stamps, and your reward night is the average value of the 10 stamps, minus fees and taxes. So if you spent $2,432.80, you'd receive a reward night worth $243.28 in your account!
There are no blackout dates, and you are not restricted to standard rooms. You can redeem the reward night for a more expensive room and pay the difference. However, if you apply it to a room that costs less than the value of your reward night, you will not be credited with the difference. You can also combine Secret Prices with your reward night for a further discount.
It is possible to redeem multiple reward nights in a single booking too, and reward nights are refundable as long as you cancel the reservation within the hotel’s cancellation window. The reward night will be credited back into your account within a couple of hours.
There’s also a $5 redemption fee for every reward night you redeem on the Hotels.com website. The redemption fee is waived if you book and redeem through their official app.
Final Thoughts
Hotels.com Rewards is a great easy-to-use program and totally worth it for anyone who travels a few nights a year, doesn’t want to stick to a hotel group but wants to earn some perks. Hotels.com gives you freedom in your hotel choices.
If you are loyal to a certain hotel group or have elite status from a hotel credit card, you are better off booking directly with the hotel so that you can earn hotel loyalty points and increase your elite status.
Keep in mind, you should always compare prices before booking. Make a list of prices and perks across all booking platforms and choose the one that offers the best value!
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