Barely a week goes buy without one hotel chain or another trying to get me to buy points. In many cases, they come with the suggestion that it will help me get to my next dream destination. And certainly, they can help with this. They can also offer other benefits such as extending the expiry date of your points.
The question becomes around whether it is actually worth buying points. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this, it really is a case of “maybe, maybe not”.
The first thing to consider is that the points in each program have different values. Just like the Australian Dollar has a different value to the US Dollar, so it is with loyalty programs.
Benefits of buying hotel points
Historically, in many programs, the chief benefit of buying points was that you could then get a free night and be in front on price. That is, it was cheaper to buy points and redeem an award night than it was to pay cash for the room.
In general, the times you might want to book Award nights included:
- When cash prices are expensive, as award tables generally had fixed prices
- At resort or other aspirational destinations where rates can be high
- If you needed the flexibility that award nights have (there are often fully flexible booking and can be cancelled without a fee)
However, as programs evolved and award tables with them, these advantages have dwindled a bit. Some programs have added award levels to their charts, some have added peak and off peak pricing and so on. That said, there can still be cases where you can save money by buying points for an award room.
In addition, buying points can be useful in a few other scenarios. For example:
- Top up your account: If you are a few points short of an award, the buying points to top up your account can be better (well, cheaper) than staying a night somewhere.
- Keep your account active: In many programs you can lose your points if you don’t have any activity on your account. Buying points can often count as activity and keep your account active
Programs that Sell Points
Accor Live Limitless – ALL
Accor Live Limitless – ALL does not have an offer to buy points. There is, however, an ALL Signature subscription program in Brazil offering a monthly deposit of Reward Points and Status Points. Many have found the value of the Rewards points deposited to be greater than they paid for the subscription. That said, most people seem to be in it for the Status Points.
Ascott Star Rewards – ASR
Ascott Star Rewards (ASR) have a standard offer where they will sell you points at an average rate of SG0.25c per point. For example, 20000 points costs SGD50 (which at the time of writing was about AUD57). From what I have seen, this is in line with the 0.25 cents per points you get when you redeem points,
However, buying ASR points has a superpower. The amount you spend on points is counted as qualifying spend for determining your tier. As such, if you are just under the qualifying amount for a tier, you could buy points to get you across the line.
You can buy ASR Points here.
Hilton Honors
Hilton Honors sell points to members at a standard rate of 1 US cent per point. From time to time they have promotions offering up to 100% bonus points.
It is worth remembering that in the Hilton Honors program, elite members are able to get the fifth-night free on award stays. If you are just short on the number of points for that stay, then buying points can be a good option.
Hilton Honors Points are sold through Points.com which you can access here.
IHG One Rewards
As with Hilton Honors, IHG sell their points for 1 US cent per point. They also tend to run promotions through the year offering bonus points when you make a purchase.
If you are a club level member of IHG One Rewards then you have a risk of your points expiring. One advantage of purchasing points is that they can keep your points from expiring.
IHG One Rewards points are sold through points.com which you can access here.
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott Bonvoy sell points at a standard rate of US 1.25 cents per point. However, they do run promotion during the year where they offer up to 50% bonus points.
Marriott Bonvoy points are sold through points.com which you can access here.
World of Hyatt
World of Hyatt sells points at the rate of USD24 for each 1,000 points. Or to put it another way, that is USD2.4 cents per point.
While that sounds like a lot compared to other programs, it’s not an apples to apples comparison. World of Hyatt points are worth more.
If you are not in a hurry for the points, you can wait for one of the promotions that World of Hyatt run through the year. While they tend not to offer 100% bonus points – 20% to 30% is more typical – it can help reduce the amount you need to pay.
As with other programs, one benefit of buying points is that it can help keep your account alive. The purchase of points counts for activity on your account.
World of Hyatt points are sold through points.com which you can access here.
Risks of buying hotel points
As with real currencies, dabbling in hotel loyalty currencies is not without its risks. For example, the points could be devalued, or something else changes.
To mitigate these risks, many in the points game only buy points if they have some fairly immediate need for them. They usually suggest not buying on a speculative basis.
Final words
There can be a number of advantages in buying hotel points. They can be used to help save money on your vacation, they can help keep your points active, and so on.
That said, it’s generally wise to buy points when you have a specific use in mind. Buying during promotional times can help make it worthwhile, but you do need to do the maths. And this maths is getting more complicated as the programs evolve.
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