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How much is a free night award worth?
The value of a free night award depends on how you redeem it. Sure, many free night awards offered by hotel credit cards come with restrictions, but you can still redeem them for outsize value if you put in a little legwork.
For instance, with my IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, I know I’ll only get up to 40,000 points in value, so I try to redeem it for an award as close to 40,000 points as possible — nothing as low as 15,000 or 30,000 points. That can make it tricky to find what I need, but I’ve had great success redeeming it for a night at the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel in Charlotte that would have cost around $400 otherwise, and I just redeemed my current free night award for a one-night stay at the new Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets in Australia, where I would have had to use 40,000 points or spend nearly $300. That makes it much easier to justify the card’s $99 annual fee.
I was happy to redeem my Category 1-4 World of Hyatt Credit Card annual free night at the Hyatt Place Montreal — Downtown, a solid Category 3 property, to save $280 on the stay.
At the other end of the spectrum, I redeemed my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card annual free night reward at the luxurious Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam last year. My stay would have cost around $1,500 as booked, but thanks to elite benefits like a multicategory room upgrade and free breakfast, it was instead worth north of $2,400.
So, really, a free night award can be worth almost anything. The trick is to redeem it for a stay that would cost more than your hotel credit card’s annual fee. By doing that, you offset the annual fee. Any other benefits you enjoy from the card on top of that are just gravy.
What hotel credit cards offer free night awards?
We have a full rundown of hotel credit cards that offer free night awards, but here’s a quick snapshot of some of our favorite cards that offer automatic free nights each year when you renew (and possibly an additional award with spending):
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Receive one free night reward upon account opening and then every year after renewal, valid at any participating Hilton hotel or resort with standard room availability. Earn an additional free night reward after spending $30,000 on eligible purchases made with your card in a calendar year, then another after spending $60,000 with your card in the same calendar year.
- World of Hyatt Credit Card: Get one free night each year after your account anniversary, valid at Category 1-4 Hyatt hotels. Earn an additional Category 1-4 free night after spending $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
- IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card: Receive one free night worth up to 40,000 points for stays at IHG hotels after your account anniversary each year.
- IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (see rates and fees): Receive one free night worth up to 40,000 points for stays at IHG hotels after your account anniversary each year.
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Receive a free night award worth up to 85,000 points every year after your account renewal.
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card: Enjoy a free night award worth up to 35,000 points every year after your account anniversary.
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Get a free night award worth up to 35,000 points every year after your account anniversary. Earn an additional free night award worth up to 35,000 points after spending $60,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
Bottom line
Free night awards can be some of the most lucrative credit card benefits available. Depending on how you redeem them, they can save you hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars.
That said, many come with restrictions and other conditions, and they have expiration dates. So, make sure you read up on free night awards offered by any card you are interested in to ensure you can take full advantage of them and maximize the value you receive from them.
Related: How much does a ‘free’ hotel stay really cost? I compared Marriott and Hyatt to find out
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.