TFCanswers. How does the fifth free night at the hotel work?
In recent days, one of our readers asked us whether it was possible to take advantage of the fifth night free benefit with [...]
Marriott
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In recent days, one of our readers asked us if it was possible to take advantage of the fifth night free benefit with the Melia program, so we decided to dedicate the weekly episode of TFCanswers. to this particular topic.
There is a benefit that all the reward travel enthusiasts know and that they try to exploit as much as possible to maximize the value of the points when, after accumulating them very sparingly, they finally decide to spend them. We are talking about the possibility to have one free night for every 4 nights booked Using loyalty program points.
Do you remember the free companion tickets from Alitalia's dear old American Express card? The operation is quite similar. When you stay, using points, for 4 consecutive nights in a hotel you are entitled to stay a fifth night completely free. Doing so will reduce the number of points needed for that stay by 1/5.
Which loyalty programs offer the fifth night free
Major loyalty programs that offer this benefit to their members include, there are the two major world chains: Marriott and Hilton. The rules, however, are different; let's look at them in detail.
Marriott Bonvoy
"Stay for 5, Pay for 4", that's the name of the fifth free night in Marriott Bonvoy. It is available to all members Of the hotel's loyalty program and there are no blackout dates or usage restrictions. The only limitation is the availability of the rooms, specifically. In the most exclusive and hard-to-book hotels. Especially now that the program points Bonvoy have suffered a major devaluation, maximize a stay by taking advantage of the fifth night free can greatly increase the value of savings That is obtained from the use of points.
The important thing to know is that this is a cumulative benefit up to a stay of a maximum duration of 20 days. In this case then you will get 4 free nights. However, this is not the only possibility. If you have enough points for a 4-night stay, but want to stay a week, you will be able to use the points to pay for the first 4 nights, take advantage of the free night, and pay cash for the remainder of the stay.
Then there are two other features: award nights are still qualifying and thus count toward renewal of status in the Bonvoy program. The downside is that, in case the facility where one is staying applies the much disliked Resort Fee, it will not be removed from the final bill for the stay even if fully paid for with points.
Hilton Honors
If the fifth free night in Marriott is for everyone, in the Hilton loyalty program you must be enrolled and have at least Silver status, the lowest. Therefore, it is necessary to have stayed at least 5 nights in the last year (thanks to the "incentives" of recent years, the status is triggered even earlier: even 2 one-night stays are enough). Obviously all American Express Platinum holders can enjoy Gold status for free which among many benefits gives free breakfast and the opportunity to receive a room upgrade.
As with Marriott also in Hilton only one basic room can be booked, while in case you choose other types of rooms you will forfeit the possibility of getting the fifth night free and you will need to have enough points for the whole stay. However, it is not possible to mix the payment of a stay, this means that you will be able to book paying for the entire stay using points. The advice in this case is to book 5 nights using points and then the rest of the stay with a separate booking paying cash.
However, there is a fundamental difference, for the better than Marriott. If a stay is booked with points, no Resort Fee will be charged, a savings that can range from 40 to 100$ per day. Also in HHonors, the maximum limit is 4 complimentary nights per stay and award nights count as qualifying nights. Moreover, paradoxically, it is also possible to achieve status just by staying through points.
How to book
Obviously you have to book through the official portal and, on the relevant screen, select that you plan to pay with points. If there are rooms available, the cost per night or the total cost of the stay will be shown, depending on the program.
How to get the most
- Using points to book a stay that would otherwise be very expensive: from Venice to the Maldives, we have given so many examples of how using points can mean saving thousands per night, the advantage of the fifth night only increases the savings by 20%.
- Never use points to stay "only" 4 nights, in fact it is like wasting/losing the points of the fifth night.
- If you do not have enough points to pay for the four nights, you must try to accumulate the missing points through the many promotions, Transfer Membership Rewards points to the loyalty program. or take advantage of bonuses when both Hilton and Marriott launch offers dedicated to Who buys points from the respective programs.
I hope that even this installment of #TFCanswers has been helpful, and I remind all readers that they can send questions and requests via email or on our social channels.
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