Loyalty programmes, elite tiers and the honest question underneath them: is the points rate better than the cash rate?
Points and status are worth exactly what they save you against the cash price on the same night — no more. The useful habit is to price both, every time: what the room costs in money, and what the same room costs in points. If the points rate does not clearly win, pay cash and keep the points.
Status is a different question from points. The benefits that hold their value are the boring, contractual ones — late checkout, breakfast, a guaranteed room type. Upgrades are discretionary, and no programme owes you one, whatever the tier chart implies.
This guide is being built out over the coming weeks. Until then, the comparison below is the most useful starting point.
Articles in this guide
The first articles in this guide are being written. In the meantime, the answers below cover the same ground.
Related answers
See how the trackers compare
Which price-watching services cover points rates, which only cover cash rates, and what each one actually monitors.
See the comparison