Where have all the hotel promotions gone? And the best of what there is ….

Regular readers will know that, once a month, we run an extended article which rounds up all of the current hotel promotions.

We didn’t do one in early January because a few offers finished early in the month and we were waiting to see what replaced them.  The answer, so far, is ….. nothing.

The only programmes currently offering a global bonus points promotion for new bookings are Hilton Honors and Radisson Rewards:

Marriott Bonvoy has not announced anything new since ‘Unlock More’ ended on 14th January

World of Hyatt has not announced anything new since ‘Bonus Journeys’ ended on 31st December

Accor Live Limitless (the rebranded Le Club AccorHotels) has not run a global promotion for a while

IHG Rewards Club has not announced a new ‘Accelerate’ promotion since the previous one ended on 31st December, although the additional ‘4x’ offer it launched is still running until 31st January.  In any event, this is only valid for bookings made by 15th January.

It even seems that IHG has killed off its regular PointBreaks promotion for 2020 – more on that on HfP tomorrow.

If you’re looking for somewhere to credit a stay over the next couple of weeks, this is what to choose from:

Hilton Honors – Points Unlimited

Until 3rd May, Hilton Honors is offering 2,000 bonus points per stay.   On top, you will receive an extra 10,000 points for every 10th night.

Based on my valuation of 0.33p per Hilton Honors point, you are looking at an extra rebate – on top of your base points and any status bonus – of £6.66 per stay.  This is a decent deal for anyone doing one-night stays at cheaper brands, but doesn’t move the needle if you’re spending four nights in a Waldorf Astoria.

Our full article on Points Unlimited is here.

You MUST register before your stay by clicking here.

There is no small print – existing bookings DO count and all Hilton Honors hotels are taking part.

Radisson Rewards – 150,000 Bonus Points

I’ve got to be honest.  If you asked me who would come out with what may be the most generous hotel promotion of 2020, my money would not have been on Radisson Rewards.  But it could well be ……

Radisson Rewards covers Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson Collection, Park Inn and Park Plaza hotels.  If you can push a LOT of business their way over the next 8 weeks it could work out very nicely indeed.  Very, very nicely, if I’m honest.  You could be earning £33 of bonus points PER STAY on top of your standard points.

It is a simple one, based on the number of STAYS (not nights) you do between now and 31st March:

• Complete 2 stays, earn 5,000 bonus points
• Complete 3 stays, earn 15,000 bonus points
• Complete 5 stays, earn 30,000 bonus points
• Complete 10 stays, earn 50,000 bonus points
• Complete 15 stays, earn 150,000 bonus points

The bonus posts cumulatively.  You receive 5,000 points after your second stay, an additional 10,000 (total 15,000) after your 3rd stay, an additional 15,000 (total 30,000) after your fifth stay etc.

I value a Radisson Rewards point at around 0.33p.  This means, if you complete 15 stays and earn 150,000 bonus points, you will have averaged a bonus of £33 per stay.

This is ludicrously generous if you are doing cheap one-night stays.  If you have to do a couple of nights per week in dingy Park Inn hotels around the UK, you’d probably be getting 50% of your spend back if you hit 15 stays.  These are only your bonus points, of course.  I’m not even factoring in your base points or any status bonus you may have.  Radisson Rewards has a very generous earning rate of 20 base points per $1.

Even better, existing bookings WILL count.  Interestingly, even points and ‘points and cash’ stays will count.

If you don’t hit 15 nights then the bonus is less generous.  However, even if you only manage two stays to earn 5,000 bonus points (worth around £8.25 per stay), it is still a better return that the Hilton promotion which gets you £6.66 of bonus points per stay.

You MUST register in order to take part, which can be done at this page of the Radisson Rewards website.

Our full article on Radisson’s 150,000 bonus points offer is here.

Conclusion

There isn’t much about at the moment.  If neither of the above offers appeal, you might want to look at Hotels.com Rewards (effectively a 10% return on your spending).  Be aware, however, that bookings through Hotels.com do NOT earn you hotel points and you will not receive any status benefits you may be entitled to.

As soon as we get news of a new hotel promotion from IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy, Accor Live Limitless or World of Hyatt, we’ll let you know …..

If you’d rather not spend cash on your next stay, this article looks at how to use Avios points to book hotel rooms.

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Hotel offers update – April 2024:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Want to buy hotel points?

• Hilton Honors is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points by 14th May 2024. Click here.