Do You Earn Hotel Points on Award (Free) Nights?
This guide explains why award nights do not earn points, the elite-status nuance, and what you still earn.
Why award nights do not earn points
Hotel programs award points based on the qualifying rate you pay for a stay, so when you redeem points for a free award night, there is no paid rate to earn on, and you generally receive no hotel points for it. From the program’s view, you already spent points to stay; it does not then pay you points back, the hotel parallel to award tickets not earning miles.
The elite-status nuance
Status is where it gets program-specific. Some hotel programs count award nights toward your elite-night total for status, while others count only paid nights. So an award stay might still move you toward elite status even though it earns no points, depending on the program, which matters if you are chasing status through the year, as covered in hotel elite status.
What you still earn
An award stay is not entirely reward-free. Resort fees, incidentals, dining, and anything else you charge to a credit card during the stay still earn your normal card rewards, at your travel or base rate. It is modest compared to the value of the free night, but it is worth putting on a card that bonuses travel. For maximum earning, remember paid stays earn from multiple programs.
Stop guessing at point values. Look up the real award price and live availability for a specific trip before you transfer.
Search award flights on seats.aero → · Search award stays on rooms.aero →- Award nights usually earn no hotel points.
- Hotels award points on the rate you pay, not redemptions.
- Elite-night credit on award stays varies by program.
- Incidentals charged to a card still earn card rewards.
- Paid stays are where hotel points are earned.
Frequently asked questions
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