Overview
As a general rule, hotel redemptions tend to be less valuable than airline redemptions. There are some glaring exceptions to this (World of Hyatt is tremendous), but you can usually expect to find less value in a hotel booking than a business class flight.
With that said, a few hotel programs boast excellent benefits that heavily reward longer stays, offering a bonus night after redeeming an award stay of a predetermined length, typically four or five nights. These are the best ways to maximize your hotel points with the programs that allow it, and I strongly recommend holding onto your points until you can use them.
Let’s take a look at the programs that offer them, and how to maximize them.
What is a Fifth/Fourth Night Free Reward?
The perk does what it says; if you redeem three or four nights with a hotel loyalty program, you get an extra night free. Each program has its own small print and limitations, but the basic premise is the same.
Hilton, Marriott, and IHG are the only programs offering iterations of the perk and, considering some of the tough devaluations we’ve seen in their systems, the bonus nights are more useful than ever. Keep in mind, the bonus nights are purely for reward stays; you won’t get the same benefit on a cash booking.
Each program has its pros and cons with regard to how it deals with the benefit. Let’s look at each and see where it can fit into your strategy.
Hilton Honors
Hilton Honors, one of the most popular programs in the hotel space and my personal favorite, has been running its fifth-night-free benefit for a while now. I’ve used it multiple times, grabbing extra nights in New York City, London, and Bangkok, saving me as much as 100,000 points on a single redemption.
The basics
Hilton’s benefit is simple. Book five or more consecutive standard room rewards nights with Hilton Honors Points, and every fifth qualifying night costs zero points. You could do this for stays of up to 20 days, meaning the 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th nights would be free if you maximized it. This is especially handy when considering that those dates could be more expensive than the others. They could also be cheaper, but it’s distinct from other programs that simply deduct the cheapest night of the booking.
Limitations
You must have Hilton Elite status to get the perk, whether that’s Silver, Gold, Diamond, or Diamond Reserve. Silver requires 10 nights, four stays, or $2,500 in Hilton spend in a year, or you can open one of Hilton’s co-branded credit cards, all of which offer elite status of some sort. This slight limitation is its biggest weakness compared to the other options. Otherwise, you can use the benefit as many times as you want because there’s no limit to qualifying stays in a year.
The benefit doesn’t apply to Points & Money bookings, paid bookings, or stays booked as part of packages, and it can’t be booked indirectly.
- Best for: Free Hilton Stays
- Annual Fee: $150
- APR: 19.49%-28.49% Variable
- Reward Rate: 3X - 12X
- Recommended Credit: Good to Excellent
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
130,000 Bonus Points + a Free Night Reward
Offer Details:
Earn 130,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 01/13/2027.
Why we like it
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is an excellent hotel card, with a strong intro bonus. It’s worth having this card even for a couple of stays a year, as the $150 annual fee is already validated by the free breakfast and strong points earnings. If free Hilton nights is the goal, its earning potential is stellar, with 4X points for each dollar on U.S. online retail purchases, and 3X points for all other eligible purchases on your card.
Reward details
Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio.
Earn 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.
Earn 4X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of U.S. Online Retail purchases.
Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Strong intro bonus, which could translate to multiple free nights or one night in a luxury property in some places
Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors(TM) Gold Status
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
No automatic free anniversary nights
You’ll need a lot of Hilton points to redeem for a free night at a luxury property
$150 annual fee
- Best for: Premium Hotel Perks
- Annual Fee: $550
- APR: 19.49%-28.49% Variable
- Reward Rate: 3X - 14X
- Recommended Credit: Good to Excellent
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
200,000 Bonus Points
Offer Details:
Best Points Offer Yet! Earn 200,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 01/13/2027.
All information about Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Daily Navigator. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is no longer available through The Daily Navigator.
Why we like it
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is big ticket hotel card with a hefty $550 annual fee to match. But with complimentary Hilton Diamond elite status, a whopping intro bonus, an annual free night certificate, free Priority Pass membership, $250 in resort credits, and a further $250 in airline fee credits, the Aspire has a lot to offer, even if you only stay in Hilton properties a few times a year.
Reward details
Earn 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points when you make eligible purchases on your Card directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
Card Members can earn 7X Points on purchases of Flights booked directly with airlines or flights booked through American Express Travel, Car rentals purchased directly from select car rental companies, and purchases at U.S. Restaurants.
Card Members can earn 3X Points on all other eligible purchases.
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Huge intro bonus
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Enjoy an Annual Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors in your first year of Card Membership and every year upon Card renewal.
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Get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts
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Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back each year, on flight purchases made directly with an airline, through AmexTravel.com, or through the Amex Travel App™
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Lounge access
Cons
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The $550 yearly fee is high, and while it’s easy to gain the value back, infrequent travelers may want to look at a less expensive Hilton credit card
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The airline and resort credits have rules that make them a little more complicated to use, so gaining maximum value isn’t always easy
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Hilton Honors awards nights can have very high rates
- Points don’t expire while your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is active and in good standing.
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott Bonvoy takes a slightly different approach to the fifth-night-free concept with its “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” benefit. It’s probably the easiest of the three major hotel versions to use, as there are no status requirements or credit cards involved. If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy member, you’re eligible.
The basics
Book five consecutive nights using Marriott Bonvoy Points on a Standard Redemption Award or PointSavers Award, and Marriott will only charge you for four. Unlike Hilton, it isn’t technically the fifth night that’s free. Marriott removes the lowest-priced points night from the stay, so that’s not as fun.
The benefit repeats on longer stays, too. If you book 10 consecutive nights, the two lowest-priced nights across the entire reservation are free. This means you can save up to 20% on a five-night redemption, although the real percentage could be lower if one night costs considerably fewer points than the others. It’s handy to try and plan around this if you can.
Limitations
There really isn’t much of an entry barrier here. You only need to be a Marriott Bonvoy member, which is free, and there’s no elite status or co-branded credit card requirement. Marriott’s version is easily the most accessible of the three.
As with Hilton, all five nights must be on the same reservation under one confirmation number, and the benefit doesn’t apply to Cash + Points Awards, Free Night Awards, Upgrade Awards, Nightly Upgrade Awards, or Promotional Awards. The free portion also covers only the standard room points cost, so if you pay extra for a premium room or upgrade, you’ll still need to cover that additional cost on the free night.
- Best for: Earning Marriott points
- Annual Fee: $95
- APR: 19.24% - 27.74% Variable
- Reward Rate: 2X - 6X
- Recommended Credit: 690-850
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Earn 3 Free Night Awards
Offer Details:
Earn 3 Free Night Awards after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. Redeem your Free Night Award for a one-night stay at properties with a redemption level up to 50,000 points per night. Certain hotels have resort fees. Special Offer through 6/30/2027: Get up to $100 in statement credits after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases. That's $50 in statement credits semi-annually.
Why we like it
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card provides a strong option for those with a preference for staying at Marriott properties. As with many hotel cards, heavy travelers would do well to upgrade to a more premium card, but for the regular guest, Boundless makes a compelling case to be in your wallet.
Reward details
6 points per dollar on purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
3 points per dollar on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on gas stations, grocery stores, and dining
2 points per dollar on all other purchases
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Fabulous intro bonus
Cardholders enjoy a free night certificate each cardmember anniversary, worth up to 35,000. If used strategically, the value of this night could well exceed the $95 annual fee
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It’s possible to earn up to 17X spent on Marriott stays
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Automatic Silver Elite status, which offers late checkouts and 10% bonus points on stays
Cons
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You’ll need to shell out for a larger fee card if you want high-tier elite status
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Mediocre points-earning bonus categories
Terms Apply
IHG One Rewards
IHG One Rewards has arguably the strongest version of the benefit, simply because you don’t need to wait until night five. Eligible cardholders can book four consecutive Reward Nights and get the fourth night free, effectively knocking 25% off the points cost of a four-night stay when the nights are equally priced.
The basics
Book four or more consecutive standard-room Reward Nights at the same IHG property using points, and every fourth night costs zero points. That means you pay the normal points rate for nights one, two, and three, and the fourth costs nothing. The perk continues on longer qualifying stays, with every fourth night free.
There’s no annual limit on how many qualifying stays you can book, either. If you regularly redeem IHG points for stays of four nights or longer, the savings can add up extremely quickly.
Limitations
Unlike Marriott and Hilton, this isn’t a standard IHG One Rewards loyalty benefit or an elite-status perk. You need to hold an eligible U.S. Chase IHG credit card. The IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card, IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, and the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card all offer the fourth-night-free benefit.
The good news is there’s no elite-status requirement beyond holding an eligible card. The benefit only applies to consecutive standard-room Reward Nights at the same hotel, though, and paid stays and Points & Cash bookings aren’t eligible. You’ll also still be responsible for things like parking, resort fees, and other incidental charges, and if you check out before reaching the fourth night, you lose the free-night benefit.
- Best for: IHG Hotel Lovers
- Annual Fee: $99
- APR: 19.24% - 27.74% Variable
- Reward Rate: 3X - 26X
- Recommended Credit: Good to Excellent
IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
Earn 140,000 Bonus Points
Offer Details:
Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
Why we like it
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card should claim a spot in any IHG loyalist’s wallet, thanks to its bonus points and some bonus perks that more than compensate for the $99 annual fee. While IHG points may not be as valuable as other hotel points, there are still some hefty savings to be had with this card.
Reward details
Up to 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG One Rewards member
Up to 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite status
5X points on travel, dining, and at gas stations
3X points on all other purchases
Pros & Cons
Pros
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The complimentary anniversary night is more than worth the $99 annual fee.
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Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
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Cardholders can also get a bonus reward night after redeeming points for a stay of four nights or more (i.e. book four nights with points for the cost of three nights).
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Complimentary Platinum Elite status comes with the card which gifts 50% bonus points on stays, room upgrades where available, and more.
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It’s possible to earn as much as 26X points when paying for an IHG stay.
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A wide variety of points-earning categories makes it easy to rack up rewards.
Cons
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IHG points aren’t as valuable as some hotel currencies. You’ll need a lot more points to get free stays.
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The high earning rates, in turn, aren’t quite as lucrative as they seem.
Terms Apply
Other Programs
Currently, only these three programs have a “bonus night” offer. With that said, programs like World of Hyatt, Wyndham Rewards, and All Accor have steadier reward redemptions that don’t fluctuate aggressively like the three mentioned above. It’s far easier to find good value in these hotel programs, so not having the bonus night really isn’t the end of the world.
The Point
Fifth/Fourth Night Free Programs aren’t the most spectacular benefit in the grand scheme of things. They can offer brilliant value, and it’s worth holding onto your Hilton, Marriott, or IHG points until you have the opportunity to use them, but each of the programs that use them have brutally dynamic pricing, and a single night reward could be poor value overall.
