How to get free hotel nights – choose a reward program
Free hotel nights with membership
Wondering which hotel chain has the best membership program to reward your loyalty – meaning, which program will give you free nights the fastest.
Most hotel rewards work the same way : basic membership, silver status after ~25 nights, gold at ~50 nights, black at ~75 nights (also called concierge, diamond, …).
As a “black” member of three different programs, Wyndham rewards, Club Carlson, and LeClub Accor Hotels, and traveling often, the question always remains : which program is best to use, and which hotel will bring the most points ?

In short, here is the answer : Club Carlson is the best choice, with on average 1 night free every 13 nights as basic member, and 1 night free every 8 nights with the highest membership level. See below the detail.
Second best choices are Wyndham gardens as basic member, Le Club Accor / IHG / Marriott Rewards with highest membership level.
How many points earned per night?
See below an analysis of how many points are offered per 1 $ / € spent in the hotel reward program – most of the time, not only including the nights, but also restaurant bills.
Have you read?
Points per 1X spent as Basic member, Silver level member, Gold member, and Black member
- Club Carlson: 20, 23, 27, 35 US dollars,
- LeClub Accor: 2.5, 3.1, 3.7, 4.4 Euros,
- LeClub Accor budget: 1.25, 1.55, 1.85, 2.2 Euros,
- IHG: 10, 11, 15, 20 US dollars,
- Hhonors: 10, 11.5, 12.5, 15 US dollars,
- Wyndham rewards: 10, 10, 10, 10 US dollars,
- Marriott rewards: 10, 12, 12.5, 15 US dollars,
- SPG: 2, 3, 3.5 US dollars,
- Best Western: 10, 11, 13, 15 US dollars.
How many paid nights to get one free
Adjusting all to Euros (1€ = 0.89$), and taking reward program participating hotels in London and Paris, here is the average nights necessary to get a free night per program, with lowest (basic) and highest (black) membership level :
- Club Carlson 8 nights,
- LeClub Accor 11 nights,
- LeClub Accor budget 23 nights,
- IHG 11 nights,
- HHonors 18 nights,
- Wyndham rewards 15 nights,
- Marriott rewards 11 nights,
- SPG 16 nights,
- Best Western 15 nights.
Best hotel reward program
Generally, with Club Carlson, you’ll get one free night every 13 paid nights as a basic member and 8 as Concierge member, against 40 with LeClub Accor budget as a basic member, and 23 as Platinum member.
These numbers being a maximum, as hotels generally offer points for money spent on services (restaurant, spa…), but also have regular offers, for example points x3 for weekend stays at a specific period, … allowing members to get free nights faster !

I am a 34y.o. man, passionate about travel. With 5+ years on the road, 55+ countries visited on all continents, 650+ flights, 1000+ hotel nights, and a year long world tour, all self organized, travelling is a way of life. I have created this site to share my experience, and get you the best information and deals.