Our “Famous Card Explorer”

While Marriott Bonvoy dropped all award charts in favor of a dynamic pricing system, it hasn't gotten out of hand and the 5th night free on awards can still provide outsized value. It's also hard to beat the breadth of Marriott Bonvoy properties all over the world. That said, the prices have gone up and up again, and the ever increasing resort fees are not waived on Bonvoy award nights, which does draw the point value down.

While Marriott Bonvoy dropped all award charts in favor of a dynamic pricing system, it hasn't gotten out of hand and the 5th night free on awards can still provide outsized value. It's also hard to beat the breadth of Marriott Bonvoy properties all over the world. That said, the prices have gone up and up again, and the ever increasing resort fees are not waived on Bonvoy award nights, which does draw the point value down.

While Marriott Bonvoy dropped all award charts in favor of a dynamic pricing system, it hasn't gotten out of hand and the 5th night free on awards can still provide outsized value. It's also hard to beat the breadth of Marriott Bonvoy properties all over the world. That said, the prices have gone up and up again, and the ever increasing resort fees are not waived on Bonvoy award nights, which does draw the point value down.

Hyatt award rates range from 3,500 to 45,000 points per night at their regular hotels and resorts. At all-inclusive resorts and Miraval, the prices can reach as high as 58,000 points per night, Almost without fail, during even remotely peak times, we can find roughly 2 cents per point in value. You can even book Suites for incrementally more points (Premium Suite costs twice as much as a room, for example). I tend to find these are one of the best ways to spend Chase Ultimate Rewards points which transfer 1:1. They are the only major hotel program in the US with fixed award charts making it a great program to be able to set goals for your redemptions..

IHG, home of hotel brands like Intercontinental and Holiday Inn, generally provide about four tenths of a cent in value, following a 2021 devaluation and move to fully dynamic award pricing. I'll redeem when I can get more than that. While you can transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG, you really never should as you are cutting the value in half as they transfer 1:1. There is no cap on any hotel rates in points like with Hilton. If you have an IHG Premier or Business Premier credit card, you'll get the 4th night free on rewards which can add significant value.

Since Hilton moved to a variable pricing model, on average you'll be offered roughly a 0.5 cent value per point for average hotels. However, what is nice is that although the pricing is mostly variable, they still cap the "standard" redemption rate on all properties. With the 5th night free on all award stays and resort fees waived on award stays, it's very possible to well exceed this value - even getting 1-2 cents per point - when used wisely. With the addition of SLH as fully integrated into the Hilton fold, we had raised the overall expected average redemption value to 0.6 cents, but lowered it back to 0.5 cents after two devaluations in 2025 pushed awards at the top end from 150,000 points to 250,000 points - a sizable increase.

IHG, home of hotel brands like Intercontinental and Holiday Inn, generally provide about four tenths of a cent in value, following a 2021 devaluation and move to fully dynamic award pricing. I'll redeem when I can get more than that. While you can transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG, you really never should as you are cutting the value in half as they transfer 1:1. There is no cap on any hotel rates in points like with Hilton. If you have an IHG Premier or Business Premier credit card, you'll get the 4th night free on rewards which can add significant value.