Start here: your first hotel award stay, step by step

Step 1: check the account first

Hilton Honors members who have no eligible activity in any 24 consecutive month period are subject to forfeiture of all accumulated points and may be removed from the programme. [2] The activity Hilton lists is a stay at a participating hotel, earning points through Hilton or a third-party source such as a co-branded credit card, buying points, or donating points through the Hilton Honors Giving Back Program. [2] Once forfeited, those points cannot be retrieved, although the member can begin earning again. [2]

Marriott Bonvoy requires Qualifying Activity at least once every 24 months to keep accumulated points, awards and other benefits, and lists earning or redeeming points or miles, purchasing points, completing a Qualifying Stay and converting points or miles with designated partners as examples. [3] Gifting, transferring or receiving points from another member does not count as Qualifying Activity. [3] An account with no Qualifying Activity for 24 consecutive months forfeits its points, and they cannot be reinstated. [3]

IHG's description of IHG One Rewards is simpler: the points never expire as long as the account remains active. [4]

Points rules also protect an award that has already been issued. Hilton says a reward redeemed before the points are forfeited is still valid. [2] Marriott says an award redeemed before point forfeiture remains valid unless it is cancelled after the applicable points expiration date, in which case the points behind it expire if no Qualifying Activity has extended that date. [3]

Step 2: find a property that sells award rooms

IHG says its members can redeem points for a Reward Night at more than 7,000 hotels and resorts, starting at just 10,000 points. [4] The same page advertises reward nights with no blackout dates and adds a footnote that Reward Night availability is limited and is subject to prior sale, so the absence of blackout dates is not a promise of a room on a given night. [4]

Hilton's participating hotels are subject to change at any time without notice, and Hilton directs members to the individual hotel listing on Hilton.com or HiltonHonors.com to confirm that a property participates. [2] If a property stops being a participating hotel, stays after that date no longer earn points regardless of when the reservation was made. [2]

Marriott's participating properties and brands can be updated, added, removed or modified, and if a property exits the programme, awards are no longer valid after the exit date even where the reservation was made before it. [3] Marriott also states that it may change award availability and redemption levels with or without notice, even where the change affects the value of points already accumulated. [3] For the general idea of how award space appears and disappears, see award availability.

Step 3: price the night before committing

IHG sets a starting level of 10,000 points for a Reward Night, and IHG also says members can combine points with cash as Points + Cash. [4] At Hilton, nights are charged at the applicable full Standard Room Reward price, and a Standard Room is defined by each hotel and subject to availability at participating hotels within the Hilton portfolio. [2]

Hilton separates two kinds of award booking: an all-points Standard Room Reward Stay and a Points & Money Rewards Stay, where cash is paid alongside points. [2] The distinction matters for the fifth-night-free benefit, which applies to Standard Room Reward Stays only and not to paid stays or Points & Money Rewards. [2]

Where that Hilton benefit does apply, every fifth night is free on a Standard Room Reward Stay of five or more nights using all points, on an unlimited number of stays per year, with no more than four free nights per stay. [2] It covers five consecutive nights at the same property, up to 20 nights, when confirmed at the time of booking, so the fifth, tenth, fifteenth and twentieth nights are not charged, and the other nights are charged at the full Standard Room Reward price. [2]

On-property spending is priced separately from the room. Hilton members may earn points for incidental charges during an all-points Reward Stay where those charges count as Eligible Spend, and may earn points on the money portion of a Points & Money Rewards Stay. [2] Reward Stays also count towards the overall number of Stays and nights used for elite tier qualification, elite tier gifting and milestone bonuses. [2] Points themselves carry no cash value: Marriott states that points and awards have no cash value and may not be sold, bartered or transferred except as its rules expressly permit. [3] If you are still deciding whether to spend points or money, see hotel points vs cash.

Step 4: confirm and note the conditions

Hilton takes hotel reward stay requests online, through the Reward tab in the member's account. [2] IHG's own guidance is that booking direct gives more flexibility to modify reservations than booking through a third party. [4]

Some conditions attach to the booking rather than to the account. Hilton's 48-Hour Reservations Guarantee does not apply to reservations paid for in part or in full by Hilton Honors points or free night certificates. [2] If a fifth free night is declined, the reservation is cancelled, or check-out happens before the fifth night, that free night is forfeited and it has no cash or point value. [2]

Keep the cancellation terms that come with the individual reservation alongside the confirmation.

If the balance is short, two of the three programmes describe ways to add points. IHG says members can buy, gift or transfer points through its Points Purchase programme. [4] Hilton lists purchasing points as one of the actions that keeps an account active. [2]

Exceptions and limits

• The fifth-night benefit is narrow. Hilton limits it to all-points Standard Room Reward Stays and excludes stays booked as part of a Reward Stay offer, package or promotion. [2]
• Room definitions vary by hotel. Because Hilton's Standard Room is defined by each hotel, the same points balance can buy different rooms at different properties. [2]
• Availability wording carries footnotes. IHG's no-blackout-dates line is qualified on the same page by the note that Reward Night availability is limited and subject to prior sale. [4]
• Card earning is regional. IHG states that IHG One Rewards credit cards are only available in select regions. [4]
• Transfers do not keep Marriott points alive. Gifting, transferring or receiving points from another member does not count as Qualifying Activity for Marriott Bonvoy. [3]
• Lifetime accounts are treated separately. Marriott says points in Lifetime Elite Status accounts are not currently subject to expiration, but the programme may apply an expiration policy to those accounts in future. [3]
• Residency-specific terms exist. Hilton's terms include a separate set of specific terms for members who regularly reside in Chinese Mainland with citizenship of the People's Republic of China, and Marriott's rules include special terms for members with Chinese citizenship residing in Chinese Mainland. [2] [3]
• Joining has age conditions. Hilton limits enrolment to individuals of majority age in their country, territory or state of residence, and Marriott to individuals at least 18 years old or of majority age in their jurisdiction of residence. [2] [3]

Related pages

Programme walk-throughs: booking Hilton Honors awards, booking Marriott Bonvoy awards, booking IHG One Rewards awards. Background: award availability, hotel points vs cash, free night certificates, and the glossary.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. The rules here come from three programmes only — Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy and IHG One Rewards — and the IHG material is the programme description and FAQ published on IHG's website rather than its full membership terms. Other hotel programmes, including World of Hyatt, Wyndham Rewards, Choice Privileges, Best Western Rewards and Accor, are not covered here.

1. Hilton Honors terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026
2. Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026
3. IHG Hotels & Resorts — IHG One Rewards overview and FAQ, checked 18 October 2026