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Hotel points and free night certificates can be incredibly useful for your own travels, but they can also make a thoughtful gift. Maybe you want to help a family member with an expensive trip, cover a hotel night for a friend, or surprise someone with a weekend getaway they wouldn’t otherwise book.
The catch is that hotel
Before you use your points for someone else, it’s worth knowing the rules. Here’s how each major hotel
How To Give a Hotel Stay as a Gift
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott allows you to book an award stay for another guest up to five times per calendar year. According to Marriott, you can gift all award redemption types except Free Night Awards.
To make this booking, you will need to call Marriott's customer support line. Make sure to have your member number handy. Once on the phone, give the agent your name and member number, along with the name of the person who will be staying on the reservation.
Alternatively, you can make the reservation online. In this case, however, you still need to call customer support and have the person's name added to the reservation. All gifted reservations must be done through customer service, not the specific hotel.
There are a few things you should be aware of when booking an award stay for a friend or family member:
- Neither person will receive elite night credit, qualifying nights, or qualifying stays.
- Neither person will receive points for the stay.
- The recipient will not receive any elite benefits as part of their gifted stay.
Related: Everything About the Marriott Bonvoy
- Earn 4 Free Night Awards (valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on qualifying purchases in the first 3 months.
- Special Offer through 6/30/2027: Get up to $100 in statement credits after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually.
- Earn 3X points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases annually on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining.
- Earn 1 Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 you spend.
- 1 Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary.
- Earn up to 17X total points per $1 spent at thousands of hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card.
- Receive 15 Elite Night Credits annually, automatic Silver Elite status, and path to Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each calendar year.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Your points don't expire as long as you make purchases on your card every 24 months.
- Member FDIC
- 6X points for every $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®
- 3X points for every $1 spent on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases annually on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining
- 2X points on all other eligible purchases
Hilton Honors
Hilton's terms say an award redemption:
… may be issued to the Hilton Honors Member, or to any other person, as directed by the Member. Once issued, the Reward is not transferable and may be used only by the individual named on the Reward. If a person other than the individual named on the Reward documentation attempts to redeem the Reward, the Reward will be deemed void, and accommodations and/or transportation will be denied.
You can accomplish this in two ways.
First, book the room yourself and add the person's name to the reservation. It's important to make the reservation for two people. Then, during checkout, add their name as the second person. This will allow them to check into the room without you being present. You can call the hotel ahead of time to confirm that the second name on the reservation will be the person checking in.
Second, you can pool Hilton Honors points for free, allowing the other person to redeem points and avoid any potential issues at check-in.
Related: Your Comprehensive Guide to the Hilton Honors Program
(Terms Apply)
- Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Gold Status with benefits like an 80% Points earning Bonus on Stays, daily food & beverage credit or continental breakfast (varies by brand & region), space-available room upgrades at select properties, and more.
- Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. That's up to $200 in statement credits annually.
- Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- 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.
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card Members can enjoy complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status, including perks like Executive Area Access (for full-size reservations and above) in the USA and Canada. Card Members must enroll in the National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status through their American Express online account using their Card. Terms apply.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- Whenever you travel more than 100 miles from home, Global Assist® Hotline is available for 24/7 emergency assistance and coordination services, including medical and legal referrals, emergency cash wires, and missing luggage assistance. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers. Other terms and conditions apply.
- $150 annual fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
IHG One Rewards
IHG allows you to gift an award redemption to anyone, so long as you list their name on the reservation for check-in. To do this, you can either call IHG customer service or the hotel directly. The person checking in must be at least 18 years old, and you cannot gift award stays in the greater China region.
Related: Everything You Need To Know About IHG One Rewards
World of Hyatt
Hyatt allows you to gift award stays in various ways. First, the terms state that:
Members may use certain awards for another Member by booking the award stay in the recipient's name. Free Night Awards, certain Room Upgrade Awards, Points + Cash Awards, and Guest of Honor Awards are currently eligible to be booked in the name of another person.
If you would like to gift a stay to someone else, the reservation must be in their name (via customer service), and that person must present a photo ID at check-in. This person won't receive any elite status perks during their stay, and neither of you will earn elite nights from the stay.
Second, you can combine points, making it easy to send them the required points for an award stay, which they can then redeem from their own account. This is beneficial if they have any status perks or want to receive credit for their stay.
Lastly, a few years ago, Hyatt revamped its World of Hyatt program, making it easier to gift Hyatt awards such as Free Night Awards, Guest of Honor Awards, Club Access Awards, and more. It's very easy to gift any of your available awards directly from your Hyatt account. Just click the three dots next to the award and select “Gift Your Award.” Then, enter the recipient's name and Hyatt number.
Hyatt's Guest of Honor bookings are in a league of their own compared to other programs' gifted award stays. The person using the Guest of Honor award receives Globalist benefits — including free breakfast, club lounge access, room upgrades (when available), late checkout (when available), waived resort fees, and more. These benefits can be worth multiple hundreds of dollars.
- Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 more Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
- Enjoy complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as your account is open.
- Get 1 free night each year after your Cardmember anniversary at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort
- Receive 5 tier qualifying night credits towards status after account opening, and each year after that for as long as your account is open
- Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year
- Earn 2 qualifying night credits towards tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card
- Earn up to 9 points total for Hyatt stays - 4 Bonus Points per $1 spent on qualified purchases at Hyatt hotels & up to 5 Base Points per $1 from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member
- Earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
- Member FDIC
- Up to 9X points total per $1 spent at Hyatt - 4X points per $1 when you use your card at Hyatt hotels & 5X points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member
- 2X points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
- 1X point per $1 everywhere else
Wyndham Rewards
According to Wyndham:
A Member may book a Free Night in the name of another guest, by calling Wyndham Rewards Member Services at the applicable telephone number provided here, or by booking the Free Night online in the staying guest’s name.
This is a recent change from its previous policy, which did not allow award stays to be booked in other people's names.
Related: Introduction to Wyndham Rewards Loyalty Program
Choice Privileges
Choice Privileges allows you to book an award stay for immediate family members. According to the terms, this includes your spouse, partner, children, parents, in-laws, and siblings. The Choice Privileges member is not required to be present for the stay.
You have two options. First, call Choice Hotels customer service to make a reservation. During the call, inform the agent that you are booking the award stay for someone else and would like to have their name listed in the registration notes.
Or you can make the reservation online and include the person's name in the “special request” field. We recommend calling the hotel in advance to confirm that the designated person can check in.
Related: Complete Guide to Choice Privileges Loyalty Program
Best Western
Best Western doesn't let you book award stays in someone else's name. However, it does allow you to transfer points to any other Best Western Rewards member at no cost, allowing them to make the reservation themselves.
To do this, you need to call Best Western customer service. Your account must be open for a minimum of 30 days, and you will need to provide the recipient's full name and Best Western Rewards account number. Transfers start at 1,000 points and are capped at 70,000 points per transaction.
To transfer more than 70,000 points, a request form is required through customer service and is subject to review and approval. Additionally, there is a maximum of 150,000 points transferred per rolling calendar year, per account.
Related: Current Best Western Promotions
Programs Where You Can't Gift an Award Stay
Accor Live Limitless
You cannot gift award stays with Accor Live Limitless (ALL) because the terms (caution: PDF link) state that “Members must be present at the hotel for the duration of the stay.”
Related: Ultimate Guide to the Accor Live Limitless Loyalty Program
Final Thoughts
Whether you earn free hotel nights through hotel stays or hotel
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees), and The World of Hyatt Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
