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Sometimes, life gets in the way of travel. Work and family commitments, crazy weather, postponed meetings, or a change in dates or destination sometimes call for modifying or canceling a hotel award reservation. What happens if you need to change an upcoming reservation after using a free night award as part of the booking? While the majority of hotel loyalty programs offer straightforward cancellation policies for free night awards, these often are buried deep in the programs' terms and conditions — and they're often difficult to find.
That's why we’ve rounded up free night award change and cancellation policies for each major hotel program. However, we'd like offer up this reminder before jumping in: To be 100% sure, make sure to check a property's cancellation policy when completing your booking! Individual properties can have different policies from the parent company.
Page Contents
- Read Hotel Booking & Cancellation Policies Before Booking an Award
- Hilton Honors Free Night Change & Cancellation Policy
- Hyatt Free Night Cancellation Policy
- IHG One Rewards Free Night Change & Cancellation Policy
- Radisson Rewards Free Night Change & Cancellation Policy
- Marriott Free Night Certificate Cancellation Policy
- Wyndham Rewards Cancellation Policy
- Credit Cards That Offer Trip Interruption & Cancellation Coverage
- Final Thoughts
Read Hotel Booking & Cancellation Policies Before Booking an Award
It pays to read the room and booking policies that appear on-screen for every award booking. As you'll discover in this article, change and cancellation policies are typically set by each property, not the rewards program.
Hilton Honors Free Night Change & Cancellation Policy
Consistent with other hotel programs, Hilton Honors treats a Free Night Reward cancellation just like canceling an award booked on points. Also, like the other programs, Hilton Free Night Rewards earned as credit card benefits or through welcome bonuses tend to expire in 12 months and can only be used within that initial 12-month period. So if you cancel a reservation made with a Free Night Reward, you can only use it to rebook within its initial 12-month expiration period.
Hilton Honors offers up a perfect example of why it's essential to check the hotel's cancellation policy. In general, Hilton cites a 48-hour cancellation policy for Hilton Honors award stays, as follows:
9. No-shows or cancellations of Reward Stay reservations outside of the timeframe set by the hotel's individual cancellation policy will be charged the cancellation or no-show fee set forth by the hotel or one night's room and tax at the hotel's Best Available Rate for that date if no cancellation or no-show fee is specified. General cancellation policy: cancel 48 hours prior to arrival to avoid cancellation penalties. Additional cancellation policies are established by each individual hotel and may differ from the general cancellation policy; in that case, the hotel's individual cancellation policy applies.
Some Hilton properties have much stricter cancellation policies. The Hilton Waikoloa Village in Hawaii presented us with a mammoth seven-day cancellation policy for an award booking if we wanted to avoid cancellation penalties.
When Hilton says the cancellation policy varies by property, it's not a joke. Always read the fine print before and after booking.
Hyatt Free Night Cancellation Policy
World of Hyatt award cancellation policies for stays booked with points or free night awards generally range from 24 to 48 hours and are set by each property, as follows:
“If a Member cancels an Award Reservation in compliance with the applicable hotel’s or resort’s cancellation policy, any corresponding points that have been deducted from the Member’s account (or the applicable award) will be returned to the account within approximately three (3) days of the cancellation. If a Member does not follow the proper cancellation policy for the applicable hotel or resort or if a Member does not check into the hotel or resort when scheduled, the credit card provided with the Award Reservation will be charged the standard rate then being offered by the hotel or resort on the date charged in accordance with the hotel's or resort's cancellation or no-show policy and any points/award redeemed for the applicable Award Reservation will be returned to the Member’s account, except that–if for any reason the credit card provided with the award reservation cannot be charged – Hyatt reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (a) attempt to charge any other payment method we have on file for such Member and/or (b) retain (or deduct from the Member’s account) the points or award redeemed for the applicable Award Reservation.”
For example, the Andaz 5th Avenue allows cancellations by “11:59 p.m. Hotel Time 1 Day Before Arrival.”
Each property displays the cancellation policy on Hyatt.com and in the confirmation email you receive after booking:
Hyatt Free Night Awards can be earned in several ways, including from The World of Hyatt Credit Card, from the Brand Explorer benefit, and from Milestone Rewards. Free nights expire one year from the date issued. As with Marriott, if you cancel a reservation booked with a Free Night Award, it will go back into your account with the original expiration date.
IHG One Rewards Free Night Change & Cancellation Policy
Most IHG One Rewards properties have a standard 24–48-hour change and cancellation policy, though policies can vary and aren't spelled out:
“If a Reward Night booked using the Points & Cash function is cancelled in accordance with Reward Night terms and conditions and within the hotel's cancellation policy, all points, including the points purchased at the time of booking, will be redeposited into your IHG One Rewards account. The cost for the points purchased is non-refundable.”
Thus, it's essential to check the hotel policy when you book. IHG charges one night per room cash on your credit card if you cancel after the deadline.
The Kimpton RiverPlace Hotel in Portland, OR, for instance, requires canceling 48 hours in advance. We used two Free Nights from our IHG credit cards to book two rooms for arrival on February 16, 2024 and were required to cancel by February 14 to avoid paying one night with our credit card on file.
Remember: If you cancel an award booking, be sure to rebook using your IHG free night certificate within 12 months of the original date you received the certificate.
Radisson Rewards Free Night Change & Cancellation Policy
Radisson Rewards no longer offers the credit cards that you could previously use to earn free night awards. However, award nights booked with have varying policies, set by each property:
“ii.1 Award Nights are subject to each Participating Property’s cancellation, guarantee and deposit policies. Points equal to one night of an Award Night reservation will be deducted from your account if your reservation is not canceled in accordance with the Participating Property’s cancellation policy. Any incidental charges in connection with an Award Night are the sole responsibility of the member.”
Marriott Free Night Certificate Cancellation Policy
Marriott Free Night Award cancellations are treated the same as point redemption cancellations in the policy:
“[I]f you cancel your Hotel Reservation made with Marriott Bonvoy® Points or Free Night Awards within the Cancellation terms of your Reservation, your Points/Awards will be returned immediately to your Account“
In short: Marriott Bonvoy will deposit your Free Night Award or your points back into your account if you cancel. Notice that you must cancel within the terms of your reservation to avoid paying a cancellation fee, which can vary by property. With Marriott, you typically must cancel 48 hours before check-in time to qualify for a refund without penalty. Again, policies vary between properties, so it’s essential to check the terms when you book the award.
The policy below is pulled directly from the new Marriott Bonvoy termss:
“3.2.d. The standard guarantee and cancellation policies of a Participating Property will apply to Award Redemption Stay reservations including, without limitation, all minimum length of stay requirements, credit card guarantee requirements and charges for late cancellation, no-shows, and early check-out.
A Point refund may be issued for a stay that is less than the number of days on the Award Redemption, but the Member must inform the Participating Property’s front desk in advance of the early check-out time in order for the Point refund to be issued to the Member’s Account.
If a Member fails to cancel a guaranteed Award Redemption Stay reservation within the permitted cancellation period, the Participating Property will charge the applicable cancellation fee to the credit card provided by the Member at the time the reservation was made and the Points that were redeemed will be re-deposited into the Member’s account.”
Check the cancellation policy for each property you book, as some will have much stricter parameters. For instance, at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort in Port Douglas, Australia, guests must cancel five days in advance to receive a refund:
Remember that Marriott Free Night Awards — whether it's an annual credit card benefit award or an award you earned through a welcome bonus — generally expire one year after Marriott issues them. That means you have to book and use them within 12 months of receiving them in your Marriott account. Simply booking before the expiration date isn't enough. That means if you cancel a stay booked with a free night certificate, you must rebook and use that certificate within the original 12-month window, which can be tricky if you're running out of time.
Wyndham Rewards Cancellation Policy
Wyndham Rewards reservations cancellation policies vary by hotel. Thus, as we've reiterated throughout this article: make sure to check each property's guidelines before booking:
“Will my credit card be charged if I don't cancel and don't show up?
Yes, reservations are automatically guaranteed to your credit card. You will be charged for the first nights stay only. To avoid being charged, reservations must be canceled in accordance with the cancellation policy outlined by the hotel for the rate and dates booked.”
Credit Cards That Offer Trip Interruption & Cancellation Coverage
When booking a free night award, you expect it to be… well, free. However, there may be local taxes and fees to pay. If you pay the hotel free night award taxes and fees with a travel rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees) or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), you may also be covered under the trip interruption and cancellation insurance provided for cardholders.
Trip interruption and cancellation insurance covers you if you miss your award booking due to any of the events listed under “Covered Loss,” which includes severe weather events, sickness, and injury. The policy covers cardholders and immediate family members. Catch our post on the best credit cards to pay for awards fees and taxes for more details.
Final Thoughts
Free night award stays are one of the staples of rewards travel, but cancellation policies when using these awards vary widely. You can save a ton of cash or points if you know the hotel’s free night award change and cancellation policies.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), and Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Great summary. Yes, always read T & C. The hotels in awesome locations are usually owned by someone else not Hilton or Marriott and managed by these big chains. So the real owners sets there cancellation policy which best suits them.
In other words, spend a minute to read the policy. From experience, I’ve seen hotels let you cancel on the day of your stay to needing a month in advance.
I have learned the hard way to read all rules with anything. I’m that person sitting and reading ALL the fine print. I’ve even had comments from people that they haven’t really seen anyone read all the fine print! lol! At least now maybe I’ll have to read a little less but things change and I might just read through it all anyway. I would love things to just stay the same!
Bottom line – read the small print!
Really helpful info especially all combined like this. Though I tend to agree, it’s best to check with the individual hotel you’re booking rather than just assume it follows the same policy as the rest of the chain/program…particularly in the case of SPG and Marriott.
I still find the hotel cancellation policies for award stays really quite generous, especially when you compare with the airlines. I hope they stay this way.
Hotel loyalty schemes and airline loyalty schemes seem to operate in completely different ways all round. Points redemptions generally count towards building status in hotels but not airlines whereas bookings through third parties generally don’t count for building status in hotels but do in airlines.
Thanks for putting this together. I have to admit, I don’t always read the terms before booking. I’m saving this post so that I can have a quick look when I need to before booking.
Thank you once again for a great post . Please review and update every 6 months if possible so we can be updated on the various cancellation changes that happen from time to time.
We sure will!
I would always try to contact the hotel in case of a problem arising from exceptional circumstances independent of my will.
This applies not only to award nights but also to all kind of reservations, including non-refundable ones.
Great post
not so happy with the info, but ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to traveling
Thanks for the roundup.
updates to policies tend to go in one direction these days – good summary
I’ve never had an issue canceling an award room. Just be courteous and cancel as soon as you know you can’t go!
If you do get in the situation where you haven’t cancelled in time, if you call the hotel directly they may be willing to reschedule it if they have availability (but not cancel outright). I’ve had this work multiple times.
Great tip!
I wouldn’t have thought of doing that, so it is good to hear that it will work sometimes. Certainly worth giving it a go, as you have nothing further to lose at this stage.
Really useful. Thanks for collating.
Thanks for this informative post. Years ago my credit card was charged the cash for a points night that I never used due to a cancelled flight. It was a good lesson. (Luckily an inexpensive hotel). It’s definitely a great idea to put any taxes on the Sapphire Cards, that trip interruption insurance can easily make up for the price of the annual fee if there is a situation where you need to use it.
when it rains it pours… hopefully a chain can come to its senses and unbend the stricter rules.
Good idea, but ultimately it’s the individual hotel that mandates the cancellation policy. Always a good reminder to read it carefully before confirming the reservation though…
thank you!! I was just working thru some of these earlier this week!! great timing!
Very useful, consolidating all the information into 1 place!
Thanks (again) for getting useful info like this in one, easy to find place.
Many hotels have different cancellation policies if you are on a corporate rate.
corporate negotiated terms are some of the best. I had a buddy that worked at IBM. They had until 6 pm hotel time, same day to cancel without penalties for a lot of properties.
Yes, always check the policy before booking since every hotels might have their own rule. My Grand Hyatt Kauai reservation for mid Dec is 7 days and Fairmont Orchid is “90” days!
My wife and I had a 5 day award stay at an IHG Staybridge Suites. She was not feeling well and we decided to go home a day early. We cancelled our last night the day before without a penalty and our points were put back into our account for the unused night. I try to book hotels with the least restrictive cancellation policies.
Thanks for this. Easy to forget that “free” night redemption can cost you something
Between changes to cancellation policies and the expansion of many of the lowest rates to non-refundable, hotel programs are moving in the same direction as airlines when it comes to customer friendliness.
It seems like hotels are getting more stringent.
Yeah they are. Not so long ago I was redeeming a free night award at a hotel in HKG… flight delayed until next day, so I forfeited the night… then the hotel e-mailed me and asked I contact them with my CC # so they could charge me for the missed night.
Needless to say, I ignored the email and will not solicit it again.
Yet another change to deal with……
Wow! Incredibly comprehensive. Thanks for keeping us in the know with cancellation and change policies.
good examples – bottom line is always check the specific deal of the place you are staying
A great summary of information. Very useful, thanks!
Great post!
Although this has never arisen as an issue for me, I always read the terms, it certainly would be nice if there was more consistency property-to-property within each brand portfolio.
I totally agree. What happens when your international flight to a hotel is cancelled through no fault of the traveller? Beg for mercy and hope your elite status offers you some goodwill?
I am yearning for the days of old policies of cancel by 6PM day of arrival.
That is a very good point. It seems really harsh that you could be charged an amount that you don’t know at the time of booking because you can’t arrive at your airport hotel due to a flight delay or cancellation. If you booked with points it is likely that the cash rate at the time of booking was already high. It would seem fairer if you instead just lost what you paid, i.e. the points. Hopefully if such a situation arose the hotel would show some sympathy as a gesture of goodwill.
Agree on this. we are at mercy of our loyalty. once my spouse could cancel past the time line using the Marriott plat helpline. Not sure if that will be accommodated now a days.