Gondola<\/a> is a travel portal that promises to help you earn more on every hotel stay. While other award search tools like PointsYeah<\/a> or Seats.aero<\/a> added hotel searches almost as an afterthought, Gondola was built primarily to help travelers earn and save on hotel stays. It offers a ton of advanced functionality to help you find the best rates, earn the most points, and save money \u2014 even after booking.<\/p>\n Gondola offers five main features:<\/p>\n If you're already an AwardWallet user, Gondola might become your new favorite search tool. You can link your Gondola and AwardWallet accounts to view up-to-date point balances and search for stays using your available points.<\/p>\n Gondola is extremely easy to use, which is one reason we like it so much. To start, sign up for an account if you haven't already. To keep things efficient, you'll give Gondola access to your email so it can track your upcoming reservations and update your point balances. If you're concerned about privacy, you can also forward your reservation emails to Gondola so they can be added to your account.<\/p>\n Here's an overview of Gondola's top features and how to make the most of them.<\/p>\n Before you start searching, you'll want to link your AwardWallet account to Gondola. That way, you can search for hotels using the points you actually have available to you.<\/p>\n Don't have an AwardWallet account yet?<\/strong> Sign up for free<\/a> and track unlimited rewards programs and travel plans.<\/p>\n To link your accounts, click the three lines in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, then click “Account information.” Under the “Connected Accounts” heading, click “Sync additional email accounts.” From there, click “Connect AwardWallet.”<\/p>\n You'll be redirected to AwardWallet to sign in and accept the terms and conditions, then sent back to Gondola. You can confirm your accounts are linked by heading to the “Points” section of your Gondola account, but more on that in a bit.<\/p>\n Once your Gondola account is set up, you're ready to search for a hotel. If you've ever used a travel portal to search for a hotel before, this is pretty self-explanatory. Enter your destination, dates, and number of travelers, then click the search icon.<\/p>\n As your search results start appearing, you'll see a variety of options, from independent hotels to hotels participating in a loyalty program. You'll also see a map on the right-hand side of your screen. This appears to be a direct connection with Google Maps. If you've ever used other portals before, you know the maps are sometimes hard to read or navigate, but that isn't the case here.<\/p>\n You'll have access to a variety of filters to make your search more customizable, including:<\/p>\n These might look like standard filters, but one sticks out to me the most: bed type. You can actually filter by the number and size of beds, which is virtually unheard of for a travel portal. I travel a lot with friends, and I don't always want to share a bed. On other portals, I have to click each listing to see whether a hotel has two beds available, or whether the advertised rate is solely for a queen- or king-sized bed.<\/p>\n You can sort by:<\/p>\n If you're interested in a property, click on it to view more information.<\/p>\n You'll get to see a few photos of the property up top, but when you scroll down, you'll find a ton of invaluable information. To start, you'll get a quick overview of why you might want to book this hotel. You'll also get a breakdown of cash versus points, with data on whether you're getting a good deal. You'll see how much you'll earn thanks to your credit cards, loyalty programs, and Gondola cash back, as well as any elite status perks you may receive while at the hotel.<\/p>\n If you scroll down past the room rates, you'll see an award calendar for the month you're searching for, complete with a cents per point calculation depending on which day you check in. This is also where you can set alerts to track prices. Note that setting an alert does not trigger the auto-rebooking feature.<\/p>\n If you're satisfied with your dates, scroll back up to the room types and select the one you'd like. Click “Book Now” to book your room.<\/p>\n Then, you can review the information before booking. What makes Gondola so unique is that even though you book the hotel on the Gondola platform, you're booking directly with the hotel. If you added a card to your Gondola profile, you can use that card or add a different card. And if the rate drops after you book a refundable stay, Gondola will automatically rebook you.<\/p>\n One fantastic thing to note about Gondola: since you are booking directly with the hotel, you have access to member rates and promotional pricing. The vast majority of third-party booking tools are more expensive because they don't offer member rate pricing. Instead, you book the more expensive flexible non-member rate, which is why booking directly with the hotel is often advantageous.<\/p>\n Gondola has solved that issue and given you the best of both worlds. You can book directly with the hotel while also enjoying the features and benefits of a third-party tool.<\/p>\n Booking a car through Gondola is just as easy, albeit less rewarding. The rental car feature is still in beta, so more functionality could roll out in the future. Enter your pick-up and drop-off locations and dates, then click the search icon.<\/p>\n If you've rented a car before, the default sort will be based on your past rentals. I hold Hertz President's Circle status and frequently choose Hertz when I rent a car, but I don't have much loyalty. I'm after the best rates possible, so I switch to sort by “Price low to high.” For instance, my recommended rental was through Hertz for $227 total for two days. Sorting low to high displayed an option from Payless for just $141. I like Hertz, but I don't like it enough to spend an extra $86.<\/p>\n There isn't an in-between page like there is with hotels where you can learn more about the rental. Click “Reserve” to be taken to checkout. You'll earn just 1% cash back on car rentals \u2014 even on “Pay at pickup” rates.<\/p>\n If you link your AwardWallet account with Gondola, you'll see the same information in the Points section as you see in your AwardWallet account. This can help you get an idea of how many points you have available before you start searching. And since your accounts are linked, you don't even need to enter your hotel loyalty program number at checkout.<\/p>\n The trips section lets you manage your upcoming reservations or view reservations from the past year. This is a great spot to see all of your upcoming travel in one place, especially if you're staying with multiple hotel brands. You'll even see your upcoming flights here.<\/p>\n Gondola offers price drop monitoring on flights paid in cash with select airlines, but not on award tickets just yet.<\/p>\n A few things to note. I disabled AutoSave on several of my upcoming trips because they were booked through credit card travel portals. I booked the Hotel Indigo Auckland through Chase Travel\u2120<\/a> to take advantage of my $250 select hotels credit<\/a> and $250 The Edit credit<\/a>, and I booked both the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa and The Hoxton, Lloyd Amsterdam through American Express Travel\u00ae<\/sup><\/a> to use up all of my $600 annual hotel credit<\/a>. Although these reservations are technically refundable, I don't want to cancel them and mess up my credits.<\/p>\n Similarly, I booked these through travel portals and was charged in USD. It lists the correct number under “Your Price,” but it shows that it was paid in the local currency rather than USD. For instance, I paid $539 USD to book the Hotel Indigo Auckland, not $539 NZD. I think this discrepancy can skew the accuracy of the price drop results.<\/p>\n The Explore tool is a helpful way to get a bird's-eye view of how much you'll spend if you're flexible on where you want to go. You can view both points and cash deals and filter by loyalty program, vibe (including Gondola recommended, pet-friendly, wineries, beach, and boutique), star rating, and points range. If you don't like the map view, you can also select list view.<\/p>\n For instance, let's say I was looking for a luxury beach getaway in April 2027. The Hyatt Regency Koh Samui in Thailand popped up as an option, and it seems like a great deal. I can book a $406\/night room for just 15,000 points per night, which seems like a great value. Clicking on the listing takes me to the booking page where I can review the same information as above, including reviews, the award calendar, room types, and more.<\/p>\n Gondola offers three tiers of elite status.<\/p>\n You'll start at the entry-level Member tier, and to upgrade to Silver, you'll need to refer five people to Gondola, book 30 nights, or spend $10,000 through Gondola. To reach top-tier Gold status, you'll need to refer 10 people to Gondola, book 60 nights, or spend $20,000 through Gondola.<\/p>\n Here's how much you'll earn at each tier:<\/p>\n If you don't want to spend $10,000 to earn extra cash back, you're in luck. Gondola is offering a status challenge to skip to Silver. You just need to book three nights or spend $1,000 within seven days of starting the challenge. Your elevated status will be valid through the end of the calendar year.<\/p>\n With so many different travel portals out there, it's really hard to differentiate between them. However, Gondola offers two unique features \u2014 auto-rebooking and loyalty-eligible stays.<\/p>\n Even if you don't book your hotel through Gondola, it will still rebook your room for you \u2014 or notify you of a price drop if you don't have this feature enabled. This could potentially save you hundreds of dollars or thousands of points. You can enjoy your elite benefits and essentially triple-stack your rewards (Gondola cash, credit card rewards, and hotel loyalty program rewards). Gondola doesn't reduce the rewards rate for loyalty-eligible bookings the way competitors do.<\/p>\n Plus, I've found that Gondola shows you significantly more information than any other travel portal. You can view virtually anything you want to know about a hotel directly in Gondola, from Google reviews to monthly award calendars and everything in between. It breaks down the information in a way that makes it easy to scan through when you're in a rush. It's clear that a lot of thought went into making something truly unique for travelers.<\/p>\n That said, each portal on the market offers something unique. For instance, I can use my Citi Strata Elite\u2120 Card<\/a> to book a hotel through the Citi Travel portal<\/a> to earn 12X Citi ThankYou\u00ae<\/sup> points<\/a> per $1 spent on my booking. That's pretty phenomenal.<\/p>\n\n
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-10.52.13.png\")
How To Use Gondola<\/span><\/h2>\n
Link your AwardWallet account<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.01.52.png\")
Booking hotels through Gondola<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.03.47.png\")
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.11.48.png\")
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![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.18.05-e1787072658105.png\")
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-12.08.48.png\")
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.19.05.png\")
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.19.28.png\")
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.19.58-1.png\")
Booking rental cars through Gondola<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-12.23.28.png\")
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-12.26.56.png\")
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-12.28.24.png\")
Points<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.23.23.png\")
Trips<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-13.02.30.png\")
Explore<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-12.42.46.png\")
Elite status<\/span><\/h3>\n
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![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.35.39.png\")
![\"Gondola](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-18-at-11.09.08.png\")
How Does Gondola Compare To Other Tools?<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Room](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Regent-Santa-Monica-Feature-scaled.jpeg\")
![\"Citi](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CardArt-CitiStrataEliteCard.png\")
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