No one enjoys paying more for their hotel. So, unless you have more points and miles than you can use, it’s possible to get a fourth or fifth night free when redeeming points for a hotel stay.
You’re probably familiar with Citi Prestige’s fourth-night-free hotel benefit and Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts’ complimentary night offers, but they’re not the only options.
In this guide, I’ll discuss four major loyalty programs that offer a fourth or fifth night free to select travelers on award stays. Here’s what you need to know.
Marriott Bonvoy ‘Stay for 5, Pay for 4’
You can avail “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” benefits on the same reservation. So, if you redeem Marriott points for a 10-night stay, the two lowest point-value nights in your entire stay will cost you zero points.
You only get the “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” benefit for the standard room point cost if you redeem Marriott Points for an upgraded room.
You can book paid nights or free night awards—including those earned through Marriott credit cards—in the same reservation you use the “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” benefit.
However, nights booked with cash or free night awards do not count toward the five-night requirement for the “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” benefit. So you’ll need to redeem points for at least five nights of your stay to get the lowest point-value night.
RELATED: 5 Ways to Maximize Marriott Bonvoy Award Night Redemptions
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Fifth night free on Hilton Rewards stay
If you redeem Hilton Points for a 20 night stay you will effectively pay zero points for five, 10, 15 and 20 nights of your stay. There’s no limit on how many times you can use this benefit, but you’ll only get up to four free nights per stay.
You can earn Hilton elite status by meeting annual night, stay or base point requirements. Hilton Silver is most attainable at 25,000 base points for 10 nights, four stays or a calendar year. However, various Hilton Honors credit cards, as well Platinum Card® from American Express And The Business Platinum Card® from American ExpressThe card offers complimentary Hilton Elite status as a member perk.
Related: Guide to Marriott and Hilton Elite Status with Amex Platinum and Business Platinum
IHG Fourth-Night-Free Award
You cannot use IHG’s fourth-night-free award benefit on paid stays or points and cash bookings. However, stays of four nights or more for which you redeem IHG points are eligible.
You can use the fourth-night-free rewards perk on as many IHG One Rewards as you want. As a cardholder of the following IHG credit cards you will have access to the fourth-night-free reward benefit:
RELATED: Why you should get (and keep) the IHG One Rewards Premier Card.
Aeroplan 4th night free
You generally don’t want to redeem airline points and miles for hotel stays because doing so usually yields a lower redemption value. But you can often get decent value when redeeming Air Canada Aeroplan points for hotel stays. This is especially true if you have an Aeroplan credit card (including the Aeroplan® Credit Card) that gives you a fourth night free every time you redeem points for three nights.
You can only get every fourth night free when you book consecutive stays at the same participating hotel The definitive travel booking website. Therefore, you want to make sure that the rates that can be booked through this website are competitive with the rates that you can get when booking directly with the hotel.
When you redeem Aeroplan points for your stay you won’t get elite benefits with the hotel. But you can stack a fourth night free with discounts of up to 30% at Hotelsavers partner hotels. The fourth-night-free offer expires on December 31, 2025, although Aeroplan may extend it.
Related: How to Redeem Aeroplan Points for Maximum Value
The bottom line
Free nights are a great way to increase your redemption rate and get more value from your rewards. I often redeem IHG points when staying four nights and Hilton or Marriott points when staying five nights; This allows me to maximize my points. Additionally, by staying at least four or five nights in one place, I can see more of the destination and enjoy my stay more.