How to save on independent hotel reservations?

Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors are fantastic rewards programs for earning free hotel nights with points. However, these large hotels are not found everywhere in the world and are not suitable for all types of travel.

When booking independent accommodation, you need to look at alternative strategies to save money. Here’s a list of tips to help you save or earn more points on your next cash stay.

To earn more points or cash back on your hotel nights, consider booking through online rewards portals.

AIR MILES offers an online travel agency for flight, hotel and car rental reservations. Payments by credit card and/or AIR MILES Dream Miles are accepted.

When you book through AIR MILES Travel, you’ll earn approximately 1 AIR MILES per $10 on the room rate, before taxes and fees.

Promotions are frequent and change throughout the year. For example, you could receive hundreds of bonus miles or a discount on your reservations to certain destinations.

Rocketmiles is another rewards portal that allows you to earn points from some 40 loyalty programs with your hotel stays.

Interesting programs for Canadians include Aeroplan, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Eithad Guest, Flying Blue, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and more.

Airlines also offer ways to book hotels and receive bonus points at the same time. For example, with Air Canada, you’ll receive 2 Aeroplan points for every dollar spent on hotel nights.

The Aeroplan HotelSavers program is also advantageous for luxury hotels. With this program, hotel nights can be booked using Aeroplan points, according to a fixed rate chart.

In addition, Aeroplan credit cardholders can get the fourth night free on stays paid for with points, for bookings made until December 31, 2024.

Finally, British Airways is offering 10 Avios for every £1 spent on hotels via its online booking platform. Air France offers much the same thing with its Hotels for Miles program. The bonuses are generous, so take a look!

The major online travel agencies also have loyalty programs. Such is the case with Booking.com’s Genius program, which rewards members with discounts, upgrades and breakfasts.

With Hotels.com, you’ll receive a coupon equivalent to a free night when you stay 10 nights. Finally, Expedia’s One Key program works more like cash back on every stay. In any case, choose your favorite platform and make most of your bookings on it to earn rewards faster.

Holders of a Platinum Card^MD from American Express or a Business Platinum Card^MD from American Express have access to the Fine Hotels + Resorts program. When you book your luxury hotel through this platform, you’ll enjoy a host of benefits, including free breakfast for two, room upgrades, property credit and late check-out.

Learn more about this partner program with over 1,300 luxury accommodations worldwide:

If you look hard enough, you can always find special offers on accommodation. For example, every year, the StayVancouverHotels website offers prepaid Mastercard cards on reservations for certain hotels in Vancouver.

Meanwhile, American Express often offers online accommodation packages. In the past, we’ve seen credits for reservations at Marriott, Fairmont, Shangri-La, Sofitel, or even any of the hotels available on Amex Travel. There aren’t any at the moment, but this kind of offer comes up almost every year.

In addition, tourism agencies sometimes run promotional campaigns. It’s worth checking your destination’s tourist office website to see if you can find a bargain.

Finally, online travel agencies such as Scene+ Travel, Expedia for TD or AIR MILES offer periodic promotions for bookings in certain cities or destinations. Such was the case this winter with Scene+ Travel, which offered discounts on accommodation at ski resorts around the world.

The grocery store gift card technique also works for hotel reservations. In fact, Hotels.com gift cards can be found at IGA, and paying with an American Express Cobalt^® Card or Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card will maximize your points harvest.

However, before adopting this strategy, be sure to check your insurance certificate and the conditions under which coverage applies. If the accommodation has not been paid for in full with the credit card, certain coverages may no longer be valid, such as hotel burglary or trip cancellation insurance.

The number 1 tip for saving money on independent hotel bookings is to use credit card reward points. These accumulate rapidly with your daily spending and welcome bonuses when you open a new card.

For an overview, here’s a list of Canadian programs that allow you to redeem fixed-value points for hotels. Details of each program are given in the following sections.