Journey: A New Luxury Loyalty Rewards Program

What is Journey?

Journey is a new loyalty program for independent hotels and short-term rentals designed with the luxury traveller in mind.

The program is made up of an alliance of unique properties around the world, from boutique hotels in bustling cities to spectacular, off-the-radar stays in remote locales. The program gives travellers a way to earn and redeem points at properties that are mostly beyond the reach of loyalty programs (with the exception of some Journey properties that overlap with the Small Luxury Hotels of the World collection, Mr. and Mrs. Smith properties, or the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts).

Promising authentic and personalized hospitality experiences, Journey is set up to help guests get more from their favourite hotel stays and to help these smaller hotel brands and unique properties reach more travellers.

Where Is Journey Available?

Journey’s alliance is currently 1,400+ locations strong with partnered properties around the world (though most of these are focused in North America at this time).

The alliance includes 75 top hospitality brands and features unique places to stay such as:

• Dunton (Colorado) – stunning properties in a refurbished ghost town
• Flohom (Maryland) – beautiful houseboats along the Atlantic coast of the US
• Nihi Sumba (Indonesia) – jungle villas with views of the Indian Ocean
• Hinter (Quebec) – architecturally exquisite, minimalist homes designed for quiet retreats

Journey – How It Works

From the moment it launched, Journey has aimed to set itself apart from the loyalty programs like Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors.

The Journey program has three key features that act as the foundation of its unique design:

• Unified rewards network: Members of the Journey program can earn and redeem the same points currency across the entire Journey alliance.
• Direct booking incentives: Journey creates a points-earning incentive for you to book directly with the hotel. This is designed to improve direct relationships with the properties to elevate the guest experience and help smaller brands maximize their revenue.
• AI-powered personalized rewards: Journey uses AI to tailor offers and stays based on each guest’s preferences and behaviours, helping to create more thoughtful interactions and seamless experiences.

Journey – Earning points

With Journey, members earn 5 points per dollar spent when they book directly with properties within the Journey alliance as part of the incentivized earning structure.

Comparatively, if members book through a third-party, like a travel agent or Expedia, they’ll only earn 1 point per dollar spent.

Additionally, the program also has special points-earning offers like a 7x points promo or the opportunity to earn 3,500 bonus points when you book a stay.

To be eligible for these points promotions, you’ll need to meet the requirements. These typically involve booking for specific days or for a specific length of time (i.e., a 7 nights stay).

Journey – Redeeming points

Once you’ve earned a few Journey points, you can redeem them for stays at properties within the alliance.

At this time, there’s no standard redemption rate or value per point, but the Journey terms and conditions state that “the value of points at redemption will never be below $0.01 USD,” except in exceptional circumstances.

However, in terms of how redemptions work in the real world, this remains to be seen, though we expect it should be similar to other hotel loyalty programs.

It would also appear that at this time not all of the alliance properties have been fully integrated into the Journey app/website, with many of them showing « coming soon » style notifications. That said, we were able to find a few redemption options to get an idea of the value potential:

As can be seen in the examples, there’s property in Ohio for 19,750 points or $395; a property in Toronto for 7,546 points or $226.38; and a property in Maryland for 21,400 points or $428, giving a points value of 2–3 cents per Journey Point.

Pending points utilization

One final notable feature of the Journey program is the ability to use pending points during a stay.

According to the program, a Journey member can use between 50% and 100% (depending on the elite tier status) of their pending points for expenses incurred at the property.

As an example, if you were to book a stay that cost $1,500, you would earn 7,500 Journey Points once you’ve checked out and paid. With the pending-points feature, you could choose to redeem up to 3,750 points (half the 7,500) for on-site purchases like spa services, restaurant meals, and room service, before you’ve actually received the points.

Journey Rewards – Elite tiers

The Journey loyalty program has six elite tiers, and you can make your way to the next tier once you’ve earned the required number of points.

As you climb up the tiers, you’ll enjoy different perks and benefits with each new level.

• Traveller (general member level) – 50% pending point use, 5x points on direct stays, access to offers
• Nomad (18,000 points) – 1x Timeless Stay Award, Distinguished Tail Credit, Suite Elevation Access
• Navigator (50,000 points)  – No resort fees, 2x Timeless Stay Awards, Distinguished Tails Status (no pet fees), free Dorsia membership
• Ambassador (125,000 points) – 1 Suite Elevation Award, Liftup Award (to gift status), Magical Moment+, Save Status Award
• Legend (250,000 points) – 2x Suite Elevation Award, dedicated concierge, access exclusive events, Dorsia Premium
• Icon (invite-only) – 3x Suite Elevation Award, premium concierge access, bespoke experiences, VIP privileges

Learn more about the listed benefits on Journey’s website.

Journey Rewards – How to sign up

Signing up for the Journey loyalty program is easy! Simply go to Journey website and click « Apply for Access. »

Also, don’t be put off by the slightly unwelcoming wording – once you’ve clicked through, you just need to provide basic information like name, email address, and birth date to become a member.

Should You Join Journey Rewards?

Given that Journey is both easy and free to join, there’s really no reason not to add this program to your list of memberships.

By becoming a member, you’ll have the chance to discover unique accommodation options, earn points on your stays, and redeem these points for free nights and other in-property services.

Additionally, Journey claims that as you use the program more, their AI systems will help create personalized offers and services to give you the best possible experience wherever you choose to stay.

Bottom Line

If you’re looking for unique places to stay, more bespoke accommodation experiences, or to explore accommodations away from the big brands like Marriott and Hilton, then Journey could be a great place to start.

Although the pieces don’t seem to be all in place quite yet, the Journey program has great potential, connecting you with over 1,000 unique properties and letting you earn and redeem flexible points through stays and promotions.

If you’re interested in other ways to save on unique and independent accommodations, I recommend you also check out our other guides below:

FAQs

What is the Journey loyalty program?

Journey is a hotel and short-term rental loyalty program that launched in July 2025.

The program is designed to provide independent hotel, resort, and short-term rental operators the ability to offer clients a loyalty program and guest experience on par with those offered by larger hotel brands such as Marriott and Hilton.

Through the program, guests at these properties can earn and redeem Journey Points, enjoy more personalized services, and more.

How do you join the Journey loyalty program?

To join the Journey loyalty program, simply go to the Journey website and click « Apply for Access. »

You will then be asked to provide some basic information like name, email, and birth date before you’re enrolled for free.

Does it cost money to join Journey?

No, it’s free to join the Journey loyalty program. Just go to the Journey website and click « Apply for Access » to become a member.