Most travelers book a hotel and never look back. I did the opposite—it recently saved me 7,000 points and $31 on my next stay. I’ve turned my quick habit into one of the easiest ways to save points and cash by booking early with flexible rates and seeing when prices drop.
Realistically, it doesn’t take much time or effort. Checking out the 34 hotels I’m about to book takes less than 30 minutes. After all, checking current prices is quick, and I don’t need to check booking bonus rates for programs like Wyndham Rewards and World of Hyatt, which have fixed bonus charts so bonus prices don’t drop.
Once I know I need to visit a specific destination on a specific date, I immediately book an accommodation with free cancellation. Even when prices are extremely high—like last summer’s stay in Vancouver, British Columbia, and this spring’s upcoming trip to Adelaide, Australia—I’ve learned to secure a few things and then keep checking. After all, while interest rates may fall, they tend to keep rising.
Then, about once a week, I check to see if there are any price drops on my upcoming hotel reservations. Over the course of a few weeks, when I have some extra time, I’ll also be re-searching for certain destinations from scratch, considering whether a different accommodation or booking method might be a better value than what I’ve already booked.
Although I’ve been doing these checks for years, it’s only recently that I’ve started documenting the price drops I catch. So here are the price drops I’ve seen in my last two weekly checks:
- Courtyard Toronto Vaughan: Stay five nights in early August and save 1,000 Marriott points
- Holiday Inn Johannesburg Airport: The price of a night’s stay in late March dropped by ZAR 139.13 (USD 8.62)
- Hotels located in the center of Skopje: A four-night stay in late January cost 6,000 IHG points less
- Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport: A one-night stay in late January dropped to €19.60 ($23.24)
Reward your inbox with the TPG daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers and get breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive offers from TPG experts
Interestingly, the offers for bookings at Skopje City Center Hotel and Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport are for stays within one and two days of check-in date respectively. So if you can cancel for free at the last minute, it might be worth checking your reservation shortly before check-in.
Hotel bookings are an easy way for travelers to find price drops. After all, prices often fluctuate, and award pricing from programs like Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and IHG One Rewards is not fixed. Plus, while you might think that loyalty programs don’t like traveler repricing, it’s a way to keep travelers engaged with the program and encourage them to frequent the program’s webpage or app. Some programs, like Marriott Bonvoy, even make it easy to reprice your stay without having to cancel and rebook.
Related: 10 Truly Special Luxury Hotels and Resorts You Can Book With Points
bottom line
One of the easiest ways to reclaim points and save money is to monitor your upcoming hotel reservations. You don’t need to obsess or check in every day. After all, even a quick check can pay off.
However, you can save tons of points and cash as you book further and check in regularly with each stay. Worst case scenario: The drop never happens and you’re glad you booked when you did. Best case scenario, you can easily get back a lot of points and cash.
Related reading:
