There are numerous nice causes to remain at unbiased hotels and vacation rentals. Sadly, the benefit of incomes rewards on these stays isn’t one in every of them — or so that you would possibly suppose. Through the years, I’ve loved quite a lot of unforgettable stays and picked up a number of methods to maximize my savings and rewards on them. This is what I’ve realized.
Associated: Best hotel rewards programs in the world: Which one is right for you?
Why I like unbiased boutique accommodations
Typically I keep at unbiased boutique accommodations or trip leases out of necessity — possibly the small mountain city I am visiting would not have any chain accommodations, or my pal group wants more room and might save large bucks by splitting an Airbnb. Different occasions, I select unbiased accommodations due to the distinctive facilities and experiences they supply.
As an example, I as soon as spent an evening outdoors Mount Rainier Nationwide Park in a cabin with an genuine Ukrainian restaurant and „cannibal“ scorching tub heated by a wooden fireplace. One other memorable keep was at a Kyoto ryokan full with a seven-course Japanese meal and an in-room onsen. I additionally spent a week in an Airbnb in Paris, which gave me extra of a glimpse into „actual“ Parisian life than I might get at a factors lodge within the prime vacationer neighborhood.
The draw back is that there are normally no elite advantages or factors to be earned at these properties. Fortunately, I’ve nonetheless discovered loads of methods to maximise my journey after I keep at unbiased accommodations and trip leases.
Associated: How to use points to book vacation home rentals
How I get monetary savings on unbiased lodge stays
It’s doable to redeem rewards for stays at unbiased accommodations, equivalent to by reserving with factors or miles by a credit card travel portal. However since this does not present nice worth for my rewards, I normally e-book these stays with money and give attention to making an attempt to economize.
Use bank card journey credit
I maintain the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which supplies an annual $50 lodge credit score for properties booked by Chase Travel℠, and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which supplies a $300 journey credit score for flights and stays booked by Capital One Travel. Each of those are available in very useful after I e-book unbiased accommodations.
As an example, I not too long ago used my Enterprise X credit score on a two-night keep at a bed-and-breakfast within the Wicklow Mountains outdoors of Dublin (no factors accommodations there) and a rental automobile to get there. After my $300 credit score was utilized, I spent a grand whole of $4 on my two-day mountain climbing journey.
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Listed below are another playing cards with journey credit that you may put towards stays at unbiased accommodations:
Earn money again with purchasing portals
I like utilizing purchasing portals to earn money again on my on a regular basis purchases. However they don’t seem to be only for retail purchasing — you may earn money again at many hotel-booking platforms, like Reserving.com, Resorts.com, Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz and Tripadvisor.
Although reward charges fluctuate from daily, they typically aren’t too shabby. On the time of writing, Rakuten was providing as much as 10% money again at a few of these websites.
Nevertheless, it is vital to learn the high quality print on Rakuten earlier than you resolve which website to e-book by. On this instance, Rakuten is providing 6% again on accommodations and trip leases however only one% again on vehicles and a measly $1.25 again on flights.
Vacationers who maintain a card that earns Amex Membership Rewards points can get further worth out of Rakuten by switching their incomes desire to Amex points as a substitute of money again.
Different purchasing portals to contemplate embrace Extrabux, Mr. Rebates and TopCashback. You may also typically discover hotel-booking websites on airline shopping portals and bank card portals like Capital One Shopping. A shopping portal aggregator like Cashback Monitor might help you notice which portals provide the very best returns in your buy.
Seek for offers
Earlier than I e-book a keep, I all the time examine a number of websites as a result of costs can fluctuate broadly. As an example, a part of my current journey to Dublin concerned spending two nights within the metropolis with my husband and a pal. We wished an condominium with room for the three of us, however most Dublin Airbnbs required a four-night minimal keep. I settled on an apartment-style lodge with a number of bedrooms and a kitchen that was working a sale for 10% off on direct bookings — saving me roughly $100 on our keep.
Value is not the one factor I examine from one website to a different. I have a look at cancellation insurance policies too, and I typically prioritize reserving by a website with a versatile cancellation coverage, even when it prices a little bit extra. That method, if my plans change or I discover a higher fee later, I can cancel at no cost and rebook.
Associated: When plans go wrong: Your guide to booking refundable travel
How I maximize rewards on unbiased lodge stays
The extra factors I can earn on a lodge I booked with money, the earlier I can redeem these factors for my subsequent free flight or Hyatt keep.
Earn transferable factors with bank card journey portals
Many widespread journey playing cards provide portals by which you’ll be able to e-book accommodations, flights, rental vehicles and extra — and earn bonus factors on these purchases. The variety of factors you will earn depends upon which card you maintain, nevertheless it’s sometimes 5 or extra factors per greenback spent.
For instance, I can earn 10 Capital One miles per greenback spent on accommodations booked by Capital One Journey after I pay with my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. And I can earn 5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per greenback spent on accommodations I e-book by Chase Journey with my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
Different playing cards that earn bonus rewards on their respective reserving platforms embrace:
Since I am not loyal to anybody lodge program, incomes transferable factors is extraordinarily invaluable to me. I can switch my Chase factors to Hyatt or Marriott, for instance, or switch my Capital One miles to Alternative or Wyndham, relying on which lodge chain makes essentially the most sense for my journey.
Associated: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points
Earn further miles with airline reserving platforms
Most airline reserving platforms provide subpar incomes charges. Nevertheless, I like Southwest Hotels as a result of you may earn as much as 25 factors per greenback spent on choose properties, so I all the time search right here first.
Rocketmiles works equally however allows you to select which rewards to earn from an extended record of airline loyalty packages, together with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and United MileagePlus.
Earn airline miles on trip leases
Trip leases could also be a little bit behind the occasions on the planet of factors and miles, however this does not imply you may’t earn any invaluable rewards in your subsequent residence away from residence.
I’ve arrange my Airbnb account to earn British Airways Avios by coming into my frequent flyer quantity here.
That is as a result of I can earn 2 Avios per greenback spent on Airbnb bookings, and I’ve discovered Avios helpful for reserving worldwide flights out of Denver. Nevertheless, you too can choose to earn 1 Delta Air Lines SkyMile per greenback or 1 Qantas point per Australian greenback ($0.64) spent on Airbnb bookings. Select the foreign money that is most dear to you.
If you happen to choose Vrbo, you may earn 3 United Airways miles per greenback spent on Vrbo leases while you e-book by this page along with your MileagePlus quantity.
Associated: How to earn cash back or points when booking Airbnbs, Vrbo rentals, hostels and more
Earn free journey with One Key
Launched in 2023, Expedia’s One Key is a comparatively new loyalty program for Expedia, Resorts.com and Vrbo. Members can’t solely save 10% on stays booked by these websites but additionally earn OneKeyCash to spend towards accommodations, flights, rental vehicles and extra ($1 in OneKeyCash saves you $1 on purchases by these websites).
Since OneKeyCash is redeemed at a flat fee, you will not get the outsize worth that you can with different lodge loyalty packages‘ award charts and sweet spots. Nevertheless, One Key’s simplicity may very well be a draw for some vacationers, particularly since you’ll select from the large number of accommodations on three completely different websites.
Though I normally find yourself reserving by a bank card portal as a substitute, I am very intrigued by the One Key loyalty program, and I am contemplating including a One Key credit card to my pockets. I am additionally anxiously awaiting the day when Airbnb comes out with a cobranded bank card.
Which bank card do you have to use to e-book unbiased accommodations?
If I can e-book a lodge by a bank card portal equivalent to Chase Journey or Capital One Journey, I all the time use the relevant card to earn bonus factors. It is a no-brainer.
However typically I must e-book a lodge instantly so as to get a deal, or I need to keep in an Airbnb, which is not out there on any platform mentioned above. Although it’s doable to redeem points for Airbnb gift cards, equivalent to redeeming my Chase Final Rewards factors at 1 cent per level, that is far beneath TPG’s March 2025 valuation of Chase factors and would not get me the very best worth for my factors.
Subsequently, my greatest wager is to e-book with a card that earns bonus rewards on journey purchases — however that is not the one factor I think about.
Do not forget that many journey playing cards include built-in trip insurance. If you find yourself canceling a nonrefundable lodge reserving, these perks can put a number of {dollars} again in your pockets. And if you happen to’re reserving a lodge abroad, you should definitely pay with a card with no foreign transaction fees.
For me, this implies I e-book most unbiased accommodations with my Chase Sapphire Preferred. This card affords journey safety and no international transaction charges, and it earns 2 Final Rewards factors per greenback spent on all journey purchases plus a ten% factors enhance each account anniversary. Since Chase factors are value 2.05 cents apiece based mostly on TPG’s March 2025 valuations, that is a 4.5% return.
Different playing cards that provide bonus earnings on travel embrace:
Backside line
There are many methods to economize and maximize your rewards on unbiased accommodations and trip leases. It might take a little bit further effort to sift by these choices, however it should repay in the long term.
Plus, I like the variability unbiased accommodations provide. Since there are such a lot of selections, you are certain to search out one thing distinctive and ideal to make for a memorable journey.
For charges and charges of the Bilt Mastercard, click on here.
For rewards and advantages of the Bilt Mastercard, click on here.
TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.
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