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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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Expert stacking: How I'm earning rewards 5 different ways on a Hotels.com booking
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
October 13, 2022 • 9 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
The article details how to maximize rewards by stacking five different earning methods on a Hotels.com booking, including airline miles, cash back, credit card points, shopping portal rewards and hotel loyalty stamps.
The author demonstrates earning approximately $257 in value on a $738 prepaid, refundable hotel stay by combining targeted offers and loyalty programs.
Eligibility for certain offers depends on card type, residency and targeted promotions, with some rewards only confirmed after travel is completed.
Some offers mentioned in the article are no longer available.
What to consider
Participation in some offers requires U.S. residency, specific card types and targeted enrollment, with earning caps and deadlines such as Oct. 31 for select promotions.
Shopping portal rewards may only be credited after the stay is completed and confirmation can take several weeks.
Hotel loyalty stamps require account activity at least once every 12 months to prevent expiration.
What you'll miss from the article
Step-by-step guidance on stacking multiple rewards programs and maximizing value on online hotel bookings.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
By paying closer attention to offers, I've recently been able to stack rewards — including e
arning Loyalty Points toward American Airlines elite status — on various purchases I planned to make anyway. In just the last few months, I've triple dipped (or better) on rewards when making purchases with Uber, Uber Eats, Allbirds, Viator and Simply Blooms.
I wrote about earning Loyalty Points on Uber purchases, but haven't covered most of the other stacking offers since they seemed of limited interest. But, when I noticed I'd be earning rewards five different ways on a Hotels.com booking I made for next summer, I thought this stack would be worth sharing. Here's what you need to know.
Stacking rewards on a Hotels.com booking
LITTLECLIE/GETTY IMAGES
Next summer, I'm helping run a league at the RoboCup international robot soccer competition in Bordeaux, France. The competition days are usually long and tiring, so I wanted to book lodging within walking distance of the venue.
None of my preferred hotel loyalty programs offer any hotels near the Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux (the site of RoboCup 2023), so I booked an independent hotel through Hotels.com. My eight-night prepaid but fully refundable stay costs $738 ($717 before taxes and fees). But, I should earn as follows based on how I booked and the card I used to pay:
3,584 Citi ThankYou points from using my credit card to make the purchase (worth $65 based on TPG's valuations).
1,434 Membership Rewards points by clicking through Rakuten before making my purchase (worth $29 based on TPG's valuations).
Eight stamps toward a reward night through Hotels.com Rewards (which I value at about $72).
Based on these five earning methods, I should earn about $257 worth of rewards and cash back on my $738 stay. In the following sections, I'll discuss each earning method in detail.
To participate in SimplyMiles, you must be an AAdvantage member, reside in the U.S. and hold a valid Mastercard. However, even if you have a SimplyMiles account, you may not be targeted for this offer.
If you are targeted for this Hotels.com offer through SimplyMiles, you can earn 4 miles per dollar when spending $100 or more through Oct. 31 with Hotels.com. To earn the bonus miles, you must use a Mastercard linked to your SimplyMiles account to pay for your Hotels.com purchase.
SIMPLYMILES.COM
You can use this offer up to three times. The amount you can earn through this offer is capped at 6,975 miles, but you can't earn more than 2,325 miles per booking.
AA.COM
As such, you'll reach the earning cap on a stay costing $582 or more before taxes and fees. Based on TPG's valuation of AAdvantage miles at 1.77 cents each, 2,325 miles are worth about $41.
If you have a Citi credit card, you likely have access to Citi Merchant Offers for your card. For example, my Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees), American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®, Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants), Citi Dividend card (no longer available to new applicants) and AT&T Access Card from Citi all have access to Citi Merchant Offers.
The information for the Citi Prestige, Citi Dividend and AT&T Access Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Citi Merchant Offers are targeted by card, so you'll likely see different offers on each card if you have multiple Citi cards. In my case, I only see the Hotels.com offer that lets me get 10% back in statement credit (up to $50 back) on a purchase of $100 or more through Oct. 31 on my Citi Premier and Citi Prestige cards.
ONLINE.CITI.COM
You must add the offer to the card you plan to use before making a purchase with that card. You can use the offer up to three times per card once you enroll (for up to $150 in total statement credits per card). Your bookings must be made on the Hotels.com website using the "pay online now" option.
Citi posted my $50 statement credit a little over a week after I booked and paid for my stay through Hotels.com with my Citi Prestige Card.
As long as you use a rewards card, you'll earn rewards when you use your card for a Hotels.com purchase. In my case, I opted to use my Citi Prestige Card since it earns 5 Citi ThankYou points per dollar spent with travel agencies and was targeted for the Citi Merchant and SimplyMiles offers discussed above.
I earned 3,584 Citi ThankYou points on my $738 purchase using my Citi Prestige Card. Based on TPG's valuation of Citi points at 1.8 cents each, these points are worth about $65.
CITI.COM
Only select Citi-issued cards are eligible for Citi Merchant Offers, and only Mastercards are eligible for SimplyMiles offers. So, choose your card wisely based on its expected earning rate and the other offers you plan to use.
I recommend checking which of your cards are targeted for the associated SimplyMiles and Citi Merchant offers. The Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) may be a good choice. You may want to use a Citi Mastercard targeted for the Hotels.com offers mentioned above, even if it doesn't earn more than 1 point or mile per dollar spent on the purchase.
Before booking my stay through Hotels.com, I clicked through Rakuten to earn 2 Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar spent.
In my Rakuten account, I see my visit on the shopping trips page but not on my earning balance page. When I researched this, the help page on Rakuten told me, "Hotels.com will confirm your cash back within six weeks after travel has been completed."
I expect to earn 1,434 Membership Rewards points on my purchase, but this won't be confirmed until after my stay next summer. TPG's valuations peg the value of 1,434 Membership Rewards points at about $29. So, this is the least valuable part of my five-way stack.
Although I frequently use Rakuten when making online purchases, there are many other online shopping portals. I recommend comparing your options once you're ready to book using a shopping portal aggregator such as Cashback Monitor.
Finally, I'll earn through Hotels.com Rewards on my stay since I booked through Hotels.com and am a Hotels.com Rewards member. Hotels.com Rewards members earn a stamp for each eligible night they book and stay. Each time you collect 10 stamps, you earn a reward night worth the average price of the 10 stamps.
I'll earn eight stamps at an average of $81.46 per night from my eight-night stay. If I stay two more nights with a similar average per-night cost, I'll earn a reward night worth about $81.
HOTELS.COM
Hotels.com Rewards stamps don't expire as long as you keep your account active at least once every 12 months. So, by staying with Hotels.com at least once each year, I ensure my stamps don't expire.
I rarely book hotels through online travel agencies such as Hotels.com, as I'm usually looking to use (and work toward requalifying for) hotel elite status. But I want to stay within walking distance of the Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux for the RoboCup robot soccer competition next summer in France. Unfortunately, this eliminated any hotels in the loyalty programs I prefer from consideration for this stay.
Of course, paying now for a stay next summer means you'll be out the money long before your stay. But you could also book a stay for next week or next month and benefit from stacking as described in this story. The key aspects are that you understand how to use each part of the stack, book eligible stays by the end of Oct. 2022 and choose to pay at the time of booking.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
