How to Avoid Hotels.com's New Nightly Fee on Award Redemptions
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Hotels.com, a popular online travel agency with a lucrative loyalty program, is making a negative change to its free night rewards.
Beginning Nov. 27, 2019, Hotels.com will charge a $5 redemption fee per reward night redeemed through the website. However, no redemption fee will be charged on reward nights redeemed through the Hotels.com app.
The company announced the news via email to Hotels.com customers, stating that the change was made to help cover costs associated with the rewards program.
As a refresher, Hotels.com offers customers one reward night for every ten nights booked and completed via Hotels.com. The maximum value of the reward night averages the daily rate of the 10 paid nights, and does not include taxes and fees. Essentially, you're getting 10% back on the combined total of the 10 nights you stayed.
This news is a disappointment for Hotels.com customers, especially since this move seems to be nothing more than a concerted effort to move travelers toward utilizing the app more heavily. That being said, Hotels.com can still make a lot of sense for many people, especially travelers who don't pursue hotel chain loyalty enough to benefit from holding elite status.
Featured Photo courtesy of Ambrosia Key West.