The top four finishers in this category: Priority Club IHG, Hyatt Gold Passport, Starwood Preferred Guest and Taj Hotels & Resorts InnerCircle.
Taj InnerCircle members could earn up to 700 bonus points when booking the Surprises rate at Taj locations worldwide. Members earned 500 bonus points for the first four nights, plus up to an additional 200 bonus points at Luxury hotels.
The top four finishers in this category are Marriott Rewards, Choice Privileges, Club Carlson and IHG Priority Club Rewards.
Marriott Rewards has been offering its MegaBonus for several years running and there is no end in sight for this popular promotion. In an ever-changing industry, members have grown to expect the trustworthy MegaBonus to return year after year and continue to rate this bonus as best in class.
“Thank you Starwood Preferred guests, the best members in the world.”
Starwood Preferred Guest is no stranger to winning this category. Starwood’s nine-year winning streak was interrupted by Hilton, Marriott and IHG from 2009 to 2011, but the program resumed its first place spot last year and continues the trend this year. Starwood pioneered making all standard rooms available for points, and other hotel programs have followed their lead.
Hyatt Gold Passport nudges past Taj Hotels & Resorts InnerCircle to take the Freddie for Best Redemption Ability in Middle East /Asia /Oceania. This is the first time Hyatt Gold Passport has won for Best Redemption Ability in any geographical region. Hyatt’s portfolio includes truly aspirational properties and when it comes time to redeem your points, there are no unpleasant surprises. Hyatt Gold Passport has a reputation for keeping members well-informed about changes to award categories. When the program announced in December 2012 that several hotels would be changing categories, the program gave members six weeks advance notice.
“Thank you to all of our members.”
Marriott Rewards wins in this all-important category for a second year in a row. Marriott has plenty of properties, in locations where their members want to stay, and at different levels of service. Members report that redeeming points for Travel Packages continues to offer a great value. When redeeming for a vacation package of seven nights or longer, points can be redeemed for hotel nights and flight miles with several participating airlines.