When it comes to hotel rewards programs and loyalty I can’t say that there are any that I prefer over the rest. I consider myself a free agent. I’ll stay wherever I find a cheap room, whether or not it is a points earning chain.

Thanks to the Club Carlson credit card and it’s stay 2, get 1 free rewards booking offer, this would probably tend to rank highest for me. I’ve also seen some great value booking award nights using my Starwood points. Then you have IHG which can be a real deal if you can get lucky and find a Points Break award night available at a property you actually want to stay at. US News and World Report released its report of Best Hotel Rewards Programs which I found out about in an article from smarterTravel.

I was interested in seeing the results based on US News’ “signature methodology” which scores hotels based on awards & recognition, hotel class and guest rating. US News and World Report identified 17 of the most prominent hotel loyalty programs.

Here they are the along with their score:

1. Marriott Rewards- 4.59
2. IHG Rewards Club- 4.47
3. Best Western Rewards- 4.39
4. Club Carlson- 4.24
5. Starwood Preferred Guest- 4.20
6. Hilton HHonors- 4.09
7. Wyndhaw Rewards- 4.08
8. La Quinta Returns- 4.01
9. Hyatt Gold Passport- 3.90
10. Leaders Club- 3.55
11. Le Club Accorhotels- 3.48
12. Choice Priveleges- 3.33
13. Stash Hotel Rewards- 3.04
14. Omni Select Guest- 2.93
15. Kimpton Karma Rewards- 2.80
16. Fairmont President’s Club- 2.14
17. Loews YouFirst- 1.51

Do you feel that US News did a good job while rating the best hotel rewards programs? I don’t feel that I am a good person to judge since I don’t really value hotel loyalty all that much (although I do like collecting hotel rewards points!).

What would you consider to be your favorite hotel rewards program?

Find out more about each of the programs in US News and World Report HERE.

If interested, you can also check out the smarterTravel article here.