A programme offering thousands of points is not necessarily more rewarding than one offering fewer. The difference can come down to redemption rates, expiry rules, spending requirements and the range of places where the rewards can be used.
Vishal Kamat, Director, Kamat Hotels, an Indian hospitality and hotel management company, said travellers should assess a programme based on their own travel patterns, including the destinations they visit, frequency of stays and the benefits they are likely to use.
“The utility of the points is also important because the number of points earned does not necessarily determine their actual value,” Kamat said.
Cash or points? The comparison matters
The value of rewards becomes clearer when travellers compare what they would pay in cash with what they would give up in points for the same booking.
SaveSage, a credit card and loyalty rewards platform, said its travel product has seen an 11-fold rise in searches since launch. According to the company, 85% of searches involved a comparison between cash fares and points or miles, with rewards offering better value than cash in 50% of those comparisons.
The company has launched SaveSage Travel, which allows users to compare flights and hotels using cash, airline or hotel points, or transferred credit-card rewards. These figures are company-reported and indicate why the cash value of rewards can be an important consideration before making a booking.
Ashish Lath, Founder and CEO, SaveSage, said the choice between cash, redeeming points and transferring rewards can materially change the cost of a trip.
A large points balance can still be of limited use
For a traveller, the simplest way to assess a loyalty programme is to work backwards from the reward.
How much spending is required to accumulate enough points for a useful benefit? How long will those points remain valid? Are there restrictions on redemption? And does the traveller stay often enough at participating properties to make the programme worthwhile?
These factors may matter more than a joining bonus or the number of points earned on an individual booking.
Samir MC, CEO, Tamara Leisure Experiences, a hospitality group, said travellers should consider how points are earned and redeemed, their validity periods, qualifying stays or spending, tier-retention requirements and the range of participating properties and benefits.
Expiry rules can change the calculation
Unused points can lose their value if they expire before they are redeemed. Some programmes may also have rules linked to account activity.
A spokesperson for Radisson Blu MBD Hotel Noida, a luxury five-star hotel, said Club MBD members can retain their membership through regular engagement, while six consecutive months of inactivity results in accumulated points being forfeited.
For consumers, this makes travel frequency an important part of the calculation. A programme that works well for someone who stays at hotels regularly may offer considerably less value to an occasional traveller.
Higher tiers may come with a spending threshold
Loyalty programmes often offer additional benefits as members move up tiers. But those benefits can require a certain level of spending or a specified number of stays.
The relevant question for a consumer is whether the additional benefits justify the spending needed to qualify for them.
The Radisson Blu MBD Hotel Noida spokesperson said its Club MBD programme links tier progression to annual eligible spending rather than a minimum number of stays, with Gold and Platinum membership available at specified spending thresholds.
This distinction matters when comparing programmes. A traveller who has to change their normal spending habits merely to retain a status level may not necessarily be gaining financially.
Flexibility can make points more useful
Rewards become more useful when they can be deployed in different ways.
Kamat said partnerships with other programmes can allow customers to earn and redeem rewards across hotels, shops, online platforms and banks. Integration with existing bank loyalty programmes or exchange mechanisms can therefore give consumers more options when using accumulated points.
For hospitality companies, loyalty also has a clear business rationale.
Kamat said 32% of Kamat Hotels’ business comes from repeat customers.
For consumers, however, the calculation is different. The objective is not to accumulate the largest points balance, but to get meaningful value from the spending that generated those points.
Kamat also cited a 2026 report which found that 93% of Indian travellers participate in loyalty programmes, while 69% use loyalty points for larger-value rewards.
What travellers should check before joining
Before signing up for a hotel loyalty programme, consumers should compare:
- Earning rate: How much spending is needed to accumulate useful rewards?
- Redemption value: What can the points actually buy?
- Validity: When do unused points expire?
- Qualification: What spending or stay requirements apply to higher tiers?
- Coverage: Are participating hotels located where you normally travel?
- Flexibility: Can points be transferred, exchanged or used with other partners?
- Restrictions: Are there limitations on when or where rewards can be redeemed?
