Hotels

Marriott

The largest hotel chain, with ~1.4 million rooms world-wide. Merged with Starwood. Now owns 30 brands covering different segments.

Read More: Marriott

Hilton

The second largest chain after Marriott, with ~1 million rooms.

Hilton does not offer a lifetime status; however the highest status can be achieved by holding Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, which costs $450 per year.

https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/member-benefits/

IHG

The 3rd largest, 6k+ locations and 800k+ rooms.

Hyatt

1,200+ hotels. Many luxury hotels.

Hyatt has a partnership with MGM Resorts International.

Loyalty program: World of Hyatt

Wyndham

Brands: Baymont, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, La Quinta, Ramada, Super 8, Travelodge, and Wyndham

Choice Hotels

Mostly midscale and budget hotels.

Purchased Radisson Hotels (Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, etc) in 2022.

Accor

Loyalty program: ALL, https://all.accor.com/

Best Western

3 tiers: Best Western, Best Western Plus, and Best Western Premier.

Point Expiration

Hotels	Expiration
Marriott	Never, if there's activity in 24 months
Hyatt	Never, if there's activity in 24 months
Choice Hotels	Never, if there's activity in 18 months
Hilton	Never, if there's activity in 12 months
IHG	Never, if there's activity in 12 months
Wyndham	4 years

Some easy ways to extend the time limit without traveling:

• redeem for gift cards.
• buy points.
• use co-branded credit card.
• transfer points.

Lifetime Status

Marriott

• Lifetime Silver Elite: 250 Lifetime Nights + 5 Years Elite Status
• Lifetime Gold Elite: 400 Lifetime Nights + 7 Years Gold Elite Status or Higher
• Lifetime Platinum Elite: 600 Lifetime Nights + 10 Years Platinum Elite Status or Higher

To earn nights:

• By Marriott Rewards Credit Card
  • 15 Credits: account anniversary
  • 1 credit: every $3,000 spent on purchases
• By paid nights
  • 1 credit per night
• Elite rollover nights
• Meeting nights

To earn points:

• By Marriott Rewards Credit Card
  • 5X Marriott
  • 2X airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, car rental agencies & restaurants
  • 1X everything else
• By paid nights(https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/earn/hotels.mi)
  • 10X on qualifying charges:
  • 10X on room rates:
  • 5X on room rates: Residence Inn and TownePlace Suite

Details: https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/member-benefits/lifetime-status.mi

Hilton

• Lifetime Diamond: (1000 paid nights or 2 million lifetime points) + 10 years Diamond

To get Diamond Status:

• Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express and spend $40,000 a year on it
• 30 stays, 60 nights or 120,000 Hilton Honors Base Points

Details: http://hhonors3.hilton.com/en/promotions/lifetime-diamond/terms.html

Hyatt

Only one level:

• Lifetime Globalist: 1M base points

Notes

• Points earned from the Hyatt Credit Card don’t count toward lifetime status.

Details: https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/member-benefits/lifetime-globalist.html