Hotel Hacker

Cash or points for this hotel stay?

Enter the cash total for the stay and the award price for the same room and dates. Add any free nights or certificates, the fees the award still charges and the perks that differ. The result shows what your points are worth on this stay and which way of paying comes out ahead.

The figures below are a fictional example, not any hotel's or program's prices. Replace them with the numbers from your own booking pages. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is sent or saved. This calculator doesn't know any program's rules: enter only discounts and fee waivers you've confirmed in the program's terms. See our privacy notice for site analytics.

The cash booking

Use the same room, guests, dates and similar cancellation terms as the award.

The final total at checkout for every night, including taxes and mandatory resort or destination fees.
The award booking
How is the points price shown?
Free and certificate nights are removed at the average nightly price. If the booking page already shows the discounted total, enter that and leave free nights at 0.
For example a free night on a longer award stay. Tick this only if you've confirmed in the program's current terms that your booking qualifies.
Nights that cost no points under the discount. The calculator doesn't assume any program's rule.
Free-night certificates (optional)
Usually one night per certificate. These nights are removed from the points cost.
Only if your program lets you top up a certificate and you're doing so. 0 if not.
What you'd realistically save using them on another stay before they expire. 0 if you have no other use. Don't include what the card or certificate cost you.
Cash you'd still pay on the award
Check the property's fee policy and the program's award terms. 0 if the award waives it.
Check whether the fee applies on free or certificate nights.
Anything the cash total already includes but the award doesn't. Leave out costs you'd pay either way.
Perks that differ between the two bookings

Count only what you'd otherwise buy, at what you'd realistically spend. If you'd skip breakfast, its value is 0. Leave out perks both bookings include.

What the cash stay would earn
Award stays often earn nothing. Enter a dollar value only if you'd use what you earn; 0 to leave it out.
What a point is worth to you (cents per point)

Your own estimate of what you could otherwise get for a point. Three values show whether the answer changes.

Use dollar amounts with a decimal point (for example, 45.50) and whole numbers for points and nights. US thousands separators such as 1,000.50 are accepted.

How this works

  • Points needed are the points for every night, minus the free nights you entered and the nights your certificates cover, plus any top-up points. When you enter a total for the stay, those nights are removed at its average nightly price.
  • Cash avoided is the cash total minus the cash you'd still pay on the award, such as a resort fee that isn't waived.
  • The value of your points on this stay is the cash avoided, less perks only the cash rate includes, the rewards the cash stay would earn and the value of keeping your certificates, plus perks only the award includes. Cents per point is that value divided by the points needed, times 100.
  • For each of your three point values, the points are priced in dollars and added to the award's cash and other costs, then compared with the cash stay. Points come out ahead when your point value is below the cents per point this stay achieves.

What it doesn't cover

  • Any program's actual rules. Whether a longer-stay discount applies, whether a certificate can be topped up and whether fees are waived all depend on current terms. See fifth night free and other award-stay discounts and spotting resort and destination fees.
  • Whether a certificate is worth using here at all. A night's retail price isn't money saved if you'd have booked somewhere cheaper; getting full value from free-night certificates walks through that.
  • Availability, cancellation terms, extra guests and status credit. Compare an award with a cash rate you'd actually book, with similar flexibility.
  • Mixing cash and points nights in one stay. Run each version separately if your program allows it.

The method follows TravelTutor's Hotel Points or Cash? Compare the Entire Stay.

Spotted a problem with this calculator? Email hello [at] accel-media [dot] com (replace [at] with @ and [dot] with a period) with “Calculator” in the subject line. Please use invented numbers in any example.