Which Hotel Chain Offers Better Rewards: Hilton or Marriott

You want to make elite status, and you're gonna earn it. Except, where do you earn elite status? Who do you go for? You know what's next - you choose Hilton, but everywhere you're traveling doesn't really have a Hilton nearby. They only have Marriott. So, which elite status is better? What's up, you guys? I figured now would be a good time to compare hotel elite statuses for the next year, and see which ones you might want to go for. Marriott and Hilton have always been competing against one another to be the largest hotel chain. Marriott currently takes the cake with over 7,000 properties in good countries all over the world. You can thank that purchase of Star Wars back in 2016 for the reason they have this - that really cemented their claim as the world's largest hotel operator. As you would expect, both hotels offer great rewards in their tier programs."

Comparing Marriott and Hilton's Loyalty Programs and Credit Card Options

My rod has six tiers, while Hilton only has four. The top tier on Marriott can give you quite a lot. Before we go into which one is better, let's figure out what each tier is worth and what they offer you at each level, and how many nights you need to stay to achieve that. But there are also ways to buy your way up the ladder through different credit cards. There are a number of cards that provide instant status with both Marriott and Hilton. The one that comes to mind first, that gives you gold at both of them, is the Amex Platinum. With a $550 annual fee, if you want to see my soul review on the MX Platinum, which I called the best travel card of 2020, don't like this video, let me know in the comments below that you want to see it. The Marriott Bond Boy Band list comes with instant silver status and a way to earn your way to the next tier with $35,000 spent. It has a $95 annual fee.

Brilliant gives you instant gold status with a $450 annual fee. The Hilton Honors card gives you an automatic silver status with a $0 annual fee. The Hilton Honors Surpass gives you automatic gold status with a $95 annual fee. The Hilton Honors Aspire gives you automatic diamond status with a $450 annual fee. You, of course, get extra benefits along with that, but these are just the tiers that you can buy your way into. Both programs offer a member level, which is just you signing up with them. Everybody should have that at least at the member level. Both programs offer free Wi-Fi, member IT, and mobile check-in or in Hilton's case, a digital key check-in. It's the same thing as mobile check-in from Marriott. Hilton offers the ability to choose your room and get no resort fees on reward stays. You also get Hilton experiences, and here are some examples of them.

Looks like a little fun! Things you could spend your points on moving into the next category. You need to stay at least place ten nights. Marriott likes to add the World Elite on their tiers, but for the ease of access, we're just gonna ignore that. At the Silver level, both programs offer you a points bonus. Tempers hat with Marriott, 20 percent with Hilton. Mara, you get late check-out. With Hilton, you get your fifth night free on rewards days that are booked for five nights, and one of them is free with Rewards. Two free bottles of water with Hilton; an elite roll overnights, a liberal overnights. Pretty simple if you stay in excess for one year, those nights will roll over into the next year. Stay thirty nights, twenty nights, or roll over into the next year to count towards your next status. Moving on to Gold for both, you need to stay 25 nights with Marriott and forty nights with Hilton to get these. Marriott gives you a 25%.

Bonus on Points: Fall Hilton gives you an 80% bonus on points. Both give you room upgrades available. Marriott might give you a hotel welcome EFT, which was water when I stayed there once. Hilton gives you a free continental breakfast and milestone bonus, which is ten thousand bonus points for every ten nights starting at thirty nights, and then an additional thirty thousand points when you stay there for 60 nights. These statuses are massive and don't worry, I'll be getting to which Dabish is worth more. Next on to Diamond status with Hilton and Platinum status with Marriott, you need to stay at least fifty nights at Marriott and sixty nights at Hilton to get this status. Hilton has 100% bonus points, and Marriott has a 50% bonus. Both give you loud access and a room guarantee, which is actually super nice. Hilton gives you a diamond status extension you can use once if you want. They also give you elite-status gifting.

Is Hilton or Marriott Worth More for Gold Status

Which just means you could gift a status after a certain number of nights. Marriott has two more tiers though - titanium Elite at seventy-five nights gives you a seventy-five percent points bonus, a two-day room guarantee, and another annual choice benefit. Ambassador elite is a hundred-plus nights a year and twenty thousand dollars is spent. You get, you know, the same thing as everything else plus your twenty-four, which lets you choose your check-in and checkout time. To get the status, you will need to be in hotels for about a third of the entire year, which is kind of crazy if you think about it. Real quick, this is what The Points Guy values each member benefits at the max. Tier four Hilton is Northmoor where compared to the same tier at Marriott, but of course, as you move up the ladder in Marriott, it is worth more because they just have more tiers. However, a lot of these evaluations are subjective because what is lounge access?

Notice that even mean, so which is worth more? Obviously, it depends on how many nights you stay at the hotel. The gold status that comes with a Platinum Card is certainly worth it; however, you need to stay at each hotel a decent amount of nights to get it. Let's say you spend 40 nights at a hotel in a year - that gives you gold at both Hilton and Marriott. That seems kind of normal for a semi-frequent traveler. If you travel even less but still want to get status on one of these cards, then you can go down the credit card option which is honestly an acceptable way to do it because you get so many more benefits out of each credit card than just a tear boost. Doing a bit of math, you should be able to earn decent mana points, though, so you can earn a three-night stay or not a free night but an award night stay for whenever you decide to go traveling. I would have to say Hilton is actually worth more at the end of the year if you're going for gold. I know a lot of people love Marriott, but if you don't plan on staying 75-100 nights, then Hilton is the better way to go.

Hotel vs Airbnb: Which is the Better Option for Your Next Trip?

You don't really have a kitchen. Now, there are some hotels that offer a kitchen and if you have a kitchen, you can save some costs on eating out every night. A lot of hotels also have pools, gyms, hot tubs, and the lighting. I mean, if you stay at an Airbnb, you're just not gonna get that. You know, is that worth it to you when you travel? Do you want to be able to jump in a pool, jump in a hot tub, go to the gym in the morning, and maybe eat the free breakfast that they provide instead of having to go out and buy your own food and then bring them back to the Airbnb and then cook it? I know there are some Airbnb horror stories as well, so you're definitely getting peace of mind when you stay at a hotel. There's a lot of talk about fake Airbnb scams that were booked and how they turned into some whole little giant scam that someone on Vice uncovered.

It's a whole article that you should definitely check out. I'll link that down below, but that doesn't really happen with a hotel. Hotels provide great peace of mind that you and your family might enjoy when you're staying somewhere for a vacation or if you're just going somewhere for a quick little trip. Book the hotel that may have a kitchen in it and see if you can save some money by not eating out. Hilton has the Home2 Suites, which is like your second home. Home to Residence Inn is what Marriott has for the same thing. You know, like your residence. To be fair though, when you travel that much, you won't be spending too much time in a hotel. You're just there to sleep and hang out or cook if that's, you know if you have a kitchen. Getting out and exploring the area has always been my reason for traveling. I'm not there to just sit in the room. I upload videos every Monday.

Wednesday and Friday, we discuss travel and finance to see how we can save money or make money while traveling for cheap. If you like things like that, then make sure to subscribe. Thank you so much for watching. And let me know in the comments below if you have a preference for a hotel chain or if you already have stays at any of these or if you prefer one of these better next time.

Conclusion

Marriott and Hilton are both competing for the title of the largest hotel chain and offer great rewards in their tier programs. Marriott has six tiers, while Hilton only has four, but both hotels offer ways to buy your way up the ladder with credit cards. The top tier on Marriott can offer a lot of benefits and it is important to understand what each tier offers before deciding which one to go for. Ultimately, it depends on personal preference and which hotel chain has more properties in the areas you frequently travel to.