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So you've finally saved up enough hotel points to redeem for an award stay. You're super excited — but not quite sure how to maximize those points. Do you stay one night? Two?
Even better: Stay longer, and you might be able to score a free night.
Award travelers have plenty of options when it comes to redeeming for hotels, but some choices are better than others. For example, several hotels offer extra nights free for award bookings. Typically, the deal goes: Stay four nights, get one free (in the case of IHG, it's one night less).
Taking advantage of these complimentary nights can offer significant value to travelers, so let's take a look at some hotel loyalty programs and their policies for earning a free night.
How to maximize longer hotel stays by using free night benefits, by program
Marriott Fifth Night Free
Marriott Bonvoy offers free hotel nights through its "Stay for 5, Pay for 4" program for anybody using points on an award stay. So for every five nights, you stay during an award booking, Marriott will only charge you for four.
Keep in mind that Marriott's program will only discount the points needed for the lowest-cost night rather than your actual fifth night.
As an example, let's say that you're staying five nights at a hotel that will charge either 30,000, 35,000 or 40,000 points per night, depending on the demand. Your first three nights are lower cost, so you'll be charged just 30,000 points per night. Your fourth night falls under standard pricing, which will cost 35,000 points. Finally, your fifth night falls on a weekend, so you'll be charged 40,000 points for the night.
Under Marriott's fifth-night free program, you'll receive one of your lower-cost nights for free, thus saving you 30,000 points overall. As a result, your total out-of-pocket cost will be 135,000 points for all five nights.
» Learn more: How to earn Marriott points
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Hilton Fifth Night Free
Hilton Honors also offers a fifth-night free program, but it isn't available to all members. You'll need to have at minimum a Hilton Honors™ Silver Status to receive this benefit.
Hilton Honors™ Silver Status is easy to earn; the $0-annual-fee Hilton Honors American Express Card offers this benefit. Otherwise, you can earn Silver status through stays, base points or nights. Terms apply.
Once you're eligible, you can use Hilton's fifth-night free program on award stays for standard rooms. However, you won't get your fifth night free on premium room rewards, which can range upwards of a million points per night. Skip these redemptions.
Hilton doesn't use a published award chart — instead, you'll find dynamic pricing for rooms based almost entirely on demand. Standard award pricing only applies to base rooms at a Hilton hotel; the rest are considered premium room rewards.
Using the Hilton Points Explorer tool can help you find a range of hotels in your points budget, even aspirational hotels such as the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi or the Conrad Bora Bora Nui.
» Learn more: Your guide to booking award nights with Hilton Honors
IHG Fourth Night Free
IHG One Rewards doesn’t offer a free night on award stays as part of its reward program, but it is a benefit of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card and the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card.
Cardholders will enjoy every fourth night free on standard room reward redemptions; these can be stacked together during longer stays for multiple free nights.
Unlike Marriott, IHG really will give you your fourth night for free — even if it is more costly than other nights. This can be incredibly compelling due to IHG's dynamic pricing system, which can cause considerable variations in nightly rates at hotels.
If you want to book a free night
Travelers have plenty of options when it comes to complimentary free nights on their award stays. Whether you're a Marriott fan or a Hilton loyalist, members can enjoy significant discounts on bookings while maximizing their points.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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