Best-Of Awards 2026 Methodologies

Best Hotel Chain

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

Six hotel chains tied to major loyalty programs were selected by NerdWallet’s travel experts for evaluation based on the criteria below. Eligible hotel chains included Choice, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Wyndham.

How we chose the winner:

To determine the best hotel chain, we compared the rewards rate, add-on fees, global footprint and ranking by travel experts on the NerdWallet travel content team. Each factor was scored separately, and an overall rating was determined based on a weighted average across categories.

How we rated and weighted each factor:

• Rewards rate (30%). We determined the dollar value of each program’s rewards points and the earnings rate of points. To determine the rewards rate, we multiplied the value of each point by the earnings rate and then multiplied by 100. For example, if a hotel’s rewards points were worth $0.01 apiece (the value of rewards points) and 10 points were earned per dollar spent (the earnings rate of points), its program would have a 10% rewards rate. (In this example, the two equations would be: first $0.01 x 10 = 0.1, then 0.1 x 100 = 10, or 10%.)
• Add-on fees (10%). We determined the average resort and parking fees across a selection of properties from each hotel chain.
• Global footprint (30%). The number of domestic and international properties for each chain were provided by Gondola.
• Travel team (30%). In addition to quantitative metrics, we also considered qualitative factors. The qualitative portion is based on a composite of editorial team members’ review using the same criteria listed above.

How we verified our data:

We independently spot-checked data collected to ensure accuracy. Information about loyalty programs was verified on the hotels’ websites.


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