The best hotel rewards programs for conference season, ranked

Personal finance website WalletHub scored the loyalty programs of the nine largest hotel chains in the U.S. on 21 metrics, from what a point is worth when redeemed for a free night to how far ahead an award stay can be booked.

The 2026 rankings, published in June, weigh six categories: rewards value, redemption options, earning policies, geographic coverage, status levels and other features such as points expiration.

WalletHub ran each program through three spending profiles built from Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau and U.S. Travel Association data. The heaviest assumes household income of $100,000 to $200,000 and $1,865 a year in hotel spending.

Physicians who log more nights than that at specialty society meetings and continuing medical education conferences can enter their own annual hotel spending into WalletHub's calculator for a customized ranking.

All scores, rankings and findings are WalletHub's.