We love earning our points and miles through credit card welcome offers, but sometimes you don’t have enough hotel points for the stay you want to book. Rather than pay a high cash price, there’s another option that can sometimes make sense and save you money: buying hotel points. 

The key to buying hotel points is to buy them on sale and have a plan to use them. Many hotel chains offer regular sales on their points. If you plan to use these points for an otherwise expensive cash stay, you can often get great value by buying points.

Buying points makes sense for a hotel stay when: 

• You have some points but not enough for the full stay and need to “top off” your account to get to that amount.
• The price of the points is less than the cash cost of the stay.
• You’re meeting the minimum spend on a new card and have a plan to use the points.

Let’s look at some examples of hotel stays where buying points could make sense. 

 

Buy IHG Points to Stay at the Intercontinental New York Times Square 

In an expensive destination like New York City, hotel points are very helpful to have, especially during peak times like the winter holidays. The holiday season is a magical (and hectic) time to visit the Big Apple. 

Say you want to visit New York for New Year’s Eve and stay at the Intercontinental New York Times Square. The cash cost for this four-night stay would be more than $3,000! Instead, you could book the same stay in late December with 377,000 IHG points. 

IHG points can often be bought on sale for about 0.5 cents each. If you bought these points on sale, your points cost would be $1,885, plus you would have to pay the hotel’s amenity fee of $35 per night. 

If you have either the card_name or the card_name, the fourth night on points stays is free. In this case, your points cost would be $1,475 for your trip, plus the amenity fee. Even the more expensive of these two options would still save $1,000 over the cash cost of that stay. 

 

 

Buy Hilton Points to Stay at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui 

With stunning white sand, turquoise water, and a high-end spa, the Conrad Bora Bora Nui is one of our favorite properties to visit using a Hilton free-night certificate. But if you don’t have certificates or enough points for your stay, buying points could help make this luxury property more affordable. You can buy Hilton points for 0.5 cents per point when they’re on sale. 

The cash rates for the Conrad Bora Bora are more than $1,800 per night in December 2025.  Standard rooms for the same dates start at 120,000 points per night (though they can be hard to find). 

Hilton offers the fifth night free on award stays to Hilton Honors members with elite status. So for a five-night stay, you would need 480,000 Hilton points for the four nights you’d pay for with points. If you wait for a sale, you could buy those points at 0.5 cents each, which would cost $2,400. While that’s certainly not cheap, it’s a bargain compared to the cash rate for five nights at this gorgeous hotel.

 

 

Buy Marriott Points to Stay at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe

Maybe you’d prefer to ski in Lake Tahoe. During the height of ski season in February 2025, rooms at this luxury hotel cost $1,846 per night. If you bought Marriott points on sale, you could book this same room for 132,000 points for one night. Marriott points price sales vary, but sometimes, you can purchase the points for as little as 0.85 cents per point. The cost for these points would be $1,122 (plus you’d need to pay the resort fee of $65).

That’s a savings over the high-paid rate to stay in this high-end hotel after you hit the slopes. Marriott also offers a discount on longer stays booked with points. Instead of the fourth or fifth night free, if you stay five nights, you’ll get the lowest points-priced night for free. 

 

 

Will I be charged taxes and fees for points stays?

In our experience, taxes are not charged on award bookings because you’re not paying money for the stay. However, if this is unclear at booking, you can verify this with the property. 

Hotel resort fees on points bookings vary by hotel chain. As of early 2025, Hyatt and Hilton do not charge fees on award stays. Choice Hotels, IHG, and Marriott charge resort fees on their award stays. That’s something you’ll want to factor into your points-buying math. 

 

What Card Should I Use to Buy Points?  

Points are sold through third-party companies, so they will not usually be coded as travel. I recommend buying these points using your Capital One Venture X Rewards card or any other card that earns at least 1.5x to 2x on all purchases. Otherwise, if you’re working on a welcome offer, a points sale is one way to help you meet a minimum spend with your new card, as long as you’ll use the points. 

 

Annual Limits on Buying Points 

Another factor to keep in mind when buying points is that hotel chains limit the number of points you can buy per year. 

• IHG: limit of 150,000 points per year, not including any bonuses
• Marriott: limit of 100,000 Marriott points per year
• Hilton: limit of 240,000 Hilton points, not including any bonuses
• Hyatt: limit of 55,000 Hyatt points per year 

If you need more points than the annual limit allows, many programs have ways to move points between members. So you and your travel companion may be able to each buy points and pool them in one account if needed for a single stay. 

 

Bottom Line 

While we earn the vast majority of our points and miles through credit card welcome offers, sometimes it makes sense to buy points on sale. This is especially true for a stay with a high cash cost. Please do the math to ensure it will work for you, and watch for sales. It has worked in our favor a few times and is something you should especially consider if you need to top off your points.

 

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