Even if you don’t travel often enough to collect many points, you can still use free loyalty memberships for freebies and perks that will improve your travel.
Even if you only travel once or twice a year and you stand no chance of earning power status, loyalty programs can still offer you some great benefits.
For a long time, hotel, airline, and car rental points-and-miles programs bestowed the best rewards upon road warriors who spent 100 nights or more a year away from home. But the pandemic forced travel brands to rethink how they treated the occasional traveler. Customer-friendly policies, such as no-expiration points, have gone from being the exception to becoming the norm.
Programs still aim to win over the high-spending corporate traveler, but these days you will find them more engaging for the average vacationer too.
Here are five good things that you can get out of loyalty programs—even if you’re not a frequent traveler.
Free Wi-Fi
The days of spending $19.95 for hotel Wi-Fi are (mostly) gone. The key to free, basic internet is simply being a member of a hotel chain’s free loyalty program.
Most chains will provide Wi-Fi at speeds that are fast enough to accomplish most basic things, like reading emails or news, for free to their members—even if you just joined only to get that free Wi-Fi.
Airlines seem to be heading this way too, with Delta rolling out free in-flight Wi-Fi expressly for passengers enrolled in its frequent flier program.
The privilege of skipping the line
Rental car loyalty programs let members skip the counter and go straight to their vehicle at most big airports, which can be a lifesaver during busy travel seasons.
Signing up for the members program means you can avoid long lines at the rental desk and start your vacation sooner.
By joining a loyalty program, you can make even a single trip a little smoother and potentially save some money along the way.
Points that don’t expire
If you earn miles with Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, your earnings will not expire. Period.
So, while one trip might not earn you a free flight (unless you bought a very, very expensive ticket), you can keep stashing those miles until you’re ready for a reward. (American Airlines miles expire after two years of inactivity, but there’s an exemption for travelers under 21, and you can often extend the life of your points by using a few to make small purchases with partners.)
On the hotel front, Best Western is the only major U.S. program—so far—without expiration rules.
The ability to share points with friends and family
Hilton, Marriott, Hawaiian, JetBlue, and United now allow you to pool points with other travelers—for free—making it easier to earn a reward.
International programs including the ones by Air Canada, Air France, and British Airways also allow free mile transfers.
Other programs still charge a fee or require elite status to move points around, but the trend is moving toward more flexibility for travelers.
Easier rewards if you’re short on points
The ability to combine points and cash is becoming more prevalent.
IHG Hotels lets members chose how many points to redeem to shave off a portion of the cash price. It’s not always the best deal—it often is more of a discount—but for an infrequent traveler sitting on a small stash of points, it may be worth it to save $20 a night.
Best Western has also run promos to attract summer road trippers to its hotels. The most recent deal provided a $50 Best Western gift card for every 2 nights stayed at the chain—as long as you’re a member. Other hotel chains have offered similar offers with gas cards as the reward.