Points can add up quickly with the use of partners such as Hertz car rentals and can be redeemed for free hotel nights, airline bonus miles or merchandise. Priority Club issues a catalog of rewards such as a Wilson golf club set for 62,100 points. But recently Borge changed jobs and hotels. His current employer, Baxter Health Care, books him into Marriotts. Borge immediately joined the Marriott Rewards program, and, by adding his new points to previously earned Marriott points, was able to take his wife and four children for a free weekend at a Courtyard by Marriott in Birmingham, Ala., where they have relatives.
Most corporations allow their employees to keep the bonuses earned on a company expense account.
It's pretty boring being alone in a hotel room. Marriott, the first to start a frequent-stay program in 1983, offers 175 reward options, including a free night's stay, frequent flying mileage with 35 airline partners or a golf or ski weekend. Starwood hotels, which include Sheratons and Westins, launched its Preferred Guest program in 1999 and now has 5.5 million active members. But, he says, travelers who buy their rooms through wholesalers are not eligible for rewards. It's one of the few times you don't earn points.