Hotel Room Charges

It seems that my travel companions always pay for hotel meals with a credit card instead of adding it to their portfolio.  I stopped one before they ran his card the other day.  He thought it didn’t matter so I investigated to make sure I was correct and it appears Hilton (a Hilton Garden Inn in this case) does indeed give points for meal charges, but for most of our Marriott brand stays we would only gives points on the room rate.  My recent portfolios with Hilton Garden Inns, Hampton Inns, and Courtyards back this up.

There are advantages to splitting the hotel and meal charges on separate credit cards, but when I’m paying with the same card I prefer to have it all on the same bill and all of my Hilton charges are going on my Hilton Surpass AMEX (NOT an affiliate link) so I just add breakfast to my room.  Yes, I could get breakfast free since I’m a diamond, but I prefer the points and I pay for breakfast.

From Hilton.com

1. HOW TO EARN BASE POINTS

Earn 10 HHonors Base Points for every eligible US dollar spent on your room
When you stay at a hotel or resort within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio, you earn 10 Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room rate and other eligible room charges, including telephone calls and room service.

Some exceptions apply: At Hampton Inn™ or Homewood Suites by Hilton™ hotels, earn 10 Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room rate only. At Home2 Suites by Hilton™ hotels, earn 5 Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room rate only.

So Hamptons and Homewoods only earn on the room rate, but with the exception of parking or the pantry there usually isn’t too much else to bill to the room.

From Marriott.com

Earn for every stay. Depending on the hotel, you may earn up to 10 points or 2 air miles for every US dollar spent on your room rate or your total bill.

With clarification here about what brands earn on room rate only and what brands earn on the total spent with Gaylord, Edition, AC Hotels, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites earning on room rate only.  Since I mainly stay at Courtyards or SpringHill Suites when I stay at Marriott brands this means I rarely would get points for breakfast.

So what do you do?  Pay for meals separately so you can use a different card?  Put it on your portfolio?  Never eat hotel breakfast?  Leave a comment below.