Free Night vs. Resort Credit: Which Is Worth More?
A free night and a resort credit are often offered side by side. Which is worth more depends on the room rate, the length of your stay and how you actually spend money at the hotel.
The short answer
A free night is worth the nightly rate, in full, whether or not you change your behavior. A credit is worth its face value only to the extent you would have spent that money on the property anyway. At the same headline size, the free night is usually worth more.
A worked example
These figures are illustrative, not a current offer. Suppose a room is $900 a night and you stay four nights.
- Fourth night free: you pay for three nights, a saving of $900, or 25% of the room cost.
- A $250 credit: a saving of $250 if you would have spent it on dining or spa, which is about 7% of the room cost. If you would not have spent it, the saving is smaller.
- A flat $300 credit per day: across four days this is $1,200, which beats the free night, but only if you spend all of it. Credits that reset each day are lost when unused.
Questions that decide it
- Does the credit apply per stay, per night or per bedroom? A per-night credit on a long stay can outweigh a single free night.
- What does it cover? Dining and spa credits are useful at a resort where you eat on property. They are less useful in a city with better restaurants outside.
- Does it roll over? Many daily credits do not.
- Are taxes and fees also waived on the free night? Often they are not, which trims the free night's value slightly.
When a credit wins
A credit beats a free night when it is large relative to the room rate, when it is per night rather than per stay, and when you would certainly spend it: a resort with expensive dining, a spa you planned to visit, an all-day beach club.
See it in practice
Browse current free-night offers and resort-credit offers, or read how to evaluate any hotel offer.