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Travel

How to Use Points and Miles to Stay at the World’s Best Hotels for Free

Using your points and miles to book the most luxe of accommodations may seem impossible—but it’s not. Here’s how to do it. 

A view of Place Vendôme from the Ritz Paris.

Source: Ritz Paris

Takeaways

Points inflation—a phenomenon in which it’s increasingly easier to accrue points but harder to extract meaningful value from them—is real. But in a time marked by actual price inflation, tariffs and overall economic uncertainty, it remains tempting to want to use points to get that luxury vacation you’ve been dreaming of.

The expert consensus is that hoarding points and miles is a terrible idea. Like storing fine wine for too long, it’s a matter of diminishing returns. So spend them—but do so wisely. Don’t redeem them for quick weekend escapes and instead use them for bucket-list stays that you’ll remember for a long time. Here are five ways to play that game, with strategies that work for truly iconic hotels from Paris to Koh Samui.