The Ultimate Hotel Rewards Trick You’re Probably Not Using

Booking a hotel with points? Cool. Business-class flights? Also cool. But stacking multiple rewards programs together for MAXIMUM VALUE? Now that’s what we live for here at Daily Drop. 😏

If you’re not familiar, stacking is when you combine travel portals, credit card perks, and loyalty rewards into one giant, glorious pile of savings. Sometimes, you double-dip. Sometimes, you triple-dip. And sometimes, you unlock a god-tier stack that makes you question reality.

Let me show you how it’s done.

The Secret Sauce of Hotel Stacking

A few weeks ago, I told you about Capital One Offers, a portal that gives you Capital One Miles when you book through it. If you hold a Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you get access to some 🔥 deals—like 8x Capital One miles back at Marriott.

That’s already great. But here’s where it gets wild: you don’t even have to use a Capital One card to pay. That means you can stack this with other credit card perks for absurd earnings.

Let’s break it down step by step.

Step 1: Choose the Right Hotel and Payment Method

For this example, let’s say you’re booking a stay at the Aloft Philadelphia, where some nights are currently going for $140. Now, here’s how to supercharge your earnings:

1. Pay with a Marriott co-branded credit card – Earn 6x Marriott points per dollar spent (like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card).

2. Use a merchant offer on that card – Many cards offer cash rebates on Marriott stays.

3. Factor in Marriott elite status – As a Titanium Elite, you’ll earn 10x base points per dollar plus a 7.5x elite bonus.

4. Take advantage of Marriott promotions – Right now, Marriott is offering 1,000 bonus points per night AND double elite night credits.

5. Use Capital One Offers for an extra 8x Capital One Miles per dollar – This stacks with everything else!

Step 2: Do the Math

If you book a five-night stay for $700, here’s what you get:

• $70 cashback from the card’s Marriott merchant offer

• 4,200 Marriott points (6x from a card like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card)

• 7,000 Marriott points (10x base points for all members)

• 5,250 Marriott points (Titanium Elite bonus)

• 5,000 Marriott points (Marriott’s promo bonus)

• 5,600 Capital One Miles (8x from the Capital One portal)

• 10 elite night credits (double elite night promo)

Total haul: 27,050 Marriott points, 5,600 Capital One Miles, $70 cashback, and 10 elite nights.

Step 3: Redeem for Maximum Value

So, what can you do with 27,050 Marriott points? How about this:

You can book a 5-night stay in Kuala Lumpur for just 21,000 points, thanks to Marriott’s 5th-night-free rule.

For reference, the AC Hotel Kuala Lumpur runs 5,500 points per night, meaning your Philly stay essentially funds an entire international trip. 🤯

Why This Works (And Why You Should Be Doing It)

This strategy works because it taps into multiple earning structures at once: credit card category welcome offers, travel portal multipliers, elite status perks, and limited-time promos. The more layers you add, the bigger your rewards.

Even if you don’t have elite status, stacking just 2-3 of these tactics will still get you insane value.

So yeah, extreme couponers, go crazy. Just don’t be surprised if you start seeing rewards multipliers in your dreams. If you hear me mumbling “10x Marriott points” in public, just mind your business, please. I promise I’m fine. 😆