Best Hotel Cashback programs overview
Currently, there are 2 dominant hotel cashback programs available for the consumer. Let’s review these and see how they work and what they differ?
That big industry-leading cash-back program we are not going to name…
At the time of writing this article, this hotel cashback giant is by no means the most generous one. It also depends on the user and how the user can navigate through this.
It has 2 ways of earning the customer cash-back on hotels:
1. Through their website directly.
2. Through their browser extension.
In case #1, you sign up for an account/login and enter the name of the hotel you want to visit. It embeds a referral URL when you visit the hotel’s website and earns you cash-back on your pre-tax purchase.
In case #2, you download their browser extension and when you visit a website where a cash-back can be earned, you will get a notification and with a click of a button, you will be able to activate the cash-back service and your transaction gets recorded.
The applicable percentage is then added to your account within 90 days after your stay has commenced. Then you need to set up a payout method and wait for the money to arrive. The company has an excellent track record for payouts.
Low-Tels.com hotel cashback program
Low-Tels.com also has 2 ways of earning cash-back on hotels for the customer:
1. Through their website directly.
2. Through their browser extension.
In case #1, you sign up for an account/login and enter the name of the hotel you want to visit. The website will show you a message that will show you a text and you just click on the link and follow the directions given there.
In case #2, you download their browser extension and when you visit a website where a cash-back can be earned, you will get a notification and with a click of a button, you will be able to activate the cash-back service and your transaction gets recorded, just like with the cash-back giant.
The applicable percentage is then added to your account within 30-90 days after your stay has commenced. Payouts automatically occur afterward via PayPal. Low-Tels.com is wholly owned by Wholesale Hotels Group LLC (which used to be a B2B travel agency supplier via their wholesale hotel booking site), founded in 2012 January and has a proven track record as well, however, its cash-back program doesn’t have much feedback since it is relatively new.
Best hotel cashback programs comparison chart
| “The Cash-back Giant” | Low-Tels.com | |
| Cash-back activation methods | Browser + Extension | Browser + Extension |
| Extension activation | Upon clicking | Automated |
| Payout timeframe | Up to 90 days after stay | Up to 90 days after stay |
| PAYOUT MAXIMUMS: | ||
| Radisson Hotel brands | 3.00% | 4.00% |
| Choice Hotel brands | 3.00% | 4.00% |
| Hilton brands (Blue & Non-Member) | 2.50% | 4.00% |
| MGM Resorts Hotel brands | 2.50% | 4.00% |
| Caesars Hotel brands | 2.50% | 4.00% |
| Accor Hotel brands | 2.5% (6 brands) / NO PAYOUTS (37 brands) | 4.00% on all 43 Accor Hotel brands! |
| Best Western Hotel brands | 1.50% | 4.00% |
| Anantara Hotels | 1.50% | 4.00% |
| Hilton brands (Silver, Gold, Diamond) | 1.00% | 4.00% |
| Marriott/BonVoy brands | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Hyatt brands | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Wyndham brands | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Four Seasons hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Aman Resorts | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Taj Hotels & Palaces | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| The Peninsula Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Mandarin Oriental Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Rosewood Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Langham Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Six Senses Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Auberge Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| The Oetker Collection | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Banyan Tree Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Belmond Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Shangri-La Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Como Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| The Leela Hotels & Resorts | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Montage Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| Oberoi Hotels | NO PAYOUTS! | 4.00% |
| INDEPENDENT HOTELS | We have yet to find one… | TENS OF THOUSANDS BETWEEN 4%-6% |
Hotel cash-back programs fine-prints
Many things we have to disclose here. First of all, not all rates qualify for a cash-back that you book online (however, most do). This is true for both cash-back providers. There can be certain negotiated/contracted (corporate/convention) rates that some chains don’t give commission on. Certain hotels or chains may give a slightly lower cash-back rate on packages (instead of hotel room bookings). No cash-back on group tours, gift card purchases, and redemption, and a few properties that are not participating in the program.
How much money am I really getting?
For you to be able to calculate the exact number of what you will be getting from these companies, this is what you need to know (we operate under the assumption that your booking is for a hotel room and is eligible for cash-back). The best hotel cash-back programs are known to be as transparent as possible:
The Cash-back Giant’s hotel cash-back reviews
What you see is basically what you get as long as your booking is eligible. The percentage shown on their site is the percentage you get back from the total room rate pre-tax (of all kind), pre-resort fees (if applicable).
Low-Tels.com hotel cash-back reviews
Low-Tels.com typically offers a 4% flat-rate cash-back on most of your bookings as long as your booking is eligible. The twist here is that it is technically 40% of their commission check that they pay you out via PayPal. As an agency on record, they get the sales commission of typically a flat rate of 10% on the total room rate pre-tax (of all kind), pre-resort fees (if applicable). As we mentioned on packages, this percentage goes down to typically 8% of which 40% they forward to you.
When it comes to independent hotels, this cash-back rate is even more generous which goes up to 6% cash-back to you!
What if I have a discount code or promo code? Can I combine them with my cash-back offer?
While we are talking about over 50,000 different hotels with different systems (in the case of Low-Tels.com) we can firmly say that the vast majority of the times, promo codes and discount codes can be combined with these cash-back programs. This is great news for people who LOVE saving money!
What about hotel cash-back credit cards? Can I combine them with these cash-back services?
ABSOLUTELY! It is of great pleasure to tell you that many hotels that offer their credit cards to consumers can be combined with cash-back offers with ease. This is an amazing way to double-dip when booking directly with your favorite hotels.
IN CONCLUSION
Approaches are slightly different when it comes to the technicality of the inner working of each program, however, when it comes to consumers the bottom line is simplicity and last but definitely not the least: MONEY! Getting the highest cash-back is what matters to you, simply based on the percentages in the comparison chart you can see how much better you are off by choosing Low-Tels.com‘s hotel cash-back program is by far the best hotel cashback programs out there currently. We hope this overview will provide you with the right answer so you can make a more informed decision when it comes to hotel shopping.