Here we look at whether some of the main hotel loyalty schemes allow you to donate your hotel points to charity.
For airline miles, see
Smart Traveller: How to donate unused frequent flyer miles to charity
Accor
The Accor Live Limitless (ALL) programme lets you convert your points into a donation to the Accor Solidarity Endowment Fund or the Community Conservation Fund Africa (CCFA) to support projects that help preserve Africa’s endangered wildlife and wilderness areas through sustainable community initiatives. Both require a minimum donation of 2,000 points (€40).
Best Western
The Best Western Rewards scheme allows guests to donate points to Shelter, helping to fund the organisation’s Emergency Helpline. The hotel group also has The Better World Fund, which supports all of its charitable initiatives and allocates funds to programmes with the most critical need. bestwestern.co.uk
GHA Discovery
This hotel loyalty programme for the likes of Anantara, NH Hotels and Pan Pacific allows you to contribute your Discovery Dollars to various charities. Members can either donate these to a philanthropic theme, which GHA will equally split amongst all charities in that theme, or to a specific charity.
The minimum donation amount is D$10 (US$10), and the maximum daily donation limit is D$500 (US$500). Within the daily limit, members can donate multiple times to the same or multiple charities or philanthropic themes.
ghadiscovery.com/discovery-dollars
Hilton
Hilton Honors has teamed up with Point Worthy to enable you to donate points to a good cause. To take part, you have to open an account on pointworthy.com, which links to your Honors account. There are a list of charities, organised by theme (environmental, arts and culture, health and so on). Make a donation of at least 3,500 points (US$10) to one of the charities.
Highlighted on the homepage are the World Central Kitchen and International Rescue Committee, both of which are providing on-the-ground aid to impacted communities from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. hiltonhonors3.hilton.com
IHG Hotels and Resorts
IHG Rewards allows you to donate points to charity as part of its ten-year ‘Journey to Tomorrow’ responsible business plan. Members can choose from various nonprofit partners via the IHG One Rewards Catalog – choose “donations”, which includes 15 organisations such as European Food Banks Federation, National Centre for Civil and Human Rights, American Red Cross and WRAP among others. You can donate 2,500, 5,000 or 10,000 points. giving.ihg.com
Marriott International
Marriott Bonvoy allows you to donate points as part of its Serve 360 CSR programme, which has four pillars, with associated charities for each one. Nurture focuses on aiding communities, Sustain on reducing the brand’s environmental impact, Empower on ensuring access to opportunities, and Welcome on advocating for human rights. There are 33 charities, including American Red Cross, Clean The World, Prince’s Trust and the NAACP. Members can donate in increments from a minimum of 2,500 (US$10) to 125,000 (US$500).
Marriott’s members donated nearly 18 million points to International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, and World Central Kitchen in support of those impacted by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Marriott Bonvoy matched members’ donations, bringing the total to nearly 36 million points donated.
Radisson Hotels
Radisson Rewards enables you to donate points to SOS Children’s Villages, carbon offset organisation First Climate, and to a fund that offers care and support to Ukrainian refugees.
There is a 3,000-point minimum, with increments of 1,000. You can donate by filling in a contact form online or calling the company. radissonhotels.com
Shangri-La
The Circle programme allows you to donate your points to Oxfam Hong Kong and Med Art, a Hong Kong charity that cares for people in psychiatric institutions, prisons and hospices, and the medical needs of orphaned children. You can also donate to the brand’s corporate social responsibility projects. Donations start at 100 points (US$2) and cap at 10,000.
The group has also partnered with Make-A-Wish International and will be running three campaigns over the next 12 months to raise funds for the charity. shangri-la.com
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
Wyndham’s Rewards online shop lets you donate to Save the Children and Hotels for Heroes. Donations start at 500 points and cap at 8,000 points. wyndhamhotels.com
