Not long ago, hotel programs had fixed award charts, making it easy to plan redemptions.
Now, most major chains—Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and others—use dynamic pricing, meaning award rates fluctuate just like cash prices.
Well, Hyatt still has a standard chart, but even their peak and off-peak pricing add some variability.
One day, a hotel costs 50,000 points. The next, it’s 70,000.
With no way to predict pricing shifts, you risk wasting points or overpaying for a stay. Manually tracking these fluctuations is tedious, making it easy to miss the best redemptions.
Instead of constantly refreshing award calendars, tools like PointsYeah, Rooms.aero, and MaxMyPoint do the work for you. These platforms monitor pricing, and send alerts when rates drop, ensuring you’re getting the best deal for your points.
Here’s how they work and how they can help you maximize every point you earn.
PointsYeah: Simple and Effective Hotel Award Tracking
One of my favourite tools for tracking hotel award pricing is PointsYeah.
Originally designed for award flight searches, PointsYeah has expanded its functionality to include hotel award searches and alerts, making it a great all-in-one tool for tracking redemptions.
What I love about PointsYeah is its user-friendly interface. Even if you’re new to the platform, you can start searching and setting alerts without any steep learning curve.
One of the most time-consuming aspects of booking hotel redemptions is manually searching each hotel brand one by one, trying to find the best value for your points.
PointsYeah eliminates this hassle by allowing you to search multiple hotel chains at once, including:
Another standout feature is its ability to display both points and cash pricing side by side. Cash prices fluctuate due to promotions and rate changes, but this feature gives you a reliable baseline to determine whether redeeming points makes sense.
If you’re serious about maximizing your points, you need a way to track award pricing—especially now that most hotel programs use dynamic pricing.
That’s where PointsYeah’s alert system shines.
With PointsYeah, you can set up alerts to track point requirements for specific stays, and it will notify you via email whenever there’s a change.
There are two key benefits of this feature.
1. Rebooking When Award Pricing Drops
Let’s say you’ve booked a two-night stay at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel using points.
The redemption rates for this hotel can fluctuate anywhere from 40,000 to 88,000 points per night.
Ideally, you’d want to book at the lower end, but manually checking for price drops is both tedious and time-consuming.
That’s where PointsYeah’s alert system comes in handy.
You can set up to four alerts for free, which is generous compared to other tools.
To set an alert, just click the bell icon next to the search result.
A pop-up will appear where you can customize the criteria to trigger notifications.
Example: How to Set an Alert for a Lower Award Price
Imagine you’ve booked a two-night stay from July 6, 2025, and the total cost is 121,000 points (73,000 for the first night and 48,000 for the second).
You can set an alert for 120,000 total points, and if the required points drop to 118,000 for example, you’ll receive an email.
You can then modify your booking and save 3,000 points. After rebooking, you can update your alert to 117,000 points in case the price drops again.
This strategy has saved me thousands—sometimes even tens of thousands—of Marriott Bonvoy points over the past year. Given how volatile award pricing has become, this is a must-have tool for savvy travellers.
2. Using Free Night Awards More Effectively
Another great use case for PointsYeah alerts is when you’re trying to redeem a Free Night Award (FNA), such as a 35K or 40K Award from Marriott Bonvoy.
For example, if you want to use your 40K Free Night Award at a “secret” Category 7 property (where award pricing fluctuates between 50,000 and 105,000 points per night), you can set an alert at 55,000 points to increase your chances of finding availability within your certificate’s top-up limit.
Example: St. Regis Toronto
Last year, I had a 40K FNA and wanted to use it at the St. Regis Toronto, where award pricing ranged from 50,000 to 105,000 points per night. Since I could top up my FNA by 15,000 points, I set an alert for 55,000 points.
A few weeks later, I received an email notification that a night was available at 55,000 points. I immediately booked it, using my 40K Award + 15,000 points, and secured a luxurious stay at a fraction of the normal redemption cost.
Final Thoughts on PointsYeah
If you’re tired of constantly checking hotel award calendars and want a simple, effective tool to track award pricing, PointsYeah is a fantastic option.
The ability to search multiple hotel chains at once, compare points vs. cash, and set up alerts for price drops makes it an invaluable tool for maximizing the value of your hard-earned points.
With its generous free alert system and intuitive interface, there’s really no reason not to have it in your award travel toolkit.
Rooms.aero: Unlimited Award Alerts For a Small Fee
Rooms.aero is an extension of Seats.aero, a popular tool among Miles & Points enthusiasts for tracking award flight availability. It brings the same functionality to hotel award tracking, helping users monitor and receive alerts for points-based hotel stays.
Rooms.aero currently supports four major hotel chains:
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Hilton Honors
- World of Hyatt
- IHG One Rewards
However, compared to PointsYeah, it does not support Choice Hotels or Wyndham Rewards and has a more limited selection of searchable properties.
For example, Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel is not listed on Rooms.aero, even though it is available on PointsYeah.
While Rooms.aero is a valuable tool, its inventory limitations mean your desired hotel may not always appear in searches.
While the free plan allows basic searches and price comparisons, a Seats.aero Pro subscription is required to access full features, including hotel award availability alerts.
The free version of Rooms.aero allows users to:
- Search for award stays at supported hotels
- View cash and points pricing side by side
- Access a calendar view to check award rates over multiple dates
However, to unlock the full set of features, including hotel award availability alerts, you’ll need to subscribe to the Seats.aero Pro plan.
A Seats.aero Pro subscription unlocks unlimited hotel award alerts—something most competitors restrict even for paid users.
Rooms.aero lets you track hotel award availability in two ways:
- Tracking a Specific Hotel: Set an alert for a particular property you have in mind.
- Tracking All Hotels in a Destination: Get notified when any hotel in a selected city becomes available for points at your chosen price.
Once subscribed, setting up an alert is straightforward:
- Choose how you want to be notified – via email or SMS.
- Select the property you wish to track.
- Enter your stay details, including check-in and check-out dates.
- Set your maximum points per night – the system will notify you when pricing drops below this threshold.
Rooms.aero automatically refreshes its searches in the background and notifies you instantly when a match is found.
One standout feature of Rooms.aero is the ability to set alerts for all hotels in a destination city.
This is especially useful if you have orphan points left over in a program and just want to use them up for a stay—without being picky about the hotel.
Example: Using Orphan Points for a Quick Layover
Say you have 25,000 Marriott Bonvoy points left in your account and need a hotel near the airport for a layover.
Instead of checking each hotel individually, you can set an alert for your layover city and be notified when any hotel in that city has availability for 25,000 points.
Example: Maximizing a Free Night Award (FNA)
Similarly, if you hold a 35K Free Night Award (FNA) from Marriott Bonvoy and want to use it without topping up additional points, you can set an alert for 35,000 points in your destination city and get notified when any eligible hotel becomes available.
While the “track all hotels in a destination” feature is incredibly useful, it currently does not allow you to filter by specific hotel chains.
For example, if you want to only track Hilton properties in a city, you can’t refine your alert to exclude Marriott, Hyatt, or IHG hotels. This makes it less precise than it could be, especially for travelers who are loyal to one specific hotel brand.
Hopefully, future updates will allow users to filter by loyalty program when tracking award pricing across an entire destination.
Final Thoughts on Rooms.aero
Rooms.aero is a powerful tool for tracking hotel award availability—especially for those who subscribe to Seats.aero Pro.
The ability to set unlimited alerts, receive real-time notifications, and track all hotels in a city makes it a valuable addition to any award travel strategy.
However, it’s not perfect. It lacks some hotel chains, fewer properties per brand, and could benefit from more filtering options when tracking hotels in a destination.
MaxMyPoint: Advanced Award Alerts (But Limited Free Use)
MaxMyPoint specializes in tracking award availability and pricing for Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG, offering some of the most detailed alert customization available.
Unlike PointsYeah or Rooms.aero, MaxMyPoint prioritizes highly detailed alert customization—ideal for travellers booking luxury hotels or peak-season stays.
Beyond tracking award availability, MaxMyPoint also monitors pricing changes and even cash price fluctuations for Hyatt and IHG properties. This can be especially useful if you’re deciding between a points redemption and a paid stay.
The tool offers several types of alerts, allowing you to tailor your tracking based on how flexible your plans are:
- Full Stay Alert – Tracks award space for the entire duration of your stay. If all nights become available on points, you’ll get notified.
- Any Day Alert – Monitors a broader date range and alerts you when any nights within your chosen period open up for award bookings.
- Daily Change Alert – Notifies you of new standard award nights that become available within the next 365 days, useful for tracking fluctuating availability.
- Holiday Alert – Specifically tracks award availability for major U.S. holiday dates, perfect for securing peak-season stays.
- Flexible Alert – Checks for varying stay lengths within a seven-day window, so you get notified if a single night or a multi-night stay becomes available.
Setting up an alert on MaxMyPoint is straightforward. Once you find a property you’re interested in, simply:
- Click on the “Setup Alert” icon next to the hotel listing.
- Select your check-in and check-out dates.
- Define your maximum points budget for the stay.
- Confirm the alert, and MaxMyPoint will start tracking availability for you.
Once availability matches your criteria, you’ll receive a notification—giving you the chance to book before it’s gone.
However, MaxMyPoint isn’t without its drawbacks. The free version is extremely limited, allowing only one single alert, making it the least appealing option for casual users.
Additionally, its interface isn’t as intuitive as PointsYeah or Rooms.aero, which can make navigation slightly frustrating.
Final Thoughts on MaxMyPoint
MaxMyPoint specializes in detailed award tracking, making it a valuable tool for those who need highly customized alerts. If you’re chasing an elusive award stay, its tracking features can be invaluable.
That said, the restrictive free plan and less user-friendly interface may be deal-breakers for some. If you’re looking for a more beginner-friendly, all-in-one solution, PointsYeah is a better option. If you need unlimited alerts, Rooms.aero may be the way to go.
But if your goal is to lock in an ultra-premium hotel redemption, MaxMyPoint could be the difference between scoring a dream stay and missing out completely.
Conclusion
With dynamic pricing now the norm with hotel loyalty programs, manually checking for deals is time-consuming and inefficient.
By leveraging tools like PointsYeah, Rooms.aero, and MaxMyPoint, you can track award rates, receive real-time alerts, and lock in the best value for your points—without the hassle of constant monitoring.
If you’re already a Seats.aero Pro subscriber, Rooms.aero’s unlimited alerts make it a great choice.
Otherwise, PointsYeah is the best all-in-one tool to start with—it’s free, easy to use, and offers up to four alerts, which is often enough for most travellers.
And if you ever need more alerts, chances are you’re traveling with a partner or friends, and they can set up additional alerts on their accounts to help you track more hotels.
Maximizing your hard-earned hotel points shouldn’t be a guessing game—let automation do the work for you so you can focus on enjoying your trip.
This story originally appeared on princeoftravel
