Big Fat Wedding has been there in India for many years. Not just weddings, several events are organized these days. Everyone has a preference for where they want to organize it. Some prefer the beach, some may prefer a city setting or mountains. Irrespective of these things, organising these events costs a lot. Even though it does cost a lot, certain hotel brands offer opportunities to earn several points. These points can then be used to stay like for honeymoon. So, here are the opportunities to earn points on events at popular hotel chains.
Earning Points on Organizing Events at Hyatt
Hyatt is one of the best hotel brands out there. It is one of the few hotel brands in India to have properties in Hills & Beaches. Several new Hyatt properties are also coming soon.
For Meetings & Events
Hyatt does allow Individual planners & corporations to earn points on meetings & catered events. For meetings, one bonus Hyatt point is given on $ spending. A maximum of 50K bonus can be earned for a meeting.
Apart from bonus points, elite nights are also credited. You will earn two elite nights on every $ 5,000 spent in a calendar year.
If you already have Hyatt points, you can use them to settle meeting bills.
| Hyatt Points | Meeting Credit |
| 15K Points | $200 |
| 30K Points | $400 |
| 45K Points | $600 |
| 60K Points | $800 |
| 75K Points | $1000 |
Wedding or Commitment ceremony
A minimum of $5000 is needed to be spent on the event to earn Hyatt points. This year, Hyatt also offers 2 tier elite night credit for every $5000 spent.
| Amount Spent on Event | Hyatt Points Earned |
| $5000 [INR 4.15 Lacs] | 30000 |
| $10000 [INR 8.3 Lacs] | 60000 |
| $20000 [INR 16.6 Lacs] | 90000 |
| $30000 [INR 25 Lacs] | 120000 |
| $40000 [INR 33.25 Lacs] | 150000 |
To be eligible for this promotion, use the HMOON offer code.
Hyatt Convention Alliance Multi Hotel offer
Multi Hotel offer is for professional planners and not individuals. A minimum booking of 3 hotels with 501+ guest rooms is required. You are eligible for certain benefits under this offer, such as complimentary rooms, food & Beverages, welcome drinks, and World of Hyatt Points.
| Hotel Booked | World of Hyatt Points |
| Minimum 3 Hotels | 300K Hyatt Points |
| Minimum 3+2 Additional | 400K Hyatt Points |
| Minimum 4+2 Additional | 700K Hyatt Points |
| Minimum 5+2 Additional | 1 Million Hyatt Points |
If you are a professional, you may contact conventionalliance@hyatt.com for a multi-hotel offer.
Earning Points for Organizing Events at Accor
As per Accor, expenses incurred for private events like Weddings and birthdays don’t earn any points, but there is still a way for professional organizers.
Professional Organizers must be an ALL Meeting Planner to earn points on event spending. As an ALL Meeting Planner, you will earn one reward point and one status for every two EURO spent. There is no limit on the number of points earned except outside the Asia Pacific. The limit is 60K points, and certain hotels are not participating in this program.
A Professional organizer can transfer points to other Accor members with a limit of 15 members and 30 transfers per year.
Earning Points on Organizing Events at Marriott
Earning Marriott Bonvoy Points on events is less complicated than Hyatt. You will earn 2 points per USD 1, and Elite will earn bonus points based on their elite status.
A member can earn a Maximum of 60K base points. Whereas Elite members can earn a maximum of 105000 points, including the bonus point.
If you are unsure how many points you will earn on organizing an event at Marriott, you can use their Calculator.
If you want to earn miles, 1 mile per $ spent with a maximum of 20K miles will be given, irrespective of your elite status. However, you can always transfer your Marriott Points to airlines in a 3:1 ratio with 5K bonus miles on a transfer of 60K points.
One elite night credit for every 20 rooms booked is also given, with a maximum of 20 elite night credits.
Earning Points on Organizing Events at IHG Hotels
A separate registration is required to earn points for organizing events at IHG properties. This registration is in addition to your IHG One rewards membership.
You will earn three IHG reward points on every $ spent, and no elite bonus is given. A maximum of 60K IHG points can be earned at the event. However, not all IHG properties participate in this program; the list of non-participating hotels can be found here.
Although no elite night credits are given for spending on events, the points earned on events are considered for elite benefits. So, 60K points earned for an event will give you an IHG Platinum Status.
Earning Points for Organizing Events at Hilton
As a Hilton Honor member, you can earn one point for every $ spent on organizing an event. A maximum of $100K in bills are eligible for earning points with no limit on the number of points that can be earned. There are no other elite benefits for members.
You can also use these points to adjust against future event bookings as follows:
| Points | Voucher |
| 25000 | $50 |
| 50000 | $100 |
| 75000 | $150 |
| 125000 | $250 |
| 250000 | $500 |
Earning Points for Organizing Events at Wyndham
Wyndham is a big hotel chain with over 8K hotels & resorts. Go Meet the Wyndham reward program for meetings & events. You will earn 1 point on every $ spent without any limit. A minimum booking of ten guest rooms is required to earn these points. I find the reward points given in the program to be very low.
Earning Points for Organizing Events at Radisson
Radisson runs a Bookers & Planner program, in which you need to be a member to earn points on spending made at events.
Radisson has two types of earning opportunities here. The first is for booking guest rooms, and the second is for organizing an event.
If you book rooms for others, then you will earn 10 Radisson Rewards on every $ spent.Interestingly, the travellers will also earn points as per their elite tier on room bookings.
Meanwhile, for Meetings & Events, you will earn 5 points on every $ spent with a maximum of 2.5 Lac points per booking.
Does Taj or ITC allow earning points on hosting events?
No. Taj & ITC doesn’t allow points earned on Charges for banquet spaces for meetings, weddings, group bookings and other similar functions.
How many points can you earn for a wedding?
One of the biggest expenses in India for families is weddings. The cost of organizing a wedding can run into crores of rupees. Earning points on this expense can give the couple a free honeymoon. Here is how many points you can earn for spending on a wedding.
| Hotel | $10000 | $20000 | $30000 | $40000 | Additional Benefits |
| Hyatt | 60000 | 90000 | 120000 | 150000 | 2 Elite Night/$5000 |
| Accor | 4600 | 9200 | 13800 | 18400 | 1 Status Point/2 Euro |
| Marriott | 20000 | 40000 | 60000 | 60000 | 1 Elite Night/20 Rooms |
| IHG | 30000 | 60000 | 60000 | 60000 | All are Elite Points |
| Hilton | 10000 | 20000 | 30000 | 40000 | NA |
| Radisson | 50000 | 100000 | 150000 | 200000 | Premium Tier |
| Wyndham | 10000 | 20000 | 30000 | 40000 | NA |
The above table is an illustrative table to show how many points can be earned for organizing a wedding at hotels. However, many complexities are involved, and I would recommend asking the hotel for points-earning opportunities along with the budget.
Use Axis Atlas or a Milestone Card
Axis Atlas is the only credit that gives five edge miles on every INR 100 at Hotels. So spending INR 25 Lac can help you earn 1.25 Lac base Edge miles and 27.5K Edge miles for milestones—enough to fund two Business Class tickets to Bali on Singapore Airlines or even Vistara. Make sure to check with Hotels about the MCC code.
Apart from that, a combination of milestone cards like Magnus is good for this. So, you must choose the right hotel and credit card to earn points.
Bottomline
Earning points on events can be a great way to fund your next travel destination. There are ample opportunities to earn points at events like weddings. Hyatt is a great option since its points are highly valued at INR 1.8. Other options can work where you find a better deal on the cost.
