After traveling to Asia for years, I found that Agoda not only had more hotels at better prices and great, independent hotels off the beaten path that other sites didn’t show, but also more relevant reviews to help you plan your trips. While the rewards program is mediocre, in combination with the breadth of hotels and savings on their exclusive hotel rates, it’s worth leaving other booking portals and the big, American chains behind.
Whenever I plan a trip to Asia, I start my search with agoda.com. They have an easy-to-use search site with good search criteria and filters, offering you list and map views to quickly zero in on the right hotel for you! I also found their reviews to be more relevant than what other booking sites offer, as there are more reviews from travelers with local experience. So much so, that my default search is now to filter the hotels by the area and category I’m looking for and sort by Agoda reviews, leaving me to pick from the highest rated properties in my price range. Because only people who have actually staid at the hotel can post a review, I have never had a bad experience with any hotel rated “Excellent” or “Very Good”.
Once you decide to book through Agoda, you will not earn rewards or accrue status points with the chain hotel programs. Instead, you can sign up for the Agoda Rewards program where you will get the following:
- Earn points at a rate of 20 points per USDollar spent (a value of 4%)
Elite members earn 31.25 points per $ (or 7%) - Redeem points starting at 12,500 points or a $25 voucher, applicable to any eligible booking on Agoda
- Points expire at the end of the calendar year after earning them, so after 12-23 months. If you earn no new points within 24 months, your account may be closed.
- You can become an Elite member after earning 75,000 points (a $3,750 spend), resulting in a higher earn rate and more redemption levels
With those program basics, the agoda rewards program, it offers a slightly lower discount than hotels.com Welcome Rewards, but at least for Asia, you often start with a lower rate and are still better off! Ready to check for current hotel rates at your next destination – check them here!
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