I Prefer Hotel Rewards: Earn Up to $250 in Stay Credits

A summer promotion at I Prefer Hotel Rewards is paying out a $50 (USD) reward certificate for every qualifying stay through August 31, 2026, up to five different hotels for a possible $250 (USD) total. Best fit for travellers spreading short stays across different cities.

Aeroplan-cobranded cardholders have a useful split-stay angle that combines the cert with the Fourth Night Free benefit, layered onto a longer booking at the same property.

Earn $50 per Stay, up to Five Hotels

Register through the I Prefer site, complete a stay of at least two consecutive nights at a participating hotel during the promotion window, and you’ll earn one $50 (USD) reward certificate per distinct hotel.

Full terms:

• Registration window: May 5 to August 31, 2026 (registration is required before the stay)
• Eligible stays: May 5 to August 31, 2026, minimum two consecutive nights per stay
• Reward per stay: $50 (USD) certificate, with a maximum of five stays at five different hotels
• Maximum earning: $250 (USD) in certificates total
• Issuance: Within seven business days after departure
• Validity: All certificates expire December 31, 2026

Two catches worth flagging. First, repeat stays at the same property only earn one certificate per promotion period, so spreading bookings across different hotels is required to hit the $250 (USD) cap. Second, reservations made before you register don’t qualify, even if the stay dates fall inside the window.

Free Extra Nights with American Express or Mastercard

Separately from the $50 (USD) stay-certificate promotion above, Preferred Hotels & Resorts is currently running two card-linked offers that get you a free night on a longer stay. Both apply to paid bookings at participating properties throughout 2026, and you simply pay with the eligible card and book using the matching promo code.

American Express Extra Night Offer

Book and pay with any American Express Credit or Charge Card using promo code MKTAMX, and your extra night is free:

• Stay two nights, and your third night is free
• Stay three nights, and your fourth night is free
• Stay four nights, and your fifth night is free

The offer is valid on stays of two, three, or four consecutive nights, booked between January 1 and December 30, 2026 and completed by December 31, 2026. Single or double occupancy only, and taxes, resort fees, and government charges are excluded. Book online with the promo code, or call 1-866-990-9491 and mention the American Express Extra Night Offer. You’ll still earn I Prefer points as long as you add your membership number to the booking.

Mastercard 4 for 3 Offer

Mastercard’s “4 for 3” offer gives cardholders a free fourth night: book a four-night stay and pay with a Mastercard using rate code MKTMSC, and you’re only charged for three nights. As with the Amex offer, minimum-stay rules and blackout dates can vary by property, and the rate can’t be combined with other promotions.

On whether you can stack a free night with the $50 (USD) certificate, a closer read of the terms lines up in your favour. The Stay, Reward, Repeat promotion awards a certificate for any qualified stay of two or more nights, and a qualified stay is simply one that earns I Prefer points under the program terms. Those program terms exclude only a short list of rate types from earning points: complimentary or barter stays, employee and airline-crew rates, group rates, and wholesale or tour-operator rates. A marketed promotional rate like the Amex Extra Night Offer, booked directly on PreferredHotels.com or through the brand call centre, isn’t on that list, and the Amex offer’s own terms confirm that you earn I Prefer points on it as long as you add your membership number to the booking.

In theory, that means you should be able to book the Amex Extra Night (or Mastercard) rate, take the free night, and still earn the $50 (USD) certificate on the same stay, as long as you register for Stay, Reward, Repeat first and use a hotel where you haven’t already claimed a certificate. We say “in theory” because neither program spells out this exact combination, and the Amex offer carries the usual “cannot be combined with any other offer” language. The terms line up, so it should work, but treat it as a your-mileage-may-vary play: register first, keep your booking confirmation, and don’t bank on the certificate until it posts to your account.

A Real Example: Galeria Plaza Reforma, Mexico City

Here’s how it looks in practice. At Galeria Plaza Reforma in Mexico City, the Amex Extra Night Offer shows up as a featured rate, and on a like-for-like basis it actually undercuts the standard I Prefer Member Rate, at roughly $132 (USD) per night including fees versus about $150 (USD) for the member rate.

Booking a four-night Signature King stay (August 9 to 13, 2026) on that rate charges only three nights and gives the fourth free. The three paid nights total $528.24 (USD), plus $103.01 (USD) in taxes and fees, for a $631.25 (USD) all-in total. The fourth night, which would otherwise run around $179 (USD), costs nothing.

Then layer in Stay, Reward, Repeat. Because this is a paid stay of more than two nights, registering beforehand should also earn a $50 (USD) reward certificate on top of the free night, and you collect I Prefer points on the eligible room spend either way. If the certificate posts as the terms suggest, that’s a free night and a $50 (USD) certificate out of one booking, though as above, treat the certificate as likely rather than guaranteed.

One honest caveat on any “extra night free” offer: the free night is valued at the hotel’s standard flexible rate, which is rarely the cheapest rate on the table. Hotels routinely sell lower rates, such as the I Prefer Member Rate or a non-refundable Preferred Advance Purchase rate, so your realistic alternative isn’t the flexible rate the free night is priced against. At Galeria Plaza Reforma, the Amex four-night total of $528.24 (USD) still beats the member rate (roughly $599 USD for the same four nights), but the true saving is closer to $70 (USD) than the ~$179 (USD) that the “free night” headline implies. The offer is usually still worth taking, especially once the $50 (USD) certificate stacks on top, but compare the all-in totals across the full stay before booking rather than assuming a free night equals a quarter off.

I Prefer Hotel Rewards in Brief

I Prefer is the loyalty program of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest independent hotel group with 600+ properties across 80+ countries. The portfolio is broader than people often expect, spanning luxury hotels (The Soho Hotel London, the SoHo Hotel Toronto) all the way down to mid-tier business properties in Asia and Europe.

Status is points-based across a rolling 12-month period:

• Silver: 0 to 24,999 points (entry tier, exclusive member rates, free Wi-Fi, complimentary upgrades when available)
• Gold: 25,000 to 49,999 points (adds 20% bonus points per stay and a welcome amenity)
• Titanium: 50,000+ points (adds 50% bonus points per stay, complimentary food and beverage at check-in, and an anniversary gift)

Members earn 10 points per $1 (USD) on eligible spend at Silver, with the tier multipliers stacking on top. Points redeem for fixed-value reward certificates, so the program functions more like a cash-back system than a typical free-night chart.

Is This a Good Deal?

How much you net depends on the rate you’re paying. A 2-night booking at a mid-tier I Prefer property in Asia or Europe might run around $200 (USD) total. A $50 (USD) certificate against that booking is roughly 25% off, which is excellent for a paid hotel stay.

At the upper end, a 2-night stay at a luxury city-centre boutique can clear $1,000 (USD). The same $50 (USD) certificate against that booking is closer to 5% back, which is in line with what most hotel loyalty programs deliver on points alone.

Either way, the certificate stacks on top of the I Prefer points you’d earn anyway (10 base points per $1 USD, plus the tier bonus if you have status), so it’s a $50 (USD) bonus per stay rather than a trade-off against your other rewards. Because the cap is fixed at $50 (USD) regardless of room rate, the value tilts toward shorter, mid-priced stays rather than long luxury blowouts.

Stacking with Aeroplan: A Split-Stay Workaround

Unfortunately, a single Aeroplan HotelSavers booking at a Preferred Hotels property won’t qualify for this promotion. The $50 (USD) certificate only applies to paid stays, and HotelSavers redemptions (which use Aeroplan points) aren’t eligible for the cert.

For a longer trip, though, there’s a split-stay workaround that captures both. Say you’re planning a 6-night stay at an I Prefer property. Book the first two nights on cash to satisfy the promotion’s minimum-stay rule and trigger the $50 (USD) certificate, then book the remaining four nights through HotelSavers using Aeroplan points. At check-in, politely ask the front desk to assign you the same room across both reservations. Most properties will accommodate the request when the bookings are continuous, but it isn’t guaranteed.

For Aeroplan-cobranded credit cardholders, the points leg also picks up Aeroplan’s Fourth Night Free benefit, currently extended through December 31, 2026. Every fourth consecutive night at the same property paid with Aeroplan points comes free, so a single 4-night HotelSavers booking effectively costs the points equivalent of three nights. That’s a real bonus on top of the $50 (USD) cert from the cash leg.

The HotelSavers leg has a quirky upside worth knowing about. Preferred Hotels & Resorts properties show up inside the HotelSavers booking tool, and unlike most third-party hotel channels, I Prefer status benefits still apply on HotelSavers redemptions. To unlock those benefits, add your I Prefer membership number during the booking process.

For the cash leg, paying with an Aeroplan-cobranded credit card layers a small bit of Aeroplan earning on top of the room rate at the card’s standard travel multiplier.

One more piece of context worth knowing. Aeroplan ran a complimentary I Prefer Titanium status grant promotion in 2024 for all Aeroplan Elite Status members and cobranded cardholders, which we covered in our earlier article. That specific offer ended in June 2024, but it’s the kind of partnership benefit that has resurfaced before, so it’s worth checking your Aeroplan dashboard or member emails for any active version.

Who Should Take Advantage?

If you already have summer travel on the calendar that touches the Preferred Hotels & Resorts portfolio, register before you book. The promo is free, takes a few minutes, and the certificates aren’t tied to any minimum spend beyond the two-night stay rule.

If your usual hotel default sits inside Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, or Hilton Honors, this isn’t a strong enough reason to switch ecosystems for a single summer. Independent hotels often shine on character but rarely on points return, and a one-time $250 (USD) bonus doesn’t move that calculus permanently. Treat it as a nice add-on if your itinerary already touches the portfolio, not as a reason to redirect a booking.

Conclusion

This is one of the better paid-stay promotions in the independent-hotel space right now, and the per-stay cap means it favours travellers who already plan to spread their summer across multiple cities. If that’s you, register before your first booking and you’ll have $250 (USD) in pocket by Labour Day.

For everyone else, the more durable takeaway is the Aeroplan x I Prefer overlap that lives outside this specific promo. The HotelSavers passthrough of I Prefer benefits, plus the recurring Titanium status grants, are worth keeping in your back pocket the next time you’re booking an independent hotel in a city where Marriott or Hyatt doesn’t have a footprint.