Choosing which hotel loyalty program to enroll in is like picking your favorite Jelly Belly flavor. You have many to choose from, and they all offer something unique for your palate.

Because most hotel loyalty programs are free to join, the answer is obviously, "Why not sign up for all of them?" You can. But to maximize your rewards, you’ll probably end up focusing on one or two hotel loyalty programs for your travels.

Here are a few questions to ask before making your choice.

Things to consider before joining a hotel rewards program

1. Are there a good selection of hotels where I’m headed?

The number of hotels that participate in a given program and their locations should be the most important factor you consider ahead of signing up. The bigger the selection in places you travel to, the more properties you’ll find where you can earn and use points.

Wyndham Hotel Group leads the pack for the number of properties available, with over 9,000 hotels worldwide. Wyndham’s top competitor, Marriott International, has about 8,000 properties, followed by Choice Hotels International with 7,400 hotels and Hilton Worldwide Holdings with about 7,200 properties. Hyatt has just over 1,100.

Do some searches to see which hotel brand aligns with your travel patterns. Additional considerations you might make include:

Which company has a nice selection of hotels in the areas you’ll visit most?

Will you be traveling to big cities or suburbs?

Do you travel domestically or internationally?

If your employer pays for your lodging, does the company you work for prefer a specific chain?

In short: You run the risk of getting less value out of your hotel loyalty if you join a program that has few properties where you travel most frequently.

2. How easy is it to earn points?

One major perk of hotel loyalty programs is the ability to earn points that you can later use to redeem for free stays. Though you can often earn hotel points in a variety of ways, staying at hotels is generally the easiest way to do it. For example, Marriott Bonvoy members earn 10 base points per dollar spent on eligible charges at most participating hotels.

Earning rates vary across hotel brands, so it pays to have a general understanding of not only how easy it is to earn points, but also how quickly you'll be able to spend those points. For instance, earning 10 points per dollar might sound great, but if the lowest redemption is 80,000 points for a night at a certain hotel you want to stay at, you will have to spend $8,000 at the hotel program before you can redeem your points for a free night. Promotions and credit cards can help speed this process up.

Points promotions

Beyond the typical earning rate associated with individual brands, you might consider keeping an eye out for specific promotions that can help you earn points more quickly. For example, Marriott at times offers bonus points on new properties or certain stays. Hyatt runs different promotions throughout the year including Bonus Journeys and a chance to earn double the points on select stays and properties.

Normally, IHG Rewards members earn 10 points per dollar spent on the base room rate at most participating properties and 5 points per dollar at Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites hotels. But IHG Rewards runs several promotions a year where you can earn extra points per night or stay, including targeted offers to members.

Hilton runs periodic promos, too, like an offer for double or triple Honors points on stays.