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Holding the right credit card has its perks. And, if you're a fan of luxury hotels, those perks might include free breakfast, resort credits, and more if you book through your credit card's hotel program. While American Express' Fine Hotels & Resorts and the newly launched The Edit by Chase grab much of the headlines, Mastercard has its own program, called Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts.
The program isn't often talked about, but it features many of the same benefits of competing programs — with thousands more properties. Let's explore more about this hotel program and see if it's the right fit for your next booking.
What is Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts?
The Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts program is available to select Mastercard holders who book through the card issuer's own booking platform, offering benefits at over 3,800 hotels and resorts worldwide.
To register as a U.S.-based cardholder, you'll visit the website and enter your full credit card number to create an account. World, World Elite, and World Legend Mastercard holders are eligible to make an account.
If you're outside the U.S., you can visit Travel.Mastercard.com to register your card and create an account. Registering a U.S.-based card on this site will return an error.
Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts Benefits
Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts bookings offer benefits such as:
- Complimentary breakfast for two daily
- Special World and World Elite amenities (varies by property) valued up to $100 (USD)
- Room upgrade at time of arrival, subject to availability
- Early check-in upon arrival, subject to availability
- 3 pm late check-out, subject to availability
There are more benefits when booking a hotel in the Luxury Portfolio and paying with a World Elite or World Legend Mastercard:
- Mastercard Hotel Stay Guarantee: If your 3-star or higher-rated hotel is below your standards, a Lifestyle Manager will help correct issues.
- Mastercard Lowest Hotel Rate Guarantee: If you find the same prepaid hotel stay for less elsewhere on the internet, Mastercard will refund the difference.
These benefits are similar to those offered by other specialized credit card hotel booking programs. However, there are many more cards eligible to access this program at a lower annual fee. For example, the card I used to access this program, the Citi Strata Premier® Card, has a $95 annual fee (Rates & Fees).
To access Amex's Fine Hotels & Resorts program, you'll need at least The Platinum Card® from American Express, which has a $895 annual fee (Rates & Fees). The same goes for The Edit by Chase, which requires you to hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve® — a $795 annual fee.
- Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Earn 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
- Earn 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases.
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
Related: Credit Card Hotel Collections that Offer Elite-Like Benefits Without Needing Elite Status
Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts Portfolio
The Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts portfolio currently comprises over 3,800 hotels and resorts. That includes properties by major hotel chains like Hilton, Hyatt, and more. There's no master list on the Mastercard website of the properties, so you'll have to perform a search for your preferred city to see if there's a property in the collection.
When I performed a search for sample dates, the Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts in my preferred city populated first. A search in Los Angeles found six Luxury Hotels and Resorts to choose from.
To see what privileges you have by booking, click on “Exclusive Privileges,” which will populate a drop-down menu with a list of perks.
In my sample search, I found that the list of benefits could vary slightly. For example, the Conrad Los Angeles offered a welcome amenity of “plated seasonal food & beverage,” while the Langham Huntington, Pasadena offered a “COUTURE welcome amenity.” It's worth comparing the benefits at the various properties to make sure you're maximizing the program to its full potential.
I wanted to compare rates for my search to booking directly. The Conrad Los Angeles was only slightly cheaper when searched on Hilton's website. Some brands may consider booking through Mastercard as a third-party booking, forgoing elite benefits, so keep that in mind as well.
It's also helpful to make sure you're eligible to receive benefits at the property, based on the length of your stay. Several Hyatt properties surveyed had minimum stay requirements of two nights, for example.
Our Take
The Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts program is an amazing benefit available to many Mastercard holders. With many more properties available than competing programs and a lower threshold to qualify for benefits, it's a hidden gem in the credit card world.
However, it's essential to compare pricing for hotels in the program to rates found elsewhere. If you're paying more per night for benefits than what they're worth, then the program is not of much use. With over 3,800 properties to choose from, the Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts program is certainly worth a look for your next trip.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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