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Hotel rewards cards are the most cost-effective way of scoring free stays and elite status benefits at major hotel chains. Holding the right hotel cards can save you money on your hotel stays and provide perks and benefits equivalent to those received by brand loyalists who stay 20, 30, or even 50 nights per year with a hotel chain.
The best co-brand hotel cards provide a high-value welcome offer, the chance to earn plenty of points via bonus spending categories, free night certificates on your account anniversary (or when you hit a spending threshold), and elite status benefits such as room upgrades and free meals.
Page Contents
In this post, we take an in-depth look at some of the best co-brand hotel cards from a variety of loyalty programs and card issuers, benchmarking them according to the perks they provide and the points earning potential. Here are the ranking criteria we’ve used to determine each card’s value, including the weight given to each item:
- Welcome offer or signup bonus – 20%
- Bonus categories and earning potential – 10%
- Travel, airline, or hotel credit – 15%
- Elite status perks and benefits – 15%
- Anniversary free night certificate – 15%
- Spending threshold bonus – 5%
- Ancillary and insurance benefits – 5%
- Annual fee – 15%
The Best Co-Brand Credit Card for Each Hotel Loyalty Program
If you only stay with one or two hotel chains, then brand loyalty will be the key factor in your rewards card choice. However, if you are a free agent, card benefits and earning potential will have a more substantial impact on the brands you stay with, the number of points you receive, and how you are treated during your stay.
Here are the cards that made our list:
- Best card for Hyatt: The World Of Hyatt Credit Card
- Best card for Hilton: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- Best card for IHG: IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
- Best card for Marriott: Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card
- Best card for Radisson: Radisson Rewards™ Business Visa® Card
- Best card for Choice: Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card
Hotel Rewards Card Details and Benefits
The World Of Hyatt Credit Card
- Earn 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 total within 6 months of account opening.
- Free nights start at 5,000 points
- Receive 1 free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort after your Cardmember anniversary
- Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year
- Get automatic World of Hyatt Elite status and 5 qualifying night credits every year as long as your account is open
- Earn 2 qualifying night credits towards tier status everytime you spend $5,000 on your card
- Earn 9 points total for Hyatt stays - 4 Bonus Points per $1 spent at Hyatt hotels & 5 Base Points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member
- Earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
- 9X points total per $1 spent at Hyatt - 4X points per $1 when you use your card at Hyatt hotels & 5X points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member
- 2X points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
- 1X point per $1 everywhere else
Annual fee: $95
Welcome offer: Earn up to 50,000 Bonus Points - 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend a total of $6,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of account opening.
Bonus categories: Cardmembers earn 4x points at Hyatt properties and 2x points at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting, and on fitness club and gym memberships.
Elite status benefits: Receive Discoverist status and 5x elite night credits towards the next elite tier each year you hold the card, plus you’ll get 2x additional elite night credits for every $5,000 spent on the card.
Additional benefits: One free night at any Category 1–4 Hyatt property on account anniversary each year, plus an extra free night when you spend $15,000 in a cardmember year. Unlike other benefits that are based on the calendar year from January 1st to December 31st, this benefit is based on cardmember year which begins on the date you opened your account.
Our take: We rank the World of Hyatt Card the highest-value hotel rewards card available to points and miles fans today. The ability to earn elite night credits via spending that can take you all the way to Globalist is a fantastic benefit and can help you reach top-tier status when you are short on elite night credits for the year. Most cardholders will have no problem recouping the $95 annual fee via the free night certificate, and an additional free night after $15K spend is an added bonus.
Although we’re not fans of the tiered signup bonus, 50,000 Hyatt points can provide a ton of value when you consider top-tier Hyatt properties go for 30-40K points per night. Other hotel programs charge 70,000 points or more for top-tier properties, so it’s important to consider the price of a free night before making a head-to-head comparison between hotel cards.
World of Hyatt points are even more valuable for folks that hold Ultimate Rewards earning cards. If you need additional Hyatt points for a redemption, you can transfer from Chase, and the points will post to your Hyatt account instantly.
Keep in mind that Ultimate Rewards cards may be a better tool for earning Hyatt points than the World of Hyatt Card itself for certain categories of spending. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns 3X points on travel and dining, so you’d want to use that card for dining and non-Hyatt travel expenses. The Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card card earns 5X points at office supply stores, so you’d be better off earning five Ultimate Rewards than one Hyatt point.
Remember, you can transfer points earned from the Ink Cash to Hyatt or other partner programs if you also hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Sapphire Reserve, or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
As with all Chase cards, the World of Hyatt Card is now subject to Chase’s 5/24 policy, which you need to factor into your application strategy.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Earn a Weekend Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 on purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations.
- Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
- Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year.
- $95 annual fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
- 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
Annual fee: $95 - Rates & Fees
Welcome offer: Earn 130,000 Bonus Points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Bonus categories: Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio. Earn 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations. Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
Elite status benefits: Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status, plus, earn Diamond status when you spend $40,000 in a calendar year.
Additional benefits: A weekend free night certificate from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 in a calendar year. The certificate is valid at any Hilton property except those in this (reasonably short) list of exclusions. The card also comes with ten complimentary Priority Pass lounge passes each year you hold the card.
Our take: The Hilton Surpass features a stellar welcome offer, fantastic bonus categories for a co-brand card, and an elite status level that will earn you free breakfast and potential room upgrades. Depending on your stay patterns, this card could comfortably be interchanged with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. The main caveat is that you need to extract enough value from the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card complimentary Diamond Elite status and additional perks like the Hilton fee and airline incidentals credits to cover the much higher $450 annual fee (Rates & Fees). If you only stay with Hilton a few times per year, the Hilton Surpass will likely provide a higher return than its premium counterpart due to the lower out-of-pocket expense.
Hilton Honors is a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards, but the high cost of free nights with Hilton means that transfers from Amex are rarely a good deal. Amex points are simply too valuable to transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Hilton.
IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
- Earn 25 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 2X points per $1 spent on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 10X points for being a IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Cardmember
- Earn 5X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® Rewards Club Member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
Annual fee: $89
Welcome offer: Earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
Bonus categories: Earn 25 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Elite status benefits: Receive IHG Rewards Platinum Elite status
Additional benefits: Anniversary free-night certificate valid at IHG properties costing up to 40,000 points per night; 4th night free when you redeem points for 4 or more consecutive nights; 10,000 bonus points when you spend $20K on purchases and make one additional purchase; Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® fee credit every four years worth up to $100; plus you’ll save 20% on points purchases (an overlooked benefit when combined with regular sales and bonuses on points purchases). The IHG Rewards Premier Card is now subject to Chase’s 5/24 policy, which needs to be factored into your application strategy.
Our take: While the anniversary free night is now restricted to properties going for 40K and under, we still rank it one of the best free-night certificates available due to IHG’s massive global footprint and abundance of mid-tier hotels. The card provides a balanced array of perks for the $89 annual fee. The biggest drawback is that IHG's Platinum Elite status doesn’t quite measure up to mid-tier status with other hotel brands. Still, late checkout, 50% more points earned on paid stays, and occasional room upgrades are certainly better than nothing. IHG also offers a no-annual-fee card for folks that don’t want to pay the year-on-year fees of the IHG Rewards Premier Card.
Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card
- Earn 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- 6x points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
- 4x points at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. 2x points on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Enjoy complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status with your Card. Plus, earn Gold Elite status after making $35,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Terms apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 6x points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- 4x points at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping
- 2x points on all other purchases
Annual fee: $125 - Rates & Fees
Welcome offer: 75,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
Bonus categories: Earn 6x points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 4x points at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping, and 2x points on all other purchases.
Elite status benefits: Complimentary Silver Elite status, plus earn Gold Elite status after spending $35,000+ in a calendar year. You receive 15 elite night credits towards the next elite status tier each year (if you also hold a Marriott personal card, you'll receive an additional 15 elite night credits for a total of 30 each year).
Additional benefits: Anniversary free-night award valid at any Marriott Bonvoy property up to the value of 35,000 points.
Our take: While most folks point to the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card as the sweet spot for Marriott co-brand cards, we would argue that when you take application strategy into account, the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card is a better card to target.
Because this is a business card, it won’t count towards your 5/24 status with Chase. In other words, opening this card won’t make it harder to get Chase cards for the subsequent two years. If you don’t have the full lineup of Chase cards you want, this card is a great option because you can fill your 5/24 slots with Ultimate Rewards earning cards which we consider much more valuable in the long run.
If you are already over 5/24, (you’re not eligible for Chase cards), you can still get this card since it’s issued by Amex.
Radisson Rewards™ Business Visa® Card
Annual fee: $60
Welcome offer: Up to 85,000 bonus points – receive 50,000 points after your first purchase plus 35,000 points once you spend $2,500 on your card within the first 90 days.
Bonus categories: Earn 10x points per $1 at participating Radisson properties, plus 5x points per $1 everywhere else.
Elite status benefits: Complimentary Gold status after you activate and use your card. If you’ve already reached Gold or Platinum status, you will receive 15 qualifying nights toward obtaining or maintaining Platinum status after you activate and use your card instead.
Additional benefits: A Free Night E-Cert (valid for US properties only, see terms) for every $10K spent on the card, up to 3x free E-Cert’s per 12 month statement cycle; 40,000 point annual card renewal bonus when you renew your account (making at least the minimum payment by the due date printed on the account statement on which your annual fee is billed).
Our take: Again, another business card that neither counts towards 5/24, nor is it subject to 5/24. Radisson is an often overlooked rewards program in the US, as it doesn’t have the same footprint as its domestic counterparts. However, when traveling abroad, Radisson Rewards can provide a ton of value with hotels located in many popular destinations. The Radisson Rewards Business Visa features a low annual fee which is more than accounted for by the 40K annual renewal bonus.
Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card
Annual fee: $0
Welcome offer: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
Bonus categories: Earn 15x points at Choice Privileges properties and 2x points on all other purchases
Elite status benefits: Complimentary Elite Gold Status
Additional benefits: Earn 8,000 anniversary bonus points every year you spend $10,000 or more on purchases with your card by your account anniversary date.
Our take: We’re going out on a limb here and assuming the majority of U.S.-based points and miles fans don’t have this card foremost in their minds; however, if you look at the numbers, this card stacks up pretty well. With no annual fee, you get complimentary Gold status, and a small minimum spend to earn the welcome bonus.
Although 50,000 Choice points may not appear to be in the same league as welcome offers from Hilton or Marriott, it’s enough points to land you multiple free nights at over 1,000 Choice hotels priced at 8,000 points per night or less.
Choice Privileges hotels are plentiful in some regions with limited options from the big hotel brands. For example, in New Zealand, Choice has properties in 17 towns and cities compared with only 3 for Hilton and just 1 for Marriott.
Alternatives to Hotel Co-Brand Rewards Cards
While points and miles fans can extract a ton of value from co-brand hotel cards, they are not the only way to get free nights in hotels.
- Fixed-value rewards: Fixed-value points are a great way of wiping out the cost of accommodation, including hotels that don’t participate in major loyalty programs, and vacation rentals like Airbnb. You can earn fixed-value points with cards like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card.
- Flexible rewards: A handful of flexible rewards programs offer high-value transfers to hotel loyalty programs. For instance, Ultimate Rewards points earned with your Chase Sapphire Reserve® transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio.
Final Thoughts
Hotel rewards cards can be a key part of your points and miles strategy. In most cases, free-night certificates, annual-points bonuses, and elite status easily cover the annual fees, making these cards easy to keep for the long term.
Determining which hotel cards provide the most value can be tricky, so we recommend working backward from your travel goals and let the destination dictate the hotel chains available to you before you decide on an application strategy. And don’t overlook the benefits of utilizing online travel agencies such as Hotels.com, which can potentially provide better returns than traditional hotel loyalty programs when you swipe the right credit card at checkout.
Got a favorite hotel card we didn't cover? We would love to hear from you in the comments.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees), Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees), and Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Thanks for the good info. Hilton works well and I want to keep it going forward.
It’s a shame that the Capital One Venture card mentioned in this post is going to be discontinued. It has one of the most flexible rewards compared to the other cards mentioned.
We love Hyatt and will continue to hold on to the WOH card for the free night/status. The ability to transfer UR to Hyatt is also a huge plus!
Great summary. We are happy w/ the Marriott/SPG Amex card- glad to know it is still valued!
Thanks
This was a great brake down of all the different hotel awards.
I’ve got the Hilton Ascend card and really like it. The 6x points on groceries, gas, and restaurants make it much more useful for me than the Aspire card.
I recommend Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card.
High welcome gift and elite status.
Good card
Thanks for the comprehensive summary!
Amex Hilton Aspire gives the top tier as a diamond. All others gives only a mid-tier. So, it is worthy to look the aspire.
Thanks for the comprehensive summary.
Annual fees are fine if you get a free night. But SPG Amex rise in fees means the free night will devalue. So sad.
good article
really helped me to choose hotel card.
I feel what is missing is an AIRBNB sponsored credit card. With a growing family we have shifted our stays to airbnb type of “entire house” accommodations when possible. more space for the kids to run around, full kitchen, etc etc. hope to see something like that soon
We’re in the same boat. If Airbnb introduced a rewards card I’d jump on it in a heartbeat. Another program to check out is Wyndham Rewards. They offer Airbnb style vacation rentals you can book on points, and the program offers a better than average return. You can see the range of homes and condos on offer here – https://www.wyndhamvacationrentals.com/
You can at least link your Airbnb travel to Delta loyalty program.
Like Jess said, Wyndham great. Also chk out Extra Holidays by Wyndham for awesome deals on condos.
Awesome summary. “Must” read.
Thank you! Great article. I’m always interested in hearing more about maximizing in the hotel field. Hyatt is my favorite but has such a small footprint in America. I wish they had more hotels available.
Helpful info. Thanks for posting
Great explanation. Thank you!
Thanks for the summary. Too bad I missed out on WOH when 5/24 didn’t apply to it.
I can’t say enough how valuable the UR Hyatt transfer has been. Having the IHG card is also an easy way to still get rewards when work has you traveling to small towns where there is only a Holiday Inn Express.
I wish we had such a good range of cards and deals in the UK. IHG only offer 4 points per £ for IHG spend (compared to 2 points per £ for normal spend), and some of the other cards linked to hotels are currently closed to new applications.
So many of these cards have annual fees associated with them now. Asking $450 is a bit high, no?
You have to look at the benefits. Looking at the Hilton Aspire for instance, it’s $450 but you can get up to $250 airline credit (really easy to max out) and a $250 Hilton Resort credit (not the greatest value if it’s not something you would have done anyway but it’s a great perk). You also get Hilton Diamond status, Priority Pass Select, and a free weekend (Fri-Sun) night. It’s a steep entry fee but the benefits far more than outweigh the buy-in.
Think Costco. You can pay for the premier membership but if you use it right, you come out WAY ahead.
thanks for the breakdown, I might need to relook at getting a hotel based credit card sometime.
Nice analysis. I need to decide which Marriott/SPG/Bonvoy card to cut down to now that there is only 1 Elite Night bonus
Really helpful posts, I’ve been looking for hotel cards to compliment my airline miles cards
Great list of hotel reward cc. But I consider Radisson reward card signup bonus pretty weak.
Great article! Thank you!
This is a very helpful summary of all the best hotel rewards cards out there now!
Is there any card for Accor Hotels loyalty program?
Not here in the US, no.
So many of the best cards are from Chase!
Unfortunately, due to their 5/24 rule, just expanded to some of these cards.
Yeah, Amex is the only bank that comes close and for some it could be better and for some it won’t. I’m in the bucket that it won’t. Capital One is trying to enter the game but I don’t even know if you could say they are third. Bank of America has some cards where I might put them in third place.
I signed up here today in order to receive blog Points to my AAdvantage American Airline account, but didn’t realize all the info you have. I wish I had this 2 years ago before I made an excel spread sheet! I have many cards for many different company’s, Marriott has the most point but since i have received the Life Time elite status we don’t have to worry about them expiring, however in all, between my wife and i we have 17. So in ending i want to thank you, i will be using and reading your very useful web site quite frequently from now on. thanks again everyone!
I very much echo your comment. Found this through the points guy (I think) and have found some really good information here too.
Just what I was looking for as I’m looking to switch to a different hotel brand. Great comprehensive overview of all the different programs. Thank you!
It is useful to look up for top Hotel Rewards Cards for Earning Points and Free Nights.
It is too bad that the RC card is closed to new applicants.
I wonder whether the Radisson card allows you to receive preferential treatments at the properties in Scandinavia.
Great info. I don’t have any hotel cards yet but am looking at changing that.
Thanks for the overview!
Something not mentioned here that is related is using the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection (ihrcollection) which provides additional benefits when booking hotels like free breakfast, late checkouts etc. Best is to compare to prices to the prices IHR collection gives. You could be paying $10 additional on the IHR website but be getting a lot more in value. I think you have to have a Chase card to access.
I like my IHG card but am bummed they are offering less and less, especially limiting anniversary stay to 40k hotels. It’s really limits choices. I wish they would just give us 40k and then I could supplement. But oh well, I’ll mKe it work. Free is free. Thanks for the comparisons
Yeah, offering up to a max point value would be amazing if you could then use your own points to go over that limit.
Really, really thorough breakdown. Many thanks.
I have plenty of friends who can’t understand paying, say, $75 a year for a hotel credit card. But if I absolutely know I’m going to be staying many nights somewhere, obviously it makes sense to have a card where the fee is cheaper than going rates of any remotely decent hotel — let alone a good hotel.
Such a comprehensive summary. Thank you!
Wish IHG had a business card and the weren’t 5/24
This list just reminds me of how far behind Canada is in the hotel credit card market.
This is a great article. I have been needing so much help with how to maximize posts.
Chase Ritz Carlton is one of the best card which is missing here
While it’s a great card, unfortunately it’s no longer open to new applications.
The RC card can still be product changed to from a Marriott card.
I am not a fan of Airbnb at all.
Didn’t know Capital One Venture offered TSA pre-check credit. Love that perk. Going to consider. Thank you.
For our frequently traveling family of 4, managing ~40 award programs is a big effort. This website and its blog are very helpful in keeping these multiple programs under control, and in discovering new ones.
It would be great to see the best consumer and business card for each program since not everyone can get business cards.
Jess Farley, thanks a lot for the article post. Much thanks again. Fantastic.
Thanks, glad you found it useful.
Great posting! I currently have Hyatt, IHG, and Hilton cards but glad to learn more that there are additional cards to try! Thank you!
Well done. This is the greatest hotel card list out there now.
I need to check out the Radisson card. I noticed they have a lot of international locations.
This is really great info!
Great recap. Personally I still like the SPG card (although a little less since the changes)
I’ve been struggling with using last 5/24 slot for ihg or United (hate United but like partners)
Do you have CSP or CSR? Why get a United card if you have one of those? If not, you should use that as your fifth slot.
Great summary of all the myriad of hotel card options out there.
I’d sign up for any of them – but can’t..
Sapphire Reserve to Hyatt has always been quick easy and problem free
I think this particular advice will prove eye opening for many: “And don’t overlook the benefits of utilizing online travel agencies such as Hotels.com, which can potentially provide better returns than traditional hotel loyalty programs when you swipe the right credit card at checkout.”
I mean, there are benefits to both. Lots of travelers only go to large cities where sticking with any big international hotel chain will be more beneficial. If you’re off-the-beaten-path, Hotels.com might be better though.
Overall I’m loyal to Orbitz and then second to Hilton since my wife has the Aspire. We’ll use that when it make sense – which isn’t often but the card has great benefits and we reaped the 150,000 point signup bonus.
Agreed: especially in mid to smaller international cities where US Chain hotels don’t have much of a presence. Wells Fargo Propel (3%)+ Wells Fargo visa signature combo (4.5%) + hotels.com (10%) + Top cash back portal (4%) and (5%) when you buy a Hotels.com gift card on that portal. And no annual fee.
I have IHG card and in general I’m very happy with it.
Too bad about all those Chase cards, and their 5/24 policy.
I just find it so difficult to choose the right cards these days 🙂
I prefer the Hilton Aspire to the Ascend. The Annual Free Night requires no spending, and along with that, the other benefits like the annual airline credit and annual resort credit significantly offset the elevated annual fee… not to mention perpetual Diamond status. I can see how it still wouldn’t be for *everybody*, but that’s the better card in my book.
Same here. And throw in Priority Pass too and it’s a really good deal for people who travel often and/or live near an airport with a lounge.
awesome post. Too bad the best hotel card annual offer — IHG. Is now gone.
I like my Wyndham Fee card. The free 9k points/yr pays for the AF. The card offers great 5x bonus spend at Wyndhams & 2x on utilities (an often oveelooked category). And Barclays/Wyndham offer challenges throughout the year to rapidly accrue points.
Auto Platinum status at Wyndham Grands & Dolce has resulted in very nice stays.
Yes thats why I’m still paying an annual fee for some credit cards. I have a ihg , hyatt and spg cards.
All these annual fee is less than $300 but I got a free night reward every year and it is more valuable than $300.
Also, they give me a good tier and I enjoy a late check out!!
Nice rundown of the highlight offers.
You really need the credit cards to actually enjoy the hotel loyal program benefits these days.
I’m not sure if the SPG AmEx business card now qualifies as a good card, especially after the increased annual fee to $125. They increased the fee and the only benefit in return is to be able to “earn” an extra free night after $25 K in spending. that’s just lame.
Thank you for for this information. Even though I have the Hyatt and IHG credit cards for the free nights, my go to card is my CSR.
Capitalizing on the benefits of the Hilton Aspire, there is no reason to have the Ascend over the Aspire. It’s VERY easy to max out the airline fee and it’s slightly challenging to use the resort fee. You then get Priority Pass and other benefits.
Truth be told I don’t know if we’ll keep it long term, but we’d downgrade to the free card in that case and not the Ascend.
Thanks. Time to rebalance credit card portfolio.
Thank you for the comprehensive article. The advice about some of the lesser known programs here in the US is great for travel abroad.
Hilton aspire is no brainer. $450 for the fee. But $250 resort and $250 airlines together with 1 weekend free night certificate. It seems that aspire is better than ascend.
Don’t forget Priority Pass and Hilton Honors Diamond status. If you’re in a position to use the $250 credit (the resorts aren’t everywhere), this is truly a keeper card.
Interesting you consider the Hilton Ascend card as the best Hilton card.
That’s the only Hilton card I currently don’t have. :p
I agree the Choice credit card I have never even thought of! Well now another choice of what card to get this year. Or in addition,
I have seen comments about people possibly trying to switch from Marriott to another hotel because of the merger. Where as, I am now just looking at being more loyal to Marriott. With the merger do you belive it’s a better time to focus on Hilton , if I need more intl hotels, until Marriott is more settled or just ride it out during this time with Marriott?
I have the same question. Seems Marriott/SPG merger has included a good deal of devaluation.
If you were loyal to Marriott before, I’d probably ride it out. SPG properties should earn and use points at the same ratio compared to Marriott properties post-merger as pre-merger. Don’t make a knee jerk reaction. Everything will probably be fine.
Hotel rewards cards are something I have been burned with with Marriot taking so much time to transfer points…..good article. Thinking about how to use the free-night certificates…..
This is a great post – very helpful to see these cards compared and contrasted all in one place. Thanks.
I’ve been keeping my eye on the IHG card. I might be applying to one in the near future.
Good breakout of options – the annual fee still bothers us as we’re worried that we don’t travel enough to make up for it.
Great break down of the cards. Thanks.
Thank you very much! Very useful comparison. Though I prefer cards without annual fee but every once in a while I get one with fee when I’ve something particular in mind
Don’t let an annual fee scare you though. It’s like a Costco membership. You pay money to get in the door but you can come out ahead over shopping at Target. On the same hand if used wrong you can come out behind. And it’s fairly easy to justify getting a membership at one warehouse club, but two? Or three? The analogy holds up pretty good.
I am a huge fan of the IHG program with their special programs that they run to earn double aeroplan miles. The other part that I like is they still award points to travel agent special rates.
I’m still not sure about hotel cards. I have one, but it means I can only stay at that chain to get extra points! Using something like Hotels.com seems like a better deal.
Agreed. Getting locked in to a program means you lose. Something like the Amex Plat or CSR proves HIGHLY valuable as you can choose which program you want to transfer to. My wife has the Hilton Aspire and we never use it because Hilton points really just don’t appeal to either of us. We’ll be downgrading in the somewhat near future.
Good article. I’ve been not that happy with SPG/Marriott so back to Hyatt for me.