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Using points and miles for hotel stays is usually a straightforward affair. Determine your destination, plan out the points and miles needed. Then, design and execute a card application and spending strategy to earn the points. Lastly, book your free night stays.
But what happens if your destination has no hotels affiliated with a rewards program? Are you stuck paying cash? Or is there still a way of using rewards for non-reward hotels?
In short, you likely think of earning points with Marriott Bonvoy or World of Hyatt to redeem for hotel stays. But it's possible to use points and miles for hotels that aren't in a rewards program. Your strategy here will be different, obviously.
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Using Points to Book Hotels With No Rewards Program
If your travels take you to destinations where large hotel chains aren’t a thing — or you simply don’t want to stay at chain properties to experience more locally relevant options — there are still ways to take advantage of your rewards. Having flexible currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, or Citi ThankYou points comes in handy in situations like these.
You can find a hotel and book directly through American Express Travel® or the Chase Travel℠ Portal. Both portals allow you to book hotels. Depending on what cards you hold and the type of travel you're booking, points can provide up to 2¢ per point in value.
Best of all, using points in this way means you're not using cash. And it means you're using points to pay for a hotel where most people assume you can't book a night with points.
Book stays through a travel portal
Start by logging into your bank's travel portal and searching for a destination. Depending on the bank, you'll get varying values for your points, but the process should be similar. You'll see the price of your hotel in dollars and then the equivalent price in points. Once you go through the booking process, you'll be able to decide how many points you'd like to use for your stay and see how much you'll save.
We like doing this when we want to try a unique property that we wouldn't be earning points under normal circumstances, or if they're located in rural areas or off-the-beaten-path parts of countries that we go to.
For example, we recently booked a stay at the Maison Albar hotel, a boutique luxury hotel located in Nice, France. It's not part of Hilton, Marriott, or Hyatt and we wanted to use some of our Chase points. We found the dates we needed booking through the Chase Travel portal and used Ultimate Rewards points to offset the cost. It was located directly in the city center and was in perfect walking distance to everywhere we wanted to go.
Related: How To Receive Elite Hotel Benefits Without Elite Status
Redeem Fixed-Value Rewards and Cash Back Cards for Hotels & Airbnb
One solution to redeeming points when you can’t utilize your branded hotel points is using fixed-value bank rewards. These include points earned with the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card or Capital One miles from the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Using these rewards is as simple as paying for your accommodation using the card and then redeeming your rewards against the cost of the stay as a statement credit.
There are a few restrictions. With the Capital One Venture, the purchase needs to code as travel to qualify for the statement credit. Otherwise, you'll need to redeem your rewards as cash back (which yields less value). With the Bank of America Premium Rewards Card, you'll choose to redeem your points as cash via statement credit or a direct deposit to an eligible Bank of America account.
Other options for fixed-value rewards exist, such as the U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card, or using a card that earns cash back.
Earning Points at Hotels With No Rewards Program
Many major banks offer bonus points for travel bookings. Citi, Chase, and Capital One all have travel portals. Capital One and Citi have offered 10x points for most hotels booked directly through their travel portals. You can earn large amounts of flexible points this way. Then, these points can be redeemed for travel later.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 5x points per dollar spent via the Chase Travel portal and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers up to 10x points per dollar spent through that same travel portal.
Since these bank portals have access to many hotels that are not part of hotel chains like Hilton and Marriott, they often include other properties that might have never made your radar if you were simply looking to redeem your standard hotel points.
Double dipping
Credit card travel programs like The Edit from Chase allow you to earn credit card points for the purchase and in some cases also earn hotel points for select stays. When you go through the booking flow, make sure to look for specific rates that will call out your ability to earn hotel points as well for the stay.
It's also possible to “double dip” by earning rewards in more than one program during your stay. For example, you can earn British Airways Avios on Airbnb stays and earn United miles on Vrbo stays. You need to book stays through a specific website to qualify. That means these may not trigger the portal bonuses mentioned above, but they present another option for earning extra.
Other Ways to Save
If there's something we like to do in the points and miles space, it's thinking outside of the box. While these aren't exactly ways to use credit card rewards for your stay, you might find ways to save money or earn extra rewards using some of these tips.
Cash back portals
You might be familiar with sites like TopCashBack or Rakuten to earn cash back or points on online shopping purchases. But did you know that some online travel agencies will also offer you cash back or bonus points for using the travel portal?
Depending on the time of year and the specific portal, you can earn bonus rewards just by using a shopping portal. For example, at the time of writing, TopCashBack is currently offering a 10% bonus on all completed stays booked via Hotels.com. If you stack this with a card like the Citi Strata Premier® Card that earns 3 ThankYou Points per dollar spent on hotel bookings, you're earning a huge return on your hotel stays.
We’ll run through a simple example of how you could potentially stack a stay booked via Hotels.com:
- Click through to Hotels.com via a portal like CashbackMonitor.com and earn up to 10% cash back (offers can change; this offer was available at the time of publication).
- Find discount/offer codes via coupon and retail sites, such as the hotel deals from Groupon.
- Pay with a Sapphire Reserve earning Ultimate Rewards points and/or receive $300 back each year as a travel credit.
- Earn OneKeyCash through the shared rewards program between Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo.
Offer codes
Those same travel sites like Hotels.com and Booking.com will often offer special codes that give you a percentage off your stays. Another option to look for offer codes is by using a shopping portal like Capital One Shopping. Just install the plug-in into your browser, and it will attempt multiple offer codes to try to save you as much as possible.
Travel credits
Many credit cards offer some sort of travel credit. While the amounts vary from card to card and there are differences in what each issuer considers when applying those credits, they can all help you save on your bookings.
Chase's annual travel credit offered through its Chase Sapphire Reserve® card is the broadest, giving $300 back on your travel purchases charged to your card.
- Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Get more than $2,700 in annual value with Sapphire Reserve.
- Earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, including The Edit℠ and 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct. Plus, earn 3x points on dining worldwide & 1x points on all other purchases
- $300 annual travel credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with a complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership, plus every Chase Sapphire Lounge® by The Club with two guests. Plus, up to $120 towards Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck® every 4 years
- Get up to $150 in statement credits every six months for a maximum of $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and more.
- Get complimentary Apple TV+, the exclusive streaming home of Apple Originals. Plus Apple Music - all the music you love, across all your devices. Subscriptions run through 6/22/27 - a value of $250 annually
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on dining worldwide
- 1x points on all other purchases
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers a $300 travel credit as well, but only for bookings made directly in the travel portal.
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
The American Express Platinum Card® offers a $600 Fine Hotels + Resorts® credit (up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually) when booking selected hotels directly through American Express Travel®, and the American Express® Gold Card also provides $100 off a two-night stay on select hotels as well.
- You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you're approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount - all with no credit score impact. If you're approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Get more for your travels with 5X Membership Rewards® points on all flights and prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel®, including Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings. You earn 5X points on flights purchased directly from airlines or through American Express Travel® on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
- More Value! With over 1,550 airport lounges - more than any other credit card company on the market* - enjoy the benefits of the Global Lounge Collection®, over $850 of annual value, with access to Centurion Lounges, 10 complimentary Delta Sky Club® visits when flying on an eligible Delta flight (subject to visit limitations), Priority Pass Select membership (enrollment required), and other select partner lounges. * As of 07/2025.
- More Value! $200 Uber Cash + $120 Uber One Credit: With the Platinum Card® you can receive $15 in Uber Cash each month plus a bonus $20 in December when you add your Platinum Card® to your Uber account to use on rides and orders in the U.S when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Plus, when you use the Platinum Card® to pay for an auto-renewing Uber One membership, you can get up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year. Terms apply.
- More Value! $300 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $25 in statement credits each month after you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card® at participating partners. Enrollment required.
- More Value! $600 Hotel Credit: Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection* bookings through American Express Travel® using the Platinum Card®. *The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
- New! $400 Resy Credit + Platinum Nights by Resy: When you use the Platinum Card® to pay at U.S. Resy restaurants and to make other eligible purchases through Resy, you can get up to $100 in statement credits each quarter with the $400 Resy Credit benefit. Plus, with Platinum Nights by Resy, you can get special access to reservations on select nights at participating in demand Resy restaurants with the Platinum Card®. Simply add your eligible Card to your Resy profile to book and discover Platinum Nights reservations near you, enrollment required.
- More Value! $209 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps get you to your gate faster by using unique facial attributes to verify you are you at 50+ airports nationwide. You can cover the cost of a CLEAR Plus Membership* with up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for CLEAR Plus with the Platinum Card®. *Excluding any applicable taxes and fees. Subject to auto-renewal.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to the Platinum Card® Account*. American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details.
- Start your vacation sooner, and keep it going longer. When you book Fine Hotels + Resorts® through American Express Travel®, enjoy noon check-in upon arrival, when available, and guaranteed 4PM check-out.
- New! $300 lululemon Credit: Enjoy up to $75 in statement credits each quarter when you use the Platinum Card® for eligible purchases at U.S. lululemon retail stores (excluding outlets) and lululemon.com. That's up to $300 in statement credits each calendar year. Enrollment required.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Receive a statement credit* for one monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) after you pay for Walmart+ each month with the Platinum Card®. *Up to $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Ups not eligible.
- $100 Saks Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com on the Platinum Card®. That's up to $50 in statement credits from January through June and up to $50 in statement credits from July through December. No minimum purchase required. Enrollment required.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- $895 annual fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- Earn 5X points on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings.
The credits can be cumbersome to use in many cases. But a discount off the cost of the hotel is a win, no matter how you look at it.
Gift cards
It's also worth looking for discounted gift cards for some of these OTAs. For example, if you find a $100 Hotels.com gift card on sale for $90 at your local supermarket, you could buy it with a card that earns extra rewards at grocery stores (such as the American Express® Gold Card). On top of earning points from your purchase, you'd get $10 off and still could follow the strategies above to tack on extra rewards or discounts when booking online.
Related: Does OneKeyCash (Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo) Expire?
Final Thoughts
Just because there aren't chain hotels at your destination doesn’t mean you can't pay for your hotel with points. You can still use points, miles, and cash back to offset the cost of hotels and other accommodations. This makes hard-to-reach or unique locations that much more affordable and well within the range of most travelers.
You might need to get creative instead of redeeming points at the time of booking like you normally would. Other options include using rewards that you can redeem after the fact, paying with your card, and then applying credit to reduce or eliminate these charges from your credit card statement.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), and American Express Platinum 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.
