Compare the Best Hotel Rewards Credit Card

Why Choose a Hotel Credit Card?

One of the main reasons people choose to use credit cards is to book vacations, particularly when it comes to travel accommodations such as hotels. However, we all know that travel, especially staying in hotels, can be quite expensive. Luckily, there are loyalty programs available that can help customers earn rewards and even book free nights. These loyalty programs often collaborate with major credit card issuers in the industry to offer co-branded credit cards. By using these credit cards, account holders can earn additional reward points for every dollar they spend. In some cases, these credit cards may even provide extra perks during their hotel stays.

A hotel credit card can offer various benefits to its users. For instance, it may provide free nights as a welcome bonus, on account anniversaries, or as a reward for meeting certain spending requirements. These credit cards may also offer perks like complimentary breakfast, enhanced Wi-Fi, or late check-out. Furthermore, they may provide other exclusive benefits that are not available to regular customers who do not hold a hotel credit card.

How Do Hotel Credit Cards Work?

Hotel credit cards work by allowing you to earn points for staying at hotels. However, there are a few more details to consider. Hotel rewards credit cards are typically associated with a specific hotel chain, such as Hyatt, Hilton, Radisson, or Best Western. Staying at these chains will earn you additional rewards.

In addition to hotel stays, many hotel rewards cards also offer extra rewards for purchases in select categories. These categories can include dining, gas stations, grocery stores, and more. Businesses can also benefit from bonus categories, which may include advertising, shipping, air travel, and others. Some business credit cards even offer personal bonus categories, such as grocery stores and restaurants.

The rewards points earned through hotel cards can be used for various awards, including cash back, merchandise, gift cards, flights with airline partners, and car rentals with partners.

Furthermore, hotel cards often come with sign-up bonuses. These bonuses are typically earned after making a minimum number of purchases within a certain timeframe after card membership. For example, you might need to spend $3,000 on purchases within a calendar month to qualify for the bonus. Generally, the spending requirements for these bonuses are either 90 days or one year.

Benefits of Hotel Credit Cards

Hotel credit cards offer a variety of benefits for cardholders. Similar to airline credit cards and travel cards, hotel rewards cards often come with generous signup bonuses. These bonuses typically include points, which can be worth as much as $1,000, as well as free nights each year. Hotel cards also provide complimentary upgrades, statement credits, and airport and travel perks.

Moreover, hotel cards offer exceptional value for those who are loyal to a specific hotel chain. By staying with brands within the chain, cardholders can earn additional points for every dollar spent, leading to more free nights. Participating stays also result in higher tiers in the hotel loyalty programs, which offer upgrades, free Wi-Fi, complimentary stays, late check-out, and more.

Furthermore, credit cards from major names in hospitality and gaming provide an excellent opportunity to maximize rewards for various categories such as travel, airfare, car rental, dining, and groceries. Gambling and gaming credit cards cover well-known brands like MGM and Caesars and unexpected names like Royal Caribbean or Sandals.

What Hotels Offer Hotel Credit Cards?

You might be surprised how many co-branded hotel rewards cards are on the market in the United States. If you can imagine a loyalty program, you can probably apply for a credit card for it – here are all the hotel loyalty programs that offer a U.S. personal or business credit card:

What to Look for with Hotel Rewards Credit Cards

Card issuer features are credit card perks, benefits, and security protections specific to the bank or credit card type. American Express, Visa, and Mastercard all offer unique in-house features to cardholders. These features also vary depending on the level – or tier – of credit card in the payment network hierarchy.

Here are some of the more critical features to look out for when deciding on a co-branded hotel credit card:

Other Things to Look for

Annual Fee

Many co-branded credit cards come with “free” and “premium” versions. Premium versions come with an annual fee of between $50 and $495, with an average yearly charge around $95 (such as the impressive Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card).

Free versions are also known as no annual fee hotel cards. These cards offer rewards at a lower rate than premium cards but without a yearly membership fee – with one prominent example being the Hilton Honors American Express Card.

Should you apply for a no annual fee hotel card or opt for the premium version?

No annual fee credit cards offer a hassle-free way to expedite your earnings within your favorite hotel loyalty program. Since they don’t require any out-of-pocket fees, these types of cards are perfect for folks who may not travel enough to warrant paying for hotel-related perks.

The easiest way to determine whether applying for a card with an annual fee is right for you is to:

1. Examine your current traveling habits
2. Check if your spending levels match the minimums that the premium card requires to qualify for bonus points after spending that amount in the first months of card membership.

How to downgrade to a no annual fee version of a hotel credit card

An alternative reason why you might consider a hotel card with no annual fee is that your travel needs are changing. Whether you were traveling for business or pleasure, if you’re not flying to destinations as often, you may find no longer need the premium paid version of a hotel credit card or that you are unable to take advantage of the perks the card offers you.

If you find yourself in this boat, downgrading to a no-annual fee card is an excellent alternative to closing a credit card – the account stays open (which is good for your average age of credit). Still, you are no longer obligated to pay the costs of the premium card.

Whether you want to upgrade or downgrade your credit card, simply call the card issuer and let them know. The one caveat, however, is that you may not be eligible to earn the card’s signup bonus to which you are switching.

Interest Rates and Other Fees

Hotel cards typically have higher interest rates than other credit cards due to the number of incentives and rewards possibilities included. In exchange for the bonuses offered, hotel credit cards often charge annual fees, which can range from around $50 to $400+. However, the annual fee is often offset by the card’s perks. Some cards waive the annual charge for the first year. Taking advantage of every possible benefit can help erase the annual fee’s sting and increase the card’s overall value. 

No Foreign Transaction Fees

If a significant source of your credit card bonus points come from a hotel stay or travel-related purchases that are generated abroad, then choosing a hotel credit card with no foreign transaction fees is a necessity. Credit cards with this feature allow international travelers to work – or play – and swipe outside of the United States without any penalty charges.

What are foreign transaction fees?

Foreign transaction fees are charges from card issuers for transactions at non-U.S. retailers. However, these fees occur for more than physically paying with your credit card overseas. Foreign transaction fees include online purchases to foreign companies, ATMs, or currency conversion fees.

Currency conversion fees occur when the payment networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, etc.) charge the card issuer (Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.) a processing fee. Typically, 1% of each U.S. dollar spent. While currency conversion fees are not the same as foreign transaction fees, they are often included together on a credit card statement.

Tips for Using Credit Cards Abroad:

• Be careful of foreign ATMs as they sometimes carry an international surcharge in addition to the ATM fee
• Notify your card issuer before your departure, the unfamiliar location could be flagged as suspicious activity and potentially cause your card to be canceled – leaving you financially stranded in a foreign country
• Check whether your card allows you to earn rewards for international purchases

Targeted Offers

Credit card companies, as well as hotel and airline loyalty programs, often offer exclusive promotions to their customers that are invite-only. Card issuers offer these discounts on criteria like credit history, spending habits, and geographic location.

The metrics used to determine who gets what offer vary by the credit card company, but unless you have an excellent credit score, clean credit history, and are actively using revolving credit (and are a member of the rewards program that’s being targeted), you may not see a targeted offer in your mailbox.

Helpful Hotel Terms to Know

Here are some useful hotel credit card terms and benefits you should understand before applying:

Early Check-in and Late Check-out

Flexibility is important when traveling, as itineraries can change due to flight delays, traffic, or bad weather. Missing a flight or a connection, or a train that’s running late can mean you miss the window you’ve scheduled to check-in at a hotel; perhaps you spent the evening enjoying a few drinks, or after celebrating a friend’s wedding and you got back to your room.

Common Hotel Check-In Policies

On average, hotel guests can expect to arrive at their hotel and check-in to the room they’ve booked beginning at 3 or 4 pm. Hotels typically require guests to vacate the room they are in by noon on the day they are scheduled to check out, and each room needs to be cleaned and “turned over” by the hotel staff to ensure the next occupant (you) receives a room up to the hotel’s standards.

When you arrive at your hotel before your scheduled check-in time, you’ll likely want to check in to your room so you can drop off your bags and relax a bit. Unless you’ve called ahead, odds are you will not be able to access your room immediately.

Although you can leave your bags with the hotel concierge and explore your destination while you wait for your room to be ready, you’ll need to return at your scheduled time in order to get into your room. This inconvenience can be avoided with proper planning – and by leveraging hotel loyalty programs, along with co-branded credit cards.

When you join a hotel rewards program, either via a co-branded credit card or directly, you open the door to a variety of suite, exclusive benefits not available to the average customer – and depending on the program, early check-in (when available) is at the top of that list.

Common Hotel Check-Out Policies

As mentioned above, noon is a standard check-out time with many hotels, although technically guests will notice that unless they request a later check-out time they will be asked to turn in their keys as early as 10 am. A late check-out time is not standard fare for most hotel guests and must be requested at check-in. However, participation in hotel loyalty programs often will grant members automatic late check-out times as a perk not available to guests who are not a member of the rewards program.

If you have a co-branded credit card that offers rewards points for spending money, you may also be eligible for a late check-out time, if the hotel whose card you use offers it as part of their loyalty program. Check the fine print for your co-branded credit card for more details.

Room Upgrades

Travelers employ many strategies to score a free room upgrade; sometimes, all you need to do is ask nicely! Fortune favors the bold – hotels often reserve special treatment for guests who are polite when requesting their upgrade, and it never hurts to ask – if you don’t ask for a room upgrade, odds are you won’t automatically be given the keys to that penthouse suite.

While it pays to be proactive, your best bet when looking for a room upgrade is to participate in that hotel’s loyalty program.

Some hotels will automatically bump you up to a higher room category based on your membership to their rewards program, while others allow you to cash in points in exchange for a nicer room.

Free Breakfast

The only thing better than waking up in a hotel swathed in the buttery soft sheets with sunlight poking through the window in a beautiful new place is starting your journey with a delicious free breakfast provided by your hotel.

Some loyalty programs offer complimentary breakfasts. While this perk may not be explicitly offered as one of the card’s features, many co-branded hotel cards provide automatic membership upgrades within their loyalty programs. Here’s who offers free breakfast:

How to Maximize Hotel Rewards Points

Beyond amazing perks, such as complimentary night stays early check-in and late check-out, or free breakfast, one of the best parts of hotel rewards programs is the fantastic value for money members get for their points. Hotel rewards points are applicable for room upgrades, free nights, or other hotel-centric perks. These points also apply to flights with participating airline partners. Getting the most value for money with hotel loyalty points requires an understanding of what each point is worth, as well as what partner points can be transferred.

FAQs

Many questions arise when considering applying for a hotel credit card.  Here are some of the more commonly asked questions concerning hotel cards, loyalty programs, and: