Sometimes you don’t quite have enough points for a free night redemption, in which case a Points + Cash award can still help save you a ton of cash. Or perhaps you’re trying to stretch your hard-earned hotel points further, you want to earn elite credit for your stay, or apply a suite upgrade to your stay – all of these scenarios present great opportunities to take advantage of points + cash bookings. While the cash co-pay is usually a fraction of the paid rate, that’s no reason to slack when it comes to getting the most points out of it possible. So which credit card should you use for Points + Cash bookings? Here are my picks:
Co-branded Hotel Credit Cards
All hotel credit cards offer bonus points for charging hotel stays from that particular chain to the co-branded credit card. The bonus ranges from 2 – 10 points per $1 spent, depending on the chain. The Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature Card offers the highest bonus at 10 points per $1 spent. It’s not just the highest bonus in terms of number, but also in relation to award chart redemption levels. At 10 points per $1 spent, it takes just $300 – $2,333 worth of spending to earn a free night at a Club Carlson hotel – this takes into account the 20 points per $1 that all Club Carlson members earn through the program (excluding elite bonuses). Here’s a list of hotel credit cards and the payouts they offer on hotel spending within their respective chains:
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Club Carlson(SM) Premier Rewards Visa Signature® Card
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$75 first year
$75 after first year |
50,000 Gold Points After your first purchase Read Review » |
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Club Carlson(SM) Premier Rewards Visa Signature® Card |
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Club Carlson
- Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature Card (10 points per $1)
- Club Carlson Business Rewards Visa Card (10 points per $1)
- Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature Card (6 points per $1)
Fairmont
- The Fairmont Visa Signature Card (5 points per $1)
Hyatt
- Hyatt Credit Card (3 points per $1)
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The Hyatt Credit Card
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$0 intro first year
$75 annual fee |
2 free nights at any Hyatt property After spending $1,000 within the first 3 months Read Review » |
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The information for the The Hyatt Credit Card has been collected independently by FTG. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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The Hyatt Credit Card |
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| Read Review Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
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The information for the The Hyatt Credit Card has been collected independently by FTG. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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IHG
- IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card (5 points per $1)
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IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card
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$0 intro first year
$49 annual fee |
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. Read Review » |
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The information for the IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card has been collected independently by FTG. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card |
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| Read Review Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
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The information for the IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card has been collected independently by FTG. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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Hilton
- Hilton HHonors Surpass Card from American Express (12 points per $1)
- Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card (10 points per $1)
- Hilton HHonors Card from American Express (7 points per $1)
- Hilton HHonors Card from American Express (7 points per $1)
- Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card (6 points per $1)
Hilton HHonors™ Surpass® Card from American Express
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$75 after first year
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Read Review »
Hilton HHonors™ Surpass® Card from American Express
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Sign Up Bonus
$75 after first year
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Annual Fee
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Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card
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$95 first year
$95 after first year |
2 weekend night certificates After $2,500 in purchases within 4 months of account opening Read Review » |
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Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
Marriott
- Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card (5 points per $1)
- Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (5 points per $1)
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Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card
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$85 annual fee
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80,000 Points After spending $3,000 in your first 3 months Read Review » |
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The information for the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by FTG. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card |
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| Read Review Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
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The information for the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by FTG. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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Ritz Carlton
- The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card (5 points per $1)
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The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card
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$0 intro first year
$395 annual fee |
A complimentary night stay at any tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton hotel After you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Read Review » |
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The information for the The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card has been collected independently by FTG. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card |
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| Read Review Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
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The information for the The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card has been collected independently by FTG. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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Starwood
- Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (2 points per $1)
- Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express (2 points per $1)
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Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
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$0 first year
$95 after first year |
25,000 Bonus Starpoints® After you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months Read Review » |
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Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
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Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
Add to Favorites
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$0 first year
$95 after first year |
25,000 bonus Starpoints® After you use your Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Read Review » |
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Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.
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Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
Barclay Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard
The Barclay Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard used to be my go-to credit card for all travel spending, but that’s not the case now that eligible travel charges must be a minimum of $100. If you have a Points + Cash rate with a co-pay over $100 (i.e. 10,000 points + $125 cash at a Category 5 Hyatt), then charging it to the Barclay Arrival card can be a great option. You’ll not only earn 2 points per $1, but you’ll get a 10% redemption rebate. The best part? If you don’t quite have enough miles to redeem, Barclay gives you 120 days after purchase to save up and redeem miles for travel charges.
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Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®
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$0 first year
$89 after first year |
40,000 bonus miles When you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days Read Review » |
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Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
Discover It Miles Card
The Discover It Miles Card is one of my favorites at the moment, thanks to the 3 miles (i.e. 3% cash back) per $1 it earns during the first year. The great thing about this card is that unlike with the Barclay Arrival card, there are no minimum redemption levels. I’ve redeemed miles for Uber charges under $15 as well as airline award taxes and fees over $100. Cardholders can either apply their miles for a travel purchase (which is effectively a statement credit) or they can opt to have the cash directly sent to a designated bank account. This flexibility makes the Discover It Miles card a great choice for Points + Cash redemptions.
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Discover it® Miles - Double Miles your first year
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$0 first year
$0 after first year |
Double Miles Double all the Miles you've earned at the end of your first year Read Review » |
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Discover it® Miles - Double Miles your first year |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
Citi Prestige Card
The Citi Prestige Card earns a very respectable 3 points per $1 spent on travel. Citi ThankYou points can be incredibly valuable. If you’ve got your eye on a Singapore Suites award, for example, the sign-up bonus from the card along with the accelerated earning rate for travel purchases can help you get there faster.
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Citi Prestige® Card
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$450 first year
$450 after first year |
40,000 Points After $4,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open. Read Review » |
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Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.
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Citi Prestige® Card |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Of the two Sapphire cards (the other being the Sapphire Preferred), the new Chase Sapphire Reserve offers the highest payout on travel at 3 points per $1 spent. Points earned with the Sapphire Reserve are worth 1.5 cents each towards travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal. Considering cardholders will receive an annual $300 statement credit towards travel bookings, this is a great card to use for points + cash awards.
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Add to Favorites
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$0 intro first year
$95 annual fee |
Earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $625 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® Read Review » |
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Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
My personal preference is to charge Points + Cash stays to the Discover card these days thanks to the increased earnings rate and the lack of redemption limits. However, if the charge is over $100 and I have a large stash of Arrival Miles, I’ll usually charge these stays to my Arrival Plus card. I prefer a card that allows me to both earn and redeem points for Points + Cash bookings, so these are primarily the cards I stick to.
I’d love your feedback – which credit card do you normally use for Points + Cash bookings?
[Image via Getty]