There are lots of great hotel rewards credit cards out there, each one designed to meet the needs of different travelers. Some people want a card with a generous sign-up bonus, others may want specific travel perks or both! There are lots of things to take into consideration when looking for a hotel rewards credit card. Below is an overview of the best hotel credit card benefits:
Best Hotel Elite Status Benefit
Hands, down the best hotel elite status benefit comes with the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve and Amex Hilton Surpass credit cards. Both cards offer Hilton HHonors Gold elite status, which is the best mid-level elite status offered by any hotel rewards program. HHonors Gold comes with perks that rival most other reward programs’ top-tier elite benefits: Complimentary breakfast, wifi, late checkout, room upgrades upon availability, and tons of bonus points.
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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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I myself have been both a Hilton Gold and Diamond member and have always been treated very well on both levels. I have been upgraded to either a suite or executive club room on every single Hilton hotel stay — even that time I booked a $25 mistake rate at the Hilton San Francisco Financial District when paid rates were over $400 per night. My favorite thing about these upgrades is that a lot of times, the front desk representative didn’t even tell me about it – I walked into the room to discover I’d been upgraded.
Best Ability to Spend Your Way to Top-Tier Elite
If you’re not content with having mid-tier hotel status, several hotel credit cards offer you a chance to spend your way to top-tier elite status. Some of these offers are pretty lackluster, but there are a few worth mentioning. As you can probably guess, the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve and Amex Hilton Surpass credit cards win this category because cardholders who spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year get upgraded to Hilton HHonors Diamond status. If you’re looking to earn Marriott Platinum status, there’s a cheaper option than spending $180,000 on the co-branded Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card: Putting $75,000 worth of spend on the Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card gets you the same prize.
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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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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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Best Annual Free Night Offer
The best annual free night offer goes to the IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card. This card has long been a favorite for its $49 annual fee, which gets you a free annual night at any IHG Rewards Club hotel worldwide. There is no weekend night or category restriction: You can redeem your annual free night at an airport Holiday Inn or the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand.
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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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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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Best Category Bonus/Earnings Rate
The Hilton HHonors Surpass Card offers some of the most generous bonuses. Cardholders earn 3 points per $1 on all spending; 6 points per $1 at supermarkets, restaurants, and gas stations; and 12 points per $1 at Hilton hotels. Based on these earnings rates, it takes just $416.67 – $1,666.67 worth of spending to earn a free night at a Category 1 hotel. The best card for earning a top-tier award is the Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature Card, which earns 10 points per $1 at Club Carlson hotels and 5 points on all other spending. At this rate, it takes just $7,000 – $14,000 worth of credit card spending to earn a free night at a top-tier Category 7 hotel. However, one card that might beat them all is the Wyndham Rewards Visa Signature Card. The card earns 5 points per $1 at hotels and 2 points everywhere else. Since Wyndham requires just 15,000 points at all properties, it takes just $3,000 – $7,500 to earn a free night at a property like the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach.
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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 Lounge Access
This is kind of a tricky category because lounge access normally depends on elite status, but since none of the mid-tier elite status levels guarantee lounge access, we’ll instead focus on credit cards that do offer some type of lounge access (airport and hotels). The Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express gets cardholders Sheraton Club Lounge access, the Hilton HHonors Surpass Card from American Express includes Priority Pass membership, and the Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card comes with Lounge Club membership. It’s also worth noting that the Ritz Carlton card offers three complimentary Club Level upgrades, which are good for up to seven nights. The best benefit really depends on your travel needs, but I’m going with Ritz Carlton on this one.
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Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
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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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Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express |
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Other Travel Perks
Staying connected is important while you’re traveling and two credit cards make that particularly easy. Both the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and the business version of the card offer cardholders access to an exclusive unlimited Boingo plan. The Ritz Carlton card is another standout in this category, offering a $100 hotel credit on paid stays of two nights or longer, along with an annual $300 travel credit good towards Global Entry and airline fees.
Which hotel credit cards do you think offers the best benefits?
[Image via Getty]