Co-branded hotel credit cards are great for earning points that you can redeem for free nights. Many of these cards come with perks like elevated status, early check-in or late check-out, room upgrades, and free breakfast. Some of these cards even include a free night after hitting a spending tier or renewing your card each year.
If you’re a frequent guest of a particular hotel brand or targeting a stay in a destination or just want to use your everyday bills and expenses to earn hotel rewards, consider a hotel credit card to enhance your stay and your travel reward possibilities!
Best Hotel Credit Cards
The World of Hyatt Credit Card
Current Welcome Bonus: 30,000 Hyatt points after spending $3,000 on your card within the first 3 months of opening your card. Plus, earn 2x for every dollar you spend (on purchases that would normally earn just 1x per dollar) up to $15,000 in the first 6 months of being a cardholder for the possibility to earn another 30,000 Hyatt points.
Favorite Card Features:
- Earn a category 1-4 free night every year for your card anniversary
- Earn another category 1-4 free night if you spend $15k during your cardholder year
- 9x on Hyatt purchases
- 2x on restaurants, gym memberships, commuter transit costs, and airfare booked with the airline
- 1x on all other purchases
- Hyatt Discoverist status + 5 qualifying night credits every year
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $95
Hyatt points are one of the most valuable travel rewards currency to earn and that’s saying a lot! Hotel points are generally valued at less than a cent per point. Hyatt points are double, even triple the value of other hotel programs.
Hyatt has more than 900 properties in 65 countries around the world. Hyatt’s award chart is broken into off-peak, standard, and peak pricing. Nevertheless, the cost of free nights at many of their upscale hotels remains reasonable.
This is one of my favorite cards to keep in my wallet. Everyday spending in $5k increments earns 2 elite nights and $15k in a calendar year earns another free night.
IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Best Ever Offer! Earn 175,000 IHG points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months.
Favorite Card Features:
- Earn a reward night each card anniversary at eligible hotels up to 40k points per night + earn a reward night when you redeem IHG points for a consecutive 4-night stay
- 26x on IHG purchases
- 5x on restaurants, gas, and travel
- 3x on all other purchases
- 4th night free on award stays
- $100 Credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck
- Platinum Elite status
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $99
IHG points are so handy to have! IHG has a large global footprint of properties including well-known brands like Holiday Inn Express and Intercontinental. The IHG Premier card also gives the 4th reward night free, and should you have the IHG Select card (no longer available), your 4-night stay can be stacked with the 10% refund on redeemed points.
My IHG points have come in handy especially on road trips and in National Park gateway towns, where prices can be high in season! My all-time favorite Holiday Inn Express is in Springdale, Utah…the entrance to Zion National Park.
IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card
Current Welcome Bonus: 120,000 IHG points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months.
Favorite Card Features:
- 17x on IHG purchases (5x from the card & 10x as an IHG Loyalty Member)
- 3x on monthly bills, restaurants, gas,
- 1x on all other purchases
- 4th night free on award stays
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $0
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Limited Time Offer! Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account.
Favorite Card Features:
- Earn up to 17x the Marriott points at Marriott hotels
- 3x on gas, grocery purchases, and dining up to a combined $6,000 every year
- 2x on all other purchases
- Earn a free night each year at hotels up to 35k points per night for your account anniversary
- Get 1 Elite Night for every $5,000 spent on the card
- Silver Elite Status
- Trip protection for delays and lost baggage
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $95
I love that Marriott Bonvoy points can be used to redeem for hotel nights, but can also be transferred to 40+ airline transfer partners. Among these partners are Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, both of which aren’t accessible through any other flexible points program.
Marriott also has thousands of hotels around the world, some of which are bound to be in your bucket list destinations!
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Limited Time Offer! Earn 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months.
Favorite Card Features:
- Earn up to 14x the Marriott points for every $1 spent on Marriott hotels
- 2x on travel, 1x on all other purchases
- Silver Elite status and 15 elite night credits each year
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $0
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account.
Favorite Card Features:
- Earn 6x the Marriott points at Marriott hotels
- 4x at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets up to $15k on combined purchases in a calendar year (2x thereafter)
- 2x on all other purchases
- Gold Elite Status
- Earn a free night each year at hotels up to 85k points per night for your account anniversary
- Earn 1k Marriott Bonvoy Points for each eligible paid stay
- Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each year
- Terms Apply
Annual Fee: $250
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account.
Favorite Card Features:
- Get up to $300 in statement credits ($25 monthly) each card renewal year at restaurants worldwide
- Earn 6x the Marriott points at Marriott hotels
- 3x at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with the airline
- 2x on all other purchases
- Earn a free night each year at hotels up to 85k points per night for your account anniversary
- Receive a $100 statement credit every 4.5 years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Priority Pass Select Membership
- Cell phone protection up to $800 when you use the card to pay the wireless bill in at least the prior month
- When you spend $60k on eligible purchases in a calendar year, cardholders earn an Earned Choice Award Benefit. Benefit choices include an 85k Free Night Award, a 5 Suite Night Awards, or $1,000 towards a Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques mattress and box spring set.
- No foreign Exchange Fees
- Terms Apply
Annual Fee: $695
Hilton Honors American Express Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Limited Time Offer! Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $2,000 in the first 6 months as a cardholder. Offer ends 4/5/23.
Favorite Card Features:
- 7x on Hilton purchases
- 5x on U.S. grocery and U.S. gas spending
- 3x on other eligible purchases
- Hilton Silver status
- No foreign Exchange Fees (See rates & fees details)
- Terms Apply
Annual Fee: $0
I’ve enjoyed so many stays at Hilton properties around the world and they’ve been made even better with the Hilton status that comes with my co-branded credit card! Plus, I love that this card earns bonus points for grocery spending.
The highest-tier Hilton properties cost a lot of points per night, but Hilton’s low to mid-level hotels can cost just 10k-30k points per night. Maximize the 5th-night free benefit and you can save serious points and dollars on your next trip.
Hotel Business Credit Cards
If you’re a business traveler or you want to earn hotel points for your business expenses, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott offer business co-branded cards.
Business cards aren’t only for companies. Solopreneurs and people with side hustles can often qualify for business credit cards.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Limited Time Offer! Earn 165,000 Hilton Honors Points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months from your account opening. Offer ends 4/5/23.
Favorite Card Features:
- 12x on Hilton purchases
- 6x on U.S. gas stations, restaurants, cell phone service, shipping costs, flights booked with the airline directly, and rental cars booked with the car rental company directly.
- No foreign exchange fees
- Hilton Gold Status
- Earn 1 free weekend night after spending $15k in a calendar year. Earn an additional free weekend night by spending an additional $45k in the same calendar year
- Terms Apply
Annual Fee: $95
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express Card
Welcome Bonus: Limited Time Offer! Earn 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of your account opening. Offer ends 5/3/23!
Favorite Card Features:
- 6x for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases at hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy program
- 4x on dining worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, cell phone service, and U.S. purchases on shipping.
- Earn 2x on all other purchases.
- Get a 7% discount off standard rate reservations for standard guest rooms at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program when booked directly through Marriott. Terms and conditions apply.
- Get a Free Night Award after your annual renewal month at hotels participating in the Bonvoy program priced at 35k points a night and under. Plus, earn another Free Night Award after spending $60k on your card in a calendar year.
- Marriott Bonvoy points can also be transferred to 40+ airline partners and redeemed for award flights.
- Get Marriott Bonvoy Gold status as a cardholder
- Terms Apply
Annual Fee: $125
IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Earn 140,000 IHG points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months.
Favorite Card Features:
- Earn a Reward Night each card anniversary at eligible hotels around the globe + earn Reward Night when you redeem IHG points for a 4-night consecutive stay
- 26x on IHG purchases
- 5x on restaurants, gas, travel, and eligible advertising purchases
- 3x on all other purchases
- 4th night free on award stays
- $100 Credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck
- Platinum Elite status for as long as you have the Premier Business card
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $99
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
Current Welcome Bonus: Earn 60,000 Hyatt points after spending $5,000 on your card within the first 3 months of opening your card.
Favorite Card Features:
- $100 in Hyatt credits on Hyatt purchases each year you renew your card ($50 2x a year)
- 9x on Hyatt purchases
- 2x on your top 3 spending categories each quarter through 12/31/23. Then, 2x on your top 2 spending categories thereafter. Eligible categories include: Dining, Shipping, Airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, Local transit & Commuting, Social Media & Search Engine Advertising, Car Rental Agencies, Gas stations and Internet, Cable, and Phone Services.
- 2x on gym memberships
- 1x on all other purchases
- Hyatt Discoverist status + 5 qualifying night credits every year
- Get 10% of your redeemed points back each year when you spend $50k on your card, on up to 200,000 points redeemed
- No foreign Exchange Fees
Annual Fee: $199
Important Things to Know About Hotel Credit Cards
1. Hotel credit card perks add value to your overall stay through free breakfast, hotel lounge access, early check-in and/or late check-out, preferred rooms and upgrades, and other freebies like faster Wifi.
2. Credit cards that award a free night each year on your card anniversary easily offset the card’s annual fee.
3. Some hotel credit card spending tiers can earn additional free nights and/or upgrades in status. If you’re using your credit cards to pay for everyday expenses and bills, why not earn free hotel nights for doing so.
Disclosure:
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