- Best hotel credit cards compared
- What is the best hotel rewards program?
- General-purpose credit cards with large hotel networks
- Best hotel credit cards for automatic status
- Methodology
- Sources
- Beginner’s guide to hotel credit cards
- About the author
- User questions & answers
- Expert opinions
Best Hotel Credit Cards Compared
| Credit Card | Best For | Initial Bonus Offer | Rewards Rate |
| Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® | Winner | 60,000 points | 1 - 10 points / $1 |
| Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | Best Hilton Credit Card | 155,000 points | 3 - 12 points / $1 |
| IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card | Best IHG Credit Card | 140,000 points | 3 - 10 points / $1 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card | Best Marriott Credit Card | 3 Free Night Awards | 2 - 6 points / $1 |
| The World of Hyatt Credit Card | Best Hyatt Credit Card | 30,000 points | 1 - 4 points / $1 |
| Wyndham Credit Card | Best Wyndham Credit Card | 100,000 points | 1 - 6 points / $1 |
| Best Western Premium Credit Card | Best Credit Card for Best Western | 80,000 points | 2 - 10 points / $1 |
| World Of Hyatt Business Credit Card | Best Hotel Credit Card for Business | 60,000 points | 1 - 4 points / $1 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Best Credit Card for Any Hotel | 60,000 points | 1 - 5 points / $1 |
In general, the best hotel credit cards tend to have big initial bonuses and ongoing rewards that allow you to quickly rack up free nights. But you also have to consider your lifestyle and spending habits. That means you should only get a specific hotel’s credit card if it’s affiliated with a chain you patron regularly or could easily commit to moving forward. It also means getting a card with good rewards at any hotel if you like to shop around for the best hotel deals.
On that note, there aren’t many hotel rewards credit cards for people with fair, limited or bad credit. So if you have less-than-good credit, your options are likely limited to secured cards as well as credit cards with rewards that don’t emphasize hotel stays.
You can see if your credit is good enough for elite hotel rewards by checking your latest credit score for free on WalletHub. You can also check out our editors’ picks for the best overall rewards credit cards to see which of hotel cards made the cut.
What Is the Best Hotel Rewards Program in 2024?
Wyndham Rewards is the best hotel rewards program, according to WalletHub’s research, because it offers the most rewards value per $1 spent by its members as well as flexible redemption options. Wyndham Rewards points are worth roughly 1.11 cents on average, per our calculations. Wyndham has solid geographic coverage, too, with 9,280 hotels and resorts across more than 90 countries.
Best Hotel Rewards Programs:
Below, you can find some additional analysis from our latest hotel rewards program report.Best Hotel Rewards Programs Comparison
| Hotel Rewards Program | Best For | Number of Hotels | WalletHub Score |
| Wyndham Rewards | Overall | 9,280 | 70.63 |
| Radisson Rewards | Most Additional Features | 1,241 | 68.63 |
| World Of Hyatt | Fewest Earning Limitations | 1,000+ | 66.09 |
| Hilton Honors | Best Redemption Policies | 6,721 | 64.09 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | International Travel | 8,028 | 60.68 |
General-Purpose Credit Cards with Large Hotel Networks
Instead of being affiliated with one specific hotel brand, several credit cards have ties to a network of hotels, allowing cardholders to easily earn, transfer and redeem with any of those hotels. You can find some notable examples of travel rewards credit cards with that sort of framework below:
American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts: 1,000+ hotels across more than 60 brands, at which people with The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express receive special perks.
Chase Hotel Partners: IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. Chase credit card users can transfer points to these hotel loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio. Two of the best cards for transferring points to Chase’s hotel partners are Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
Best Hotel Credit Cards for Automatic Status
| Hotel Chain | Card Name | Automatic Status Level | Annual Fee |
| Wyndham | Wyndham Credit Card | Wyndham Platinum | $75 |
| Best Western | Best Western Premium Credit Card | Best Western Platinum Elite | $89 |
| IHG | IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card | IHG Platinum Elite | $99 |
| Hyatt | The World of Hyatt Credit Card | Hyatt Discoverist | $95 |
| Marriott | Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card | Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite | $650 |
| Hilton | Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card | Hilton Diamond | $550 |
It’s also a good idea to get acquainted with the major hotel loyalty programs if you’re thinking about applying for a hotel credit card tied to a particular chain. Some hotel rewards programs are better than others, just like hotel credit cards.
Methodology for Selecting the Best Hotel Credit Cards
As a result, we consider credit cards with standout general-purpose travel rewards, good for stays at any hotel, in addition to hotel credit cards affiliated with a specific chain. We then rank the cards based on two-year cost (the lower the better) to identify the most rewarding options overall.
How Two-Year Cost Is Calculated
Two-year cost is used to approximate the monetary value of cards for better comparison and is calculated by combining annual and monthly membership fees over two years, adding any one-time fees or other fees (like balance transfer fees), adding any interest costs, and subtracting rewards. Negative amounts indicate savings. When fees or other terms are presented as a range, we use the midpoint for scoring purposes.
Rewards bonuses and credits have been taken into account for two-year cost calculations. However, bonuses applicable to only a very small portion of cardholders are not considered. For example, credits and bonuses awarded for spending or redeeming rewards through a company portal with non-co-branded cards have not been taken into account. Similarly, bonuses and credits related to spending with specific merchants using a non-co-branded card have not been taken into account (for example, if Card A offers credits with DoorDash, this feature would not be factored into calculations because it is hard to assess how many cardholders would use the benefit or exactly how much value they'd get from it).
Cardholder Spending Profiles
Given that people have different goals and are likely to use their credit cards differently, we identified spending profiles that are representative of different users’ financial priorities and behaviors. For each cardholder type, we have assumed a specific amount of monthly spending by purchase type (e.g., groceries, gas, etc.), as well as an average balance, balance transfer amount, amount spent on large purchases and average monthly payment. Spending assumptions are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for consumers and PEX data for businesses
Sources
WalletHub actively maintains a database of 1,500+ credit card offers, from which we select the best hotel credit cards for different applicants as well as derive market-wide takeaways and trends. The underlying data is compiled from credit card company websites or provided directly by the credit card issuers. We also leverage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop cardholder profiles, used to estimate cards’ potential savings.
Beginner’s Guide to Hotel Credit Cards
What Is a Hotel Credit Card?
A hotel credit card is a credit card that’s tied to a specific hotel chain. This type of card offers bonus rewards for purchases made directly with the affiliated hotel chain, in addition to rewards on all other purchases, allowing cardholders to earn free nights over time. A hotel rewards credit card may also get you elite status in the hotel’s loyalty program and special perks when you stay at one of the hotel’s properties.
Learn more about what qualifies as a hotel credit card.
How Do Hotel Credit Cards Work?
Hotel credit cards work like any other type of credit card, except that their rewards and perks are geared toward a particular hotel chain.
Your application will be judged based on factors such as your credit history, income and existing debt obligations when you apply for a hotel credit card, like with any other card. Similarly, you still have to make at least the minimum payment by the due date every month to keep your account in good standing, and you have to pay in full monthly to avoid interest. The interest rates on hotel credit cards are high, too – just like with other cards, unfortunately.
That said, hotel credit cards are a bit harder to get than some other types of credit cards, since few offers exist for people with less-than-good credit. Furthermore, their hotel-centric rewards and benefits do a lot to distinguish hotel cards, even from other rewards cards. You can easily earn free nights with hotel rewards cards.
Learn more about the major hotel rewards programs.
Pros and Cons of Hotel Credit Cards
| Pros | Cons |
| Free hotel nights | Annual fees |
| Automatic elite status | High interest rates |
| Bonus rewards at the affiliated hotel | Restrictions when redeeming rewards |
The advantages of hotel credit cards are obvious. You can earn free stays at your favorite hotel chain by charging everyday purchases to your card, and you’ll earn free nights fastest by making purchases with your hotel of choice and earning bonus rewards. Furthermore, simply being a cardholder can give you a leg up in the hotel’s loyalty program, getting you extra perks such as discounted reservations, early check-in, and late checkout.
However, hotel credit cards have their share of disadvantages, too. For one thing, some hotel credit cards charge high membership fees, and most have high interest rates. Fortunately, the best cards offer more than enough rewards to offset the annual fees, and you can avoid interest charges by paying your bill in full each month. You can’t really escape the fact that most hotel credit cards only give you a good redemption rate for your points when you use them for reservations at the affiliated hotel chain, but it shouldn’t be an issue if you stay with that hotel chain regularly.
Learn more about the pros and cons of hotel credit cards.
How Much Is a Hotel Point Worth?
Hotel points are worth 1 cent each on average, according to our research, which means 10,000 hotel points are worth roughly $100. The value varies widely by hotel chain, however. Below, you can see how much points from the most popular hotel rewards programs are worth.
| Rewards Program | Average Point Value |
| Best Western Rewards | 0.64 cents |
| Choice Privileges | 1.24 cents |
| Hilton Honors | 0.61 cents |
| IHG One Rewards | 0.8 cents |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.86 cents |
| Radisson Rewards | 0.61 cents |
| World of Hyatt | 2.63 cents |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1.31 cents |
How to Get Free Hotel Stays with a Hotel Credit Card
To get free hotel nights with a credit card, you first need to choose the right credit card for your spending habits, then use the card enough to qualify for free-night bonuses and earn points redeemable for reservations.
Some cards will give you free nights (or at least enough points for free nights) after you open a new account and spend a certain amount on purchases in the first few months. Other cards will give you a free night after each account anniversary. Those free-night opportunities are in addition to the nights you can get by trading in the rewards you earn for making purchases, which all hotel credit cards provide.
Earning free hotel stays with a credit card also requires you to manage your account responsibly. If you don’t pay the bill in full monthly when your card’s regular APR is in effect, interest charges will set back your efforts considerably. Similarly, if you don’t redeem your rewards regularly, you could wind up losing some of what you earn.
Learn more about how to get free hotel nights.
How to Pick the Right Hotel Credit Card
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See How Much You Spend on Hotel Rooms
You need to determine whether hotel reservations represent a big enough portion of your total spending to warrant getting one of the best hotel credit cards tied to a specific chain. After all, a card offering everyday cash back or general-purpose travel rewards could also help you save on hotel stays, plus everything else you buy. And such a card would provide much more flexibility.
The basic rule of thumb is that you should only make a co-branded hotel card your primary spending vehicle if you spend at least 20 nights in that chain each year. Supplementing an existing card with hotel plastic when a big initial bonus is available could be a great move as well. But you should have plans to use that bounty for a hotel stay within six months of account opening. Otherwise, the points could lose value or be forgotten over time.
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Decide How Long You Want to Keep Your New Card
Your plans for a new hotel credit card will dictate how you evaluate offers. If you think you’ll have the card for only a year or two, then you should focus more on initial rewards bonuses. But if you have no timetable for closing your account, regular rewards earning rates and ongoing amenities such as room upgrades will be more important.
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Compare Expected Savings on Reservations
Hotel points are worth about 1 cent each, on average, but the value varies by hotel chain. To make the best hotel credit card decision, determine how many points you’ll need for a free night with each hotel chain you’re considering and how much it will cost to earn that many points with each card. Then, compare that cost to the price of purchasing a hotel reservation normally. This will help you determine how much you’ll actually save with the hotel cards you’re considering.
Be sure to compare redemption rates and prices for the times of year you’re most likely to travel and the destinations you expect to visit. Reward nights during peak season and weekends tend to provide the least value.
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Evaluate Other Redemption Methods
Hotel credit card users have several other redemption options aside from free hotel nights. They often include gift cards, merchandise, statement credits and special experiences. Most of the time, these other redemption options get you far less value, but it's good to see just how much you’d sacrifice if you happen to redeem for something other than hotel reservations.
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Read Card Reviews
Reading hotel credit card reviews helps you avoid making the same mistakes as others and can teach you some money-saving moves. Both user reviews and reviews from WalletHub’s editors can provide valuable insights.
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Consider Your Credit Score
The best hotel credit cards require at least good credit for approval. So if your score is less than 700, you may want to hold off on applying for a bit while you improve your standing. You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, as well as learn from personalized credit improvement advice.
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Get a Personalized Recommendation
Our annual report ranking the Best Hotel Rewards Programs features a tool that allows you to customize the results based on your spending habits. You can also get personalized credit card recommendations based on your credit history if you sign up for a free WalletHub account.
