Hotel Points credit cards are not something that I’ve covered in a ton of detail; today, I wanted to make the most in-depth guide I can on all of the best hotel credit cards out there. Is that overkill? Maybe so, but I’ve kept you all waiting on this one for too long, so I wanted to go ahead and give you all the information that you ever wanted and hopefully more. In part one, I’m going to be talking about premium hotel credit cards. Part two will be all about the mid-tier hotel credit card offers. Part three is going to be the no-annual fee hotel rewards credit cards.
In total, I’ll be covering 17 different hotel cards in this guide. At the same time, I can’t go fully in-depth on each one of these cards; we get pretty deep with it, and I’ll be covering the annual fee, the welcome offer, the point valuation, the earning categories, and the additional perks that come with each one of these credit cards, along with my thoughts on the cards sprinkled in along the way.
Compare Hotel Credit Cards
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- ANNUAL FEE: $150
- REWARDS RATE : 3x-12x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 165,000 Points
It’s only natural to start with the talk of the town lately, that being the Hilton Aspire. For starters, the annual fee on this card is now $550, which was updated from $450 just a couple of weeks ago. But as we’ll see in a second, this card is still very much worth it, but that’s my personal opinion. Currently, the welcome offer on this card is for 180,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of having the card.
As for the point valuation of Hilton Honors credit card points, you can see online that they are valued at 0.5 cents per point. But then you’ll also see people like AskSebi out there talking about how he targets at least 0.8 cents per point for his Hilton points. You might also see people like my buddy Luke’s points and miles, who is able to get more than one cent per point for his Hilton points for certain redemptions, of course.
Your mileage is going to vary, but I would probably put your estimation at about 0.8 cents per point. And that should be a good target. The earning categories on this card are going to be 14x back on Hilton hotels and resorts, 7x on select travel, including flights booked directly through airlines or Amex travel and car rentals, 7x at U.S. restaurants, and 3x on all other purchases.
Remember, though, that while these earning categories look super high, you need to taper them back by about 20 to 50%, depending on how much you actually value Hilton points. As for additional perks, this card is going to give you Hilton honors diamond status, an annual free night award that can basically be used at any Hilton property in the world, a new credit of $400 for Hilton resorts, $200 worth of flight credits, a $189 clear credit, a $100 Hilton on-property credit, and even more.
As I mentioned previously, despite the recent changes to this card, I would say that it’s still undoubtedly the most valuable hotel credit card on the market. And further than that, it’s honestly one of the most useful travel credit cards on the market, not just hotel cards. And it’s one that I definitely plan on adding in the future. And honestly, I’m more excited to do it now than I was before they made these changes.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
- ANNUAL FEE: $650
- REWARDS RATE : 3x-17x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 150,000 Points
its welcome offer right now is to get two 85,000-point free night awards after spending $6,000 on the card in six months. A lot of times, you’ll see Marriott credit card offers out there for 150,000 or 200,000 Marriott credit card points instead of this one.
The point valuation of Marriott points is usually about 0.8 cents per point, but just like Hilton cards, you can always find more or less value than that. So that’s an average valuation, but it’s a decently safe bet. The earning categories on this card are going to be six X back at Marriott. And with this card, that is actually up to 21 X because of the status that this card gives you.
And for being a Marriott Bomboy member, this card only gives you an additional six X. It also gives you three XS back on worldwide restaurants, three XS on flights, and two XS on all other purchases. The main additional perks that come on this card are going to be Marriott Bomboy credit card platinum elite status, which comes with a ton of its benefits and 85,000 points annual free night award of up to $300 in dining credits, a $100 property credit, a priority pass, select membership, and much more.
If you are looking for the highest status with Marriott possible, at least coming from a credit card, this one is the way to go. You need to make sure that you can justify that $650 annual fee because, at that high of a number, the platinum card is only $45 more than that a year. And the platinum already gives you gold elite status with Marriott.
Ritz Carlton Card
- ANNUAL FEE: $450
- REWARDS RATE : 3x-18x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 85,000 Points
The annual fee on this card is $200 less than the Brilliant, which is $450. But the welcome offer on this card is actually non-existent because the only way you can get this card is by-product changing to it. Of course, for the point valuation, the same as the brilliant will say 0.8 cents per point, but your mileage may vary. The earning categories on this one are similar to the brilliant.
It’s going to give you 6x back at Marriott properties. And this one is technically up to 18.5x rather than 21x because you only get gold elite status with the Ritz Carlton card instead of platinum elite status with the brilliant. It also gives you 3x back on dining, rental cars, and airlines and 2x on everything else. As for the additional perks, like I just mentioned, the first one is going to be that it gives you Marriott Gold Elite status.
So that’s the same as the platinum card and lower than the brilliant, once again. It also gives you an 85,000-point free night award, up to $300 in airline incidental free credits, a priority pass select membership, and even more, of course. Like I said earlier, the only way that you can actually get this card is by-product changing to it, but you can only do so with a lower-tier Marriott card with Chase, like the Marriott Bomboy Boundless.
You also have to have that card open for a year, and it has to have a minimum $10,000 credit limit on it, but then you can call Chase and change the product to the Ritz Carlton card. This card is in a sweet spot for those who don’t already have the platinum card because maybe you still need that minimum gold elite status with Marriott, which this card will give you. It also gives you that higher tier free night without having to spend $650 on the Marriott Bomboy Brilliant credit card. That’s already part one done.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- ANNUAL FEE: $150
- REWARDS RATE : 3x-12x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 165, 000 Points
Now, we are moving straight into part two, which is the mid-tier hotel cards. The first one that I have to cover here is another Hilton credit card, the Hilton Surpass card. The new and updated annual fee on this card based on the Hilton refreshes I just talked about with Aspire is $150.
The current welcome offer is going to be for 170,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after spending $3,000 in six months. Again, this is a limited-time offer, though. For the point valuation, as I said earlier, I would target to get at least 0.8 cents per point, but you’re going to be reading 0.5 cents per point a lot online.
The earning categories on this card are going to be 12x back on Hilton hotels and resorts, 6x at U.S. restaurants, 6x on U.S. supermarkets, 6x on U.S. gas stations, 4x on U.S. online purchases, and 3x on everything else. The additional perks on this card are going to include Hilton honors gold status, a new $200 Hilton credit split across quarters, and much more. With the recent big shifts that happened with this card, it now no longer offers any priority pass access as it used to. It also increased the annual fee, but the new Hilton credits that it comes with make it a better card than before for somebody like myself.
And if you’re anything like me, the reason for that is that we get priority passes on like every other travel card out there, so to have Hilton-specific credits rather than more priority pass access is a win, in my book.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
- ANNUAL FEE: $95
- REWARDS RATE : 2x-17x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 125,000 Points
Mid-tier hotel card number two is the Marriott Bomboy Boundless credit card. Before I dive into the details here, I want to mention that there are a couple of other mid-tier Marriott credit cards, including the Bountiful and the Bevy cards. Right off the bat, I would avoid these cards because they really aren’t that great and have an even heftier annual fee than these mid-tier ones we’re talking about.
Still, before you all left a comment about those, I wanted to let you know that they’re not in this because they’re not exactly the ones that I recommend. The annual fee for the Boundless card, though, is $95.
The point valuation of Marriott points once again is about 0.8 cents per point. The earning categories on this card are 6x back at Marriott, which is technically up to 17x back with the status that comes with this card, and for being a Marriott Bomboy member once again. You get 3x back on the first $6,000 spent at grocery stores, gas stations, and dining, and then 2x back on everything else.
The additional perks that come with this card, going back to the status once again, is that this card gives you Marriott Bomboy Silver Elite status, but it also gives you a 35,000 point free night award every single year just for renewing the card. That is, after your first cardmember anniversary, you get that so that you won’t get that in the first year; keep that in mind.
First, I wanted to start experiencing more Marriott properties, and I needed Marriott points in order to do so. More importantly, it gives me the ability to change products to the Ritz-Carlton credit card in a year if I do decide to do so.
But even if you’re not somebody who’s going for the Ritz-Carlton credit card, this card is an easy keeper every single year because of that free night certificate. A 35,000-point free night is going to give you more value than the $95 annual fee every single year. So, as long as you’re traveling with Marriott, it’s enough to justify that. It’s an easy keeper card.
Hyatt Personal Credit Card
- ANNUAL FEE: $95
- REWARDS RATE : 1x-9x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 30,000 Points
The annual fee on this card once again is just $95, and the welcome offer on this one’s a little bit different, but the first part of it is that you can earn 30,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of having it. So, if you actually think about it, you’re not getting an extra 30,000 points. You’re really only getting an extra 15,000 points from that additional $15,000 worth of spend.
However, the fact that they worded it as a bonus of 30,000 points is not fully accurate. The point valuation of Hyatt credit card points is going to be the highest that we see today. That being 1.7 cents per point based on the points guys’ valuations. So keep that in mind when we’re going through the rest of these numbers here because that actually increases the value you’re getting from these earning categories rather than decreasing it.
Speaking of earning categories, it’s going to give you four X back at Hyatt. Technically, it’s a nine X back for being a World of Hyatt member, but this card is only going to give you an additional four X back. It gives you two XS back on local transit and commuting, two XS on dining, two XS on flights booked directly with airlines, two XS on fitness club and gym memberships, and one X on everything else.
As for additional perks on this card, it comes with a couple of main ones that make this card so valuable. The first is World of Hyatt discoverer status, which is definitely useful but one that you probably would get just by staying at Hyatt frequently enough; either way, it is a nice additional perk, but it also gives you a free night award at a category one through four hotel every year after your card member anniversary. Once again, of course, there are more perks and benefits than that, but those are the main two.
This card is also in a sweet spot where it’s one that you could easily keep every single year. If you book at least a one-night stay at a category one through four hotels every year with Hyatt, this is definitely a card that I plan to add at some point whenever my five 24 status is just a little bit better than it is right now.
IGH Premier Card
- ANNUAL FEE: $99
- REWARDS RATE : 1x-26x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 140,000 Points
The welcome offer right now is 140,000 IHG points. After spending $3,000 in the first three months, the point valuation for IHG credit card points, at least from the points guy, is going to be 0.5 cents per point once again, but with the right redemptions, this is definitely a low estimate. So keep that in mind. The earning categories on the premier are going to be 10 X back at IHG properties.
That is technically up to 26 X with your IHG membership and the status that comes with this 5 X back on travel, dining, and gas stations and 3 X back on everything else. The additional perks on this card are solid, starting with IHG platinum elite status, followed by a 40,000-point free night award with this card. When redeeming your IHG points for a stay, you get your fourth reward night free. And, of course, much more.
This is one of the most benefit-packed mid-tier hotel cards that we’re going to talk about today. Still, it’s often overlooked because it is an IHG credit card, and those aren’t necessarily the most popular hotels that people stay at.
I could definitely see myself getting this card one day, especially if I’m planning out a trip where I know I could stay at some valuable IHG properties and use that welcome bonus for that stay. But this is one that you should strongly consider if you haven’t yet because IHG does have some very valuable properties.
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard
- ANNUAL FEE: $95
- REWARDS RATE : 1x-10x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 90,000 Points
The last mid-tier hotel credit card we’re talking about today is the choice privileges select Mastercard. Yes, this is a card for choice hotels, but once again, it definitely has its use case. The welcome offer on this card is for 90,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months. The valuation of choice points right now is 0.6 cents per point based on the points guys’ valuations.
Definitely keep your eye out for better redemption rates than that, especially when you’re traveling internationally. Its earning categories are going to cover 10x back at choice hotels, which is technically up to 22x with the status that comes with this card, and by having a choice account, which again is very similar to all the hotel cards we’re talking about today.
Additional perks with this card are that it gives you platinum elite status with a choice of 30,000 bonus points every single year just for renewing the card, a global entry or TSA precheck credit, and more. This is a newer card on the market that hasn’t gotten a ton of love from anybody except maybe my buddy Luke’s points and miles once again, but for those international trips where your choice points can be extremely valuable. Again, this is a card that you should strongly consider.
Hilton Honors Card
- ANNUAL FEE: no
- REWARDS RATE : 1x-7x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 100,000 Points
The first one here is going to be the Hilton honors card. Once again, this is a limited-time offer because of the recent changes that Hilton made to their cards. The point valuation is the same story as the last two Hilton cards, technically 0.5 cents per point, but I would aim for at least 0.8. The earning categories are going to be 7X back at Hilton, 5X at US restaurants, US supermarkets, and US gas stations, and 3X on everything else.
The additional perks, as with every single no-annual-fee hotel card, are going to be a little bit lackluster compared to what we’ve talked about already. Still, the main one here is going to be Hilton Honors Silver status, along with some smaller benefits that we won’t cover here.
As for how I look at this card, it’s one that I would consider applying for mainly for the welcome offer but also to possibly ride on the Hilton carousel, as I call it, where you can basically get a bunch of upgrade offers on your Hilton cards, as well as get a ton of signup bonuses, you know, at least one for each card. And in going through that process or that carousel, you could earn upwards of a million Hilton points just for applying for cards and then downgrading them after a year, getting more upgrade offers on them, and so on.
I do worry that Amex is going to get rid of this, and they may even disallow you from getting the bonus on this card if you’ve had any of the higher-tier Hilton cards, similar to what they’ve been doing with basically all of their credit cards lately. Then again, Amex also has a four to six credit card limit, which you also have to keep in mind with this card. And I know it isn’t very easy, but that is why I wanted to offer the service that I talked about earlier.
Marriott Bonvoy Bold
- ANNUAL FEE: $0
- REWARDS RATE : 2x-14x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 30,000 Points
The second no-annual-fee hotel card we’re going to talk about today is the Marriott Bomb Boy Bold. The welcome offer on this card right now is for 30,000 points. After spending $1,000 in three months, the point valuation of Marriott points is going to be, again, about 0.8 cents per point.
As for earning categories, you’re going to get an additional three X back at Marriott properties, technically up to 14 X with the Marriott account that you have and having status with this card to X back on travel purchases and one X on everything else. The one main additional perk of having this card is that you will get Marriott Bomb Boy Silver Elite status, but that’s mostly it. For the majority of people, the only reason you’d have this card in your setup is because you downgraded from a higher-tier Chase Marriott card.
But it’s not necessarily one that I would recommend applying for fresh and using a 524 slot for. I recommend going with the Marriott Boundless to get the best bang for your buck. And then, if you didn’t like that card, you could downgrade it to this one to keep that no-annual-fee account alive.
IHG One Rewards Traveler
- ANNUAL FEE: $0
- REWARDS RATE : 2x-17x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 80,000 Points
IHG also has a no-annual-fee hotel card called the IHG traveler. And the welcome offer on this card right now is for 80,000 points. After spending $2,000 in three months, the point valuation of IHG points is roughly 0.5 cents per point.
The earning categories on this card are going to be for five X back at IHG properties, which is technically up to 17 X again with the status that comes with this card. And for having an IHG account, three X are back at gas stations and dining, and two X are back on everything else. Additional perks with this card are going to be silver elite status with IHG, a fourth reward night free, similar to the premiere, and smaller things as well.
I’m just repeating myself here, but once again, this is a no-annual-fee hotel card, so there’s not a ton to love about it. But of course, it’s a good downgrade option. I would personally go for the premiere first.
Choice Privileges Mastercard
- ANNUAL FEE: $0
- REWARDS RATE : 2x-16x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 60,000 Points
The last no-annual-fee hotel card on our list is the Choice Privilege Mastercard. The welcome offer right now is for 60,000 bonus points. After spending $1,000 in three months, the point valuation, as mentioned previously, for choice hotels is about 0.6 cents per point.
As for earning categories, it’s going to give you five X back at choice hotels, technically up to 16 X with a choice account and the status on this card, but five X additionally three X on gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, and phone plans and one X on everything else.
The main additional perk with this card is that it gives you gold status with choice, but of course, there are some smaller benefits, too. I think this card could be a decent way to test out the choice program if you don’t really want to pay any annual fee for a card, but remember that the step up from this card, of course, has a higher signup bonus and better perks and benefits, but also will waive your annual fee in the first year, at least right now.
Hilton Honors Business
- ANNUAL FEE: $195
- REWARDS RATE : 3x-12x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 130,000 Points
This one, of course, is the Hilton Honors business card; the annual fee on this card currently is $95. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if this changes, especially with the changes that they’ve made to all their cards recently, its current welcome offer is for 130,000 points after spending $3,000 in three months.
The point valuation for Hilton points is 0.5 cents per point, but I’d aim for at least 0.8 for earning categories. It’s going to give you 12 X back at Hilton properties and six X on select business and travel purchases, including gas stations, shipping providers, wireless phone services, restaurants, flights, and car rentals.
There are a lot of earning categories there and three XS on everything else. There’s really only one main additional perk with this card, and that’s going to be Hilton Honors gold status. But honestly, that’s about it.
This card could be a keeper card just for that gold status alone. Considering one of the biggest perks of gold status is free breakfasts. So, if you don’t have any other Hilton credit cards, you will have that status with this card.
Saving money on breakfast for one trip a year could make the annual fee on this card go back. Therefore, it’d be worth it. This is a card that I want to add right now, but they haven’t elevated the offer on it yet.
And I can’t bear to apply for it without an elevated offer. And, as I said before, they’re about to make changes to this card. So I’m kind of on standby, waiting to see what happened there.
Marriott Bonvoy Business Card
- ANNUAL FEE: $0
- REWARDS RATE : 1x-4x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 60,000 Points
Business hotel card number two is the Marriott Bomboy business card. The annual fee for this one is slightly higher than the last one at $125. No welcome offer is for 125,000 Marriott Bomboy points after spending $8,000 in the first six months.
This is a limited-time offer, though. And to ingrain it in your head, once again, the point valuation for Marriott points is 0.8 cents per point. Roughly earning categories-wise, this card is going to give you six X back at Marriott properties, technically up to 18 X, but you all know the drill there for X on select business and travel purchases, including dining worldwide, us gas stations, wireless telephone services, and us shipping purchases and two X on everything else.
The additional perks on this card include Marriott Bomboy’s gold elite status, which is technically the same as the Marriott boundless card, the Amex platinum card, and the Ritz Carlton. Still, it also will give you a 35,000-point free night award. Very similar to the boundless once again, and more.
Suppose you use that annual free night every single year. However, if you want to go for the Ritz Carlton card, I would definitely not apply for this one before getting the Marriott boundless on the chase side. By bringing this one first, we’ll lock you out of getting a bonus on the boundless card for two years.
So, in order to maximize your value, you’d want to go first for the Marriott boundless, wait a year, and change that to the Ritz Carlton. A year after you get the Ritz Carlton, you could apply for this credit card to get a welcome bonus. Since Marriott is partnered with both Amex and Chase, that’s just what we have to do to make them work nicely together.
IHG One Rewards Premier Business
- ANNUAL FEE: $99
- REWARDS RATE : 2x-26x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 140,000 Points
The annual fee on this card is $99, and the welcome offer on it is for 140,000 points after spending $3,000 in three months.
IHG points are valued at about 0.5 cents per point. This card earns in the following categories: 10 X back at IHG properties, technically up to 26 X, but I’m not going to repeat myself. I’ve said how that happens too many times: five X back on travel dining, select business purchases, and gas stations, and then three X back on everything else.
As for additional perks, this card is going to give you IHG platinum elite status, a 40,000-point free night award, every account anniversary, that same fourth reward night free, and more. This is definitely a sleeper credit card, especially if you’re someone who likes getting business credit cards to help garden your Chase 524 status. It’s basically the same as the personal version but even better in some ways.
And it doesn’t add to your 524 account or impact your credit report at all, aside from the hard pull that Chase would do for you to get this card. So, I could definitely see myself adding this one rather than the personal version, depending on which way I want to go. Or I’ll get both to stack two free nights.
Hyatt Business Card
- ANNUAL FEE: $199
- REWARDS RATE : 2x-9x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 60,000 Points
The annual fee on this one is a more hefty $199, and the welcome offer on it right now is for 60,000 points after spending $5,000 in three months. Hyatt having the highest point valuation out of any hotel out there is going to be, again, 1.7 cents per point.
And for the earning categories on this card, it’s going to give you four XS back at Hyatt properties, technically nine X as a Hyatt member, but only an additional four X with this card, two X on fitness club and gym memberships on top of your three highest eligible spin categories every quarter from this list on screen until December 31st of 2024. After that, it just drops to your top two instead of three. And then you get one X back on everything else.
The additional perks on this card are going to include Hyatt Discover status, as well as the ability to gift that status to up to five employees, $100 in Hyatt statement credits. My conclusion is that it’s only good for high-spenders who are chasing status. That’s the only other reason you want to get this card.
If you’re not falling into those categories, it’s if you’re somebody who wants some Hyatt points and wants to get this card for a welcome bonus. But its main use case is for high spenders chasing status for sure.
Wyndham Earner Business
- ANNUAL FEE: $95
- REWARDS RATE : 2x-12x Points
- INTRO OFFER: 100,000 Points
The annual fee for this one is $95. And the welcome offer is for 45,000 Wyndham rewards points after spending $3,000 in three months. The point valuation for Wyndham points is actually decently high at 1.1 cents per point, according to the points guy. That’s the second highest we’re going to see right under Hyatt.
The additional perks on this card include Wyndham rewards diamond status, 15,000 bonus points every account anniversary year, and much more. Like I said previously, the main reason you’ve probably heard of this card is for that gas category because that is really high.
This may be a card that I consider to help guard my 524 status and even replace my city custom cash as my dedicated gas card. But I do need to think more about that, especially because I don’t really know how Barclays treats people in their applications.
