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Hotel cards that pay for itself.

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SwiftTone
Valued Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.


@Omri wrote:

Chase Hyatt has a $75 AF and you get an annual free night in a category 1-4 Hyatt. AFAIK, sign-up bonus is 2 free nights.

 

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier has an $85 AF and you get an annual free night in a category 1-5 Marriott. AFAIK, sign-up bonus is 1 free night in cat 1-4 and 50,000 points.

 

The Priority Club one allows you to stay in *any* of their hotels, including the expensive Intercontinental hotels.

 

I don't believe any of the cards are metal, but I think the Hyatt card has an EMV chip in it, so those are cool! Oh, and I just looked and it looks like the Marriott Rewards Premier card has one too Smiley Happy

 

As far as how big hotels' networks are, this may be helpful: http://www.nerdwallet.com/infographics/hotel-rewards

 

I don't have any experience booking rewards (as I have none of these cards, but I've been researching them, as I'm looking to apply for one soon), so I don't know how difficult it is/blackout issues/etc. Hope this helps!

 

Edit: Personally, given what you said about how luxury isn't important and network size is, I think the Priority Club card is probably your best bet. The points aren't worth much, and therefore the earn rate isn't as good as other cards, but if you primarily want it for the annual free night, it has the biggest network, the lowest annual fee, and you can use your free stay for a fancy hotel as an added bonus. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with Priority Club for these reasons.

 

Edit again: Included sign-up bonuses.


 

 

Excellent post, thank you

AMEX: $25,000, CSR: $10,000, Chase Priority Club: $1,500, Freedom: $5000, Freedom Unlimited: $1000, Discover: $21,000, BoA $11,000, WF Cash Wise: $5000

EQ FICO - 753
TU FICO - 755
EX FICO(AMEX) - 766
Message 11 of 56
MrShush
Valued Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.

I don't know what my TU score is...haven't checked lately but its between 750 and 785.

The other Chase cards I have are Freedom Sig @ $6500, Slate Visa @ 7000, JPM Select @ $18000, and this Marriott was approved @ $20, 000.
Message 12 of 56
armbenderc
Valued Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.

What about Amex SPG?

 

I thought that it is one of the best card?

2013 Approvals: Discover IT - 3/1, Amex BCE - 3/4, CSP - 5/4, Barclay Ring - 6/12, BoA Privileges Cash - 6/27, Citi TY Preferred - 8/6, OCCU Duck - 11/4, USBank (Cash+) - 11/22, Wells Fargo - 12/21, Nordstrom - 12/29

12/19/2013, $100k+ Available Credit. Total Util: 0-1%
Message 13 of 56
MrShush
Valued Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.

SPG is great and has a ton of flexibility, low AF, but personally, I don't stay at any.
Message 14 of 56
Repo-ed
Senior Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.

im hoping for success with marriott as i have a lot of one-night travel planned for 2013, and that 5 night bonus would help out some.
5/2012: 560 credit scores across the board
12/2014: 750+
3/2017: 780+
11/2019: 833
2/2023: Experian via Chase United Explorer CC pull - 891
Message 15 of 56
koalablue
Frequent Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.

If you want total flexibility in where you can stay, you could try the Amex Blue Sky Preferred.  You can use their travel credits toward any hotels as well as airplane tickets, car rentals, train trips, and cruises.  Every 7500 points gets you a 100.00 travel credit, and you can apply it to any travel-related charge you wish.

Message 16 of 56
jefftca925
Established Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.

I have the Marriotts Rewards Premier card and it definitely is NOT made of metal... plastic like the other cards.  I think it is probably one of the better hotel cards to have despite the AF because you get the free night once a year which can be worth up to $150 or more.  The sign-up bonus is very good too since depending on where you stay but you can get roughly 5 nights free at a category 4 or 5 hotel...not too shabby.  Plus if combined with the other Chase cards (Freedom, CSP, United) I have it can make a nice vacation pretty inexpensive.

CCs: Chase Freedom VS 12.9k, CSP VISA Sg 13k, BofA Amex 24.5k, Discover 12.5k, US Bank Cash+ Visa Sg 17k, Macy's Amex 8k/1.5k, Gap Visa 10k, Best Buy 11.1k, Citi TY MC 10.8k, Citi AA Amex 6k, Nordstrom VS 10k, Costco Amex 12k, BofA CR VS 5k, Amex BCP 13.5k, Amex ED 5k, Sears MC 9k, HD 7k, Target 600, Amazon 7k, US Bank MC 15k, US Airways MC 8k, NFL Visa 4k, Patelco Visa 10k, Penfed PR VS 44.6k, Chase Hyatt VS 8k, Citi Simplicity 13.3k, PayPal MC 7.5k, BBVA Visa 4k, WF VS 14k, FNBO Amex 14.1k, OCCU VISA 15k, TR Visa Sg 16.3k, C1 QS Visa 11k, FRN MC 15k, HSN 4k, Saks WEMC 10k/4k, Chase Ink 18k, Arrival WEMC 10k, Ebates VS 8k, Orbitz VS 12k, NASA V 30k, USBk FP VS 21.5k, DC 30k, VirgAm 15k, Sams MC 15k, Amex Bz Gold, Amex SC 10k, BofW Bz MC 18k
Message 17 of 56
CreditScholar
Valued Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.


@djrez4 wrote:

How about the Amex Hilton HHonors with no annual fee and 40k points on first purchase?  That'll get you 1-2 free nights, depending on the category of hotel you choose.  It's hard for that card not to pay for itself; it doesn't cost anything.

 

If you really, REALLY, want a metal hotel rewards card, the Chase Ritz-Carlton card is the only one.  You get one free night, 3 Club-level upgrades, $100 hotel credit, $200 in airline incidentals (baggage fees, etc.) and airport lounge access (Lounge Club, about $200).  All this for an annual fee of only $395!  

 

If you use all of the perks, it actually does pay for itself.


+1. At first I wasn't 100% sure as to the value of the Ritz card, but as I'm currently in a Marriott typing this I can say it has already paid for itself and then some. It's metal like the CSP and United Club cards, but the numbers are on the front unlike the other two. Don't let the $395 AF scare you off if you can use the card properly.
EX 798, EQ 789, TU 784
American Express Platinum (NPSL) || Bank of America Privileges with Travel Rewards Visa Signature - $23,200 CL
Barclays American Airlines Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard - $20,000 CL || Chase IHG Rewards World Mastercard - $25,000 CL
Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Signature - $12,700 CL || Chase United MileagePlus Club World Elite MasterCard - $26,500 CL
Citibank Hilton Reserve Visa Signature - $20,000 CL || J.P. Morgan Ritz Carlton Visa Signature - $23,500 CL
Message 18 of 56
Cdnewmanpac
Established Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.


@armbenderc wrote:

What about Amex SPG?

 

I thought that it is one of the best card?


As a flexible uncategorized spending card, it is phenomenal. The ability to convert Starwood points to many different airlines at 1:1 while getting a 5000 pt bonus per 20000 pts converted is a great value for big spenders. But as an actual hotel card, it is average at best. I know several people who use it as a go to card, but have never stayed at a Starwood property. 

 

In wallet: Ink Plus 10k, AMEX TE 25k. In bag: CSP 16k, USAA WMC 15k, Hyatt 13k, United MPE 12k, AMEX HHonors 3k. In SD: Cap 1 QS 5k, Discover IT 7k. FICO 08 says my EQ is now 844, was 510 in 2010.
Message 19 of 56
SwiftTone
Valued Contributor

Re: Hotel cards that pay for itself.


@jefftca925 wrote:

I have the Marriotts Rewards Premier card and it definitely is NOT made of metal... plastic like the other cards.  I think it is probably one of the better hotel cards to have despite the AF because you get the free night once a year which can be worth up to $150 or more.  The sign-up bonus is very good too since depending on where you stay but you can get roughly 5 nights free at a category 4 or 5 hotel...not too shabby.  Plus if combined with the other Chase cards (Freedom, CSP, United) I have it can make a nice vacation pretty inexpensive.



I believe that the card recently was redesigned. It's now black, with engraved numbers, and metal. Also has chip and sig chip now.

 

The Marriott sign up bonus/free nights are nice but I'm more thinking inline of getting free night year after year. The Marriott card seems that after the initial bonus, theres not much more. Also, Marriot hotels does not have as much coverage as Priority Club hotels, which include Holidy Inns(I don't mind as long as it's clean) and Staybridge which I stayed in in NYC which I thought it was very nice. Sometimes we travel to Vermont for hiking, and other times we'll go to NYC for the weekend.

 

I grew up "function over form". When we did road trips with my parents we stayed in motels etc...lol. Just as long as it's clean and safe. So Priority Club hotels are definitely a step up from Motel 8s. I've carried this habbit over to my gf whome have the same view.

 

edit: after reading Chase's site more carefully about the Marriott Premier, it says "15 night credit every year after your account anniversary, giving you Silver Elite status or better" What does this mean exactly. I can't imagine it means that you get 15 free nights a year.

AMEX: $25,000, CSR: $10,000, Chase Priority Club: $1,500, Freedom: $5000, Freedom Unlimited: $1000, Discover: $21,000, BoA $11,000, WF Cash Wise: $5000

EQ FICO - 753
TU FICO - 755
EX FICO(AMEX) - 766
Message 20 of 56
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