topic Re: Best credit card for hotels in Credit Cards

Best credit card for hotels

Roadgeek395 — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 02:56:36 GMT

Hey everyone!

I recently started a new job the requires overnight travel about half of the time. I am interested in getting a CC that offers the best cash back or rewards on hotel stays. I prefer it to not be brand specific and no AF but I'd be willing to pay an AF if the rewards are worth it.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Best credit card for hotels

jcooks — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 17:34:15 GMT

The best way to earn hotel stays are co-branded hotel cards unfortunately. You have Barclays Wyndham, Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold, and Amex Hilton Honors that have no AF. It would really depend on what choice hotels are available in your more frequent business trips. I would recommend, spending the extra for a card with an AF to get higher multipliers and better perks. One that I would recommend would be the Chase World of Hyatt. The AF is $95 and has the highest redemption value vs the rest of the other hotel chain cards. If Hyatt isn't available in most of your business trips, Marriott would be a 2nd choice for me as they have the biggest footprint vs the other chains and have very nice properties. Hilton would be 3rd place just because of the value of the points. Wyndham and IHG would be last place for me.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

FormerCollegeDJ — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 21:26:08 GMT

@jcooks wrote:
The best way to earn hotel stays are co-branded hotel cards unfortunately. You have Barclays Wyndham, Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold, and Amex Hilton Honors that have no AF. It would really depend on what choice hotels are available in your more frequent business trips. I would recommend, spending the extra for a card with an AF to get higher multipliers and better perks. One that I would recommend would be the Chase World of Hyatt. The AF is $95 and has the highest redemption value vs the rest of the other hotel chain cards. If Hyatt isn't available in most of your business trips, Marriott would be a 2nd choice for me as they have the biggest footprint vs the other chains and have very nice properties. Hilton would be 3rd place just because of the value of the points. Wyndham and IHG would be last place for me.

Among the nine major U.S.-based hotel chains or associations (Best Western, Choice, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Radisson, Sonesta, and Wyndham), all of them except Hyatt and Sonesta offer no annual fee cards and all except Choice offer low (<$100 year) annual fee cards.

Regarding hotel credit cards in terms of their rewards and ignoring any brand loyalty or preference based on the hotel properties themselves, the best chains credit card wise IMO, based on their reward rates for hotel and non-hotel spend when registered as a loyalty program member for the chain, are as follows:

No annual fee cards

1) Wyndham

2 & 3) Marriott (if using card solely for hotel spending) or Hilton (if using card for some other types of spending in addition to hotel spending)

4) Choice

Low (<$100) annual fee cards

1) Hyatt

2) Wyndham

3) Hilton

Both IHG and Marriott (as well as Hyatt) offer one free night annually at select properties (generally the lower half of their portfolios) with their low annual fee cards.

I actually can't speak much about Sonesta because they've only become a bigger player in the past 12 months or so and I did a lot of my base research on hotel chains' reward programs and credit card offerings in summer 2020.

In most cases, holding a co-branded hotel card allows the holder to avoid having their hotel points expire if they use the card; without the card points often expire in 12-24 months. Exceptions to that general rule are Best Western (which has points that don't expire even if you don't have one of their credit cards) and Wyndham (which extends the point expiration to 48 months; without the card it is 18 months).

Finally, as the OP may already know, some chains focus on different segments of the hotel brand market than others. I'd generally classify the chains in the following manner:

*Economy/budget focus: Choice, Wyndham

*Lower mid-scale focus: Best Western, Sonesta (could also be in the next category)

*Upper mid-scale focus: IHG, Radisson

*Upper scale focus: Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott

Obviously there are many different brands within each hotel's portfolio (as an example, arguably the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in was the InterContinental in downtown Los Angeles, an IHG property that is most definitely an upper scale hotel), and even Choice and Wyndham have a bit of overlap with Hilton and Marriott in the mid-scale segment. (One example would be Wyndham's Wingate brand competing with Hilton's Hampton Inn brand.) All of the chains overlap at least a little bit. But some chains focus on budget travelers while others cater more to travelers who want a nicer experience and are willing to pay more money for it.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

Roadgeek395 — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 01:54:40 GMT

Thanks for the great information! Quick question... can I get 5% cash back for hotel stays with citi custom cash?

Re: Best credit card for hotels

K-in-Boston — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 03:27:18 GMT

Cobranded would typically offer the best bang for the buck with status and rewards if you were looking to build them up for personal use.

If you are looking for a brand-agnostic card and you are purchasing your own stays and being reimbursed, there could be a lot of earnings through things like Amex Travel and Chase Travel. Suggestions would really depend on how you plan to redeem the rewards, though, and if toward flights in which cabin, which alliance, and which origins/destinations.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

Loquat — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 18:15:56 GMT

@Roadgeek395 Since you said you’re not brand specific I’m going to assume that loyalty isn’t something you’re very worried about either.

If such is the case and you want to avoid an annual fee, I’d go with a Chase or Synchrony version of the Amazon card and get 3% cash back (5% if prime) and just buy Hotels.com gift cards.

That allows you to be a free agent while collecting 3-5% back in the process. Just something to consider.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

jcooks — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 18:35:00 GMT

Status perks are amazing, especially when you can easily obtain it for free through reimbursement for stays from your employer. The negative to this is that you could feel "stuck" with a specific brand.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

Aim_High — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 18:50:42 GMT

I'm assuming your travel is primarily by car since you're focused on hotel and not hotels/flights? That makes a difference. And also, do you purchase airfare for personal travel such as vacations? Some cards have a better redemption value for airfare.

As others have said, brand-specific cards may offer better overall value if they will work for your situation. The major hotel chains listed above offer a large footprint with properties in many markets and at varying price-points. If you decide to stick with one chain, getting a card that offers an annual "free night" benefit will normally offset the annual fees and you'll get superior earnings for purchases in the hotel, to include things such as restaurant bills charged to your room. If you are unable or unwilling to use any card's benefits and credits against the AF, then that's a poor card-match for you. If the card is a good fit, the AF often becomes a moot point.

Since others have discussed more about the hotel-branded cards, I'll go over some of the best general purpose travel cards available today. If you truly need a brand-agnostic card, there are plenty to choose from that could work reasonably well. For some, you will still get better redemption value of rewards if you use them for travel. Some suggestions:

Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa: AF $95 but offset with a $50 credit against hotel purchases though Chase. (Effective AF $45.) Earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points (URs.) 1 point always = at least 1% in cash value, so URs can be a better value for cash redemption options than some competing point cards. 5x points on travel purchased through Chase. Also, through 03/2022, 5x points on LYFT. 3x points on dining out. 3x points on online grocery purchases. 3x points on streaming services. 2x points on all travel purchased outside of Chase. Points are worth 25% more in value when redeemed for travel through the Chase portal. No Foreign Transaction Fee. Ability to transfer points 1:1 value to airline and hotel partners including United, Southwest or Jet Blue airlines plus international partners; Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG hotels. Benefits with Door Dash and Pelaton. Travel and purchase protections including primary Rental Car CDW. Current SUB is 100K UR points (on $4k spend) worth up to $1,250 in value when redeemed through Chase travel.

*Note: I personally like the Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa but the CSP is an overall better value for many AF-averse travelers. CSR has a higher $550 AF with $300 in travel credits, making the effective AF $150. CSR magnifies UR point redemption by 50% instead of 25% for CSP. There are additional credits than can further lower the fee and it offers other premium Visa Infinite benefits not available on CSP, but CSP can be easier to justify for many of our members, especially after the recent Chase "refresh" of the card.

Citi Premier Mastercard: AF $95 but easily offset by annual hotel credit of $100 for one stay of $500 of more. (If your business travel costs less per stay, it could be used on a personal vacation.) Earns Citi Thank You points (TY.) 3x points for air travel, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations. Ability to transfer points to airline partners at a higher value; gift card/cash redemption may be 1 ccp or less. Citi currently offers no hotel partners for point transfer. No Foreign Transaction Fee. Current SUB is 80K TY points (on $4K spend) worth $800 in gift cards.

American Express Green charge card: For someone who purchases less airfare, this may be a less desirable selection for you that the two cards above. AF $150 with credits that are more useful for air travel ($100 credit for CLEAR security for airports and stadiums; $100 credit for airport lounges.) Earns AMEX Member Rewards points (MRs.) 3x MR on travel including hotels, 3x points on transit, 3x points on restaurants. No Foreign Transaction Fees. Ability to transfer points to airline/hotel partners at 1:1 value including Delta, Hawaiian, Jet Blue airlines plus international partners; and Marriott, Hilton, and IHG hotels. Like Citi TY points, MR gift card/cash values may be 1 ccp or less. While the transfer partners are better than Citi Premier, if you can't claim the $200 in airline-related credits the $150 AF may be more burdensome that the Premier for less frequent fliers. Current SUB is 45K MR points (on $2K spend.)

Bank of America Premium Rewards Visa: *Mainly a contender if you can move assets including IRA accounts of at least $50K to $100K into Merrill Lynch/Bank of America to qualify for the Platinum Honors level of their Preferred Rewards. AF of $95 can be completely offset by $100 annual airline fee credit as well as $100/4 years TSA Global Entry credit. Base earnings are 1.5% on everything and 2% on all dining and travel. However, with Preferred Rewards status of Gold/Platinum/Platinum honors, the earning are multiplied by 1.25, 1.50 or 1.75. So the top rate earns 3.5% in cash value on all travel and dining plus 2.625% on everything else. At the "Platinum" level ($50K invested), the earnings are still a very respectable 3% for dining/travel and 2.25% everything else. (One benefit is this card earns straight-forward cash value redemption. The value of any points-based system may change or become diluted; value can't be determined until they are redeemed.) No Foreign Transaction Fees. Travel and purchase protections. Current SUB 50K points (on $3K spend) worth $500.

US Bank Altitude Reserve Visa: *You need to be an established customer of USB with either deposit accounts or another credit card to be approved for the AR. AF $400 but card has $325 in travel credits against the AF, making the effective AF $75. Earns 5x points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked through USB. 3x points on all mobile wallet purchases (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, etc.) 3x points on travel. Premium Visa Infinite benefits. No Foreign Transaction Fee. Redemption through Real-Time Rewards (RTR) can be worth 50% more in value. Current SUB is 50K points (on $4500 spend) worth up to $750 in travel.

Navy Federal Credit Union Flagship Rewards Visa: $49 AF but has TSA Global Entry credit for $100/4 years making effective AF $24 if you travel internationally. Earns 3X points on travel and 2X points on everything else. Points can be redeemed for cash at 1 ccp or for travel purchases though the travel portal. Not only No Foreign Transaction Fee but also no Cash Advance or Balance Transfer fees. APR as low as 9.99%, much lower than other travel cards. Includes travel accident insurance, cell phone protection, and travel and emergency assistance. Current SUB is 40K points (on $4K spend) worth $400 plus one year of Amazon Prime worth $130. Caveats: Minimum redemption of $50 is higher than many cards. Also, while you don't need to be a veteran to join, if you aren't a veteran you must have a family member who was including parents, grandparents, children, or siblings.

Citi Costco Cash back Visa: No AF beyond basic Costco membership. A great value if you already shop in the warehouse! Earns 4% cash back on gasoline (up to $7K annually.) Earns 3% on travel and dining, uncapped. 2% at Costco/Costco.com. No Foreign Transaction Fee. Caveat: Rewards are paid annually in a check that must be redeemed inside a Costco warehouse.

If you are a veteran and can qualify for the PenFed Honors Advanatage program, the PenFed Pathfinder Rewards Visa is definitely worth a look. The $95 AF is waived for Honors Advantage members. Credits include $100 annual airline fee credit and $100/4 years TSA Global Entry credit. Beside the AF waiver, the card earns a higher 4x points on travel for Honors Advantage members ... or 3x points for other members. (Travel includes airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, travel agencies, tolls, commuter transportation, Bus lines, Taxi/Uber/Lyft.) Earns 1.5X points on all non-travel purchases. Points are worth no less than 00.85 ccp but up to 1 ccp when redeemed for travel. No Foreign Transaction Fees or Cash Advance fees. Minimum redemption is 1K points. Unlike most of the above cards whose points do not expire as long as the account is open and in good standing, the Pathfinder Rewards points expire FIVE (5) years after being awarded. Current SUB 50K points (on $3K spend) worth up to $500.

My other suggestion would be a simple flat-rate card. The top pick would be the AOD FCU Visa Signature, which offers a flat 3% uncategorized and uncapped cash back. The application process is a little difficult but the card is exceptional. No AF. Rewards are automatically credited monthly against the statement balance. Very low 7.49% APR. No Foreign Transaction Fee. No balance transfer fee. Low cash advance fees. Balance transfers and cash advances process at the same APR as purchase APR, as low as 7.49%.

Yes, the Citi Custom Cash Mastercard could be used for 5% back on up to $500 monthly on hotels*. ($25 monthly maximum in rewards value.) If you only spend on-average of $125 per week or less on hotels and you don't use the card for other categories, it could be a good fit. However, the dismal 1% earnings over any spending over $500 in highest category or for secondary categories might easily wipe out your higher 5% rewards if you don't monitor spending or use other cards as part of your program. That is why some of the above cards might be a better suggestion for you, depending on your spending and alternative card options. The Custom Cash has a lower but easier to reach SUB at $200 for $750 in spending. While the Custom Cash has no AF, it also includes a 3% FTF, so it's not a thrifty pick for international purchases.

*One Custom Cash category is "Select Travel" defined as "Includes airline, hotel, cruise line and travel agency purchases. Excludes timeshares, boat leases and rentals, campgrounds and trailer parks, and real estate agencies."

Re: Best credit card for hotels

Roadgeek395 — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 23:56:31 GMT

I can't thank you all enough! All of you give such great information!

With the information I have received I think I'm gonna go with the NFCU Flagship, I am already a member of NFCU.

I am also gonna sign up for all the hotel reward programs I can. I have already signed up for Best Western Rewards.

Thanks again everyone!

Re: Best credit card for hotels

Hoben02 — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 00:06:43 GMT

If you can get status with bofa like platinum honors the bofa cash rewards is a better deal becuz it will return 5.25% for travel

Re: Best credit card for hotels

JNA1 — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 00:15:40 GMT

IMO, if your hotel spend doesn't exceed $5000 per year, the Synovus Travel Cards is the best cash back travel card there is. You get 5% up to $5K annually on travel charges, and you also have a 3% selectable 3% category up $3K per quarter. If you use your points to pay travel related expenses, the points are worth 1.25 cents per point, effectively making it a 6.25% for travel and 3.75% for selectable. There is a $50 AF after the first year.
You could use the card for 6.25% travel and 3.75% for dining, gas, or utilities and rack up a lot of points that can be applied to your hotel charges.

https://www.synovus.com/personal/charge/credit-cards/

Re: Best credit card for hotels

SouthJamaica — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 16:02:39 GMT

@Roadgeek395 wrote:
Hey everyone!

I recently started a new job the requires overnight travel about half of the time. I am interested in getting a CC that offers the best cash back or rewards on hotel stays. I prefer it to not be brand specific and no AF but I'd be willing to pay an AF if the rewards are worth it.

Thanks in advance!

IMHO some of the best travel cards that are not brand specific are Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Citi Premier.

Premier and CSP have $95 annual fees which are, in my opinion, not bad considering what you get. CSR has what sounds like a big annual fee -- ~~$450~~ $550 -- but you immediately get a $300 travel credit on your first $300 travel purchase, so it's really only ~~$150~~ $250. You might feel that ~~The~~ the benefits of the card ~~IMHO easily~~ outweigh the ~~$150~~ $250 fee.

Although they're brand specific the Hilton cards are pretty diverse, Hilton has a LOT of brands under its umbrella. And I have found the Hilton Honors cards to be good. The low-end card has no annual fee.

[Thanks to @unsungivy for correcting my earlier misstatement about the CSR fee]

Re: Best credit card for hotels

unsungivy — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 15:42:04 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Roadgeek395 wrote:
Hey everyone!

I recently started a new job the requires overnight travel about half of the time. I am interested in getting a CC that offers the best cash back or rewards on hotel stays. I prefer it to not be brand specific and no AF but I'd be willing to pay an AF if the rewards are worth it.

Thanks in advance!
IMHO some of the best travel cards that are not brand specific are Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Citi Premier.

Premier and CSP have $95 annual fees which are, in my opinion, not bad considering what you get. CSR has what sounds like a big annual fee -- $450 -- but you immediately get a $300 travel credit on your first $300 travel purchase, so it's really only $150. The benefits of the card IMHO easily outweigh the $150 fee.

Although they're brand specific the Hilton cards are pretty diverse, Hilton has a LOT of brands under its umbrella. And I have found the Hilton Honors cards to be good. The low-end card has no annual fee.

$550, not $450.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

SouthJamaica — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 15:58:57 GMT

@unsungivy wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Roadgeek395 wrote:
Hey everyone!

I recently started a new job the requires overnight travel about half of the time. I am interested in getting a CC that offers the best cash back or rewards on hotel stays. I prefer it to not be brand specific and no AF but I'd be willing to pay an AF if the rewards are worth it.

Thanks in advance!
IMHO some of the best travel cards that are not brand specific are Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Citi Premier.

Premier and CSP have $95 annual fees which are, in my opinion, not bad considering what you get. CSR has what sounds like a big annual fee -- $450 -- but you immediately get a $300 travel credit on your first $300 travel purchase, so it's really only $150. The benefits of the card IMHO easily outweigh the $150 fee.

Although they're brand specific the Hilton cards are pretty diverse, Hilton has a LOT of brands under its umbrella. And I have found the Hilton Honors cards to be good. The low-end card has no annual fee.

$550, not $450.

Oh my goodness.

I'll go issue a correction.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

HHH71 — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 21:17:31 GMT

I know you said you preferred to not have an annual fee and don't want a branded card. I stay in Hotels around 200 nights a year, and have tried every type of hotel card. I have settled on the Amex Hilton Aspire. Yes, it has a $450 annual fee; but based upon my usage, I earn with spend about 60,000-70,000 points a month. That is usually 2 nights, sometimes 3 at a modest Hilton property. That is usually $150 a night; so my annual card fee is paid back in the first 4-6 weeks. I also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum. I don't really like their tavel portals based upon my frequency. They may be good for the casual traveler. My wife just spend 1,150,000 of my hilton points in London (we are from US). The last 10 nights were at the Waldorf in London. When you redeem rewards points for stay, the 5th night is free. I haven't really tallied it accurately, but I would say conservatively, I get about $3k - $5k a year of value throught this card.

It's really tough to say because each of our situations is different.

Good luck!

Re: Best credit card for hotels

Aim_High — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 03:14:03 GMT

@unsungivy wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
IMHO some of the best travel cards that are not brand specific are Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Citi Premier. ...CSR has what sounds like a big annual fee -- $450 ...

$550, not $450

We knew what you meant @SouthJamaica but I noticed it too. Thanks for the correction. Actually it wasn't totally wrong. The AF was $450 until about 18 months ago. And for much of that time, Chase has offered liberal $100 credits back against the AF for established cardholders. My last two AFs have processed at $450 instead of the updated $550 advertised fee.

I totally agree that while the fee sounds high, the $300 travel credit and other easy credits and benefits make it card easy to justify as a keeper.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

unsungivy — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 12:38:36 GMT

@HHH71 wrote:
I know you said you preferred to not have an annual fee and don't want a branded card. I stay in Hotels around 200 nights a year, and have tried every type of hotel card. I have settled on the Amex Hilton Aspire. Yes, it has a $450 annual fee; but based upon my usage, I earn with spend about 60,000-70,000 points a month. That is usually 2 nights, sometimes 3 at a modest Hilton property. That is usually $150 a night; so my annual card fee is paid back in the first 4-6 weeks. I also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum. I don't really like their tavel portals based upon my frequency. They may be good for the casual traveler. My wife just spend 1,150,000 of my hilton points in London (we are from US). The last 10 nights were at the Waldorf in London. When you redeem rewards points for stay, the 5th night is free. I haven't really tallied it accurately, but I would say conservatively, I get about $3k - $5k a year of value throught this card.
It's really tough to say because each of our situations is different.
Good luck!

Just picked up the Marriott Brilliant for P2 for similar reasons. Same price, $450, but immediately cashed in $300 statements credits at a Marriott hotel on his first stay, and he still has $200 in welcome bonus credits to use at restaurants over the next 5 months (when it's not 5% Discover quarter), so "paying for itself" for the first year is just about done (as well as the 75k points he earned). In addition, he gets Priority Pass, the Free Night cert at a 50,000 point level, etc. The Marriott Brilliant also starts the holder out with Gold level every year... He's been working on Lifetime status for the past few years. We only recently found out that many hotels will MATCH your status with other hotel chains 🤯, so focusing primarily on getting one up and then copy-pasting it to others doesn't seem like a terrible idea.

Re: Best credit card for hotels

unsungivy — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 12:41:49 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@unsungivy wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
IMHO some of the best travel cards that are not brand specific are Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Citi Premier. ...CSR has what sounds like a big annual fee -- $450 ...

$550, not $450
We knew what you meant @SouthJamaica but I noticed it too. Thanks for the correction. Actually it wasn't totally wrong. The AF was $450 until about 18 months ago. And for much of that time, Chase has offered liberal $100 credits back against the AF for established cardholders. My last two AFs have processed at $450 instead of the updated $550 advertised fee.

I totally agree that while the fee sounds high, the $300 travel credit and other easy credits and benefits make it card easy to justify as a keeper.

I only felt it important to correct because we're looking at a new applicant who would not be getting the waived fee that people had been getting. 👍