@Anonymous wrote:I have been looking to overhaul my entire credit card portfolio as I only have a Discover it Chrome and a Bank of America Visa card (no rewards). I have been I recently applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred and got approved. I am now looking now at applying for a hotel card. I'm trying to choose between the Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors cards. I would preferably go for the approximately $100 versions, but I can be swayed for the $450 versions. I like the fact that Hilton Honors offer better statuses, but the Marriott card is only for a limited time, whereas the Hilton card offers have been around for a little while.
Personally I think you'd be better off just using the CSP for your travel needs. If you want to diversify, maybe get the Citi Premier card, which I like.
I have a Bonvoy card and a couple of Hilton cards. I prefer Hilton but neither seems very valuable to me. The Hilton points wind up being worth about 4/10 of a cent to me, the Bonvoy points about a third of a cent. It seems that I always get breakfast included with Hilton.
I was recently "offered" an "upgrade" to the expensive Hilton card -- the one with a $450 AF. After looking it over I concluded that it would be worth it for someone who travels A LOT using Hilton hotels with the card, otherwise not.
I think, overall, the Hilton Aspire ($450 AF) is probably the best hotel card out there. The credits amount to $500/year and Diamond status is fantastic. It can also be leveraged to status match with some other programs, making it even more valuable.
[2/2019]
I have also been contemplating which hotel card to pick up. I wanted to pick up hotel card for my trip to Japan and thailand next year. It makes me sad how bad the value for hotel cards are . For somebody who doesn’t travel and use hotels all that much maybe few times a year, I can’t figure out what would be best for my needs.
Hotel cards are more for the brand loyalists then the average joe IMO.
If you get a cobranded Hilton Card but everywhere you want to go is better served by Marriott. You may pay more for the room or take a subpar property because you feel trapped by the need to use the credits.
I would start off by looking at each hotel and it’s brands before even considering the credit card.
If you get a cobranded Hilton Card but everywhere you want to go is better served by Marriott. You may pay more for the room or take a subpar property because you feel trapped by the need to use the credits.
I would start off by looking at each hotel and it’s brands before even considering the credit card.
I have both the Hilton Ascend and standard Bonvoy, which converted from the Amex SPG ($95 cards).
In general, the Hilton earns faster than the Bonvoy with its 6x at gas, restaurants, and groceries. 6x at $.06 valuation makes it a surprisingly good 3.6% category card. Almost good enough to be a daily driver. It also gives priority Pass membership, which is a major plus for a $95 card. For those two reasons I keep the card.
The Bonvoy gives a free night at every anniversary, reason enough for me to keep the card despite its crappy rewards structure. It also give free boingo membership, my only card that does so.
If I were only to carry one card, it would probably be the Bonvoy, simply because the annual free night more than covers the annual fee. If I were you, I'd get both! Happy hunting!
In general, the Hilton earns faster than the Bonvoy with its 6x at gas, restaurants, and groceries. 6x at $.06 valuation makes it a surprisingly good 3.6% category card. Almost good enough to be a daily driver. It also gives priority Pass membership, which is a major plus for a $95 card. For those two reasons I keep the card.
The Bonvoy gives a free night at every anniversary, reason enough for me to keep the card despite its crappy rewards structure. It also give free boingo membership, my only card that does so.
If I were only to carry one card, it would probably be the Bonvoy, simply because the annual free night more than covers the annual fee. If I were you, I'd get both! Happy hunting!
I have both the Hilton Ascend and standard Bonvoy, which converted from the Amex SPG ($95 cards).
In general, the Hilton earns faster than the Bonvoy with its 6x at gas, restaurants, and groceries. 6x at $.06 valuation makes it a surprisingly good 3.6% category card. Almost good enough to be a daily driver. It also gives priority Pass membership, which is a major plus for a $95 card. For those two reasons I keep the card.
The Bonvoy gives a free night at every anniversary, reason enough for me to keep the card despite its crappy rewards structure. It also give free boingo membership, my only card that does so.
If I were only to carry one card, it would probably be the Bonvoy, simply because the annual free night more than covers the annual fee. If I were you, I'd get both! Happy hunting!
In general, the Hilton earns faster than the Bonvoy with its 6x at gas, restaurants, and groceries. 6x at $.06 valuation makes it a surprisingly good 3.6% category card. Almost good enough to be a daily driver. It also gives priority Pass membership, which is a major plus for a $95 card. For those two reasons I keep the card.
The Bonvoy gives a free night at every anniversary, reason enough for me to keep the card despite its crappy rewards structure. It also give free boingo membership, my only card that does so.
If I were only to carry one card, it would probably be the Bonvoy, simply because the annual free night more than covers the annual fee. If I were you, I'd get both! Happy hunting!
@jdbkiang wrote:I think, overall, the Hilton Aspire ($450 AF) is probably the best hotel card out there. The credits amount to $500/year and Diamond status is fantastic. It can also be leveraged to status match with some other programs, making it even more valuable.
What chain can you status match to with diamond?
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@red259 wrote:
@jdbkiang wrote:I think, overall, the Hilton Aspire ($450 AF) is probably the best hotel card out there. The credits amount to $500/year and Diamond status is fantastic. It can also be leveraged to status match with some other programs, making it even more valuable.
What chain can you status match to with diamond?
Wyndham will give you Diamond status for a few months and allow you to keep it after a certain amount of stays. However, you can also match Wyndham Diamond to TR Diamond and kind of go back and forth with those 2. I also got National Executive Elite with Hilton Diamond, and used NEE to match to Hertz PC.