Best Hotel Rewards Credit Cards

Best Hotel Credit Cards

If you're a frequent traveler and want to maximize your hotel stays, a hotel credit card might be the perfect fit for you. These cards allow you to earn rewards points on all your purchases, which can be redeemed for free hotel stays, upgrades, and other perks.

Here's our top picks for best hotel credit cards:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Best for lounge access and luxury travel perks.
• American Express® Gold Card: Best for earning rewards on restaurants and supermarket purchases.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best for flexible travel rewards.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best for high value and travel benefits.
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: Best for Hilton travelers.
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card: Best for occasional Marriott travelers.
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Best for high-end Marriott travelers.
• Chase World of Hyatt Card: Best for Hyatt travelers.
• IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card: Best for IHG travelers.

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The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Earning Rate: Earn 5X points on airfare booked direct or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per year) and 5X points on prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel. All other purchases will earn you 1X.
• Annual Credits: Up to $300 in Equinox statement credits, up to $240 in digital entertainment statement credits, up to $200 in airline fee statement credits, $200 in Uber Cash (up to $15 per month and up to $35 in December), up to $200 in statement credits for purchases made with Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection credit on 2 night minimum bookings, $189 CLEAR® Plus statement credit, $155 Walmart+ statement credit (up to $12.95 per month, subject to auto-renew), and up to $100 in statement credits for Saks Fifth Avenue ($50 credit bi-annually).
• Main Highlights: Global lounge access (Centurion lounges, Delta SkyClub lounges, Airspace lounges, Escape lounges, and Priority Pass lounges), superb purchase insurance, complimentary elite status with Hilton and Marriott, and up to a $100 statement credit every 4 years for Global Entry or up to $85 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck application fee.
• Hotel Transfer Partners: Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Choice Privileges.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Annual Fee: $695. (See Rates and Fees)
• Summary: If you frequent Marriott and/or Hilton, this is an excellent luxury card to have. Not only can you enroll in complimentary Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, points earned in the program can also be transferred directly to both programs (and Choice Hotels too) which is great for topping off your account and getting to free nights faster. The annual fee is hefty, but the card offers thousands in annual value.
• Calculate Card Value & Membership Rewards Points per dollar spent for The Platinum Card from American Express.
• Learn More about The Platinum Card from American Express.

American Express® Gold Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 4X Membership Rewards points on restaurant purchases worldwide, 4X at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, then 1X), 3X points on airfare purchased direct or through American Express Travel, and 1X points on all other purchases.
• Annual Credits: Up to $120 in annual dining credit ($10 per month) and up to $120 in annual Uber Cash ($10 per month).
• Main Highlights: Book hotels through The Hotel Collection with American Express Travel and receive a $100 hotel credit and room upgrade upon arrival (when available) when booking at least a two consecutive night stay.
• Hotel Transfer Partners: Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Choice Privileges.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Annual Fee: $250. (See Rates and Fees)
• Summary: The high earning rates makes this the best flexible travel rewards card for Marriott, Hilton, and Choice when it comes to restaurants and U.S. supermarket purchases. Points earned with this card can be transferred to directly to all three programs. If you can make use of the annual credits, you'll easily offset the annual fee... but the 4X earning rates is more than enough value on its own if you spend moderately on the card.
• Calculate Card Value & Membership Rewards Points per dollar spent for the American Express Gold Card.
• Learn More about the American Express Gold Card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3X on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, 2X on other travel purchases, and 1X on everything else.
• Annual Credits: $50 credit towards hotels booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
• Main Highlights: 10% bonus points annually based on how much you spent the prior cardmember year and a 25% boost to point value when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• Hotel Transfer Partners: World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy and IHG Rewards.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• Annual Fee: $95.
• Summary: Points earned with this card can be transferred to World of Hyatt and IHG Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. While transfers to IHG is nice for topping off your account, transfers to Hyatt is the real deal here and will offer a superb return on your annual spending since it's not hard to get 2 cents or more in value per Hyatt point.
• Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
• Learn More about the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Earning Rate: Earn 10X points on Chase Dining and both hotel and car rental purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 5X on airfare through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3X on dining and other travel purchases, and 1X on everything else.
• Annual Credits: $300 travel credit.
• Main Highlights: Priority Pass Select membership, up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, top-notch travel insurance, and a 50% boost to point value on travel redemptions made through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• Hotel Transfer Partners: World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy and IHG Rewards.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• Annual Fee: $550.
• Summary: If you're loyal to Hyatt, Marriott, or IHG, you can build points with the card and transfer them to any of the programs whenever you want to redeem points for free nights which is fantastic. If you're not loyal to any hotel program, you'll get the most value out of this card because not only will you be able to book hotels directly through Chase and get an instant 1.5 cents in value per point (which is great for Marriott and IHG specifically), you will also earn a whopping 10X points whenever you book hotels through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This generates an excellent return on your spending.
• Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
• Learn More about the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 12X Hilton Honors points on Hilton spend, 6X points on U.S. restaurant, U.S. supermarket, and U.S. gas station spend, 4X points on U.S. online retail purchases, and 3X points on all other purchases.
• Annual Credits: Up to $200 Hilton credit.
• Main Highlights: Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status, free weekend night reward after spending $15K, and access to Hilton's Fifth Night Free benefit.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 170,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Annual Fee: $150. (See Rates and Fees)
• Summary: This is the most well-rounded Hilton credit card and will be the best option for most Hilton travelers. The earning rates are fantastic and it comes with a great amount of benefits. If you frequent Hilton resorts or you just want to most when it comes to Hilton, you'll want to consider the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card which is Hilton's premium credit card.
• Calculate Card Value & Hilton Honors Points per dollar spent for the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card.
• Learn More about the Hilton Honors Surpass Card.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at Marriott properties, 3X on the first $6,000 in combined grocery store, gas station, and dining purchases, and 2X on all other purchases.
• Main Highlights: Annual 35K-point free night award, complimentary Silver Elite status, and 15 elite nights annually towards achieving a higher status.
• Annual Fee: $95.
• Summary: This will be the best Marriott credit card for most travelers. It's great for maximizing your rewards on Marriott purchases and the annual free night award will offset the card's fee. The 3X categories are solid, but you can earn more (flexible) points using the AMEX Gold Card.
• Calculate Card Value & Marriott Bonvoy Points per dollar spent for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card.
• This card is unavailable through The Point Calculator.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program, 3X points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines, and 2X points on all other purchases.
• Annual Credits: Up to $300 in dining statement credits ($25 per month).
• Main Highlights: Annual 85K-point free night award, complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, Choice Award benefit after spending $60K, unlimited $100 luxury property credit, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, 25 Elite nights annually towards status, and Priority Pass Select.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Annual Fee: $695. (See Rates and Fees)
• Summary: This card provides the most value to those who plan on using the card daily and those who frequent Marriott's high-end properties at least a few times per year due to the annual 85K-point free night award and the unlimited $100 in luxury property credits. If neither of these apply to you, it's still possible to get value out of the card (especially with the intro bonus), but it would be much easier for most to just grab up the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless.
• Calculate Card Value & Marriott Bonvoy Points per dollar spent for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card.
• Learn More about the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card.

Chase World of Hyatt Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 4X Hyatt points at Hyatt Hotels, 2X at restaurants and on airline tickets purchases directly from airlines, local transit and commuting, and fitness club and gym memberships, and 1X on everything else.
• Main Highlights: Annual free night award good at a Category 1 - 4 Hyatt hotel, complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status, and 5 qualifying nights towards status.
• Annual Fee: $95.
• Summary: If you frequent Hyatt hotels, I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't have this card. Hyatt points can be redeemed towards free nights for an easy 2 cents each with very minimal effort which means every $1 you spent on this card is generating an excellent return on your spend. The card is worth picking up for the free annual night award alone since it more than offsets the annual fee.
• Calculate Card Value & Hyatt Points per dollar spent for the Chase World of Hyatt Card.
• This card is unavailable through The Point Calculator.

IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 10X IHG Points at IHG properties, 2X on gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurant purchases, and 1X on all other purchases.
• Main Highlights: Annual free night award, access to IHG's 5th night free benefit, complimentary IHG Platinum Elite status, and up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Annual Fee: $99.
• Summary: This the best credit card for earning IHG points and the best credit card for IHG travelers. The card grants access to IHG's 5th night free benefit which gives you the fifth night free when booking an award stay of 4 or more nights. The card also offers a free annual night which, like other cards that offer, offsets the annual fee.
• Calculate Card Value & IHG Points per dollar spent for the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card.
• Learn More about the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card.