Best Hotel Credit Cards in 2024

Make a co-branded hotel credit card worth it by staying brand loyal and traveling frequently.

You’ll get the most bang for your buck with a co-branded hotel credit card if you typically stay with the same hotel brand three or more times a year.

Even for travelers who stay with different hotel brands, or for those who only stay at hotels once or twice a year, hotel credit cards can still come in handy if you value earning free nights, perks and upgrades during your stay. When you accumulate enough points, you can cash your rewards in for free hotel stays on your next vacation.

Not interested in going brand loyal yet? General travel credit cards earn flexible points that can be worthwhile when you want to maintain flexibility, while also saving some dollars towards hotels when you travel.

Accumulate flexible points during the year and transfer to a hotel partner through your issuer’s rewards program.

Are you loyal to one particular brand of hotel, or do you prefer to mix up your stays based on where you’re traveling? If you’re a strong brand loyalist, and almost always travel to places where you can stay at that brand’s hotels, a hotel co-branded card may make sense for you. If you don’t like to be confined to one brand, you may want to consider a general travel card.

Tip: Consider the size of a hotel program’s network and make sure it has locations where you want to travel. Marriott, Hilton and IHG are large hotel programs that generally offer the best coverage. If you’re collecting points for a trip, you should also check bookings for your intended travel dates to make sure award nights are available before you invest in a co-branded card.

Co-branded hotel cards typically offer hotel-specific perks that can add significantly to their value. For example, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card offers a free night certificate worth up to 35,000 points each year on your card anniversary. This benefit alone justifies the annual fee each year for many cardholders.

Keep an eye out for these benefits:

• Annual free night awards
• Automatic elite status
• Elite night credits

Now consider the most important factors that will impact a credit card’s dollar value: sign-up bonus, earning rate and point value.

First year value = sign-up bonus + (earning rate x estimated annual spend) x redemption value – annual fee

Sign-up bonus
First, look at the number of points or miles you earn, but don’t stop there. Calculate the dollar value of the bonus and also look at how many nights the points will cover for the hotel you plan to book.

You should also look at the minimum spending requirement you have to meet in order to get the bonus. Make sure you can comfortably meet the requirement while paying off your balance in full each month — you definitely don’t want to pay interest that would cancel out all or part of your bonus.

Earning rate
The earning rate is one of the most important factors in choosing the best hotel rewards credit card for you. Look at how many points you’ll earn for stays at one of the hotels in the brand portfolio, as well as what you’ll earn in other bonus categories and for all other spending. Review your spending patterns to see how much you can earn with each card you’re considering.

Point value
All points are not created equal, and hotel loyalty program points tend to be worth less than the points on general travel cards with transferable points. Don’t just look at the number of points you’ll earn with your everyday spending — consider how much those points are worth in dollars, along with what the points translate to in terms of hotel stays.

Weigh the card’s first year value in step 3 against the perks mentioned in steps 1 and 2 — and pick the card that satisfies your needs best.

One of the fastest and easiest ways to get a free stay at a hotel is to get a hotel rewards credit card. A hotel rewards card typically comes with a sign-up bonus that you earn for spending a certain amount on your card within a certain time. You can earn the bonus by putting your everyday spending on the card, then cash the bonus in for a free stay.

Another way to earn a free hotel stay is by joining a hotel loyalty program and staying regularly at hotels that are part of that program. Each time you complete a qualified stay, you’ll earn points you can accumulate toward a free night or stay in the future.

Many hotel credit cards offer a free night certificate when you meet certain criteria. For example, it’s common to offer a free night each year after your cardmember anniversary. You may also earn a free night by spending a certain amount on your card. The details will vary based on the program.

Another great way to get a free hotel stay is to earn elite status with your preferred hotel loyalty program. For example, with the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, each elite status level you attain will grant you a higher number of points on Marriott hotel stays that you can then use towards a free hotel stay. In addition, when you achieve Platinum status, you can choose five Suite Night Awards as your Annual Choice Benefit.

Hotel credit cards are affiliated with a hotel chain and its loyalty program, offering cardholders the ability to earn points for free stays. Each card will offer a varying rewards rate, with elevated bonuses for hotel spending. Some hotel credit cards even offer complimentary elite status and other exclusive hotel and travel benefits.

If you travel often, you should consider applying for a hotel credit card. As a cardholder, you’ll earn an elevated rewards rate on any hotel stays and everyday purchases. However, you’ll want to select a credit card with the best hotel loyalty program for you — this will depend on which hotel chain you prefer.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card is the best Marriott credit card out there. As a luxury hotel card, you’ll pay a $650 annual fee, but you’ll earn benefits like up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide.

Hotel credit cards work just like any other travel rewards card. If there’s an annual fee, you’ll pay this fee every card membership year. You’ll earn hotel points through the card’s reward rate, redeemable for free stays through the loyalty program. And, depending on the card, you’ll earn complimentary elite status, affording you bonus points and free nights.

The pros of hotel credit cards include the opportunity to earn points for free stays, hotel elite status and free night awards. The cons are that you’re locked into one hotel brand, and hotel points are worth notoriously less than airline miles and general travel rewards points.

All hotel co-branded credit cards offer the ability to earn points that you can redeem toward free hotel stays. Or, you can opt for a general travel rewards card, like The Platinum Card^® from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card, to transfer your points to hotel loyalty programs.

Any frequent traveler — whether you travel solo, with your family or in groups or for business — is a great candidate for a hotel credit card. If you already own an airline or general travel rewards cards, adding a hotel credit card to your wallet can help you diversify your points-earning strategy.

While most hotels require a credit card for booking, it is possible to pay with cash, a debit card or a prepaid card in some instances. To find out what hotels don’t require a credit card, we recommend calling the hotel directly and asking what their policy is regarding non-credit card payments.

If you’re deciding between a Marriott versus Hilton credit card, the answer will depend on your personal preferences and travel habits. If you tend to stay more frequently with one brand over the other, consider getting a credit card for that hotel chain. You could always get a card for both brands and just make sure that one or both of them don’t charge an annual fee in order to keep the cost of ownership down.