You know the Motel 6 chain originally got its name for charging only $6 per night, but today the one down the street from me charges over $100... it’s not just inflation, the cost of traveling and lodging truly has skyrocketed over the past couple decades. Cards with hotel rewards might not score you $6 rooms, but they can save you a tremendous amount of money nonetheless. Hotel cards fall under two main categories...- Specific Hotel Credit Card: These are cards affiliated with a certain brand of hotels. Typically (but not always) these will give you much better rewards than a general travel rewards card. Hotels that offer their own branded cards include Starwood, Marriot, Hilton, and Hyatt.
- General Travel Card: These are independently issued by a bank. For the most part they are not affiliated with any hotel, but some of them, like AmEx Blue Sky, do come with discounts at some hotel chains.
If you always stay at the same hotel chain, then you will probably be better off with their branded card (if they have one). For those that stay at different hotels or just want more flexibility, a general hotel/travel rewards cards will make more sense.
The Best Hotel Rewards Credit Cards for 2012 (sponsored)
Top Choice: Chase Sapphire Preferred - $625.00 in free hotel/airfare
- Special signup bonus of 50,000 points (up to a $625.00 value!)
- Only card issuer that lets you transfer points on a 1 for 1 basis to multiple leading hotels; IHG Hotels Priority Club Rewards (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental, Staybridge Suites, etc), and Marriott Rewards (Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, etc).
- You can also transfer points on a 1 for 1 basis with frequent flyer programs at some major airlines
- 1 point per dollar on regular spending
- 2 points per dollar on dining and travel, plus even more extra points when booking hotels and airfare through Ultimate Rewards
- No blackout dates or travel restrictions
- Points are worth 25% more for airfare and hotel purchases through Ultimate Rewards (so your bonus of 50,000 points is worth either $500.00 as a cash rebate or $625.00 when used for hotel/airfare!)
- Every year you get a 7% points dividend on all the points earned during the previous 12 months
- Annual fee waived for the first year - a $95 value
Starwood American Express Card
- Among the largest hotel companies in the world. Brands include Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Le Meridian, and many others. In total they have over 940 properties.
- The rewards program beats out all the other branded hotel credit cards, bar none. You will see an apples-to-apples comparative chart in the review.
- The only credit card that allows you to transfer points to over thirty major airline frequent flyer programs, almost always on a 1 for 1 conversion.
- Special promo offer – earn up to 25,000 points (enough to score you 6 free nights at a category 1 or 2 hotel).
Marriott Rewards Visa Signature Cards - now available in 2 versions
- Marriott has over 3,000 locations worldwide and is the leading hotel chain in the U.S.
- 2 different cards, both with very generous reward programs. The Premier version offers 5x points at Marriott, 2x points on airline/dining/rental cars, and 1x point on everything else.
- It only costs 7,500 points for a free night at a category 1 hotel.
- Not only can points be redeemed for hotel stays, but also converted to miles on over 20 airlines, or spent on car rentals, cruises, travel packages, and even golf outings at Marriott properties
- Special signup offer for our readers – earn up to 30,000 points for the standard version or 50,000 for the Premier!
Discover Escape Card
- The highest rewards for normal spending – get 2 miles for every dollar spent.
- Miles can be used for flights on any airline, anytime. You can also use them for travel – including hotel stays – making this the ultimate travel rewards card.
- Free primary car rental insurance up to $50,000 with no deductible
- Free travel delay insurance that gives you up to $150 per day to use towards hotel, food, etc. if your trip is delayed.
- Free lost/damaged luggage insurance up to $2,500.
- Free trip cancellation insurance up to $2,500.
- Low annual fee of only $60
- Special 25,000 bonus mile offer for our readers
American Express Blue Sky
- Rewards can be redeemed for just about any travel purchase made with the card – pay for your hotel stay, your plane ticket, your rental car, etc.
- You get 33% higher rewards than most credit cards – for every $7,500 spent, you get $100 (that’s like getting 1.33% on all your spending).
- When you stay at a JW Marriott or Renaissance for a weekend stay, you get a free breakfast plus $100 off your next stay!
- Special discounts at JW Marriot, Hertz, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and more.
- Guaranteed room reservations at any hotel booked with the card.
- No annual fee
Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature
- No annual fee – a rare feature for a branded hotel credit card
- 6 HHonors points per dollar at Hilton’s global portfolio of participating hotels
- 3 HHonors points per dollar at grocery stores, gas stations and drugstores.
- 1 HHonors point per dollar on everything else.
