In a hotel’s loyalty program, you can earn points that you can use to get free nights, upgrades to a better room, and other perks. These points are comparable to airline frequent flyer miles, but they can be redeemed for free flights in the future. Most hotel loyalty programs have information about nightly award prices on their websites, so you can save up points until you have enough to get what you want. Remember that pricing might change by season and even by the night.

How Hotel Credit Cards Work

Hotel credit cards function similarly to other credit cards that offer benefits. Every purchase will earn you points, which will be transferred into your hotel reward account after your credit card bill closes.

Hotel credit cards that are co-branded with certain hotel chains let you earn points with your favorite loyalty program. They may also come with extra benefits, like a free breakfast or a discount on a hotel room.

Advantage Of Having Hotel Credit Cards

The most significant advantage of hotel credit cards is the possibility of collecting hotel points with every purchase. Typically, cards offer bonus points when used to pay for hotel bills, but other bonus categories may also be available.

Premium hotel credit cards usually feature additional benefits in addition to an annual fee. The specific advantages vary with each card, with automatic elite status with a hotel chain being a popular perk. Some cards also come with free night certificates every time the card is renewed, and cards with the highest tiers may offer extra travel perks like credits for trusted traveler programs or access to airport lounges.

Best Hotel Credit Cards To Choose From

If you stay at a certain hotel chain a lot and are loyal to it, getting a cobranded hotel credit card can be a no-brainer. In contrast to airline credit cards, which may not always provide sufficient benefits to warrant an annual charge, the majority of hotel credit cards offer exceptionally excellent benefit packages. You might get a voucher for a free night on your anniversary, free elite status (which could get you a free breakfast), more points, or even property credits.

Also, some hotel credit cards are offering better sign-up bonuses right now, which makes this a great time to get points and rewards for future trips. 

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

Consider the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card if you want to earn rewards at a reasonable rate on hotel purchases without having to pay an annual fee. 5X miles are awarded on hotel and rental vehicle bookings made through Capital One Travel.

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card gives you 1.25 miles for every dollar you spend on everything else. This is less than some of the other cards on this list, but it’s still a great deal since there’s no annual fee. Miles can be quickly redeemed to book new travel with Capital One Travel, redeemed for already purchased travel, or transferred to a number of travel partners, such as hotel programs like Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges, and Wyndham Rewards.

In addition to rewards, this card provides many of the same travel perks as our top travel rewards credit card, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, but without the annual fee. This offers 24-hour travel assistance, collision damage waivers for rental cars, and no foreign transaction costs. Additionally, you can enjoy 0% intro APR on new purchases for 15 months, which is uncommon among travel cards. After the introductory period expires, the variable APR ranges from 19.24% to 29.24%.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card is good for people who don’t stay at Marriott very often and can’t pay an expensive annual fee. It has an annual fee of $95, and if you spend $3,000 in the first three months, you can get up to three free nights that you can exchange for up to 50,000 points each.

This card stands out because it comes with a Free Night Award every year, which can be used to pay for a one-night stay worth up to 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. You will also get free Silver Elite status with Marriott and the chance to get Gold Elite status after spending $35,000 per year. You will also get 15 Elite Night Credits per year and the chance to earn one more Elite Night Credit for every $5,000 you spend on the card.

Also, there are no fees for international transactions, insurance for delayed baggage, compensation for lost luggage, compensation for delayed trips, and purchase protection when you use your card for travel and other big purchases.

Cardholders get 3X points on the first $6,000 spent annually at supermarkets, gas stations, and restaurants, and 2X points on all other transactions.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the most well-known travel rewards credit cards, offering 5 points per dollar spent on travel booked through the Chase travel portal and 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs). With Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can transfer these valuable points to partner airlines and hotels or use them right away to book travel at a rate of 1.25 cents per point.

As many travelers get ready for a busy summer (and beyond), we often get asked, “Which travel credit card should you start with?”

It provides lucrative benefits. It also has a modest annual charge. In fact, many of us began our points-and-miles adventure with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months after opening your account to earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards bonus points.