Best Hotel Credit Cards

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Hotel credit cards are among the most underrated cards out there, and I say that as someone who spends a lot of time thinking about credit cards. The conventional wisdom in the miles and points world is that transferable points cards are almost always the right call. For hotel spending, that’s often true. But hotel credit cards have something transferable points cards simply can’t match: free night certificates, automatic elite status, and perks you’d otherwise have to earn the hard way. In many cases, those benefits more than justify the annual fee even if you never put a dollar of everyday spending on the card.

Below, I’ve organized my picks by hotel chain. One co-branded card recommendation for each, followed by a section on which transferable points cards are actually worth using for that brand. Let me explain my thinking on all of it.

Compare hotel credit cards

The best co-branded hotel credit cards

For each of the four major hotel programs (Hyatt, IHG, Hilton, and Marriott), here’s the card I’d actually recommend, and why.

Hyatt: World of Hyatt Credit Card

I’ll start with my personal favorite hotel credit card, full stop. The World of Hyatt Credit Card has a $95 annual fee and is worth having regardless of whether you plan to spend significantly on it or not. That’s rare. Most hotel cards are either great for spending or great for the perks. The Hyatt card is genuinely both.

What makes the perks case so easy: every year on your account anniversary, you get a Category 1-4 free night certificate with no spending required. I’ve consistently been able to use mine at hotels costing $250+ per night. That’s a $250+ hotel night for a $95 annual fee, before you factor in anything else. The math doesn’t require much more explanation.

You also get complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as you hold the card. That comes with preferred room upgrades, 2PM checkout, premium internet, and a 10% points bonus, plus five elite qualifying nights toward status annually just for being a cardmember, with no spending required.

If you want to spend on the card, $15,000 per year is the sweet spot I’ve settled into. That earns you a second Category 1-4 free night certificate plus six additional elite nights, meaning you’re earning 11 elite nights toward status annually with the card. Even ignoring the elite nights entirely, spending $15,000 in non-bonus categories and getting a certificate redeemable at a hotel costing up to 18,000 points is like earning over 2x World of Hyatt points per dollar on everyday purchases. That’s a strong return for a $95 card.

Link: Learn more about the World of Hyatt Credit Card

IHG: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

The IHG Premier credit card is a card I think just about everyone should have, regardless of how loyal you are to IHG and regardless of how much you plan to spend on it. Everyone in my family has one, for no other reason than the anniversary free night certificate. We’ve consistently redeemed those certificates at properties costing $250+ per night in cash. For a $99 annual fee, that’s an exceptional deal.

The certificate is valid at any IHG property costing up to 40,000 points per night, and you can top it off with additional points. So if you want to book a hotel costing 60,000 points, you can use the certificate and add 20,000 points. That’s a feature I use all the time, and it meaningfully expands the range of properties available.

Beyond the certificate, the card comes with IHG Platinum status for as long as you hold it (room upgrades, 60% points bonus, late checkout), a fourth night free on award redemptions that’s usable unlimited times (essentially a 25% discount on every award stay booked in four-night increments), up to $50 in United® TravelBank Cash per year, and a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit of up to $120 every four years.

Link: Learn more about the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

Hilton: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

The Hilton Aspire Card has a $550 annual fee (Rates & Fees) and I consider it a no-brainer if you stay at Hilton resort properties at least twice a year. That’s a sentence that sounds like a caveat, but let me explain why it isn’t.

The card comes with up to $400 in annual Hilton resort credits, structured as up to $200 semi-annually for eligible purchases at participating Hilton resort properties worldwide. Those credits can be applied toward room rate or incidentals charged to your folio, which means you can redeem points for a stay and still use the credit toward dining or spa.

Then there’s the anniversary free night award, valid for standard room rewards at properties costing up to 250,000 Hilton Honors points per night. I personally value this certificate alone at right around the annual fee. My last several certificates went to the Katara Hills Doha, Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, and Conrad Bora Bora Nui. The Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos would have retailed for over $1,400 per night when I stayed.

One honest note: this is a card I’d get primarily for the benefits rather than the spending. There are other cards I’d use for everyday purchases. But if you stay at Hilton resorts regularly, the value is almost impossible to beat at any fee level.

Link: Learn more about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Marriott: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card has a $650 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and I personally have it. Let me explain how I think about the math.

The card offers up to $300 in annual restaurant credits, structured as up to $25 per month at eligible restaurants worldwide. My strategy is to load $25 into my Starbucks account at the beginning of each month. That’s it. The credit essentially runs on autopilot.

Then there’s the anniversary free night award, valid at properties costing up to 85,000 Bonvoy points per night, with the option to top it off with up to 25,000 additional points to book properties costing up to 110,000 points. I used one of my last certificates at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, which was charging 100,000 points for the night I wanted, so I used the certificate and topped off with 15,000 points. Cash rate would have been over $2,000. Between the restaurant credit and the free night, I’m typically well ahead before factoring in anything else the card offers.

The biggest benefit, though, is complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status for as long as you have the card. Platinum ordinarily requires 50 elite nights per year. Getting it from a credit card is remarkable.

Link: Learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Best transferable points cards for hotel spending

Here’s something that often surprises people: for most hotel programs, a well-chosen transferable points card can outperform or at least match the co-branded card for pure points-earning on hotel spending. That doesn’t mean you should skip the co-branded card. The free night certificates and status benefits are irreplaceable. But it does mean that how you use your transferable points matters a lot.

Below is how I think about which transferable points cards are actually worth using for each hotel brand, and when it makes sense to transfer in.

World of Hyatt

World of Hyatt only has two transferable points program partners: Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt. That’s it. If you want to funnel transferable points toward Hyatt redemptions, those are your only options, which makes this section pretty straightforward.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is, in my view, the best starter card in the miles and points world, and it transfers to World of Hyatt at a 4:3 ratio. The card earns 3x on dining, streaming, gas & EV charging, select vacation rentals (through Airbnb, VRBO, and more), 2x on travel, and 1x on everything else.

The real appeal here is the ecosystem. Ultimate Rewards is a transferable currency that can flow to Hyatt, United, Aeroplan, Singapore KrisFlyer, or any of Chase’s other partners, depending on where the best redemption opportunity is. That flexibility is what sets Chase Ultimate Rewards apart.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

IHG One Rewards

IHG One Rewards transfers at 1:1 from both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt. Honestly, though, my take is that IHG is rarely the best destination for either of those currencies. I value IHG points at 0.5 cents each, while I value Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt points at around 1.7 cents each. Transferring into IHG is almost always a step down in value.

That said, if you have a specific IHG redemption in mind where the points math works, transferring from Chase or Bilt can make sense as a top-up or opportunistic move. It’s not a strategy I’d build around, but it’s a tool worth knowing you have.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Same recommendation as for Hyatt. The Sapphire Preferred unlocks IHG as one of 14 transfer partners, and the flexibility of keeping your options open across all of Chase’s partners is the real value proposition. Redeem IHG when it makes sense; use United, Aeroplan, or Hyatt when it doesn’t.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Hilton Honors

Hilton is a genuine exception to the conventional wisdom that transferable points cards beat co-branded hotel cards for hotel spending. Let me put the numbers on the table.

The Hilton Aspire Card earns 14x Hilton Honors points on eligible Hilton purchases. I value Hilton points at 0.5 cents each, which works out to a 7% return. The Chase Sapphire Reserve®, broadly the best transferable points card for direct hotel spending, earns 4x Ultimate Rewards points, which I value at 6.8%. The Hilton Aspire Card is, to my knowledge, the only co-branded hotel card that beats the Chase Sapphire Reserve on a pure return-on-spending basis.

There’s an important caveat worth mentioning: transferring transferable point currencies into Hilton Honors is generally a bad idea. Hilton points are worth 0.5 cents each by my valuation, significantly less than what transferable currencies are worth when redeemed for airline partners or Hyatt. The co-branded Hilton cards are the right way to accumulate Hilton points. Transferring in from other programs is not.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

If you’d rather use a transferable points card for Hilton spending than a co-branded card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the one I’d recommend. At 4x Ultimate Rewards on direct hotel spending, it’s the best transferable points card for hotel purchases generally, and Ultimate Rewards transfers to Hilton at a 1:1 ratio.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card

Marriott Bonvoy

Marriott Bonvoy transfers at 1:1 from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Bilt. On the Bilt side, there’s an even better ratio: you get 5,000 bonus Bonvoy points for every 20,000 Bilt points transferred, making it an effective 1:1.25 in the right increments. Without the bonus, the standard 1:1 ratio applies. That’s the best transfer ratio into Bonvoy from any transferable currency.

My general position is that transferring premium currencies like Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards into Bonvoy is usually a bad trade. I value those currencies at around 1.7 cents each when used for airline partners; I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each. You’re leaving a lot of value on the table. Earn Bonvoy points directly through co-branded Marriott cards and hotel stays, and save your transferable points for airline redemptions or World of Hyatt.

Top pick: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

For Chase cardholders who want transferable points that can flow to Marriott if needed, the Sapphire Preferred is the right call. The 1:1 transfer ratio into Bonvoy is there when the math works for a specific stay, but the card’s real appeal is flexibility. Those same points could go toward United, Aeroplan, Virgin Atlantic for ANA, or Hyatt, depending on what’s most valuable at the time. For Marriott-specific spending, I’d still reach for the Boundless or Brilliant Card first.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Runner-up: American Express® Gold Card

The Amex Gold is the best personal card in the Membership Rewards lineup for most people, earning 4x points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year at restaurants worldwide and 4x points on the first $25,000 spent every calendar year at U.S. supermarkets (then 1x). Those categories probably represent the majority of everyday spending for most households. I value that at a 6.8% return, the highest available on any personal card for dining and groceries combined.

The card transfers to Marriott Bonvoy at 1:1. I’d generally avoid using that transfer path, since Membership Rewards are worth significantly more when sent to airline partners, but if there’s ever a specific Bonvoy redemption where the numbers work, it’s a useful option to have. The card’s value proposition isn’t about Marriott. It’s about being an exceptional everyday spending card whose points also happen to transfer to Bonvoy if you need them to.

Link: Learn more about the American Express® Gold Card

Bottom line

Hotel credit cards are underrated, and the free night certificates are usually the reason. The math is simple: if you can consistently redeem a certificate at a hotel that costs more than the annual fee, the card pays for itself before you’ve earned a single point.

On the transfer partner side, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt are the currencies worth building if you want flexibility to route points toward hotels. But for Hyatt specifically, the highest-value hotel program I participate in, there’s no substitute for having the co-branded card. The elite nights, the free night certificates, and the path toward Globalist status simply don’t exist with transferable currencies. They complement each other well.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees).

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Best Hotel Credit Cards

Compare Credit Cards For Hotels

Compare hotel credit cards

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Earn 100,000 bonus points

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Earn 75,000 bonus points

World of Hyatt Credit Card

Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

Earn 3 Free Night Awards

World of Hyatt Business Credit Card

70,000 Bonus Points

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

Limited Time: 150,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward. Offer ends 1/13/2027.

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

Earn 140,000 Bonus Points

IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card

Earn 80,000 Bonus Points

Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card

Earn 45,000 Bonus Points

Bilt Palladium Card

50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status offer

The best co-branded hotel credit cards

Hyatt: World of Hyatt Credit Card

IHG: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

Hilton: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Marriott: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Best transferable points cards for hotel spending

World of Hyatt

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

IHG One Rewards

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Hilton Honors

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Marriott Bonvoy

Top pick: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Runner-up: American Express® Gold Card

Bottom line