Quick Points: 3 reasons you need a credit card with your favorite hotel brand
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.
Many consumers only want to have a few credit cards. But even if you don’t want a wallet full of top travel cards, it’s likely worth getting and keeping a cobranded hotel credit card with your favorite hotel loyalty program.
Here are three reasons you need a credit card with your favorite hotel brand.
Related: My top 3 picks for the best cobranded hotel credit card
The annual fee is often worth it
There are no-annual-fee hotel credit cards, but it’s usually worth getting the annual-fee version, as these offer more perks and sometimes a free night certificate each year.
In most cases, it’s relatively easy to get more value from the free night certificate than the annual fee you pay to keep the card. For example, the World of Hyatt Credit Card has a $95 annual fee but provides a free night at a Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort every year after your cardmember anniversary. If you redeem your free night at a Category 4 Hyatt hotel, you generally should get more than $95 in value from the free night each year. This easily justifies keeping the card, even if you rarely use its other perks.
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Meanwhile, some cards offer enough bonus points on each account anniversary to justify the annual fee. For example, the Wyndham Rewards Earner® Business Card has a $95 annual fee, but cardholders get 15,000 bonus points each anniversary year. TPG’s valuations peg the value of 15,000 Wyndham Rewards points at $165, more than the card’s annual fee.
The information for the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: 7 of the best hotel credit cards that come with an annual free night
You’ll enjoy extra perks and bonus earnings
Each hotel credit card is different, but most offer bonus earnings at hotels within their program.
For example, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card offers 12 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio. There’s also the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, which offers 6 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. However, some of the best cards for travel purchases may offer more valuable earnings, especially if you aren’t loyal to one hotel loyalty program.
InterContinental Phuket Resort in Thailand. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
Most hotel credit cards also offer other program-related perks.
Take the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card as an example. It offers automatic Platinum Elite status and access to the fourth reward night benefit. The latter is an extremely valuable perk that lets you pay zero points for every fourth night when you redeem IHG One Rewards points for award stays of four nights or longer.
Related: The best hotel credit cards with annual fees under $100
Maintaining elite status is easier
Some hotel credit cards help you earn status or offer complimentary elite status. Even if you don’t stay in hotels frequently, having elite status when you do stay can be useful.
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For example, the World of Hyatt Credit Card provides automatic Discoverist status in World of Hyatt, and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card gives automatic top-tier Diamond status with Hilton.
But some cards also help you obtain higher tiers of hotel elite status.
For instance, Marriott Bonvoy’s credit cards offer elite night credits every calendar year that can help you earn higher tiers of Marriott Bonvoy elite status. You can even combine these from personal and business cards, helping you achieve higher status tiers more easily. Terms apply. Note that the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card’s elite night credit perk ends in July 2024.
Meanwhile, the Choice Privileges® Mastercard® (see rates and fees) provides 10 elite night credits toward Choice Privileges elite status each calendar year. The Choice Privileges Select® Mastercard® (see rates and fees) offers 20 elite night credits toward elite status each calendar year.
Related: Comparing the best hotel elite status tiers and how to earn them
The information for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
If you have a favorite hotel brand or program, you should consider getting a cobranded credit card for your program.
For example, Hyatt loyalists may want to get the World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card. There’s an entire portfolio of cobranded Marriott Bonvoy credit cards for Marriott loyalists, too, though I like pairing the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card.
In many cases, the annual free night certificate or bonus points will more than justify paying your hotel credit card’s annual fee. Plus, most hotel credit cards provide bonus earnings and extra perks when staying at the program’s hotels.
Related: Quick Points: Maximize hotel free night certificates by planning your credit card applications
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