What are the best hotel credit cards for bad credit?

This question is about Hotel Credit Cards

Mr Miles, Consultant

@mrmiles42 01/15/21 First posted on 01/11/19
Last reviewed on 01/15/21

The best hotel credit card for bad credit is the Discover it® Secured Credit Card Card because it accepts people with a bad credit score, offers 1 - 2% cash back on purchases, and matches all cash back earned the first year. Discover it® Secured Credit Card also has a $0 annual fee and a 0% foreign transaction fee, making it a low-cost way to satisfy a hotel’s credit card requirement wherever you stay.

When you have bad credit, hotel credit card options are limited. There are no co-branded hotel credit cards for bad credit at this time. The Best Western Secured Credit Card no longer accepts applications, as of October 2018. It had a $300 deposit requirement and offered 50,000 points bonus after your first purchase. It also gave 3 points per $1 spent on Best Western stays.

There are unsecured cards for bad credit. But they often come with high fees that reduce your initial spending power, with credit limits that will likely start at just $300 or so anyway. Having sufficient available credit is crucial when booking hotels. Hotels often place a “hold” of $50-$200 per day on your account for incidentals. If the hold exceeds your credit limit, the booking may not process or you could be subject to an over limit fee. Secured cards are a better option because you usually can add to the deposit to increase your spending power. You should be able to get enough credit to cover hotel costs and their holds.

Best Credit Cards for Bad Credit for Hotel Bookings:

Even though the best hotel credit cards for bad credit cards are secured cards, keep in mind that your primary objective should be to rebuild credit rather than earn hotel rewards.

By using your secured card responsibly and making timely payments, you can eventually qualify for a better hotel credit card. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is among the best hotel credit cards. This card requires a minimum of good credit.

People also ask

What's the best hotel credit card bonus offer right now?

The best hotel credit card bonus is 100,000 points by the Radisson Premier Visa Signature Credit Card. You get 100,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first 90 days. You can redeem those bonus points for up to 10 free nights at hotels around the world, starting at 9,000 points per night.… read full answer

You also get 40,000 points when you renew your card by paying the $75 annual fee. And you’ll get 10 points for every $1 spent at the Radisson Family of Hotels, as well as 1 point per $1 everywhere else.

Of course, it’s good to have a few backup options in your pocket as well.

Here are more good hotel credit card bonus offers:

Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card: 75,000 point bonus for spending $3,000 in the first three months. That’s worth up to 10 free nights. $85 annual fee, waived the first year. 5 points per $1 at Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Starwood hotels. 2 points per $1 on tickets purchased directly with airlines, car rental agencies and restaurants. 1 point per dollar everywhere else. 1 free night for your account anniversary. This card requires good credit.

IHG Credit Card: 60,000 point bonus for spending $1,000 in the first three months. 10% of your rewards back when you redeem, bumping your bonus to 66,000 points. That’s worth up to 6 free nights. $49 annual fee waived the first year. 5 points per $1 at IHG hotels and 2 at gas stations, department stores, and restaurants. 1 point per $1 everywhere else. This card requires good credit.

Capital One Venture: 50,000 bonus miles for spending $3,000 in the first three months. The bonus is worth $500 when redeemed for travel, including hotels. $95 annual fee, waived the first year. 10 points per $1 at Hotels.com/venture, and 2 on all other purchases. This card requires good credit.

A hotel credit card bonus can save you serious money if you’re a frequent traveler. And since all the chains behind the major hotel credit cards operate around the globe, you can redeem your points for free nights anywhere you want. Radisson operates hotels in over 50 North American locations, as well as 16 South American, and 20+ Asian and African. Marriott has 5,301 hotels around the world. And IHG operates in over 100 countries.

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What are the best credit cards for a 550 credit score?

The best credit card for a 550 credit score is the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card. There’s no credit check when you apply, so approval is almost guaranteed. You just need $200 for a refundable security deposit and enough income to make monthly payments. This card also reports to all three major credit bureaus every month, which is your ticket to a better credit score. And a $35 annual fee isn’t too much to pay for that.… read full answer

The Discover it® Secured Credit Cardis another great 550 credit score credit card. It has a $0 annual fee and actually rewards you for making purchases. A 550 credit score won’t keep you from getting approved either. But a pending bankruptcy will.

Those aren’t the only credit cards you can get with a 550 credit score. In fact, there are two kinds of credit cards for people at that credit level: Secured credit cards and unsecured credit cards for bad credit. A 550 credit score is within the bad credit range, unfortunately. Bad credit goes from 300 to 639. But picking the right 550 credit score credit card and using it responsibly could help you improve your score to “fair” territory within 12-18 months.

The best credit cards for a 550 score:

OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card

Discover it® Secured Credit Card

Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® with Cash Back Rewards

Secured Mastercard® from Capital One

Milestone® Mastercard® - Less Than Perfect Credit Considered

Before applying for a card, make sure to check out its terms and conditions, or a FAQ page if there is one, just to make sure you fit the criteria for eligibility. You can also try getting pre-approved for a credit card. It won’t hurt your credit, and it will give you a good idea of your odds if you decide to apply.

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What's the easiest unsecured credit card to get approved for?

The easiest unsecured card to get is the Fingerhut Credit Account. But it won’t suit everyone’s needs. Fingerhut is an online marketplace, and its card can only be used to make purchases on the site. So while it will give you an unsecured line of credit, it won’t really help you cover emergency expenses.… read full answer

If you’re looking for a card that can be used for anything, the Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card is your best bet. You can get approved for it with bad credit. It offers a $300 starting spending limit. And you can use it wherever Visa is accepted.

Those aren’t your only options, though. WalletHub’s editors compared all of the unsecured credit cards in our database of 1,000+ offers. And we selected our favorite easy-to-get offers.

Easiest Unsecured Credit Card to Get Approved For

Fingerhut Credit Account: Overall

Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card: Rewards

Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business: Small Business

Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card: Limited Credit

Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students: Students

The easiest unsecured credit cards to get generally work best for minor emergencies. You will only receive a small amount of spending power, after all.

Unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit also tend to be very expensive, charging lots of fees and high interest rates. So if you don’t need a small emergency loan, the best course of action is to improve your credit inexpensively with a secured card. Secured cards are cheaper than unsecured cards, build credit just as effectively, and offer the closest thing you’ll find to guaranteed approval.

To learn more, check out WalletHub's complete list of the year’s easiest credit cards to get approved for.

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