The best hotel credit card is the The World of Hyatt Credit Card because it is affordable, highly rewarding and affiliated with a major hotel chain – making it easy to earn and redeem lots of free nights. The The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers an initial bonus worth as much as $759 in hotel reservations, gives up to 4 points / $1 spent normally, provides free nights and Discoverist status as benefits, and has an annual fee of just $95. That is a very attractive package for people who can commit to Hyatt’s collection of hotels and resorts.
- Best Hotel Credit Cards Comparison
- How to Get Free Hotel Stays with the Best Hotel Credit Card for You
- What Is the Best Hotel Rewards Program in 2023
- General-Purpose Credit Cards with Large Hotel Networks
- Best Hotel Credit Cards for Automatic Status
Best Hotel Credit Cards Comparison
| Credit Card | Best For | Initial Bonus Offer |
| The World of Hyatt Credit Card | Winner | 30,000 points |
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | No Annual Fee | 70,000 points |
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card | Marriott Credit Card | 3 Free Nights |
| Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card | Initial Bonus | 150,000 points |
To identify the best hotel credit cards, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare more than 1,500 credit card offers based on their expected hotel savings and select the top offers for different types of travelers. In general, the best hotel credit cards tend to have big initial bonuses and ongoing rewards that allow you to quickly rack up free nights. But you also have to consider your lifestyle and spending habits. That means you should only get a specific hotel’s credit card if it’s affiliated with a chain you patron regularly or could easily commit to moving forward. It also means getting a card with good rewards at any hotel if you like to shop around for the best hotel deals.
On that note, there aren’t many hotel rewards credit cards for people with fair, limited or bad credit. So if you have less-than-good credit, your options are likely limited to secured cards as well as credit cards with rewards that don’t emphasize hotel stays.
You can see if your credit is good enough for elite hotel rewards by checking your latest credit score for free on WalletHub. You can also check out our editors’ picks for the best overall rewards credit cards to see which of hotel cards made the cut.
How to Get Free Hotel Stays with the Best Hotel Credit Card for You
See How Much You Spend on Hotel Rooms
You need to determine whether hotel reservations represent a big enough portion of your total spending to warrant getting one of the best hotel credit cards tied to a specific chain. After all, a card offering everyday cash back or general-purpose travel rewards could also help you save on hotel stays, plus everything else you buy. And such a card would provide much more flexibility.
The basic rules of thumb are that you should only make a co-branded hotel card your primary spending vehicle if you spend at least 20 nights in that chain each year. Supplementing an existing card with hotel plastic when a big initial bonus is available could be a great move as well. But you should have plans to use that bounty for a hotel stay within six months of account opening. Otherwise, the points could lose value or be forgotten over time.
Decide How Long You Want to Keep Your New Card
Your plans for a new hotel credit card will dictate how you evaluate offers. If you think you’ll have the card for only a year or two, then you should focus more on initial rewards bonuses. But if you have no timetable for closing your account, regular rewards earning rates and ongoing amenities such as room upgrades will be more important.
Double-Check Hotel Point Redemption Values
There’s often little rhyme or reason to the number of points needed to book a free night. The clearest trend you’ll find is that reward nights during peak season and weekends tend to provide the least value. Hotel credit card users also have several other redemption options. They often include gift cards, merchandise, statement credits and special experiences.
Figuring out how much hotel points are worth, whether redeemed for free nights in your favorite destinations or something else, is essential to getting good value from your earnings. This may seem like a lot of work. But it’s worth it if you want to avoid money-losing surprises.
Learn About the Reward Night Booking Process
Start by confirming that a given hotel chain actually has properties in all your favorite travel destinations. Then check out customer reviews as well as the redemption page on the chain’s website. Feedback from previous guests is a great screen against obvious limitations. And doing a little digging online gives you the chance to scan the fine print for less obvious drawbacks.
Improve Your Credit Score
The best hotel credit cards require at least good credit for approval. So if your score is less than 700, you may want to hold off on applying for a bit while you improve your standing. You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, as well as learn from personalized credit improvement advice.
What Is the Best Hotel Rewards Program in 2023?
Wyndham Rewards is the best hotel rewards program, according to WalletHub’s research, because it offers the most rewards value per $1 spent by its members as well as flexible redemption options. Wyndham Rewards points are worth roughly 1.11 cents on average, per our calculations. Wyndham has solid geographic coverage, too, with 9,280 hotels and resorts across more than 90 countries.
Best Hotel Rewards Programs:
Below, you can find some additional analysis from our latest hotel rewards program report.Best Hotel Rewards Programs Comparison
| Hotel Rewards Program | Best For | Number of Hotels | WalletHub Score |
| Wyndham Rewards | Overall | 9,280 | 70.63 |
| Radisson Rewards | Most Additional Features | 1,241 | 68.63 |
| World Of Hyatt | Fewest Earning Limitations | 1,000+ | 66.09 |
| Hilton Honors | Best Redemption Policies | 6,721 | 64.09 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | International Travel | 8,028 | 60.68 |
For more, including a custom calculator that will help you identify the right loyalty rewards for your needs, check out WalletHub’s complete report on the Best Hotel Rewards Programs.
General-Purpose Credit Cards with Large Hotel Networks
Instead of being affiliated with one specific hotel brand, several credit cards have ties to a network of hotels, allowing cardholders to easily earn, transfer and redeem with any of those hotels. You can find some notable examples of travel rewards credit cards with that sort of framework below:
American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts: 1,000+ hotels across more than 60 brands, at which people with The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express receive special perks.
Chase Hotel Partners: IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. Chase credit card users can transfer points to these hotel loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio. Two of the best cards for transferring points to Chase’s hotel partners are Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
Best Hotel Credit Cards for Automatic Status
| Hotel Chain | Card Name | Automatic Status Level | Annual Fee |
| Wyndham | Wyndham Credit Card | Wyndham Platinum | $75 |
| Best Western | Best Western Premium Credit Card | Best Western Platinum Elite | $89 |
| IHG | IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card | IHG Platinum Elite | $99 |
| Hyatt | The World of Hyatt Credit Card | Hyatt Discoverist | $95 |
| Marriott | Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card | Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite | $650 |
| Hilton | Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card | Hilton Diamond | $450 |
For more insights on the biggest brands, check out WalletHub’s in-depth reviews of the best Marriott credit cards and the best Hilton credit cards.
It’s also a good idea to get acquainted with the major hotel loyalty programs if you’re thinking about applying for a hotel credit card tied to a particular chain. Some hotel rewards programs are better than others, just like hotel credit cards.
To select the best credit cards for hotel rewards, and make sure the list stays up to date, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare more than 1,500 credit card offers in search of the top deals for different types of hotel-goers based on factors such as approval requirements, rewards, initial bonuses, interest rates, and fees.
As a result, we consider credit cards with standout general-purpose travel rewards, good for stays at any hotel, in addition to hotel credit cards affiliated with a specific chain. We then rank the cards based on two-year cost (the lower the better) to identify the most rewarding options overall.
How Two-Year Cost Is Calculated
Two-year cost is used to approximate the monetary value of cards for better comparison and is calculated by combining annual and monthly membership fees over two years, adding any one-time fees or other fees (like balance transfer fees), adding any interest costs, and subtracting rewards. Negative amounts indicate savings. When fees or other terms are presented as a range, we use the midpoint for scoring purposes.
Rewards bonuses and credits have been taken into account for two-year cost calculations. However, bonuses applicable to only a very small portion of cardholders are not considered. For example, credits and bonuses awarded for spending or redeeming rewards through a company portal with non-co-branded cards have not been taken into account. Similarly, bonuses and credits related to spending with specific merchants using a non-co-branded card have not been taken into account (for example, if Card A offers credits with DoorDash, this feature would not be factored into calculations because it is hard to assess how many cardholders would use the benefit or exactly how much value they'd get from it).
Cardholder Spending Profiles
Given that people have different goals and are likely to use their credit cards differently, we identified spending profiles that are representative of different users’ financial priorities and behaviors. For each cardholder type, we have assumed a specific amount of monthly spending by purchase type (e.g., groceries, gas, etc.), as well as an average balance, balance transfer amount, amount spent on large purchases and average monthly payment. Spending assumptions are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for consumers and PEX data for businesses.
It’s also a good idea to get acquainted with the major hotel loyalty programs if you’re thinking about applying for a hotel credit card tied to a particular chain. Some hotel rewards programs are better than others, just like hotel credit cards.
Methodology for Selecting the Best Hotel Credit Cards
To select the best credit cards for hotel rewards, and make sure the list stays up to date, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare more than 1,500 credit card offers in search of the top deals for different types of hotel-goers based on factors such as approval requirements, rewards, initial bonuses, interest rates, and fees.
As a result, we consider credit cards with standout general-purpose travel rewards, good for stays at any hotel, in addition to hotel credit cards affiliated with a specific chain. We then rank the cards based on two-year cost (the lower the better) to identify the most rewarding options overall.
How Two-Year Cost Is Calculated
Two-year cost is used to approximate the monetary value of cards for better comparison and is calculated by combining annual and monthly membership fees over two years, adding any one-time fees or other fees (like balance transfer fees), adding any interest costs, and subtracting rewards. Negative amounts indicate savings. When fees or other terms are presented as a range, we use the midpoint for scoring purposes.
Rewards bonuses and credits have been taken into account for two-year cost calculations. However, bonuses applicable to only a very small portion of cardholders are not considered. For example, credits and bonuses awarded for spending or redeeming rewards through a company portal with non-co-branded cards have not been taken into account. Similarly, bonuses and credits related to spending with specific merchants using a non-co-branded card have not been taken into account (for example, if Card A offers credits with DoorDash, this feature would not be factored into calculations because it is hard to assess how many cardholders would use the benefit or exactly how much value they'd get from it).
Cardholder Spending Profiles
Given that people have different goals and are likely to use their credit cards differently, we identified spending profiles that are representative of different users’ financial priorities and behaviors. For each cardholder type, we have assumed a specific amount of monthly spending by purchase type (e.g., groceries, gas, etc.), as well as an average balance, balance transfer amount, amount spent on large purchases and average monthly payment. Spending assumptions are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for consumers and PEX data for businesses.
