Best Hotel Credit Cards of 2026

Compare our top 6 hotel credit cards

More about our choices

To select the cards for our best hotel credit card ranking, we compared options based on their rewards rates, welcome bonuses and annual fees. We also assessed the relative value of the points you can redeem, and we gave preference to cards that offer automatic benefits like elite status or elite qualifying nights that count toward status requirements.

Our picks may be Authorized Partners that compensate us. This does not affect our recommendations or evaluations but may impact the order in which companies appear. For more details on how we selected our top picks, read our full methodology.

• Our pick for flexibility: Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Our pick for luxury travel: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
• Our pick for World of Hyatt: World of Hyatt Credit Card
• Our pick for Marriott Bonvoy: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
• Our pick for IHG One Rewards: IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card
• Our pick for business: Hilton Honors Business Card

Compare hotel credit card offers

What is a hotel credit card?

A hotel credit card is typically a co-branded credit card that lets travelers earn points within a specific hotel loyalty program. That said, some flexible travel credit cards can also be considered hotel cards if they offer preferential rewards redemptions for hotel stays or let cardholders transfer their points to hotel loyalty programs.

While benefits across hotel credit cards vary, common attributes of these cards include automatic elite status, annual free nights and no foreign transaction fees. But note that co-branded hotel credit cards tend to come with limited redemption options, and the number of points required for a free night can vary widely from one program to the next.

» MORE: Best airline credit cards

Pros and cons of hotel credit cards

Hotel credit cards can be worth considering if you frequently stay with a specific hotel brand and want to earn more rewards as you work toward elite status. That said, these cards also have their share of downsides.

What to look for in a hotel credit card

Picking a hotel credit card can be more complicated than picking a cash back credit card, mostly because the points you earn have to be used within a specific program. There are also other general requirements you should look for in a hotel card in order to make sure it suits your needs and spending style.

Look for the following when considering a hotel credit card:

• Rewards rates that make sense for how you spend: Check how the rewards stack up to the categories you spend the most in. You want to earn as much in rewards as you can across paid hotel stays and on other purchases like dining out, groceries and gas.
• Elite status benefits: Check whether the card comes with automatic elite status and if it offers a pathway to the next tiers of elite status through credit card spending.
• Hotels you actually want to stay in: Check what kind of properties the card’s affiliated hotel network has in destinations you want to visit.
• Alternate redemption options: See if there are other ways you can redeem your hotel points, such as for other components of travel or transfers to other programs.
• Pooling points: Some hotel loyalty programs let you pool points with family members, whereas others do not.
• Other travel benefits: Check for other benefits you might want, including travel insurance perks, airport lounge benefits and more.

» MORE: Best travel insurance companies

How to use hotel credit cards

When you sign up for a hotel credit card that is co-branded with a specific hotel chain, you want to make sure you list your hotel loyalty number each time you make a reservation. This will ensure you get the elite status benefits you qualify for with your hotel card, and it will also help you earn hotel loyalty points for each dollar you spend.

Aside from that, you can get the most out of hotel credit cards by:

• Using your card for other spending and bills: This will help you earn more points over time, which you can redeem for free hotel nights, room upgrades and more. You can also consider pairing your hotel credit card with another rewards credit card that earns points in spending categories that complement the categories your hotel card earns in.
• Being flexible when it comes to using your points: Some programs charge more points for redemptions on peak travel dates or for certain properties. If you're flexible with your dates, your destination and the hotel you stay in, you can get a better deal for your rewards.
• Always paying your credit card bill in full: According to the Federal Reserve, the average credit card APR across all accounts came in at 20.09% in February 2023. Hotel credit cards tend to have above-average APRs, so you should avoid carrying a balance from one month to the next.

FAQ

Bottom line

The best hotel credit cards come with hotel-specific benefits, although these can vary. For example, some hotel credit cards come with automatic elite status, free anniversary nights and sizable welcome bonuses.

To find the best hotel credit card for your wallet, you want to think over the categories you spend the most in and the hotel brands where you actually want to stay. Ideally, you wind up with a hotel credit card that lets you rack up enough rewards points to ultimately redeem for the vacation of a lifetime.

Methodology

To make our top picks, the ConsumerAffairs team compared more than 20 hotel credit cards and flexible rewards cards from major financial institutions — including American Express, Chase, Capital One and Citibank  — that offered products with hotel-specific benefits or rewards. We reviewed these cards for a variety of factors, including fees, travel benefits, included protections and available redemptions.

• Fees: We compared hotel credit cards based on their annual fees with the goal of picking cards that offer exceptional short-term and long-term value. Also, note that none of the cards on our list charge foreign transaction fees.
• Travel benefits: We looked for hotel credit cards that offer perks like elite status, free anniversary nights, elite qualifying nights and more.
• Protections: We gave preference to hotel credit cards that come with travel insurance benefits, such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance or a baggage insurance plan.
• Redemptions: We considered all the different ways you can redeem points with each program, as well as the maximum value for redemptions.
• Consumer reviews: We analyzed our own ConsumerAffairs reviews for cards that offer strong customer service and receive positive feedback overall. Note that most of the cards in our ranking have not been reviewed by ConsumerAffairs readers as of publication.