As a benefit, several co-brand hotel credit cards offer a free night in return for meeting a spending threshold in a calendar year. At the beginning of the year, the spending counter resets to zero. Once meeting the required amount, a free night is deposited into your account. Typically this free night is good for one year from when it arrives in your account.
There are co-branded credit cards, available from Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott, which offer a free night after spending $15,000. However, each free night comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. The question is whether it is worth putting $15,000 on any of these credit cards in order to earn an extra free night.
World of Hyatt Visa
With the World of Hyatt card, you earn an additional free night at any category 1-4 hotel if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year.
Unfortunately, most top-level properties located in large cities in the Americas, like Park Hyatts, Andaz and Thompson, are out of reach since they’re category 5 or higher. There are some nice places you can stay, including the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando and the Hyatt Residence Club Sedona, Piñon Pointe. You’ll be able to find a Category 4 hotel anywhere except a large city like New York, Miami, or San Francisco.
However, if you’re traveling to Southeast Asia, the Park Hyatt in Siem Reap and Hyatt Regency Danang are category 4 or lower.
The one year I earned an extra free night, we used it at the Grand Hyatt Washington D.C. and saved over $400.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card
The Hilton Honors AMEX Surpass co-brand card doesn’t provide a free night as a perk on renewal. Instead, you earn a free night reward after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year.
Unlike the Hyatt free night, the Hilton Honors award is good at any Hilton hotel, with a small list of exceptions.
We switched spending from the Hyatt card to our Hilton Surpass last year and earned the free night. We’ll have to see where we get to use it in 2024.
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy AMEX & Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful
Both the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express and the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Visa cards award a 50K point free night award after spending $15,000 in a calendar year.
Marriott Bonvoy allows members to add up to 15,000 points to a free night award to book a more expensive room. So with a 50,000 free night, you can stay at a hotel charging up to 65,000 points per night.
Final Thoughts
Although I was uncertain if we could use the Hyatt free night for a good value, it turned out to be a great deal. This year, we have a Hilton free night, which will be easier to use since it is applicable to almost every Hilton hotel. However, the primary concern is that we prefer to stay at a luxurious hotel for more than one night, so we will have to book additional nights using Hilton points.
The Marriott Bonvoy free nights typically offer less value for the same 50K points when compared to Hyatt and Hilton free nights. While Marriott’s free nights usually offer a room in the $200-$250 per night range, the Hyatt and Hilton free nights usually provide rooms worth $300-$400, which is a better value for your spending.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer as to which free night is best for spending $15,000 on a co-brand card. It all boils down to whether or not you can put the free night to good use. Since you have to complete the spending the year before you use the free night, there’s always some risk involved.
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