If you travel more than once or twice a year, you might become interested in hotel loyalty programs. Through a hotel program, you’ll earn points, which you can use for free nights and to qualify for higher levels of hotel status.
People who travel often assign great value to their hotel status. That’s understandable because having status with a hotel chain means you can receive an upgraded room, lounge access and a free breakfast. Depending on the hotel, you might even get a room in a special wing or on a higher floor reserved for those like you with top-tier status.
If you’re a casual traveler, you won’t be able to reach the highest levels of hotel loyalty programs. This is where having a co-brand hotel credit card can be beneficial. These credit cards offer various advantages, such as providing a starting point for hotel status, perks like free internet, and better value when redeeming points for free nights. Most hotel chains offer different tiers of co-brand cards, and in this discussion, I’ll focus on the mid-tier offerings. These cards usually come with a moderate annual fee and provide more benefits than free cards but fewer than luxury cards offered by some hotel chains.
Let’s examine the mid-tier co-brand cards available from major brands and some lesser-known options.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card ($150 Annual Fee)
Here are the benefits of the Hilton Surpass card.
- Cardholders get Hilton Honors Gold status, which includes 80% bonus points on stays, space-available room upgrades, some form of food/beverage benefit and milestone bonuses.
- $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio.
- When redeeming points, Gold members get the fifth night free on award stays.
- Earn a free night reward after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year.
- If you spend $40,000 on your card in a calendar year, you can earn Hilton Honors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- The Hilton Honors Surpass card provides secondary coverage for rental cars.
- Cardholders receive purchase protection coverage, which I’ve found can be handy.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless ($95 Annual Fee)
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless cardholders receive the following benefits.
- Free in-room premium internet (when booking directly through Marriott)
- Automatic Silver Elite Status. Ability to earn Gold Elite status if you spend $35,000 or more in eligible purchases in a calendar year
- Receive 15 Elite Night Credits to be used to reach the next level of status. This can currently be stacked with the 15-night credits from a Marriott Bonvoy Business card for automatic Gold status and a jump towards Platinum.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. The award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 points) at a participating hotel. Select hotels have resort fees.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
World of Hyatt Card ($95 Annual Fee)
Hyatt provides the following benefits to cardholders of the World of Hyatt card.
- Automatic Status—World of Hyatt cardholders are upgraded to Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as they keep the card. This benefit offers free premium internet over the standard internet offered to all World of Hyatt members. You’ll also get free bottled water.
- Fast Track To Status -Being a cardholder provides 5 qualifying night credits towards your next tier status every year. Plus, every time you spend $5,000 on your card, you earn 2 additional qualifying night credits towards your next tier status.
- Free Nights – With the World of Hyatt card, you receive a free night certificate good at any category 1-4 hotel every year after your cardmember anniversary. You can also earn an additional free night at any category 1-4 hotel if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year.
IHG Rewards Premier ($99 Annual Fee)
The IHG Rewards Premier provides some great benefits considering the price point.
- Automatic Platinum Elite Status – Cardholders are upgraded to IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status for as long as they remain a cardholder in good standing. You get a 60% bonus on points earned when staying at IHG hotels and priority check-in. They also claim you’ll get complimentary room upgrades and extended checkout (subject to availability).
- Free Reward Night On Four Or More Night Stays – When booking a reward stay for four or more nights, every fourth night is free.
- Global Entry, NEXUS or TSA Pre-Check Credit – You’ll receive up to a $100 credit every four years for application fees charged to the card.
- Anniversary Free Night – Cardholders get an Anniversary Free Night valid at IHG Hotels with a current point redemption level of 40,000 points or less. If you want to stay at a hotel charging over 40K points, you can pay the extra points to book a room. There’s no limit to how many points you can add.
- $50 United TravelBank Cash – After registering your United MileagePlus account with IHG, you will receive $25 in United TravelBank cash twice a year. The cash does expire if you do not use it (but there’s a small window when you can combine both amounts.)
- Spending Threshold Bonuses – If you spend $20,000 on the IHG Rewards Premier before the end of a calendar year, you’ll receive a $100 statement credit and 10,000 points. If you spend $40,000 on the card, you’ll receive IHG Rewards Diamond Elite status.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard ($95 Annual Fee)
The Choice Privileges Mastercard provides the following benefits.
- Automatic Platinum Elite Status – Receive 20 elite night credits qualifying for at least Platinum level status each calendar year.
- Earn 30,000 points on every account anniversary
- Global Entry, NEXUS or TSA Pre-Check Credit – You’ll receive up to a $100 credit every four years for application fees charged to the card.
- Cell Phone Protection – Get up to $800 of cell phone protection against damage, theft, or unintended separation. Subject to a $25 deductible.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card ($75 Annual Fee)
The Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card provides these benefits to cardholders.
- Automatic Platinum status—You will automatically receive a Wyndham Rewards Platinum member level and enjoy perks like free WiFi, preferred room selection, early check-in and late checkout.
- 10% discount on go free award redemptions
- Anniversary bonus – Receive 7,500 bonus points each anniversary year after payment of the renewal fee
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
Sonesta World Mastercard (Free 1st Year, then $75 Annual Fee)
Sonesta World Mastercard cardholders receive the following benefits:
- Automatic upgrade to Sonesta Travel Pass Gold tier status upon card approval
- 30,000 bonus points on your Account Anniversary, if you spend at least $7,500 on purchases in the anniversary year
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
Drury Rewards Visa (No Annual Fee)
Drury Hotels is a smaller chain, but its properties are popular with families and groups because of the free breakfast, dinnertime snacks, and drinks included with your stay. Besides a sign-up bonus and the ability to earn extra points, the card doesn’t provide extra benefits.
Final Thought
Each of these cards provides some useful benefits, including hotel status, which may provide a free breakfast or at least give you a good chance of not getting the worst room in the hotel. The other useful perks are discounts when redeeming points and free nights or points on each renewal, or at least the opportunity to earn a free night by spending enough on the card over the previous year.
Depending on your hotel preference, getting a co-brand hotel card could be worthwhile. You’ll get a sign-up bonus worth at least a few free nights and you’ll give yourself a chance of having a better experience than if you didn’t have a card that gives you status. I’d usually suggest not to put a large amount of your spend on one of these cards, unless you’re going to reach the free night threshold of the Hyatt or Hilton cards. You’re able to get a better return on a different card for most of your other expenses.
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