Best Credit Cards for Hotel Spending: Here Is the Maths
Not all credit cards are equal for hotel spending. Here is how the top transferable points cards compare on return.
By The Aviation Hub
5 min read
Choosing the right credit cards for hotel spending can meaningfully increase the value you extract from every night you book, yet the answer is less straightforward than it is for categories such as dining or groceries.
According to One Mile at a Time, the complication is that you must weigh the general travel bonuses offered by transferable points cards against the targeted bonuses available on co-branded hotel cards, and sometimes also against the option of booking through a bank's own travel portal. Each layer changes the maths.
Why Hotel Spending Is a Complicated Category
Most bonus categories have a clear winner. Hotel spending does not, because a stay at a specific brand may attract a higher return from that brand's own co-branded card than from any general travel card. The right answer therefore depends on where you are staying, not just which card sits in your wallet.
The figures below cover transferable points cards only, meaning cards whose rewards currency can be moved to airline or hotel partners. Co-branded hotel cards are a separate calculation.
The Top Transferable Points Cards, Ranked by Return
One Mile at a Time has published a ranked comparison of the leading transferable points cards for hotel spending, using that outlet's own valuations of each points currency. The results are as follows.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Sapphire Reserve for Business both earn 4x points on hotel spending. At a valuation of 1.7 cents per point, that translates to a calculated return of 6.8%. Both cards carry an annual fee of $795 and neither imposes a foreign transaction fee or a cap on the bonus.
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card earns 5x points on hotels. Because One Mile at a Time values Wells Fargo Rewards points at 1.3 cents each, the calculated return comes out at 6.5%, just behind the Sapphire Reserve despite the higher earn rate. The annual fee is $95.
Mid-Tier Options That Still Offer Strong Value
Two cards share third place with a calculated return of 5.1%, each earning 3x points valued at 1.7 cents. The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is a business card with a $95 annual fee, though its 3x rate applies only to the first $150,000 in combined bonus category purchases per account anniversary year, after which it drops to 1x. The Citi Strata Premier Card is a personal card, also at $95 per year, with no cap on the bonus.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Bilt Palladium Card each earn 2x points on hotel spending, which at 1.7 cents per point equates to a 3.4% return. Both sit at the lower end of this comparison, though neither carries the higher annual fee of the Sapphire Reserve.
What About No-Annual-Fee Cards?
For travellers who prefer to avoid annual fees, the picture is thinner. View from the Wing highlights the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card, which carries no annual fee and can pay 6% back in a chosen category during the first year of card membership. Travel is one of the selectable categories and, according to that outlet, the bank's definition includes hotels as well as airlines, cruises, vacation rentals, attractions, transit and parking.
The standard card does, however, charge a 3% foreign transaction fee, which makes it a domestic-only proposition. The elevated first-year return also does not persist at that level beyond the promotional period. View from the Wing rates it four out of five as a spending category specialist, particularly for someone who can make use of the first-year offer or who qualifies for elevated Bank of America relationship rewards through existing balances with the bank or with Merrill.
The Best Credit Cards for Hotel Spending: Co-Branded Cards and Booking Portals
The transferable points cards above cover general hotel spending, regardless of brand. If you stay frequently with a single hotel group, a co-branded card for that brand may outperform all of them, because it is designed to reward loyalty to that specific chain. One Mile at a Time notes that this layer of the calculation sits alongside, rather than replacing, the general comparison.
Booking through a credit card's own travel portal is a third variable. Some cards offer elevated rates when hotels are booked via the issuer's portal rather than directly with the property, which can change the ranking depending on how you prefer to make reservations.
How to Use the Airline Search Tool
If your hotel stay is part of a wider trip and you are also looking to maximise rewards on your flights, our Airline Search tool can help you find and compare the carriers serving your route. We also cover travel planning extensively across the site, including detailed guides to major airports such as our Tokyo Narita Airport guide and our Brussels Airport guide, which are useful starting points if you are planning a trip through either hub.
The Bottom Line
For most travellers using a transferable points card and booking hotels directly, the Chase Sapphire Reserve produces the highest calculated return at 6.8%, followed closely by the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey at 6.5%. The gap between them is narrow, and the Autograph Journey's $95 annual fee makes it considerably easier to justify than the Sapphire Reserve's $795.
If an annual fee is not acceptable, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card is worth examining for its first-year offer, with the caveat that it is best kept to domestic spending given the foreign transaction fee. Whatever card you carry, checking the specific return against the hotel brand you are booking with remains the single most important step before you pay.
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