Top 6 Best Hotel Rewards Programs & Hotel Credit Cards | 2017 Ranking and Reviews

2017 RANKING & REVIEW
BEST HOTEL CREDIT CARDS

Choosing the Best Hotel Credit Card Helps You Travel More

Would you rather spend money on necessities or on travel? That is an easy question. If people had the money, of course they would love to spend it traveling. But life’s necessities come before that hotel stay in NYC or the resort in Laguna. With the best hotel rewards program options, however, you can have your cake and eat it too.

A handful of credit cards offer fabulous hotel rewards programs. These best credit cards for hotel stays allow you to earn points every time you shop for the necessary stuff—gas, your child’s shoes, groceries, etc.—so you can then turn around and spend those points on free hotel bookings.

Award Emblem: Top 6 Best Hotel Rewards Programs & Hotel Credit Cards

Of course, not all hotel credit cards are made equally. So we have created this guide to the best hotel rewards credit card for 2017 to help you choose the best hotel credit card offers for you and your travel needs.

Before you know it, you will have earned enough points purchasing all the things you had to buy with one of these best credit card for hotel points in order to enjoy the best hotel rewards at relaxing hotel in a new city.

AdvisoryHQ’s List of the Top 6 Best Hotel Credit Card Options

List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the credit card names below to go directly to the detailed review section for that credit card):

BankAmericard Travel Rewards® Credit Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card
FlexPerks® Travel Rewards Visa Signature®
Hilton HHonors™ Card from American Express
HSBC Premier World MasterCard®
Venture From Capital One

Top 6 Best Hotel Rewards Credit Card Choices| Brief Comparison & Ranking

Best Hotel Rewards Credit Card	APR Range	Foreign Transaction Fee	Annual Fee
BankAmericard Travel Rewards® Credit Card	15.24 –23.24%	NONE	NONE
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card	16.24 –23.24%	NONE	$95
FlexPerks® Travel Rewards Visa Signature®	14.24 –24.24%	NONE	$49
Hilton HHonors™ Card from American Express	15.49 –19.49%	2.70%	NONE
HSBC Premier World MasterCard®	13.24 –17.24%	NONE	NONE
Venture From Capital One	13.24 –23.24%	NONE	$59

Table: Top 6 Best Hotel Rewards Program Options | Above list is sorted alphabetically

Do Hotel Credit Cards Have to Have a Hotel’s Name on Them?

Short answer: No.

Not every one of the hotel rewards credit cards will necessarily be attached to one particular hotel. In fact, sometimes it can be good to have the options to stay at many different hotels in case the chain is not in a city you would like to visit.

Source: Creative Commons

The trick, then, is to make sure the points you earn with the best credit cars for hotel or travel can be traded for any wonderful hotel stay that you will enjoy.

Of course, some of the best hotel rewards program choices will be attached to a specific hotel because they help you earn extra points for that stay (such as our recommendation of the Hilton HHonors card).

Will Hotel Credit Cards Always Make Me Money?

Short Answer: No. Be careful when you research any hotel rewards credit cards. You will want to make sure the points you earn will outweigh any fees or interest rates you may have to pay.

For example, if you do not use your hotel rewards credit cards that often, you may not earn enough travel points to cover an annual fee. Or if you keep a large balance on your credit card month to month, even the best hotel rewards credit card may not make you enough points to cover your steep monthly interest.

Another type of fee to consider is foreign transaction fees. If you travel out of the country frequently, you will not want to pay the steep fees each and every time you use your best credit card for hotels in another country.

Take all of this into consideration first because hotel credit cards should make you money, not drain your money.

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Please click here “AdvisoryHQ’s Ranking Methodologies” for a detailed review of AdvisoryHQ’s selection methodologies for ranking top rated credit cards, financial accounts, firms, products, and services.

Detailed Review—Top Ranking Best Hotel Credit Card

Below, please find the detailed review of each credit card on our list of hotel rewards programs. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these best hotel credit card offers to score so high in our selection ranking.

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BankAmericard Travel Rewards® Credit Card Review

First up on our list of the best credit card for hotel points is the BankAmericard Travel Rewards Credit Card. This is one of the straightforward hotel credit cards that lets you earn a flat point fee for every dollar you spend.

Rewards from this best credit card for hotels can be used not only for hotels but also vacation packages, flights, and rental cars.

Best Hotel Rewards Program: Rewards Breakdown

Earn 1.5 points for every dollar you spend on all purchases everywhere
BONUS OFFER: 20,000 points when you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days

Best Hotel Credit Card #1 Highlights:

No annual fee
No foreign transaction fee
No points expiration
Bank of America customers receive an extra 10% bonus when they have checking or savings accounts

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card Review

Next on our list of the best hotel rewards credit card choices is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card. As one of the best credit cards for hotel points, you not only redeem points on hotels, but you also earn double points on travel and dining at restaurants, easily making it one of the best hotel rewards programs.

This well-loved best credit card for hotel points does have the highest annual fee on our list and one of the higher APR rates. If you travel enough to make those potential costs worth it, this may be one of the best credit cards for hotel stays out there.

Best Hotel Rewards Program: Rewards Breakdown

Earn 1 point for every dollar you spend
Earn 2 points for every dollar you spend on travel or at restaurants

Best Hotel Credit Card #2 Highlights:

$0 annual fee for the first year ($95 per year after that)
No foreign transaction fee
Travel coverage/insurance options
Trip delay reimbursement
Chase Sapphire Preferred even allows you to transfer your rewards points to some of the other best hotel rewards program options there are, including: Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Rewards, and the Ritz-Carlton Rewards.

FlexPerks® Travel Rewards Visa Signature® Review

With our list of the best hotel rewards credit card options, most of these cards focus very heavily on hotel stays. The FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature card from U.S. Bank is slightly different.

While these FlexPerks are often used for airline miles, they can also be redeemed for some of the best hotel offers at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts, and Marriott Hotels. This means it is often overlooked when it comes to best credit card for hotels, but is worth checking out.

Best Hotel Rewards Program: Rewards Breakdown

Earn 1 flexpoint for every dollar on “eligible purchases”
Earn 2 flexpoints on the category you spend the most on (could be gas, groceries, or airlines) and at most cell phone providers
Earn 3 points on qualifying charitable donations

Best Hotel Credit Card #3 Highlights:

No foreign transaction fee
Easy online bill pay
Smart chip technology
Zero fraud liability

Hilton HHonors™ Card from American Express Review

On our list of hotel rewards credit cards offer, the Hilton HHonors Card from American Express is the only hotel-specific card, but its rewards are significant.

With the various ways to earn many points, it is easy to see why the Hilton HHonors card is one of the best credit cards for hotel frequenters. Since there are hundreds of Hilton properties all over the world, these hotel credit cards give you access to just about anywhere you may want to go.

Best Hotel Rewards Program: Rewards Breakdown

3x points for all eligible purchases
5x points on U.S. restaurants, U.S. grocery stores, and U.S. gas stations
7x points on purchases with a participating hotel or resort
500 points when you book and pay for a Hilton stay
BONUS OFFER: 50,000 points when you spend $750 in first three months

Best Hotel Credit Card #4 Highlights:

No annual fee
Complimentary HHonors Silver status with capability to upgrade easily to Gold status
Travel accident & car rental loss/damage insurance
Members-only entertainment access

HSBC Premier World MasterCard® Review

While the HSBC Premier World MasterCard easily makes it on our list of the best hotel offers, it is definitely not a card for everybody. To qualify for this best hotel rewards option, you must have an HSBC premier checking account and then maintain $100,000 in personal and investment balances.

If this is something you are interested in, the perks are significant. With no annual fee, low APR, and flexible rewards, this best hotel rewards credit card is worthy of the “Premier” in its name.

Best Hotel Rewards Program: Rewards Breakdown

1 point for every net dollar purchased
BONUS OFFER: 40,000 points when you spend $2,500 in the first three months

Best Hotel Credit Card #5 Highlights:

No annual fee
No foreign transaction fee
Access to World MasterCard Concierge Service, which will assist with arrangements and reservations
Flexible rewards with first-rate options and no blackout dates
Offers from hotels, resorts, and travel package providers
Fraud reimbursement

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Venture from Capital One Review

Finishing up our list of the top hotel credit cards for 2017 is the Venture from Capital One. This popular travel card allows you to earn “miles” that can be redeemed for airline tickets or hotels.

Source: Venture from Capital One

This is one of the best hotel credit card offers because they offer these great perks with one of the lower APR rates available. Of course, there is an annual fee after the first year. But if you know you may carry a balance from month to month, this is one of the top hotel rewards credit cards to consider.

Best Hotel Rewards Program: Rewards Breakdown

2 points for every dollar you spend
BONUS OFFER: 40,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months

Best Hotel Credit Card #6 Highlights:

$0 annual fee for the first year ($59 after that)
No foreign transaction fee
Redeem points on past travel purchases or upcoming travel purchases
Fraud coverage
Travel upgrade opportunities for hotels and resorts

Conclusion—Top 6 Best Hotel Rewards Credit Card Offers

Now that we have given you a detailed overview of each of these 6 best hotel rewards credit card programs, it is time for you to decide which hotel rewards credit cards will be the best option for you and your travel desires.

When choosing the right hotel credit cards for you, ask yourself some important questions first, including:

Do I prefer to go to the same hotel company? Then you may want to choose one of the best hotel offers, like the Hilton HHonors.

Do I spend enough to earn enough rewards to cover an annual fee? If you do not, the best hotel rewards card for you is probably one without an annual fee.

Will I use this card outside of the country? If so, the best hotel rewards credit card for you may be one without a foreign transaction fee.

Will I carry a balance from month to month? If you will, the best credit card for hotels for you may be one with a lower APR.

Once you answer some of these questions for yourself, you will be more easily able to choose the top hotel credit cards for you and your travel habits from our list of the best hotel credit card choices for the best hotel rewards in 2017.

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