Best hotel credit cards of 2024

Hotel rewards are benefits that you get for booking through a hotel's loyalty program. They can include cash back or points that you can redeem for free nights in the hotel and other perks. Hotel rewards programs also offer benefits like complimentary breakfast, access to exclusive hotel or resort lounges, upgraded rooms and more. You can think of hotel rewards as a type of currency that you can use to pay for goods and services at the hotel chain.

Hotel credit cards come in two different forms.

• Co-branded hotel credit cards are credit cards offered by a specific hotel, such as Hilton or Marriott. These cards are designed to offer exclusive perks through the hotel's loyalty program, and can reward you with free nights, lounge access, complimentary breakfast and the like.
• General hotel credit cards are rewards credit cards that offer cash back, points and miles that you can redeem for hotel stays and other goods and services at hotels. These are also often called travel rewards cards, because they end to offer high rewards ratios for hotels and airlines, as well as travel insurance and sometimes no foreign transaction fees.

Hotel points can expire, but if and when they expire depends on the specific hotel loyalty program. Points earned with hotel loyalty programs can often expire due to inactivity, so ensuring you're continuing to earn and redeem points can help you avoid their expiration. Check the policies of the specific hotel rewards credit card or loyalty program to ensure you're in the loop on how long you have to redeem your rewards.

How much a hotel point is worth varies between different hotel loyalty programs. Typically, you can think of a hotel point as being worth just under one cent. But, again, this varies: World of Hyatt points, for instance, are worth 1.7 cents apiece on average, while Hilton Honors points give you just 0.6 cents each. So if you have 50,000 points with both programs, they're worth $850 with one and $300 with the other.

Hotel incidentals are charges that you incur while staying at a hotel and that aren't the basic rate you pay for the hotel room itself. Hotel incidental charges can include room service, restaurant tabs, internet access, drinks from the minibar, spa treatments and parking. If you're strategizing the get the most out of your hotel rewards credit card, keep this in mind: You can typically charge your incidentals to your room, rather than paying for them individually. Then, when you check out, you'll earn cash back or points at your credit card's rate for hotel rooms. That can help you get the most out of your spending.

Credit score requirements vary between hotel credit cards. Often, hotel cards will require you to have good or excellent credit to qualify. That means you'll need a FICO^® Score of 670 or higher. Before you weigh the benefits of specific hotel credit cards, check your credit report and score through Experian. If your credit score needs improvement, learn about how to build credit before you apply to ensure you get the credit card with the benefits you want.

You may be able to transfer your hotel rewards points to a different program, depending on the policies of the specific hotel loyalty program. That said, you won't typically get the best deal this way. If possible, you'll likely get the highest value out of your points if you redeem them through the program where you earned them. But check the individual hotel's policies to determine how you'll get the best return. Some hotels allow you to transfer your rewards to airline partners at a decent rate.

Whether a hotel rewards credit card is worth it or not comes down to how much value you would personally get out of the card. If you travel frequently for work or pleasure, a hotel credit card could be a strong financial tool for you because you'll get rewarded generously on the spending you're already doing. On the other hand, if you travel less frequently, consider a rewards credit card with a high flat-rate cash back or points structure, or one that has generous rewards in the categories you plan to spend the most in, such as groceries, dining and travel.