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Even if you’re not necessarily interested in earning points and miles to redeem a free flight, you can still earn travel perks via your credit card spending. Many of the best rewards credit cards also allow you to earn free hotel nights at select brands, whether you use a co-branded travel credit card or an unbranded card.
Getting Free Hotel Nights
While you may get more out of a hotel credit card if you are loyal to a certain brand, don’t dismiss flexible credit cards. Here are our six favorites for earning free hotel nights, so you can book your next complimentary stay, fast.
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1. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
The information for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
While other Hilton co-branded credit cards might require you to meet certain spending limits before you get even one free hotel night, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card gives you a free weekend night right off the bat, as soon as you sign up for the card. You’ll then earn another free weekend night every year that you renew the card. Then, if you want to earn more free nights, you can just meet the annual spending requirement of $60,000.
This is one of the best Hilton credit cards.
You’ll also get a $250 statement credit for use at Hilton Resorts, which is like an additional free night all by itself. You can also earn 150,000 points after spending $4,000 in eligible purchases within your first 3 months of account opening.
The annual fee is $450 (See Rates & Fees).
2. Radisson Rewards Visa Card
The information for the Radisson Rewards Visa Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
If you’re looking for a co-branded hotel credit card with no annual fee, reach for the Radisson Rewards Visa cards. You can earn up to three free hotel nights every year for every $10,000 you spend on the card in a year’s time, up to $30,000. Now, you do have to wait until your cardholder anniversary to receive the free nights — they don’t just automatically pop up in your account once you’ve met the spending thresholds, unfortunately.
But, the free nights are valid at any Radisson property in the United States, and they’re good for an entire year.
3. IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
If your ears perk up at the sound of unlimited reward nights, then check out the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. This card is generous with the reward nights if you frequently use the card and earn enough points and then redeem them.
For frequent IHG travelers, the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is a nice option. Cardholders can earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when they stay at an IHG hotel. Also, earn 5x points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3x points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
As an IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card cardholder, you’ll also get to enjoy a Reward Night after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide. Additionally, you can enjoy a reward night when you redeem points for any stay of 3 or more nights.
As long as you remain a Premier card member, you can enjoy Platinum Elite status. Platinum Elite Status allows for room upgrades (when available), late check-out, welcome amenities at check-in, and more. Additionally, enjoy a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card.
New cardholders can earn IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card earns 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Member FDIC
The annual fee is $99.
4. The World of Hyatt Credit Card
The World of Hyatt Credit Card by Visa is notable because of how much the points are worth when it comes to redeeming them for free hotel nights, not just for the run-of-the-mill free nights that you get after your cardmember anniversary and the additional free night you get if you spend $15,000 on the card per year.
You earn 9 points for every dollar spent on Hyatt stays and 2 points per every dollar spent at restaurants, with airlines, on other forms of transit like subway fares, and at fitness clubs and gyms. Free nights are redeemable starting at 5,000 points. This means that when compared to other hotel loyalty programs like IHG Rewards and Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt’s points are worth much more per point.
Additionally, cardholders can enjoy complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as their account is open.
New The World of Hyatt Credit Card cardmembers can earn a signup bonus of up to 65,000 World of Hyatt Bonus Points. Earn the first 35,000 points by spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, earn up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2x Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1x Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
5. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card
The premium Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is one of the best Marriott credit cards.
Each card renewal year, get up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide.
Other featured benefits include 1 Free Night Award (redemption level at or under 85,000 points) annually after your card renewal month at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties (some hotels have resort fees), up to $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card, and complimentary Priority Pass Select airport lounge access.
Additionally, cardholders can enjoy a fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, up to $800 in cellphone protection, and 25 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status (terms apply).
Cardholders earn:
- 6x points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program
- 3x points at restaurants worldwide
- 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite members earn 50% more points on eligible purchases at participating hotels for each U.S. dollar (or the currency equivalent) that is incurred and paid for by the member.
Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases, Card Members are eligible to select an Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Earned Choice Award per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
Welcome Bonus
New Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card cardholders earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Although this card has a $650 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees (See Rates & Fees), it has plenty of benefits that are worth a lot more.
6. Wyndham Rewards Visa Card
The information for the Wyndham Rewards Visa Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
With the Wyndham Rewards® Visa® Card, which comes with a mere $75 annual fee, you can acquire points quite quickly, leading to a plethora of free night options. In fact, right now, you can take advantage of a sign-up offer that results in 30,000 points — or four free nights. To earn the 30,000 points, you must make a purchase on your card, which will earn you 15,000 points. Then you can earn an additional 15,000 points after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
Unfortunately, this card does not give you an automatic free night after your card anniversary. Instead, you get 6,000 points, which is just shy of what you would need to get one of those free hotel nights. However, the earning system does give you lots of ways to acquire the rest of the points you need, with 5 points for every dollar you spend on Wyndham purchases, 2 points for every dollar you spend on gas, grocery, and utility purchases; and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.
Summary
As you can see, there are a variety of options, depending on what brand you are loyal to. If you travel often, earning free hotel nights can be easy when you use a hotel credit card or one of the best credit cards for travel purchases. Hopefully, you can take advantage of some of the other perks, regardless of what card you choose.
Related articles:
- Best Airlines Credit Cards – Earn Miles, Perks, and Airline Status
- Best Credit Cards to Earn Points and Miles for Every Type of Spend
- 8 of the Best Credit Cards for Hotel Elite Status
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, please click here.
These are not bank credit cards, right? Can’t i use bank credit cards.