The Best Hotel Credit Card of 2019

If you’re loyal to Hilton properties—which includes brands like Doubletree, Embassy Suites, and Waldorf-Astoria—or find yourself staying at a Hilton hotel at least once a year, the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express is a tough option to beat. This card does come with a hefty $450 annual fee that isn’t waived the first year, but it is packed full of benefits that could make it worth it if you stay at Hilton hotels.

Points: The Hilton Aspire Card will help you rack up Hilton points that you can redeem for free stays. For every dollar you spend at Hilton hotels, you’ll earn 14 Hilton points per dollar spent at Hilton hotels, 7 Hilton points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or through American Express’ travel portal, car rentals, and at US restaurants. All other purchases will earn 3 Hilton Points per dollar spent.

Perks: First off, just by having the Aspire Card, Hilton will give you their top-tier Diamond status. Hilton Diamond status comes with quite a few perks including no resort fees on award stays (which could save $25 or more per night at Hilton Resorts), premium Wi-Fi that’s faster than the free option that everyone gets, late checkout, complimentary breakfast, Executive Lounge access at the hotel where there will often be free drinks and snacks, and complimentary room upgrades when available. Just getting free breakfast could save you $30 per person, per day on a stay at a mid-level Hilton property.

In addition to Diamond status, every year you’ll get a statement credit of up to $250 when you spend $250 or more on your Hilton Aspire Card at Hilton Resorts. Every year when you renew your card, you will also be given a free weekend night award certificate and you have the ability to earn another one if you use your card to spend $60,000 within a calendar year.

Learn more about for the Hilton Honors Aspire American Express

The World of Hyatt Credit Card is a good option for Hyatt loyalists, those looking for a good once-a-year vacation card, and everything in-between. The card comes with a $95 annual fee that is not waived the first year.

Points: We’ll start off with the goods: Hyatt points are extremely valuable—much more so than other types of hotel points. This is because Hyatt’s most expensive hotels cost only 40,000 points per night while other hotel chains charge 80,000 or more points per night for their top hotels. Hyatt also offers an option where you can redeem a lower number of points and some cash that can help stretch your points even further while still offering a high-value redemption.

Hyatt hotels have relatively low hotel prices, so you should be able to rack up enough points pretty quickly and start redeeming for free nights. The Hyatt Card earns 4 Hyatt points per dollar spent at Hyatt hotels and 2 Hyatt points per dollar on local transit, commuting, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, and fitness club and gym memberships. All other purchases earn 1 Hyatt point per dollar spent.

Perks: Every year when you renew your card, you’ll automatically be given a free hotel night that is valid at low to mid-tier Hyatt properties. Keep in mind that this doesn’t include Hyatt’s best properties, so it might not be as useful if you want to splurge on your vacation. Plus you’ll get automatic Hyatt Discoverist status earning you a 10% bonus on points earned at Hyatt hotels and access to faster premium internet at no additional cost when you stay with Hyatt.

If you’re loyal to Hyatt brands, which include chains with the Hyatt name like Hyatt Regency as well as luxury brands Andaz and Miraval, you’ll be happy to know that having and spending on your Hyatt card can also help you earn status beyond the Discoverist status that comes with the card. Every year, you will automatically be given five nights toward qualifying for a higher level of elite status with Hyatt and you can earn two additional night credits toward status for every $5,000 you spend on your card. Higher levels of elite status offer additional benefits like free breakfast, more points earning at hotels, and better room upgrades.

Learn more about the World of Hyatt Credit Card

If you stay at any Marriott hotel in any given year, there’s a good chance that you’ll find this card to be worthwhile. The Bonvoy card comes with a $450 annual fee, which is not waived the first year.

Points: As far as earning points goes, you’ll get 6 Marriott points per dollar spent at Marriott Bonvoy hotels and 3 Marriott points per dollar on flights booked directly with the airline and at US restaurants. All other purchases will earn 2 Marriott points per dollar spent.

Perks: There are two main benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card that will easily help cover its annual fee. Every year, you’ll receive up to a $300 statement credit for eligible purchases at Marriott hotels, which, in addition to traditional Marriott brands, include the St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, and W hotels. Eligible purchases include food, drinks, and even the room rate itself. Basically, this $300 statement credit acts as a $300 rebate, refunding you on Marriott purchases until the $300 max is reached. Each year on your account anniversary, you’ll also be given a free night stay certificate that is valid on rooms costing up to 50,000 points. The Bonvoy Brilliant card also offers cardholders complimentary Marriott Gold status with benefits like 25% bonus points on stays, enhanced room upgrades, and 2 PM late checkout. If you spend $75,000 per year on your card (an average of $6,250 per month), you’ll be upgraded to Marriott Platinum status.

Learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express

The Capital One Venture card is a solid all-around travel card, and it’s a great credit card if you’re not loyal to a specific hotel brand. The $95 annual fee is waived the first year.

Points: This card offers 10 miles per dollar spent on all reservations made through Venture partner Hotels.com and via the dedicated link Hotels.com/Venture—that’s a 10% return—and two miles per dollar (or 2%) spent on all other purchases.

And needing to book through Hotels.com isn’t a bad thing at all. Hotels.com has its own loyalty program and it’s a pretty nice loyalty program. After you stay 10 nights, you’ll get a certificate for a hotel stay that is valued at the average cost of those 10 nights - effectively an additional 10% back. As of now, the Venture Card’s partnership with Hotels.com is slated to run through January 2020, but hopefully, that will get renewed.

Perks: In addition to offering you a great return on your hotel purchases, the Venture Card also offers a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit of up to $100 when you charge your application fee on your card, no foreign transaction fees, and car rental insurance.

Learn more about the Capital One Venture Rewards Card