Booking a hotel room with a hotel credit card comes with a lot of benefits. One big difference is that hotel credit cards often come with other brands on them. For instance, a hotel company might work with a bank like American Express or Chase to offer a unique credit card. So, if you use this specific hotel credit card to pay for your hotel stay, you might get points or a deal. There can be free nights, better rooms, and other perks.
Hotel credit cards are great for loyal consumers, much like bank credit cards are for repeat customers who stay at the same chain hotels. Like other credit cards, hotel credit cards have perks and downsides. Keep reading to understand the hotel credit cards' pros and cons.
Benefits of Hotel Credit Cards
Here are some of the benefits of credit cards:
Reward Points
You can earn points toward free nights and other perks just by using your hotel credit card for in-room dining, beverages, and entertainment. Additionally, earning these points will add to the ones you already had from booking the room.
You will get points for using your card. You can get free nights, meal savings, or even trips with these reward points. Moreover, using extra points from many hotel credit cards to buy things in certain areas can speed up the rewards process.
Free Nights
One great thing about hotel credit cards is that they let you earn free nights. The number of reward points needed to get a free hotel stay is limited. If you fly a lot and stay at the same hotel name, this perk is helpful. Also, a lot of credit card programs give you a free night when you sign up for or refill your card every year.
You could save a lot of money on your hotel bill and have a better time on your trip thanks to these free nights. Moreover, it is important to read the fine print because some cards can have limits or blackout times.
Elite Status Benefit
In many hotel reward plans, a hotel credit card can help you reach the top level much faster. If you are a special member, you can get extra benefits of credit cards, like better rooms, early check-in, and later check-out.
The number of "elite qualifying nights" you get from staying at hotels a lot or using your credit card to make a certain amount of purchases affects your rank. Moreover, it gets better as you move up to the top levels, which gives loyal customers even more to love. As a special member, you can enjoy more luxurious and stress-free hotel stays.
Hotel Perks
A lot of the time, expensive hotel credit cards offer a lot more than just free nights and points. The benefits of credit cards include flight credits, vacation credits every year, and access to private airport bars. Some cards cover luggage and save on vehicle rentals and travel insurance.
Hotel credit cards are ideal for frequent flyers who wish to maximize their visits. Using resort points to pay for treats like spa services or food is one option, but using lounge access during layovers is more comfortable and useful. With these extras, this card can be worth a lot more than just a credit card for hotel points.
Drawbacks of Hotel Credit Cards
Here are some of the cons of credit cards:
Points Redemption Limits
When you use hotel credit card points, you can only sometimes do what you want. Most of the time, you can only use your points at hotels that are tied to or part of the same group. As a result, you will need more ways to spend your points.
One good thing about using a general hotel credit card is that it usually gives you more reward choices across a wider range of categories, like trips, car rentals, and different hotel names. Moreover, one of the most common cons of credit cards is that when you use a hotel credit card with a low return rate, your points will be worth less.
High Annual Fees
The high yearly fee is one of the many bad things about hotel credit cards. They usually have higher annual fees than other credit cards, and they don't get dropped in the first year. You might not get as many reward points because of the high annual fee, even if the card does give them to you.
Moreover, couples who don't stay at the same hotel company very often might not think the benefits of credit cards are worth the monthly costs. Hence, hotel credit cards aren't the best choice for people who don't usually travel or take vacations.
Limited Reward Availability
When the hotel is very busy, you might only be able to use your points for a certain amount of time. It's now more work to use your points to book a hotel stay during busy times. Most hotels keep their award rooms for times of the year when they aren't as busy, so they don't get all booked up.
Many people want to use their points at once, like around holidays or other busy times. It can be hard to use points for upgrades when you're on a family trip because there are few bigger rooms available; this is another one of the most common cons of credit cards.
Restrictive Card Rules
Hotel credit cards for hotels can have strict rules. This is common for credit cards: they limit the amount of time you can use perks like free hotel stays or vacation credits. They can't be given to someone else and expire at the end of the card member's year if they aren't used.
Furthermore, lots of pressure to use perks on certain dates, which could make it hard to plan your trip. Some cards limit when and where you can use your free nights, which is annoying. Using the points and benefits of credit cards might be hard because of these strict rules.
