Best Hotel Credit Cards To Live In Style

Sleep is our super power. When we are well-rested, we function better, are happier, and healthier. In fact, buying an amazing mattress is my #1 splurge recommendation since the average person spends more than 50 hours a week in bed.

Given sleep is so important, staying at a great hotel with amazing amenities while traveling is the next best thing. You don't want to stay at a crappy hotel that gets you all grouchy for your business meetings the next morning. Neither do you want to sleep in a hotel that has bed bugs!

Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite

I went to Lucerne, Switzerland recently and stayed at a random mom and pop type hotel I found online a few weeks earlier. Suddenly, I was awoken at 12:30am with a dozen bed bugs crawling all over me! As I scanned the bed and the room, there were literally 80+ bed bugs marching towards me like zombie soldiers.

Did I get reimbursed? Yes, after a week. Did the the hotel put me up in an alternative room? No, because the hotel was full. Did the hotel put me up in another hotel, free of charge? No! I ended up staying up until 9am, sleeping in the park until the sun came up.

But at least I was able to get an amazing sunrise shot below!

Best Hotel Credit Cards To Live In Style

As a frequent traveler, not only do you want a travel rewards credit card, you should also carry a hotel rewards credit card to boost your points for more free travel and more free nights.

As a hotel rewards credit cardholder, you may be limited to redeeming rewards at participating hotels or partners. The good news is there are lots of highly rated, reliable, and popular lodging choices. So you won't have to experience what I went through in Lucerne.

You'll also be a VIP member everywhere you go. Who doesn't want to be treated well and get free upgrades? I know I sure don't want to sleep in a park at 3am ever again.

Travel is booming post pandemic and I'm actively investing in hospitality real estate through a platform like CrowdStreet. It offers various types of commercial real estate deals to invest in.

Best Hotel Rewards Credit Cards

Here are our favorite hotel reward cards for the frequent traveler:

  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
  • Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card

Marriott is also one of the largest hotel chains in the world with over 7,000 hotels. This branded hotel rewards credit card issued by Chase makes you an instant Silver Elite VIP. As a Silver Elite VIP, you get 15 Elite Night credits to be redeemed any time you want.

As a limited time offer, you can also earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.

For ongoing rewards, enjoy 6X the points for every dollar of eligible purchases at over 7,000 Marriott locations. With Marriot’s Free Night Award you get a free night’s stay at a hotel within the Marriott network every year after your account anniversary. You earn 2X points on all other purchases.

Additional card features:

  • Enjoy complimentary Silver Elite status automatically each account anniversary year.
  • Receive Gold status if you spend $35k a year.
  • Enjoy 15 Elite Night Credits every calendar year.
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Unlimited Marriott Bonvoy points can be earned helping you get more Free Night Stays faster.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

Capital One VentureOne Credit Card

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card is a straightforward credit card with good benefits for international travel. It too, does not have any foreign transaction fees.

It also offers flexible rewards that let you book travel with no blackout dates with any airline or hotel that you want. Rewards miles also don't expire and are unlimited.

Every purchase you make with the Capital One VentureOne Rewards card earns 1.25X miles with no caps. Plus, you have the option to transfer miles to any of their popular 10+ loyalty travel program partners.

Here are even more features of the Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card's offerings.

  • No foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad.
  • Receive a bonus of 20,000 miles after you spend $500 on purchases within three months of opening an account. The 20,000 miles equals $200 in travel rewards, which is like getting 40% cash back.  
  • Get unlimited 1.25X miles on every purchase you make, every single day.
  • Utilize the flexibility of transferring rewards miles to over 10 leading travel loyalty programs. 
  • Travel when you want where you want. No blackout dates, fly any airline, stay at any hotel, whenever you want.
  • 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. This is a great introductory period for those of you who plan to make big purchases and want some extra time to pay them off. 
  • Earn unlimited miles that won't expire as long as you are an active cardholder.
  • Enjoy great travel protection, including travel accidental insurance, rental car coverage, and extended warranty on eligible items. 

Leverage The Best Hotel Credit Cards

If you're going to live in a hotel during your travels, you might as well get a hotel credit card. Choose a card that matches your hotel preferences, budget, and lifestyle as close as possible.

Hopefully, after we've spent dozens of hours of research reviewing over 100 credit cards, one of the above hotel credit cards will be a right fit for you. I never leave home without one to get better service and more points for free hotel stays.

Life is too short to stay at a crappy hotel like I did in Lucerne. Get the perks and benefits of a travel rewards credit card and rest easy. Hope you enjoy lots of happy travels and sleep tight!

Pay Off Your Debt Faster With A Personal Loan

If you don’t have enough cash, getting a personal loan from Credible is a good place to start. If you have expensive credit card debt, consider consolidating your debt into a lower interest-rate personal loan.

Credible has the most comprehensive marketplace for personal loans. Lenders compete for your business so you can get the best rate. Get personalized prequalified personal loan rates in just two minutes after you fill out an application.

Prequalified rates are based on the information you provide and a soft credit inquiry. Receiving prequalified rates does not guarantee that the Lender will extend you an offer of credit. You are not yet approved for a loan or a specific rate. All credit decisions, including loan approval, if any, are determined by Lenders, in their sole discretion. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Rates from Lenders may differ from prequalified rates due to factors which may include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in your personal credit circumstances; (ii) additional information in your hard credit pull and/or additional information you provide (or are unable to provide) to the Lender during the underwriting process; and/or (iii) changes in APRs (e.g., an increase in the rate index between the time of prequalification and the time of application or loan closing. (Or, if the loan option is a variable rate loan, then the interest rate index used to set the APR is subject to increases or decreases at any time). Lenders reserve the right to change or withdraw the prequalified rates at any time.

About the Author

Sam worked in investment banking for 13 years at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from The College of William & Mary and got his MBA from UC Berkeley. In 2012, Sam was able to retire at the age of 34 largely due to his investments that now generate roughly $350,000 a year in passive income.

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Disclosure: Credible Operations, Inc. NMLS# 1681276, “Credible.” Not available in all states. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org.

Disclosure: Credit card terms and features are subject to change.