Annual free nights with hotel credit cards from Hilton, Marriott, Wyndham, and more are enough to offset a credit card's annual fee many times over.
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The best hotel credit cards have one outstanding benefit that gives cardholders the incentive to renew year after year: Free night certificates and/or bonus points that are worth more than the annual fee.
It's basic math — nobody likes annual fees, but if you know you'll save more money than you're paying in fees, a hotel credit card is a no-brainer.
Read more: I haven't paid for a hotel room in 10 years — here's how I stay for free
I've got several hotel credit cards that I continually renew because I've historically saved more than double the annual fees. If you stay in hotels even a few times per year anyway, consider building your hotel credit card portfolio. You might be shocked at the value an inexpensive card can net.
Let's take a look at all the credit cards that come with either annual free night certificates or bonus points simply for renewing your card each year. These are the ones you can currently apply for — cards that offer these benefits but have been discontinued are not listed.
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Insider values Hilton points at 0.5 cents each, on average. That means you could potentially get up to $750 in value from this certificate — or significantly more, depending on where you stay. For example, the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island costs 120,000 points per night, but regularly retails for $2,000 per night. This is an excellent use of a weekend night reward.
Weekend Night Rewards are normally valid only from Friday to Sunday. But any certificates you earn in 2021 or 2022 can be redeemed any day of the week, giving you significantly more flexibility.
You've also got the opportunity to earn an additional Weekend Night Reward after spending $60,000 on your card in a calendar year.
This card charges a
The card also comes with:
We consider this to be one of the best credit cards on the market.
Read more: Amex Hilton Aspire review
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You can reserve more than 7,000 Marriott hotels around the world with this certificate. But you'll soon be able to combine up to 15,000 points with this certificate to reserve hotels costs up to 50,000 points per night.
Read more: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card review
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If you can use this annual free night certificate each year, you'll almost certainly get more value from the card than you're paying for the annual fee.
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Still, you should have no trouble offsetting that price tag by redeeming your certificate. After all, finding a hotel room for $125 is, unfortunately, becoming more and more difficult.
This card also affords you the opportunity to earn a second 35,000-point free night award after you spend $60,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
Again, you'll soon be able to add up to 15,000 points to these certificates to reserve Marriott hotels that charge 50,000 points per night or less.
Read more: Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business Card review
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This card is a great tool for anyone who qualifies for a small-business card and frequents Marriott hotels.
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Insider estimates Marriott points to be worth 0.7 cents, making this certificate worth up to about $350. That said, it's certainly possible to get significantly more value depending on where you stay — and you've got 7,900+ qualifying Marriott hotels to choose from.
For example, you could book a standard guest room during off-peak dates at the ION Adventure Hotel, Nesjavellir, a Member of Design Hotels in Iceland, which is difficult to book for under $400.
Booking.com
Marriott will soon allow you to tack on an extra 15,000 points to this certificate, as well. That means you'll be able to reserve rooms costing 65,000 points or less per night.
Read more: Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card review
The card also comes with:
This card is well worth the annual fee if you stay at Marriott even a couple of times each year. I've got it myself and have no intention of canceling it.
Insider estimates Hyatt points to be worth 1.5 cents each, on average. Category 4 hotels can cost up to 18,000 points per night during peak season, making this certificate worth up to around $270.
Hyatt hotels aren't nearly as prolific as hotel chains such as Marriott and Hilton. If you're not traveling to a big city or a touristy area, there may not be a Hyatt hotel nearby. If you can make use of it, however, it'll easily offset the card's
Read more: World of Hyatt Credit Card review
This card also offers:
The
Insider estimates IHG points value to be 0.7 cents each, making this bonus worth up to $280, on average.
IHG doesn't have award categories, and each hotel's award price can change dramatically. However, this certificate can be used at thousands of hotels worldwide, making it an exceptionally valuable benefit for a card with such a low annual fee. You can even combine it with as many IHG points as you like to reserve any IHG hotel.
Read more: IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card review
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If you're an avid IHG customer, this card will pay off big.
The
This 40,000-point certificate can be combined with your IHG points stash to increase the number of hotels with which you can use it. For example, if you wanted to reserve a night at a five-star hotel for 90,000 points, you'd pay 50,000 points + your annual free night certificate.
Plus, you can earn an additional certificate worth 40,000 points each calendar year you make $60,000 in purchases.
Read more: IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card review
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The
Insider estimates Wyndham points to be worth 0.8 cents each, making this bonus worth around $60. Wyndham isn't known for upscale hotels (you're probably familiar with its brands like Days Inn, Hawthorne Suites, Howard Johnson, Ramada, etc.).
Read more: Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus credit card review
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However, a great use of Wyndham points is by redeeming them for stays at Vacasa rentals. Rates start at 15,000 points per bedroom, so this annual bonus could save you hundreds for a night in a villa or cabin.
Read more: How to earn, redeem, and maximize Wyndham points
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This is the best card Wyndham offers.
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Read more: World of Hyatt Business Credit Card review
This card comes with a
Access to Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is a big selling points of the
You'll almost certainly have trouble keeping your bill below $200 when booking through these portals, so this credit isn't exactly an annual "free" night.
Read more: My plan to maximize the Amex Platinum card's new $200 hotel credit for a nearly free luxury stay
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Read our Amex Platinum Card review for more reasons why this card is worth the annual fee.
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This card also comes with an annual $100 credit for a single hotel stay that costs $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) booked through the Citi ThankYou travel portal. This is certainly not a "free" stay each year, but it can amount to a free night if you're booking five nights at a $100 hotel.
Read more: Citi Premier credit card review
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Read more: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review
The
If you're interested in credit card travel insurance, the Sapphire Preferred will give you the biggest bang for your annual fee.
There are a few other credit cards that come with general annual travel credits that you can use for a free hotel stay if you so desire.
With most hotel chains (like IHG, Hyatt, and Marriott) you can redeem your certificate online at checkout. Here's an example of Marriott's reservation page. Before you pay, you can choose whether you want to redeem points or a free night certificate.
If you're staying at a hotel with an award price significantly lower than your free night award is worth, it's better to pay with points. The hotel below costs 35,000 points, and my certificate covers hotels costing up to 35,000 points — so it's a good use.
Marriott
Hilton will not allow you to redeem a Weekend Night Reward online. You'll have to call them at 800-446-6677 and relay your desired hotel and dates to the customer service representative.
While most hotel free night certificates can be used any time, Hilton issues Weekend Night Certificates that are only valid for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night. However, any certificates issued in 2021 or 2022 can be used any day of the week.
Hilton and Marriott offer a benefit that provides you with a fifth night free when you book five consecutive award nights. For example, a five-night stay at a hotel that costs 50,000 points per night would cost just 200,000 points. IHG offers a similar perk for its co-branded cardholders, but you'll get a fourth reward night when booking three or more nights with points.
Unfortunately, free night certificates don't count as an award night in this context. You'll have to use actual hotel points to qualify for these fourth or fifth-night free perks (though there is anecdotal evidence of Hilton customers managing to find phone agents that can attach a weekend night reward to a fifth-night free booking).
Free night certificates usually expire within a year of the issue date. There have been many exceptions lately, with hotels pausing expiration due to a stagnant travel industry in the wake of coronavirus restrictions.
Even if your certificate does expire, that may not be the end of the road. I recently had a Hyatt free night certificate expire, and Hyatt was gracious enough to credit my account with 10,000 Hyatt points. If it turns out you can't use your certificate, perhaps you'll at least get some points out of it.
Points are far more flexible than free night certificates — though the annual payout is often less valuable.
Points will not expire a year from the issue date. They still can expire if your account is inactive for a specific period of time. Check the hotel loyalty program's terms for the specifics. Expiration will usually occur after 1.5 or two years.
Read more: How to keep points and miles from expiring
With the above cards, the only step is to pay the annual fee. Your free night certificate should be available to you within a few weeks. Some hotel cards, like the
Some of the cards above also offer additional free nights on top of the automatic certificates you'll receive after account renewal, but they're only awarded after big spending requirements.
