Hotel credit cards vs. general points credit cards: a guide for city vacationers

There have been a number of devaluations in the world of hotel points lately, meaning that many hotel chains have increased the points prices of their rooms. These devaluations mean that whatever number of hotel points you currently have are suddenly able to buy fewer nights at worse chains.

These points devaluations beg the question of whether you should ever use a credit card to earn them. Many of the hotel credit cards earn a good deal more than 1 point per dollar spent, so it feels like you’re getting a good deal. At the same time, though, the value of each point is significantly less than, say, an airline mile, because hotel nights cost far less than airfares. It is possible, therefore, that simply spending on a credit card that earns fixed-value points may be more worthwhile than spending on a hotel card.

With this in mind, I’ve laid out some calculations for a mid-to-nice hotel night at each of the major chains in a big city to see how much we have to spend on a hotel card or on a regular card to earn a free night:

Hilton

Cards

Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve – 3 HHonors points per dollar ($95 annual fee)

Citi Hilton HHonors Visa – 2 HHonors points per dollar (no annual fee)

Barclaycard Arrival – 2 cents per dollar towards travel ($89 annual fee, waived first year)

Hotel

theWit Chicago - A DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel

$341 (including taxes) per night

70,000 points per night

Spend Required

Citi HHonors Reserve – $23,333

Citi HHonors Visa - $35,000

Barclaycard Arrival - $17,050

Winner: General Points Card

Marriott

Cards

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa – 1 point per dollar ($85 annual fee, waived first year)

Barclaycard Arrival – 2 cents per dollar towards travel ($89 annual fee, waived first year)

Hotel

Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel

$278 (including taxes) per night

35,000 points per night

Spend Required

Marriott Visa – $35,000

Barclay Arrival - $13,900

Winner: General Points Card

Starwood

Cards

American Express SPG – 1 point per dollar ($65 annual fee, waived first year)

Barclaycard Arrival – 2 cents per dollar towards travel ($89 annual fee, waived first year)

Hotel

Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers

$323 (including taxes) per night

10,000 points per night

Spend Required

Amex SPG – $10,000

Barclay Arrival - $16,150

Winner: Hotel Card

The basic takeaway for me is that you shouldn’t ever use an HHonors or Marriott credit card to rack up spend, and that the Starwood card is every bit as incredible as every blogger makes it out to be. If you are loyal to Marriott or Hilton, I recommend getting their credit cards for the benefits they come with, but keeping your spending on a general points card that gives you greater value from spend. The only time I recommend using either of those cards is when you’re actually staying at a Hilton or Marriott, where those cards earn at a significantly higher rate.

This post tends to stay true for city hotels. In the next few days I will get into the earnings ratios for resort destinations.