Category: Hilton75k

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). Hotel cards offer a variety of perks like free night, hotel points (that can be used for free nights), hotel status, and increasingly other benefits like statement credits. There are tons of hotel cards out there, but I think you can focus on these five cards first. #5 the 75,000 bonus point Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card drops its bonus on Wednesday (8/31/16) #1 Chase Sapphire Reserve While not strictly a hotel card, this is still the clear #1 hotel card because the 100,000 bonus points can transfer to 100,000 Hyatt points, which are worth 3-20 free nights in Hyatts depending on category or 2-12 nights in suites. Plus the $600 in travel credits you can get in the first 12 months of having the card can be used to offset another $600 in hotel stays. Sign Up Bonus: 100,000 Ultimate Rewards after $4,000 in spending in the first three months, can transfer to four types of hotel points Statement Credits: First $300 in travel purchases each calendar year are offset; $100 Global Entry or $85 TSA Precheck Credit Category Bonuses: 3x on travel and restaurants Value of Ultimate Rewards: Worth 1.5 cents toward the cash booking of any hotel OR can be transferred to seven airlines and four hotels for higher value Lounge Access: Priority Pass Select Membership means free access to 900+ airport lounges worldwide Global Acceptance: Visa, chip technology, and no foreign transaction fees Annual Fee: $450 Eligibility: Chase 5/24 Rule Full MileValue Analysis of Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply: Chase Sapphire Reserve #2 Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card This is another card with a mega annual fee and mega benefits. (Don’t worry cards #3-#4 have low annual fees, and #5 has no annual fee.) The Ritz-Carlton offers three free nights at Tier 1-4 properties after spending $5,000. There are only five tiers, so you can stay in some very fancy hotels that go for $500+ per night. Adding an authorized user and meeting the minimum spending requirement gets you at least halfway to another free night. The statement credits are not nearly as valuable as those offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Sign Up Bonus: Three free nights at Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carltons after $5,000 in spending in the first three months Authorized User Bonus: Get 10,000 bonus points for adding one when signing up for the card Statement Credits: First $300 in spending on “airline lounge day pass, or towards a yearly lounge membership of your choice; airline seat upgrades; airline baggage fees; in-flight Internet/entertainment; in-flight meals” are offset each calendar year; $100 Global Entry Credit Category Bonuses: 5x at Ritz-Carlton; 2x on airlines, car rentals, and restaurants Value of Ritz-Carlton Points: Need 30k to 70k for a free night Lounge Access: Priority Pass Select Membership means free access to 900+ airport lounges worldwide Discounted Flights: $100 discount on domestic flight bookings for 2+ passengers Global Acceptance: Visa, chip technology, and no foreign transaction fees Annual Fee: $450 Eligibility: Chase 5/24 Rule Apply: Ritz-Carlton Card #3 Starwood Preferred Guest Card This has a sign up bonus more valuable than other hotel cards, but I’d still hold off for the once or twice per year increase of the bonus to 30,000 or 35,000 Starpoints, since American Express only lets you get one bonus per product. That means if you get a 25,000 point bonus now, you can never get the bonus again, even if it increases to 30,000 or 35,000 points. Sign Up Bonus: 25,000 Starpoints after $3,000 in spending in the first three months Category Bonuses: 2x on SPG purchases Value of Starpoints: Worth 2.5 cents to me. Can be used on cheap SPG award chart for hotels, transferred 1:1.25 to dozens of airlines, or used for SPG Moments Global Acceptance: Chip technology and no foreign transaction fees, but Amex is the least widely accepted type of card Annual Fee: $95, but waived for the first 12 months Eligibility: You can only get one bonus per card from AMEX for your whole life, so you should probably wait for this card to pop up to 30,000 or 35,000 points again Full MileValue Analysis of SPG Amex Apply: SPG Card #4 Hilton Reserve The Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card is the best card for giving you free luxury hotel nights. The card comes with two free weekend nights at Hiltons worldwide after spending $2,500 in the first four months. The free nights are best spent at top-tier Hiltons and Conrads that can go for $1,000 or more per night. This card is perfect to get aspirational stays at top tier properties like the Conrad Koh Samui that goes for 95,000 Hilton points per night and costs more than $1k per night. The card also comes with Hilton Gold Status, so you can enjoy free internet and breakfast on those free stays. The card earns 10x points on Hilton stays, 5x on airlines and car rentals, and 3x on all other purchases. There card has no foreign transaction fee. The annual fee is $95. Sign Up Bonus: Two free weekend nights at Hiltons worldwide after $2,500 in spending in the first four months Annual Spending Bonus: One free weekend night any calendar year you spend $10,000 Category Bonuses: 10x at Hiltons, 5x at airlines and car rental agencies, 3x on everyday spending Value of Hilton Points: Worth 0.4 cents to me. Should be used at Category 1-3 Hiltons for free nights from 5,000 to 20,000 points per night instead of Category 10 Hiltons which cost 95,000 points per night Automatic Status: Hilton Gold Status as long as you hold the card Global Acceptance: Visa, chip technology, and no foreign transaction fees Annual Fee: $95 Eligibility: You can get the bonus again as long as your last Citi Hilton has been closed for 24 months. Where to use free night certificates Apply: Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card #5 75,000 Point Hilton No Annual Fee Card (Expires Wed) Until Wednesday August 31, 2016, the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card comes with 75,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first three months, automatic Hilton Silver status, and no annual fee. This is a huge sign up bonus for a card with no annual fee. The card offers 6x points at Hilton hotels; 3x at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations; and 2x on all other purchases. Plus any year you spend $1,000 at Hiltons, you get 10,000 bonus points. Free night awards start at 5,000 points per night and because the card gives you free Silver status, cardholders get the fifth night free on all awards. Spending $2,500 on the card (of which at least $2,000 is in the first three months) will give you 80,000 Hilton points, enough for 4 five-night stays at Category 1 hotels, 20 total nights! Sign Up Bonus: 75,000 Bonus Hilton Points after spending $2,000 in the first three months Spending Bonus: Any year you spend $1,000 at Hiltons, you get 10,000 bonus points Category Bonuses: 6x at Hiltons; 3x at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations; 2x on everyday spending Value of Hilton Points: Worth 0.4 cents to me, but you can get a lot more value. Should be used for five night stays at Category 1-3 Hiltons to take advantage of cheap award prices and the fifth night free. 80,000 Hilton points = 20 free nights at Category 1, 10 at Category 2, and five at Category 3 Automatic Status: Hilton Silver Status as long as you hold the card Global Acceptance: Visa, chip technology, but 3% foreign transaction fee. Do not use abroad Annual Fee: none Eligibility: You can get the bonus again as long as your last Citi Hilton has been closed for 24 months. Full card breakdown and analysis Apply: Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. Earn 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Plus get American Airlines lounge access for you and guests. My full review of the card.