If you're trying to reach elite
status at a hotel chain or airline by spending a certain amount in a year on your hotel - or airline - affiliated credit card, the benefits you'll get may be worth more to you than the amount of the fee, notes Gary Leff, who blogs about his miles and points obsession at View From the Wing..
Not exact matches
You'll also get an annual $ 200 airline fee credit, up to $ 200 of credits for Uber each cardmember year, access to more than 1,000 airport lounges around the world, complimentary elite
status at major
hotel chains, and more.
Co-branded
hotel credit cards earn points towards free nights
at various
hotel chains and many offer bonuses of award nights, elite
status and amenities with card membership.
This card earns award nights
at Hilton
hotels around the world and gives you HHonors
Status with the Hilton
chain.
Check out these credit cards that offer automatic
status at some of the top
hotel chains:
Many credit cards connected with
hotel loyalty programs will get you automatic silver or gold
status benefits
at that
chain, which can mean room upgrades, late check - in and (as with Ritz - Carlton) access to airport lounges.
Most airlines award flyers «
status» based on flying a certain number of miles within a year, typically
at 25,000, 50,000, 75,000, and 100,000 miles, while most
hotel chains award a
status typically based on number of nights per year stayed.
Co-branded
hotel credit cards earn points towards free nights
at various
hotel chains and many offer bonuses of award nights, elite
status and amenities with card membership.
But, as the title of this blog post suggests, there are credit cards available that offer the card holder (s) various levels of elite
status at certain
hotel chains and these can offer a very cost - efficient way of getting a few extra perks when you go on vacation.
For
hotel stays, you are still be better off using a
hotel co-branded card and booking through your
hotel's website, since $ 6,667 spent on a co-branded card is enough to earn 1 or more (in some cases many more) free nights
at any
hotel chain property except a Category 7 Starwood property, which would require $ 8,750 or $ 7,000 on the co-branded American Express, depending on your elite
status.
When you stay
at a major
chain hotel you earn a standard rate of base points and if you hold elite
status with that
hotel you're typically given a bonus rate on top of that.
If you don't travel all the time for leisure or for business, spending 50 plus nights
at a
hotel is not easy and it might seem impossible to ever obtain top
status with many of these
hotel chains.
Check out these credit cards that offer automatic
status at some of the top
hotel chains:
Even better, the
Status Match, No Catch plan matches the status one has at any other hotel chain, providing perks such as bonus points, late check out, space available upgrades and other be
Status Match, No Catch plan matches the
status one has at any other hotel chain, providing perks such as bonus points, late check out, space available upgrades and other be
status one has
at any other
hotel chain, providing perks such as bonus points, late check out, space available upgrades and other bennies.
Another major perk of the American Express Platinum credit is the instant
hotel status upgrade
at many of the major
chains.
This will be good if I want to simplify and cancel my Hyatt Visa or if I am staying
at a smaller
chain or boutique
hotel with which I don't have
status.
Should I stick to top tier
status at two
hotel chains?
Though American Express Platinum cards have long been lauded for their premium benefits, like
status at certain
hotel chains and airlines, more robust airport lounge access, and concierge booking services, it's much harder to take advantage of those perks than the quantitative benefits of the Reserve card.
A drawback of making reservations
at chain hotels through
Hotels.com is that you typically don't get elite
status benefits.