My picks for the 4 best co-branded hotel credit cards

I have eight hotel credit cards, and I believe each card offers enough benefits to justify paying the annual fee for the foreseeable future.

However, readers often ask me which hotel card is the best. My answer usually depends on the person’s preferred hotel loyalty program, budget, and travel style. After all, what’s the best hotel credit card for me might not be the right one for you.

That said, here are my top four picks for the best hotel cards.

Related: How to Choose a Hotel Credit Card

My picks for the best hotel credit cards

RELATED: Hilton Amex Aspire vs. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant: Battle of the Top Hotel Cards

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

this Hilton Asbai Hotel It’s easily the best hotel credit card in my eyes because of the sheer value it offers.

Cardmembers will receive Hilton Honors Diamond status, the program’s highest current level. Although Hilton will launch the higher Diamond Reserve membership level in 2026, Diamond membership still provides valuable benefits. These include space-available room upgrades on most accommodations, executive lounge access and dining benefits.

Hilton Aspire offers 14 points for every $1 spent at Hilton hotels, as well as an annual free night bonus. Many hotel credit cards offer annual free night certificates; however, most programs limit these certificates to specific score ranges or categories. Hilton Free Night Awards are unique and extremely valuable because they can be redeemed for standard room awards at nearly any Hilton property. In recent years, I’ve had great experiences using Hilton free night vouchers at various resorts in the Maldives.

RELATED: How to Maximize the Hilton American Express Aspire Card

this Hilton Asbai Hotel There are many other benefits available that can help justify the card’s $550 annual fee (see Rates and Fees), including:

• Use your card directly on qualifying purchases at participating Hilton resorts and earn up to $400 in Hilton Resort Points each calendar year (up to $200 every two years)
• Get up to $200 in airline fee credits per calendar year (up to $50 per quarter) for flights purchased directly with the airline or through AmexTravel.com
• Earn up to $209 in Clear Plus points each calendar year when you pay for your Clear Plus membership with your Aspire Credit Card

As you can see, even Hilton resort points and airline fee points can provide more value than the annual card fee. To learn more, check out our full Hilton Aspire Card review and our story on why you should get the Hilton American Express Aspire Card.

Apply here: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Marriott Bonvoy Premier American Express Card

this Brilliant Marriott Hotel If you value your Marriott Platinum Elite status but don’t have the number of nights typically required to earn and maintain this status, this card is a strong contender for best hotel credit card. After all, card members will receive Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status as a card benefit and receive 25 elite stay points that can be used toward higher Marriott elite status.

Cardmembers also receive up to $300 in dining credits and up to $25 in monthly bill points on eligible purchases at restaurants around the world using the Brilliant Card. Use this point in full each month and you can recoup $300 of the card’s $650 annual fee (see rates and fees).

also, Brilliant Marriott Hotel Cardmembers will receive a free night award every year after the card renewal month, which can be used for one night at a Marriott Bonvoy hotel with a redemption level of 85,000 points or less. You can also earn up to 15,000 points from your Marriott Bonvoy account to redeem for higher-tier accommodations. Based on TPG’s December 2025 valuation, 85,000 points are worth $595.

RELATED: 6 Places to Maximize 85,000 Points in Marriott Rewards Night Certificates

Marriott Brilliant card members can also sign up for Priority Pass Select membership. In addition, cardmembers can earn statement points toward the Global Entry application fee (up to $120 every four years) or the TSA PreCheck application fee (up to $85 every 4 1/2 years) when they pay the application fee with their Brilliant card.

To learn more, check out our full Marriott Brilliance American Express review and our story on whether the Marriott Brilliance is worth paying the annual fee.

Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Premier American Express Card

IHG One Rewards Premium Credit Card

this InterContinental Hotels Group Premium Hotels This card offers a variety of benefits that, combined, make it one of the best hotel credit cards for travelers who prefer IHG Hotels & Resorts.

First, the IHG Premier Card offers cardholders an anniversary bonus stay, where points worth 40,000 points or less can be redeemed for one night in a standard room per account anniversary year. However, you can add points from your IHG One Rewards account to redeem an anniversary stay at a hotel with 40,000 points or more.

According to TPG’s December 2025 valuation, 40,000 IHG ​​One Rewards points are worth $200. So even if you use your anniversary night to pay for a night that would have cost you 20,000 IHG ​​points, you’ll effectively recoup the card’s annual fee. Regardless, it should be easy to get more value out of the anniversary night.

Related: Why you should get (and keep) the IHG One Rewards Premier card

IHG Premier also offers a great fourth night bonus offer. This benefit allows cardholders to pay zero points for every four nights on a reward stay of four or more nights. While this benefit doesn’t help much if you don’t redeem your IHG points for a stay of four nights or more, it’s very valuable to me since I usually stay at least four nights.

Finally, the IHG Premier Card confers platinum elite status to cardholders and provides up to a $120 statement credit every four years as reimbursement for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus application fees charged to your card. You’ll also get up to $50 in United TravelBank cash every year when you sign up for the IHG Premier Card in your MileagePlus account.

To learn more, check out our full IHG Premier review and my story on how IHG Premier pays for itself every year.

Apply here: IHG One Rewards Premium Credit Card

World of Hyatt Credit Card

this World of Hyatt Credit Card It offers fewer great perks than the other cards in this article. However, I’m still including it because it’s helpful in getting Hyatt elite status.

The card entitles cardholders to Hyatt Discoverist status and five qualifying stay points each year, which can be used to upgrade to the next level of membership. You’ll also earn two additional qualifying stay points for every $5,000 spent on the card toward the next tier.

RELATED: 5 Reasons I Love My World of Hyatt Credit Card and Plan to Keep It Long-Term

Hyatt’s top Globalist status requires 60 tier-qualifying stays or 100,000 base points. So if you want to qualify for a Hyatt guest stay and have World of Hyatt Card,you can:

• Stay 55 nights
• Stayed 49 nights and spent $15,000 on the card
• Stayed 39 nights and spent $40,000 on the card
• Stayed 19 nights and spent $90,000 on the card
• Stay zero nights and spend $140,000 on your card

if you have World of Hyatt Card And are working towards achieving Globalist status, you can see where you stand at the end of each year and spend the remaining time you need to stay.

this World of Hyatt Credit Card You’ll also receive one free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort each year after your cardholder anniversary, plus an additional free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year. The free nights each year provide enough value to justify paying the card’s $95 annual fee.

To learn more, check out our full World of Hyatt Credit Card review and our story on whether the World of Hyatt Credit Card is worth the annual fee.

Apply here: World of Hyatt Credit Card

bottom line

There are many hotel co-branded cards that offer great value, but the four highlighted above are the ones I recommend most often.

However, keep in mind that the best hotel credit card for you is a personal credit card. When deciding which card is best for you, consider your goals and preferences.

For Hilton Honors Aspire Card rates and fees, click here.

For Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant rates and fees, click here.