How This Forgotten Hotel Point Saved Me $200

I have a lot of rewards credit cards—probably dozens if I took the time to count.

Turns out, a perk I had completely forgotten about was hiding in plain sight, a $200 hotel credit.

While I do a pretty good job of maximizing the major perks on my card, some of the smaller, hard-to-use, or more obscure perks do sometimes sit unused.

One new perk I admit I didn’t notice – and some of you probably didn’t either – is my $200 hotel credit. United Club℠ Card (See Rates and Fees).

Here’s how I make the most of it.

Related: United Club Card Review

Easy to forget and easy to use $200 hotel credit

In case you also forgot, there’s now a $200 hotel credit on the United Club Card (and there are actually a bunch of other cool but easily overlooked points, including a $200 statement credit for flying with JSX).

Like probably many others, I got this card primarily for access to the United Club, so some of its other perks were just “nice to have” and not the main reason I got the card.

However, I recently found myself in need of an extra room at a specific hotel the night before my cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Port Everglades.

I decided at the last minute not to pay full price for the extra room we needed if it wasn’t necessary, so I started searching through my various credit cards any Potentially unused travel or hotel credits.

I have used various Toutiao hotel points on my account American Express Platinum Card® and Chase Sapphire Reserve® (See Rates & Fees), but after swiping through a lot of cards, I realized that the $200 in statement points I earned every anniversary on my United Club through well-known hotels and resorts was still intact and unused.

To use the points that were just added earlier this year, all you have to do is book and pay through the renowned Hotels & Resorts program using your United Club Card. The $200 statement credit should appear on your credit card account within a few days to a few weeks after the charge.

Related: Is the United Club Card worth the annual fee?

Get more value from your credit

You’ll also get daily breakfast for two and $100 in hotel credit, among other benefits, whether you use points or not when you book at reputable hotels and resorts.

This means that not only did I save $200 on one night’s stay, but I also received about $150 in additional benefits.

During my search, I found some solid properties in the well-known Hotels & Resorts collection, some sometimes priced at or below $200, such as the iconic Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

However, many hotels, including the Pier Sixty-Six hotel I booked near the Port Everglades cruise terminal, seem to start at $300-$600 per night.

If you want to maximize your savings with this point, I recommend using it on stays that cost closer to $200 so you can break even without having to pay out of pocket.

However, if you prefer to splurge on a luxury hotel, the $200 in points can be deducted from your total, especially with the other perks you’ll receive by booking through this program.

For us, the stay was perfect.

The $200 credit came quickly.

Not only was the hotel and its food (which we thoroughly enjoyed using points) great, but the $200 in points was deposited into my United Club Card account very quickly.

The almost forgotten hotel points on my United Club card turned into the perfect way to significantly reduce the cost of hotel stays. The fact that I will be dreaming of fluffy pillows until next time I have an excuse to stay in Port Everglades again on a future cruise (hopefully using next year’s credit) is just the bottom line.

If you think you might be forgetting some valuable credit card points, here’s a list of some more valuable points to try before the end of the year.