If you have a hotel credit card, chances are you’re looking to earn rewards to use for future stays. Hotel credit cards with free nights can fast-track your vacation plans with a guaranteed night each year. A card that comes with a free hotel night is arguably the easiest way to get this benefit as it’s automatic every year you renew your card and pay the annual fee.
Although you’re technically paying a yearly cardholder fee in exchange for that guaranteed one-night stay, typically the value of the hotel night can far exceed the price of the card. Plus, some premium cards offer other valuable perks, like elite status, which can grant you upgrades and elevated earning rates on your stays.
There are three main ways to earn free nights with a hotel credit card:
- Earn rewards through spending and/or a sign-up bonus that you can then redeem for nights.
- Meet a certain spending benchmark on your card to earn a free night in return.
- Get a credit card that offers a free hotel night as a cardholder perk.
Here are some cards that can score you a free hotel stay via one (or more) of the above methods.
Hotel credit cards that offer a free night each year with card renewal
- card_name: Enjoy an Annual Free Night Rewards from Hilton Honors in your first year of card membership every year upon card renewal. discontinued_disclaimer
- card_name: Receive one Free Night Award every year after your card renewal month. Reward night can be used for properties valued at or under 85,000 Bonvoy points. discontinued_disclaimer
- card_name: Receive one Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after your account anniversary.
- card_name: Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
- card_name: Get one free night each year after your card anniversary at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort.
- Best Western Rewards Premium Visa Signature Card: Earn one Free Night Award after your card member anniversary. Reward night can be used at any Best Western-branded hotel in the United States, Canada or the Caribbean.
Hotel credit cards that offer a free night each year through spending
Bigger spenders can benefit from a card that offers a free night as a reward. Many of the options listed below already come with one free night just for owning the card, meaning you can earn a second night for meeting a spending requirement.
- card_name: Earn an additional free night reward after making $30,000 in purchases and another for making $60,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year. discontinued_disclaimer
- card_name: Earn a free night reward that can be used at most Hilton properties after spending at least $15,000 in a calendar year. discontinued_disclaimer
- card_name: Earn an additional free night with a redemption value of up to 85,000 Bonvoy points by spend at least $60,000 on your card in a calendar year and choosing the free night option from the Earned Choice Award list, one of which is an additional free night with a redemption value of up to 85,000 Bonvoy points. discontinued_disclaimer
- card_name: Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
- Best Western Rewards Premium Visa Signature Card: Earn a second free night after spending $10,000 or more on the card in a calendar year.
Other cards with free hotel night potential
If you’re wondering how to get free hotel rooms, here’s another pathway: Cards that come with travel credits and/or anniversary points bonuses that you can use to pay for a hotel stay. You may want to consider these cards.
- card_name: This card comes with a flexible yearly travel credit of up to $300 that you can use to book a hotel room for as many nights as $300 will cover at your preferred property.
- card_name: This card comes with an annual $50 statement credit for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel℠. It’s not likely to cover an entire hotel stay but it can knock down the overall cost. Plus each year on your card anniversary you’ll get a 10% points bonus of your total spent over the year. If you spend $25,000 on the card, you’ll get 2,500 bonus points.
- card_name: This card offers a $300 annual credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel, which includes hotels, plus 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary.
- card_name: Get up to $200 semiannually for eligible purchases made at participating Hilton resorts, which includes eligible room rates. discontinued_disclaimer
- card_name: Get a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points after spending $20,000 on the card each calendar year, either of which can be applied towards an eligible room purchase or redemption.
- Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus: This card offers a 7,500 points bonus each year, which could be enough to cover the cost of a room at a value-priced property in the Wyndham portfolio.
One other way to gain additional free nights is via rewards redemptions with a hotel brand that offers a bonus night free when you redeem your rewards for a multi-night stay. For example, Hilton Honors members and Marriott Bonvoy members can get a fifth night free when redeeming points for four nights. The IHG One Rewards program offers a fourth night free benefit when you redeem rewards for three nights.
Bottom line
Several hotel credit cards offer shortcuts to free nights, either through an annual night free credit or other pathways. Free hotel nights can help keep travel costs low, which is something anyone who spends a night away from home can appreciate. Keep in mind that the best hotel credit card for free nights for you may not be the same as someone else. What you choose should be based on your property preferences, willingness to pay an annual fee and any other cardholder perks you might be looking for.
