Great Chase Hotel Cards And Bonuses – Which Is Best?

When it comes to travel credit cards, Chase has really set themselves atop the issuer pile. Their programs are great, their customer service is topnotch and their constant move to help travelers more with things like foreign transaction fee removals are very welcome.

A lot of attention is paid to their premier travel cards, the cards that feed into the valuable Ultimate Reward pool. These points can be transferred to any of Chase’s travel partners for fantastic redemption options. But, Chase also has a very strong pool of hotel credit cards with valuable sign-up bonuses and even some nice annual bonuses as well.

Chase Hotel Cards

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Hyatt Chase Visa

– Hyatt Chase Visa Application Link

To me, no hotel credit card beats the Hyatt Chase card when it comes to a sign-up bonus. The spending requirement is an easy one ($1,000 in 3 months), no annual fee for the first year, and two free nights at any Hyatt. Those incentives roll into a powerful offer that everyone should take advantage of at some point.

There is an offer that is extended to customers as they are in the process of booking a hotel room that offers a $50 statement credit in addition to the sign-up bonus. If you would like to try applying using that link as well (with the knowledge that you may or may not receive the extra $50), apply through this link.

Card Details

• 

  The Hyatt Chase card

  Sign-up Bonus – 2 free nights at Hyatt hotels

• Spending Requirement – $1,000 in 3 months
• Elite Status – mid-tier Platinum status as long as you hold the card
• Anniversary Bonus – one free anniversary night at category 1-4 Hyatt
• Annual Fee – waived the first year, $75 each year after
• Category Bonus – 3X points at Hyatt hotels, 2X points at restaurants, hotels, and car rentals, 1X points everywhere else
• Potential Value of Offer – worth 60,000 Ultimate reward points (because it would take that many points for a 2 night stay at a top tier Hyatt) and worth well up to $2,000 (the cost to stay with cash at some top Hyatts for 2 nights).

Important Details

This card will allow you to receive the bonus again if you do not have the card when applying and if it has been 24 months since you received the sign-up bonus. The offer of the 2 free nights expires one year after issuance – so if you meet the spending next month and receive the 2 free night award, you will have until the end of April, 2016 to use those nights. Make sure you have a plan for those nights before you apply!

The anniversary award of one night at a category 1-4 is also good for a year. The award will post to your account in the same month that your annual fee is charged. You will have until the end of that same month next year to use it. In points, that free night is worth up to 15,000 points (the cost in points at a category 4 hotel).

Card Take – Apply Or No?

This is one of the cards that never leaves my Chase portfolio (until I decide to cancel to get the 2 free nights again with another application). The annual free night is one that easily outweighs the annual fee and the spending bonus offers that I get also help to offset the card’s annual fee. It appears that Chase is making more of a push to incentivize people to hold/use this card (with their 20% rebate offer as one example) so if you have a desire to stay at Hyatt hotels, this card needs to be on your top list.

IHG Rewards Club Select Card

– IHG Rewards Club Select Card Application Link

When it comes to anniversary bonuses, the IHG card really has the upper hand. For a mere $49 annual fee, you get a free night at any IHG hotel in the world – whether you choose one in Bora Bora or your local Holiday Inn Express. The fact that you receive top-tier status from the card is a big plus as well.

Card Details

• 

  The IHG card from Chase

  Sign-up Bonus – 70,000 points

• Spending Requirement – $1,000 in 3 months
• Elite Status – top-tier Platinum status as long as you hold the card
• Anniversary Bonus – one free anniversary night at any IHG hotel
• Annual Fee – waived the first year, $49 each year after
• Category Bonus – 5X points at IHG hotels, 2X points at restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores, 1X points everywhere else
• Potential Value of Offer – worth 70,000 Ultimate Reward points (because IHG points transfer from UR at 1:1 – but that is a terrible way to redeem UR points). Realistically, since you can buy them using this method for only .7 cents each, the offer is worth $490.

Important Details

This is one of the hotel cards that has a sign-up bonus that does not blow its competition out of the water if you are looking for top tier hotel stays (because it costs 50,000 points per night, so you would only get 1 night with this offer), but the anniversary bonus is definitely the strongest. A free night at any IHG is almost as good as the 70K sign-up bonus, if you want a single night at top hotels.

But, the real strength of the sign-up bonus is the value you can extract when staying at Pointbreak hotels. These are hotels that you can stay at for only 5,000 points per night and they rotate every couple of months (the current list is here). If you use these points for those hotels, you can get 14 free nights with this offer! That is an incredible way to use the offer.

The fact that IHG does not status match their elite status and they give it free to cardholders means that you are really only getting the status through stays or the card. Having top tier status in a hotel can be a great benefit and that you can get it for simply signing up is great!

This bonus offer is available to you as long as you have not received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the past 24 months.

Card Take – Apply Or No?

This is another card I would definitely get, if not for the sign-up bonus, for the anniversary bonus. It has been quite easy over the last few months to get a lot of IHG points through their promos or you can simply buy them for .7 cents each through this method. But, to get an anniversary bonus that has a realistic value of 50,000 points for only $49 (the annual fee), that is great. With IHG’s acquisition of Kimpton hotels and their already large footprint, this card/points/free night can be invaluable.

Marriott Premier Rewards Card

– Marriott Premier Rewards Card Application Link – 50,000 points

– Marriott Premier Rewards Card Application Link – 40,000 points and $150 statement credit

– Marriott Premier Rewards Card Application Link – 70,000 points

The Marriott card actually fluctuates with offers from the standard 50,000 points to 70,000 points. Since Marriott has a very large footprint, these points can be put to use around the world at Marriotts. The anniversary bonus is a standard free night at a category 1 – 5 hotel. The part that really helps to sell this card is the inclusion of a free night at any category 1-4 hotel after meeting the initial spending requirement – along with receiving the 50,000 points.

Edit to add: There are a couple of other offers available for this card as well. There is this 70,000 point offer after spending $2,000 in 3 months marketed exclusively to Marriott Rewards members and there is this 40,000 point offer and $150 statement credit after spending $2,000 in 3 months (the statement credit will post after the first purchase).

Card Details

• 

  The Marriott Premier Rewards card

  Sign-up Bonus – 50,000 points and one free night at category 1-4 hotel or 70,000 points and one free night at category 1-4 or 40,000 points, $150 statement credit, and one free night at category 1-4

• Spending Requirement – $1,000 in 3 months ($2,000 for the 40K offer and 70K offer)
• Elite Status – 15 nights credit towards status (which would give Silver status)
• Anniversary Bonus – one free anniversary night at any category 1-5 hotel
• Annual Fee – waived the first year, $85 each year after
• Category Bonus – 5X points at Marriott hotels, 2X points at restaurants, airline tickets, and car rentals, 1X points everywhere else
• Potential Value of Offer – worth 70,000 Ultimate Reward points when the sign-up bonus is combined with the initial free category 1-4 night (because Marriott points transfer from UR at 1:1 – but not a great way to redeem)

Important Details

This card has an interesting sign-up bonus in that it gives you the points and a free night certificate. Having used several of these in the past, they can be useful at many Marriotts in smaller towns and cities (where the prices may be high even on mid tier hotels).

The fact that it only gives base elite status is not that great but it is nice that it comes in the form of night credits toward higher status. But, it still leaves you 35 nights away from Gold status, which is a lot. In comparison, if you do single night stays at Hyatts, you would receive top tier status with only 25 nights.

This offer is available to you as long as you have not received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the past 24 months.

Make sure you use the annual certificate within 6 months as that is the validity term of it!

Card Take – Apply Or No?

There are several offers for this card that range from offering 40,000 points and a $150 statement credit to the 70,000 point offer. Decide which one best fits your spending habits and hotel goals and go with it. I imagine, for most people, that the 70,000 point offer would be more preferable. If that is the case, go ahead and apply!

Fairmont Visa Signature Card

– Fairmont Visa Signature Card Application Link

The Fairmont card is a great card to get – if you have plans to stay at a Fairmont in the next year or so. That is because it comes with the 2 free nights at any Fairmont, but you must use those nights within 1 year of issuance. While there are not an abundance of Fairmont properties, the ones that exist are very nice and worth staying at for sure!

Card Details

• 

  Fairmont Visa Signature card

  Sign-up Bonus – 2 free nights at any Fairmont, with complimentary breakfast

• Spending Requirement – $3,000 in 3 months
• Elite Status – Premier status (mid tier status)
• Anniversary Bonus – one free anniversary night at any Fairmont after spending $12,000 in a calendar year
• Annual Fee – $95, not waived
• Category Bonus – 5X points at Fairmont hotels, 2X points at transit and commuting points, airline tickets, and car rentals, 1X points everywhere else
• Potential Value of Offer – worth over $1,000 for various Fairmont properties

Important Details

The Fairmont card has a strong offer but it does require $2,000 more in spending than other Chase hotel cards to receive the bonus. One of the negatives is that you can only use 1 free night certificate per stay at the crowned-jewel of the Fairmont properties, the Plaza hotel in NYC. A lot of people want to use their certificates for stays there, but just know that you can only use one free night at a time.

This card does not waive the annual fee and requires an average of $1,000 in spending per month to receive the free anniversary night. To receive the sign-up bonus, you must not have received the bonus for at least 24 months previously and not currently hold the card.

Card Take – Apply Or No?

This is a great card to get if you want to stay at some of the fascinating Fairmont properties. They make great stays for special events such as honeymoons and anniversaries, made even better if you and your spouse each get this card to make for 4 nights of wonderfully free stays. In fact, one of the properties that I had considered as a possible place for our honeymoon was the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in British Columbia – except my wife cannot stand snow .:)

Unless you have such a stay in mind for the next year, I would hold off until then. There had been speculation about the card going away due to it not being promoted on the Chase website (you cannot find it on the Chase home page), but that has happened quite a bit with this card as it is more of a specialty card than one of their primary transfer partner cards (the other hotel cards they promote all are transfer partners of the Ultimate Rewards program). I think you should be fine holding off if you are not in a position to stay at one of the properties in the next year or so.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card

– Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card Application Link

Similar to the Marriott card (which they both belong to the same hotel family), this card has fluctuating bonuses where it will offer nights as a sign-up bonus and up to 140,000 points with a different offer. At present, it is the 2 free night offer (which is worth less than the point offer since 2 nights at a tier 4 only costs 120,000 points).

Card Details

• 

  Ritz-Carlton Rewards card

  Sign-up Bonus – 2 free nights at any Tier 1 – 4 Ritz-Carlton

• Spending Requirement – $3,000 in 3 months
• Elite Status – Gold status (mid tier status)
• Anniversary Bonus – $300 annual travel credit, 3 upgrades to Club rooms, and a 10% premium on points earned by spending throughout the year
• Annual Fee – $395, not waived
• Category Bonus – 5X points at Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels, 2X points at restaurants, airline tickets, and car rentals, 1X points everywhere else
• Potential Value of Offer – worth up to 120,000 Marriott points (which could be transferred from Ultimate Rewards at 1:1 – but a terrible value)

Important Details

This card is a very strange hotel offering. It is for premium hotels yet comes with a massive annual fee that is not waived. The airline credit of $300 (can be used for baggage fees, Global Entry fees, seat upgrades, lounge fees, etc) goes a long way to recovering the annual fee. It also comes with a $100 hotel credit on paid stays of 2 nights or more. That can be used for things such as hotel activities, dining, spa charges, etc.

The Gold status is nice since it does become Gold with Marriott as well. If you are looking for a card to provide you with benefits for Marriott stays as an elite, this card could help you with that. The 2 free nights are nice if you plan on staying at Ritz hotels.

Card Take – Apply Or No?

This is definitely another card that I would not apply for at this time. With bonus offers of 140,000 points coming around from time to time, that is worth much more than a 2 night offer. Plus, it allows you to use those points for Marriott stays as well which can give you some increased value over the normal Marriott offer.

Unless you have your eye on some Ritz-Carlton stays soon, I would hold off on this offer until the 140,000 offer comes around again.

Summary

Chase has a lot of solid hotel cards. My picks for best cards would be – Hyatt card, IHG card, and then the Fairmont card. The Marriott and Ritz-Carlton cards are nice but there are better offers for each of them. The Hyatt and IHG are, in my opinion, the best cards for the sign-up bonus.

When applying, remember that it is best to apply for only 1 Chase personal card at a time but you can apply again for other cards after waiting for a while – many people prefer 60 – 90 days before applying for another personal Chase card. Each of these cards is available to those who have had them in the past, the only stipulation is that you cannot have had the bonus in at least 24 months and (in some cases) cannot currently hold the card.

Which Chase hotel card is your favorite and why? Use the new poll on the side to answer as well!