Hotel Credit Cards
Points and travel hobbyists obsess about credit card benefits, perhaps overly so. Cardholders consistently use certain benefits and trash the ones they don’t. Meanwhile, they may not notice they’re getting enough value to outweigh the annual fee, without necessarily using each benefit. And some cards are worth those certain benefits even if I don’t spend on them at all. Today, I’m describing a few such hotel credit cards I hold.
Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Select Mastercard
I keep the Choice Select card for two primary reasons. Each card anniversary, I automatically pick up 30k Choice Privileges points without any spend requirement. Via Choice and Preferred Hotels bookings, I easily obtain value beyond the $95 annual fee. The card also comes with automatic Platinum elite status in Choice’s program. That’s not a lucrative elite level, but I’ve noticed considerable recognition at Choice properties.
But just because I don’t currently spend on the Select doesn’t mean the card doesn’t have attractive earning categories. The card comes with strong 5x bonus category earning at gas stations and grocery stores. These are especially useful for Choice loyalists who don’t have access to scaled earning of these points via Citi’s ThankYou Points cards.
Barclays Wyndham Earner Plus
My wife acquired the Wyndham Earner Plus card just over a year ago during elevated welcome offer availability. After meeting the signup bonus threshold, we’ve avoided using this card. We don’t flinch at paying the $75 annual fee because she picks up 7.5k anniversary points with no spend requirement. We enjoy using Choice points to cover Caesars folio charges at one cent per point, even on food and beverage. The Earner Plus also enables Platinum status in Wyndham’s program and redeeming 10% fewer points for Wyndham stays. That last feature is available on the fee-free Earner, too, but we can’t ignore the value we get from the Earner Plus, either.
The card earns 4x at grocery stores and on dining, respectable rates for those needing to plus up their Wyndham balances, but nothing earth-shattering.
Barclays Wyndham Rewards Visa
We still hold onto this “old” Wyndham Rewards card account for one simple reason. This card comes with 15k anniversary points in return for a quite-modest $69 annual fee. Picking up $150 of minimum value on a much lower annual fee, holding onto this card is even more of a no-brainer than the Earner Plus. The oddball feature of this card is it earns 2x everywhere, interesting but not worth shifting our spend.
Another We Spend a Little On
My wife and I upgraded our legacy IHG Select cards to IHG Premiers a few years ago. Last year, we each spent our way to Diamond Elite status, $40k on each card. This year, we’ve only spent on the cards a few times involving targeted spending bonuses, Chase Offers, or both. Still, the 40k annual cert alone is enough to justify the annual fee $99 fee. Plus, unlike the Select cert, this one can be topped off with an unlimited amount of IHG points.
Hotel Credit Cards – Conclusion
Of course, we try for retention offers on these cards, but unsurprisingly, we rarely obtain one. With hardly any spending on most of these cards, the banks probably see no incentive to provide one. Oh well, like I said, we’re okay with the ongoing deals we agree to with these cards. The cards deliver just enough for us to keep paying the annual fees. Will that change in the future? Inevitably, I think so, particularly as points devalue. But for now, we’ll ride the wave.
What hotel credit cards do you hold but rarely spend on? Why?
