10 Best Hotel Rewards Credit Cards of 2017

Those who want to get the best hotel-related perks and privileges ought to try applying for at least one of the 10 best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017.

Some of these cards are offered in collaboration with credit card giants like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, while others are private label creations. Either way, each card on our list below is laden with hotel-related incentives for further spending, as well as bonuses and freebies.

This ranking is based on the consensus picks of at least seven websites well-known for ranking and displaying information about credit cards in the U.S. These seven websites – The Simple Dollar, Money Crashers, Value Penguin, Nerd Wallet, Get.com, Elite Personal Finance, and LendEdu – are prominent in online searches and are generally the first websites you see in search results when you search for a list of the best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017 (or for any year or kind of credit card, for that matter). For this list by Insider Monkey, we sought out which of the cards were mentioned the most often. This is no small feat, as some rankings include 17 credit cards, while others are limited to just five. So to gain the recommendation of at least three of these websites would be proof enough of the merits of a hotel rewards credit card. For instances when cards are mentioned by the same number of lists, they are further ranked based on their annual fees, meaning the smaller the annual fee, the better it fares in this ranking.

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On a related matter, Insider Monkey has also compiled a list of the 10 best hotel rewards programs for business travellers, which you won’t want to miss if you’re a frequent business traveler.

The 10 best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017 are: Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard from Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) and Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA); Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card by Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF); Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C); Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), and Visa Inc (NYSE:V); Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature Card by Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and Visa Inc (NYSE:V); Hilton Honors Card from American Express by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP); Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP); IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card by InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:IHG); Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card by Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR); and Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express, by Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP).

To see how each card ranked, head to the next page to begin the list of best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017!

10. Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard from Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) and Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)

Recommended by three top lists, Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard from Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) and Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) is a travel credit card that lets you use your points for hotel bookings, regardless of the hotel chain. The card comes with an $89 annual fee.

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9. Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature Card by Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and Visa Inc (NYSE:V)

The Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature Card by Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which earned recommendations from three top credit card lists, has a $75 annual fee and allots 10 points per dollar for purchases made in Carlson Rezidor chain hotels.

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8. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card by Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF)

With three mentions on top credit card lists, the $59-per-year Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card by Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) offers deals on hotels of any brand for rewards you accrue during your use of this card.

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7. IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card by InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:IHG)

Also suggested by three top credit card lists, the IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card by InterContinentalHotels Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:IHG), the number 7 on our list of best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017 gives out 5 points per dollar spent on IHG hotels, and those points can be converted into extra perks and extended hotel stays. This card carries a $49 annual fee.

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The next four entries on this list of the 10 best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017 come from the same worldwide hotel chain.

6. Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C)

With four mentions from top credit card lists under its belt, the $95-per-year Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) grants 10 points for every dollar spent at Hilton hotels, as well as a sign-up bonus of 2 weekend night certificates after a spending target of $2,500 within four months is reached.

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5. Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

We are continuing our list of best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017 with the Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE: HLT) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) that also has recommendations from four credit card lists. This card, which carries a $75 annual fee, offers 100,000 points when a new user spends $3,000 in the first three months. That’s enough for a 2-night stay in Hilton hotels.

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4. Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), and Visa Inc (NYSE:V)

Compared with Hilton’s Reserve card, the Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT), Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) has no annual fees. This card also offers bonus points on top of its regular points system, upon reaching $1,000 in expenses at Hilton properties.

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3. Hilton Honors Card from American Express by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

The Hilton Honors Card from American Express by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is the more basic version of the Honors Surpass Card. But the extra mention this card merited compared with its Honors Surpass counterpart might be because this card has no annual fees.

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2. Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card by Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR)

With six mentions from top credit card lists, the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card by Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) that ranks second on our list of best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017 offers rewards such as 80,000 bonus sign-up points after spending $3,000 in the first three months. Those points convert into an impressive eight nights at a Category 1 hotel or an overnight stay at a swankier counterpart, as long as that hotel is a Marriott-branded one.

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1. Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express, by Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

All the websites that listed the best hotel rewards credit cards have included the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express, by Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), on their lists. Talk about universal acclaim for a single credit card. The consensus is that the card’s points value is well above the industry standard.

Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood in 2016 means that the top two entries on this list of the 10 best hotel rewards credit cards of 2017 both come from the same hotel conglomerate.

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Have a favorite hotel rewards credit card? Share the details with our readers below.

Disclosure: None