Why I Love the Hotel Credit Card’s Annual Free Night Benefits

I currently have five hotel credit cards of four different hotel loyalty programs.

Does it seem excessive? Maybe. But I also spend more than 100 nights a year in hotels (and sometimes close to 200), so I have plenty of opportunities to take advantage of their benefits.

While others in my position might double down with just one hotel program and just one (or maybe two) hotel credit cards to achieve top-tier elite status and maximize their benefits that way, my strategy is a little different.

I like to live in the sweet spot of having mid-level elite status, which many hotel credit cards offer. automatically conferbut being able to play the course and stay at many different chains on my extensive travels.

I also like to mix and match the various benefits on my cards, including multiple bonus spending categories like meal and gasas well as statement credits for things like stays or on-property purchases, like room service.

However, there is one non-negotiable benefit that any hotel credit card must include to earn a place in my wallet: a annual free night. Here’s why.

Annual fee, meet an annual free night

Many of the best hotel credit cards charge a annual fee. While some are quite reasonably priced, under $100, others are Aimed at high-spending luxury travelers and charge annual fees that exceed $500 per year.

Therefore, whenever I consider getting a hotel credit card, the first and most important question I ask myself is: Will I be able to offset the cost of the annual fee Through the value of the card benefits?

However, I don’t want to be chained to spreadsheets that track every nickel I save to make that calculation. That’s too much work.

Instead, I try to recoup that cost from what I believe is the most valuable benefit any hotel credit card can offer: an annual free night. If a hotel credit card doesn’t offer some sort of annual free night benefit, I won’t even consider it.

After all, a single free night at a hotel can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on where you redeem it.

The problem is that most free night certificates come with restrictions.

You see, most annual free nights with hotel credit cards place limitations on this benefit. For example, the World of Hyatt Credit Card (see rates and fees) offers an annual free night benefit, but it’s only valid at category 1-4 hotels, meaning you can’t redeem it for stays at super-luxury properties like the Park Hyatt Sydneywhich is a category 8 property.

Also, the annual free night I get with my Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (see rates and fees) is just worth up to 35,000 points. Can recharge with another 25,000 pointsso my maximum potential redemption is 60,000 points, but that It doesn’t always go that far..

Some cards offer additional free nights if you meet certain spending thresholds. For example, World of Hyatt Credit Card Cardholders can earn an additional free night from Category 1 to 4 by spending $15,000 on card purchases in a calendar year. Taking all those other factors into account can be complicated.

I don’t worry much about spending thresholds, as there are often opportunity costs to using a hotel credit card versus another rewards card that might have more lucrative or higher earning rates on the things I buy. purchase protections.

Instead, I focus on the free nights that are automatically earned each year as a cardholder benefit (rather than those earned through spending). Before opening a new card, I do a little homework and review some of the hotels where I could potentially redeem an annual free night, how much it is worth, and whether it will cover the cost of the card’s annual fee.

And I do this every year when the annual fee is due. After all, hotel loyalty programs change all the time (like Recent World of Hyatt Awards Chart Update), so you should do these calculations every year to make sure a card still makes sense for your needs.

Still seems like a lot of work, right? It may be, but given how much money annual free night certificates on my credit card have saved me, even in the last year, I consider it worth it.

Annual free nights have saved me over $3000 last year

I’m happy to report that I used all the free night certificates on my hotel credit card in the last 12 months and they ended up saving me. a lot of money on stays that I would have needed to book anyway.

Let’s start with the small potatoes. I had to book a night in Montreal on a stopover between two trips, so I redeemed the free night award from my World of Hyatt Credit Card at the Hyatt Place Montreal, which is a category 3 hotel. That saved me $280.

I travel to Charlotte, North Carolina frequently both for work and to see family, so I often use my free hotel night awards for quick one-night stays there. I was able to use my own Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express stay in JW Marriott Charlotte. My room would have cost $390, but instead I used my 35,000 point plus 4,000 recharge point certificate.

I also have the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (see rates and fees), whose annual award of 40,000 free night points came in handy for another stay in Charlotte. This time it was Kimpton Tryon Park, which would have cost $420 (or 39,000 points).

Finally, the big one. My favorite annual free night award is the one I receive from my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (see rates and fees) as it is valid at almost any Hilton affiliated property in the world (for a standard room). The free night reward is earned after you spend $30,000 on purchases with your card.

Sure, I could use it at a DoubleTree or Hampton Inn & Suites, but I tend to look for premiums at high-end Conrad and Waldorf Astoria properties.

That’s how I ended up booking the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam when I needed to stay in town for just one night in October.

A room that would have otherwise cost me over $1,400. What’s more, they upgraded me from several categories to a room with a canal view that would have cost almost $2,500 a night.

In total, I earned over $3,500 in value from my free night awards compared to annual rates totaling $869.

In a nutshell

Extra rewards and elite status benefits are nice, but in my opinion, the most valuable benefit any hotel credit card can offer is an annual free night. By maximizing that profit, you can make hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars each year.

If you find that you’re not using your hotel credit card’s annual free night benefit, I’ll take it!

I’m joking, but seriously, if you’re not taking advantage of this benefit, you should reconsider whether it’s It is worth paying the annual fee for your card.because it probably won’t be if you can’t take advantage of a free night every year.

Related: The best hotel credit cards that come with an annual free night