A Review Of The Popular
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Lets say Mary wanted to book a hotel stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta-Downtown, checking in on 4/5/2007 and checking out on 4/8/2007. The cost of this standard hotel stay is $548.55. This specific hotel happens to also accept Hilton HHonors Reward Points and Mary has a
Hilton HHonors® Platinum Card from American Express®
from American Express. Mary can redeem an equivilant of 75,000 Hilton HHonors Reward Points for this same stay.
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Now for the flight. Mary wants to fly on American Airlines because she has a
Citi® Gold / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®.
A flight to Atlanta for the above dates is going to cost her $398.60 round trip. The equivalent reward redemption for this flight is 25,000 miles.
Examining these two different types of rewards, it appears at first glance that Mary would be better off using AAdvantage® Miles, because it takes less miles for the flight. Let's take a closer look though. With the Hilton HHonors Platinum Credit Card from American Express, you earn 3 points for every dollar spent. With the Citi® Gold / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®, Mary earns only 1 point for every dollar spent. Therefore, the points for the hotel stay technically cost $25,000 spent on the Hilton credit card, while the same $25,000 spent on the Citi® Gold / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® will be required for the flight.
Let's do the math. We know Mary spent $25,000 on both cards to get enough points for each reward, but look at the dollar cost if the points were not used. It would be cheaper for Mary to use the points at the hotel, saving her $149.95, over the cost of the flight!
I Want Hotel Rewards, Let Me Compare The Cards Side By Side
Point Reward Accumulation
How many points do I earn per dollar spent? Each hotel reward credit card is different. It normally varies from 1 to 3 points per dollar spent. Most hotels also give you extra points for hotel stays charged their associated credit card, some even up to 15 points per dollar spent!
It doesn't stop there. Hotel reward credit cards may also partner with major companies to offer you points when making purchases at those companies. These may include the following merchant types:
- Airlines
- Car Rental Agencies
- Wireless Phone Providers
- Entertainment Parks
- Online Merchants
- Rail Travel Companies
Now lets take a look at a few hotel reward credit cards offered on the market. Read full reviews of each hotel reward card and decide for yourself which one is best.
Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express®
Personal Hotel Cards
Hilton HHonors® Platinum Card from American Express®Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express®
Reward Redemption
Hotel rewards earned on your credit card usually get reported directly to the reward program ran by the associated hotel. This is where you can find your total points and redeem your points for the hotel stays. Check out the hotel websites for
Hilton Hotels
and
Starwood Hotels.
There are a few other hotel reward programs out there if these don't spark your interest. You can find hotels such at Marriott and Choice that also sponsor reward programs. If you have any questions about hotel reward credit cards, feel free to contact me.
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