The two sides of hotel credit cards

Recently, there have been a number of TV commercials that are being aired for the Marriott Credit Cards. Then there is the aggressive marketing of the credit cards with hotel rewards as well. Earlier, these were cards that were generally found on business travelers or the ones that literally live out of a suitcase – so to speak. However, things have changed now as these hotel credit cards seem to have a wider appeal.

The hotel industry is trying to push hard and bring it to the mainstream in order to make it a success story like the airline cards. However, before you decide to take the plunge, there are a couple of things that you need to know. First take a good look at the pro and cons of the most famous hotel credit cards before you decide to apply for them.

Chase Marriott Rewards Credit Cards -These come in two different versions and you may have already seen plenty of TV commercials in the recent past.

Pros: The $30 card will give 3x at Marriott, 1x elsewhere, which is not a bad deal, but not really impressive either. But the $65 ‘Premier’ card is something that is worth considering. It offers 5x at Marriott, 2x dining, 2x airlines, 2x car rentals, and 1x elsewhere. When you opt for the Marriott Rewards Premier card you will get a free night each year on your account anniversary, which can be used at any 1 to 5 star category hotels. The promotional offers for signing up for the card seem to look very impressive. While the Premier card offers 30,000 points, the standard card offers 22,500 points. With both cards you will get free one-night stay at any 1 to 4 category hotel, after approval of the card.

Cons: In case you wish to get more value on the points earned, then you will have to redeem them for the Marriott travel packages that will give a value of up to 1 to 1.2 cents for each point. Although this may seem good, the value for a regular stay at the Marriott seems to be much lower than that. You can also convert these points into air miles on the partner airlines, but you will get the least in terms of value. Hence, this credit card is not the best option if you are considering converting it to airline miles.

The other cards are the American Express Starwood Card, Chase Hyatt Visa Signature Card, and Hilton HHonors Credit Cards.