The best hotel credit cards with no annual fee could save you money with free nights and other discounts at a variety of hotels.
While you’re at it, you could also enjoy a more comfortable stay with perks like complimentary room upgrades and late check-outs. Let’s take a look at our picks.
How to make the most of your hotel credit card
To make the most of your hotel credit card, be sure the hotel chain has properties where you travel, or where you hope to travel to in the future. If you’re on a road trip, keep in mind you might not be able to find your preferred hotel at every exit. In that case, it may be smart to check ahead of time the nearest hotel where you can earn benefits and head there.
On the other hand, if you’re not loyal to a specific hotel or want to keep your options open on a road trip, you might find it easier to use a generic travel card that rewards you for staying at many different hotels.
If you like the sound of free rewards nights, see if you can connect your hotel card to your rewards membership. Often, you’ll earn even more points through your membership than you would by swiping your card. You may be able to combine these points to redeem points for free nights more quickly.
How we picked these cards
To find the best hotel credit cards with no annual fee, we started by looking at the options available from budget hotels. We figured people who book at budget hotels are looking to save money, so a credit card with no annual fee would fit with their needs.
But we expanded our scope to other kinds of credit cards, too.
For instance, Hilton and Marriott are major hotel chains that offer credit cards with no annual fee, so we included them even though they’re more upscale brands.
Beyond hotel-branded credit cards, we also looked at generic travel cards with no annual fee.