As OP only mentions "medium -tier" priced hotels, the opportunity cost for choosing a hotel credit card would be missing out on something like the Citi Double Cash card, with no annual fee and 2% cash back. For example, a Marriott Aloft Sarasota is $215 or 31K points. To accrue $215 at 2% cashback, I would need to charge about $11k on my card. So deciding whether it makes sense to go do a MR hotel card, I would need to have a feel for what my average point per dollar return would be and see if it makes sense for me, based on how much I charge and the mix of regular and bonus points. For this reason, I usually will pay cash for rooms at or less than $200 per night.

The free night/points provided with the $95 yearly fee cards changes the calculus a little, but if OP is not spending large or wanting to stay at more upscale properties, I would just opt for a 2% cash back card.