Hotel Credit Card Programs
 

Are there any VI/MC products on the market that have good hotel rewards options? I have a Starwood AmEx, but I liked my MBNA Travel Rewards Visa that had a point/dollar allowance for hotel stays. MBNA increased the number of points required for stays as of 12/31/01 which made the card uncompetitive so I cancelled it. I like the feature that permitted staying at any lodging establishment rather than being limited to one specific hotel chain.

You can take a look at the Citibank Hilton Honors Visa Signature card and the MBNA Elite Rewards Platinum Plus card. With the MBNA card you can earn free stays at Days Inn, Travelodge, Knights Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada, and Wingate Inn. Of course with the Hilton card, you can earn free stays at Hilton and its partner hotels.

I have both cards and they have some pretty good benefits for no fees. The MBNA Elite Rewards points do expire after 4 years, but you can get bonus points for certain purchases.

[This message has been edited by steve4 (edited 05-17-2002).]

i am not sure that there is a card except diners where you can transfer points to different programs.

but marriott and priority club have a visa with signature benefits available too.

Forgot to mention that the MBNA card doesn't work like AMEX Membership Rewards or Diners Club Rewards where you can transfer points into several hotel programs. With the MBNA card once you get 5,000 points you get a one night free stay at one of the hotels mentioned before. You have to choose which hotel you would like to stay in during the redemption process.

It's all there at http://www.eliterewards.com

Ever heard of American Express?

well... i guess you are talking about membership rewards...hihi.

i only thought of programs where someone could really earn points/miles without paying $$$ for membership, annual fee, etc.

I should have mentioned that I also have the Hilton Visa card, but I am missing the flexibility of staying at virtually any brand of hotel. When Hilton has a blackout date or capacity control, forget it. I attempted to use HHonors points in Hawaii for August but all reward rooms are already booked for the summer. I managed to redeem Starwood points so it worked out fine.

I will check out the MBNA Elite Travel card that was mentioned. This may be the ticket for me. I'm not as concerned about the brand of hotel as I am about availability. Also, if there are any similar cards out there with a fee, that would be OK with me.