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- The Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card now comes with an elevated welcome bonus offer.
- New cardholders can earn 2 reward nights (each worth up to $125) after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening and a third reward night (worth up to $125) after spending $4,000 on total purchases in the first 6 months from account opening.
- This no-annual-fee card offers good benefits, including cell phone protection and travel insurance.
- Read Insider’s guide to the best hotel credit cards.
Most major hotel chains, like Hilton and Marriott, offer their own co-branded credit cards. These can make sense if you’re loyal to a particular brand, but if you tend to stay at independent properties or mix-and-match hotels when you travel, you’re likely better off with a card that earns rewards you can use at just about any hotel.
The Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card is one option, and there’s a new reason to give it a fresh look. For a limited time, you can earn an elevated welcome bonus offer of 2 reward nights (each worth up to $125) after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening and a third reward night (worth up to $125) after spending $4,000 on total purchases in the first 6 months from account opening. Because each reward night is worth up to $125 (before taxes and fees), you could potentially receive up to $375 in value from this bonus.
For a no-annual-fee card, the Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card comes with decent benefits as well. But before you decide to apply for the card, there are a few caveats to keep in mind. Here’s what to know.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Hotels.com Rewards Visa offer: Earn up to 3 reward nights
Regular APR
16.49% – 24.49% Variable
Recommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent
- Earn reward nights without worrying about complex hotel loyalty programs
- No annual fee and no foreign currency conversion fees
- Automatic Silver Membership that comes with VIP perks as long as your card remains open
- Rewards are only good for reward nights hotel stays
- No bonus rewards categories
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- Limited Time Offer! Get 3 reward nights worth $375 total (max $125 per night)* with qualifying purchases. Get 2 reward nights worth $250 total (max $125 per night)*, when you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, get another reward night worth $125 when you spend $4,000 in total purchases within the first 6 months. *Excludes taxes and fees. If a night costs less than $125, you won’t get the difference.
- Collect 1 stamp each time you spend $500 on purchases with your card and collect 1 stamp for every night you stay at any eligible property booked on Hotels.com. When you collect 10 stamps, you’ll get 1 reward night to redeem on future bookings through Hotels.com.
- Choose from over 500,000 properties in 200+ countries around the world.
- $0 Annual Fee.
- Enjoy Silver membership exclusives such as free breakfast, airport transfers, free WiFi, and more at selected properties for as long as your card is open.
- Pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card and get up to $600 protection against damage or theft (subject to a $25 deductible).
- No foreign currency conversion fee.
- Offers reimbursement for non-refundable passenger fare if your trip is interrupted or cancelled for a covered reason, when your passenger fare is booked with your card.
The welcome offer to earn 2 reward nights (each worth up to $125) after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening and a third reward night (worth up to $125) after spending $4,000 on total purchases in the first 6 months from account opening is a good deal. You’ll have the flexibility to redeem your reward nights at over 500,000 properties worldwide through Hotels.com, including popular brand names, boutique hotels, all-inclusive resorts, and vacation villas.
Keep in mind if you use a reward night at a hotel that costs less than $125, you won’t be refunded the difference and will still need to pay the taxes and fees; if the property costs more than $125, you can still use the reward night, but you’ll need to make up the difference (plus taxes and fees) with cash.
Beyond the elevated welcome offer, the Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card earns “stamps” you can use toward reward nights through Hotels.com. The earning structure is simple: For every $500 you spend on purchases with the card, you’ll be awarded one stamp, and when you reach 10 stamps you’ll receive a reward night.
You also collect one stamp for every Hotels.com night you stay. This is where it gets a little complicated because the reward nights you earn this way are based on the average value of the 10 stamps you redeem. Each stamp you earn from spending on your Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card is assigned a value of $110, and stamps from Hotels.com nights are assigned the value of that stay (before taxes and fees).
Here’s an example. Suppose you earn 10 stamps in the following way:
- Spending $2,500 on your Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card: Earn five stamps valued at $110 each
- Stay two nights at a Hotels.com property that costs $150 per night (before taxes and fees): Earn two stamps valued at $150 each
- Stay three nights at a Hotels.com property that costs $200 per night (before taxes and fees): Earn three stamps valued at $200 each
In total, you’ll have earned 10 stamps with an average value of $145, so you can redeem your reward night for a hotel that costs up to that amount, again before taxes and fees.
Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card cardholders can also access an array of benefits, some of which you won’t often see on a no-annual-fee card, including:
- Cell phone protection
- Car rental insurance (secondary)
- Travel accident insurance
- Hotels.com Silver elite status
- Travel and emergency assistance services
- Roadside dispatch
- No foreign transaction fees
Here’s our full Hotels.com credit card review with all the details.
The Hotels.com Rewards program isn’t for everyone
Hotels.com is great if you aren’t picky about brands and don’t collect points with a particular chain. But be aware —because it’s a third-party site, you won’t earn hotel points or elite night credits for your stays. And if you already have status with a chain, there’s no guarantee you’ll receive elite perks when you book your stay this way.
Because of this, the Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card is really only worth it for certain kinds of travelers. In particular, if you gravitate toward independent or boutique hotels that don’t have a loyalty program, this can be a nice way to earn rewards you wouldn’t usually receive if you booked directly.
It’s also important to consider the rate of return you’ll get for spending on the Hotels.com®️ Rewards Visa®️ Credit Card. You’re effectively earning a hotel stay worth $110 (before taxes and fees) for every $5,000 you spend on the card, or a 2.2% rate of return on your spending.
Depending on your typical expenses, you could do better by using no-annual-fee cash-back card, some of which offer bonus categories of up to 6% cash back. And you can redeem cash rewards for anything — not just hotel stays.
Be sure to read our guides to the top cash-back credit cards and travel rewards credit cards to find the card that best fits your travel and spending habits.
