Hotel Cards – Hotel credit cards are attractive because many of them offer a free stay each year, regardless of whether you actually make any purchases on the card. So effectively I’m paying the annual fee for one night per year, which almost always makes sense. My hotel credit cards are all fairly new, less than a year old, so I haven’t been able to take advantage of the free night vouchers yet. I’ve redeemed Marriott points for free stays which has saved me about $200-$250 per night.

Hilton Aspire – The Hilton Aspire card is my highest level hotel card. The annual fee is $450, but it comes with a free weekend night, a $200 credit for Hilton resorts, $250 airline incidentals credit, as well as 150k Hilton point signup bonus. Also it gives me Platinum status which means free upgrades at Hilton hotels. This is the only card which gives you the highest status level without having to make any additional purchases. I might downgrade or cancel it after a year depending on if I can take advantage of the credits.

Chase Marriott Bonvoy – This was my first hotel card. I started getting hotel cards when I found out about the annual free nights. Although this card has a $95 annual fee, that easily pays for one night at a Marriott. In addition, it came with an 80,000 Marriott point signup bonus. I’ll keep this card because of the annual free night.

IHG Premier Plus – This was my second hotel card which similarly provides a free hotel night stay and came with a 100k point signup bonus. I’m keeping this card.

Amex Marriott Bonvoy – This card is no longer available to new customers. I signed up for it on the last day it was still around. It is similar to the Chase Marriott Bonvoy in that it has a $95 annual fee and comes with a free annual night. Keeper.

Marriott has a couple other cards which looking interesting. There’s the Bonvoy Brilliant card which is the luxury version of the card which comes with a $450 annual fee, but provides $300 of Marriott credit and a free annual night. Also, there is the Marriott business card which has a $125 annual fee, but comes with a free night each year. Hyatt also has a credit card that is popular. I haven’t gotten it because 1) it is issued by Chase, so you need to be below 5/24 and 2) there are less Hyatt hotels around and my travel destinations have not had Hyatt’s.

Overall, I think for most people who even only make an occasional hotel stay at a chain hotel, a hotel card can make a lot of sense. I’m relatively new to the hotel credit card game, so we’ll see how much I can take advantage of these card over the next year. If you like to stay at boutique hotels, then the Capital One Venture Card is your best bet.