What to know about hotel business credit cards

Quick insights

• Hotel credit cards can provide benefits for frequent business travelers.
• These cards commonly offer perks like complimentary hotel stays, elite status and more.
• Hotel credit cards often offer the most rewards points for stays at hotels associated with the card.

Business travelers frequently need to find lodging when doing business out of town. For those travelers, a hotel rewards credit card may provide appealing incentives and perks. Read on to learn about hotel rewards business credit cards and how to choose the best one for you.

How hotel credit cards work

A hotel credit card is a type of rewards credit card often co-branded between a hotel and a financial institution. Like other rewards credit cards, they typically allow cardmembers to earn points or other rewards on eligible purchases.

Common benefits of hotel credit cards may include complimentary hotel stays and discounts at eligible hotel chains. Depending on your credit card, you may be able to receive rewards from a single hotel brand or across a group of hotels.

Some large hotel groups have thousands of properties around the globe, giving you the opportunity to earn and redeem points for stays at various types of properties worldwide, including lifestyle, luxury and all-inclusive properties.

For hotel business credit cards, rewards can often be earned by the primary cardholder as well as by those with employee cards associated with the account. Though employee cards generally earn rewards, they don’t always offer the travel perks that come with the primary card.

Earning and redeeming points

Every hotel credit card is different, but most are designed to earn points on eligible purchases that can be redeemed for a variety of rewards including hotel stays, experiences, events or merchandise. Depending on the card, points may also be transferred to affiliated partner brands like airlines or car rental companies.

Hotel cards tend to provide higher reward rates for travel-related purchases, like airfare and dining. Typically, these cards offer the highest reward earning opportunities on purchases at their co-branded hotels.

Hotel business credit cards may also offer rewards for business-related expenses like internet and phone service, shipping and advertising.

Common hotel credit card perks

Hotel reward cards often provide perks for staying at the hotel or hotels associated with the card. A few common hotel credit card perks include:

• Complimentary elite status
• Annual complimentary night awards
• Access to exclusive stay sales
• Discounts on hotel amenities and services like spa treatments or dining

Hotel credit cards may also include perks that cater to frequent travelers like airport lounge access, no foreign transaction fees and benefits related to travel programs like TSA PreCheck^® or Global Entry. 

Keep in mind that hotel business cards often have an annual fee.

Tips for choosing the best hotel business credit card

The best hotel business credit card for you will depend on your spending and travel habits. Here are a few things you may want to consider before applying for a new card:

• Travel frequency: Do you or your employees travel and stay at hotels frequently for work?
• Brand loyalty: Do you often stay at the same hotel or chain of hotels when you travel?
• Annual fees: Does the card have an annual fee, and if so, how does the cost compare to the benefits you’ll receive?
• Rewards: How can you earn rewards and is the rewards structure aligned with your company’s spending habits?
• Welcome bonus offer: Does the card offer a sign-on bonus, and if so, how easy or difficult will it be for you to meet the bonus spending requirement?
• Perks and benefits: What perks are offered by the card? Will you use them and are they valuable to you?

In summary

For the business traveler who frequently finds themself checking into a hotel, a hotel rewards business credit card may make sense. These cards often provide perks and rewards for each hotel stay as well as complimentary nights and elite status with the brand.

Hotel rewards credit cards are often tied to a particular brand or collection of hotel brands, so finding a card associated with the brand that you usually choose may provide you with additional incentives to stay there.