Which hotel credit card is the most rewarding for big spending?

Co-branded credit cards, and hotel cards specifically, are often frowned upon as a place to put regular spending, especially compared to bank cards with transferable currencies and sexy bonus categories.

That said, hotel cards can be both rewarding and fun in the right circumstances. The reason is that they tend to offer a ton of perks for both holding onto the cards and for spending on them. These usually include some combination of points bonuses, elite status, elite-qualifying nights, and/or free night certificates. We collectively refer to these cash carrots as “big spend bonuses.”

The purpose of this post is to take a closer look at the top hotel cards with big spend bonuses in order to get a rough estimate of the return on each one…and in doing so find out which might be worth pursuing.

The post has been completely updated for 2026, now that we’ve finished our annual examination of the current value of hotel points.

Comparing hotel credit cards with “big spend bonuses”

Hotel points, in general, aren’t worth as much as most airline miles and transferable currencies, which is the primary reason that they usually aren’t recommended for regular spending. Getting 3x Hilton points everywhere sounds pretty good…the $395 Capital One Venture X only gets 2x, after all.

However, we value Hilton points at around 0.35 cents each, whereas Capital One miles are closer to 1.45 cents each, making 2 Capital One miles “worth” almost three times as much as 3 Hilton points. Heck, since Hilton points are often on sale for 0.5 cents apiece, you could even put spend on a 2% cashback card and then buy Hilton points, effectively earning 4x Hilton points per dollar.

However, the various treats that banks and hotel chains offer to keep us interested can be very tasty indeed. In order to give you a reason to put regular spending on their cards, these companies offer a whole plethora of “big spend bonuses.” Earning 3x-6x Hilton points per dollar isn’t terribly compelling, but throwing in a free night certificate good at almost any Hilton property in the world may change the equation.

But by how much?

That’s what we’re going to try to examine here.

What we’re comparing…and what we aren’t

There are a few parameters to lay out first:

• We’re not factoring in anything you get just by holding the card, just what you get from spending on the card. Many cards can be worth holding and paying the annual fee simply for the perks the card bestows, be it anniversary bonuses, elite status, or regular coupons credits (I see you, Amex). Since you’d get these regardless of whether you put a dime on the card, we’re not including them in the spending analysis.
• We’re not factoring in elite nights or status gained from spend. Hotel cards often provide the ability to gain elite nights and/or status by reaching various spending thresholds. Getting two elite nights per $5k on the World of Hyatt card might be incredibly valuable for someone who needs them for a Milestone Reward or to qualify for top-tier Globalist status. However, for someone who’s only staying at Hyatt properties a couple of times a year, they’re essentially useless. Although we’ve left them out here, if they’re valuable to you, spending on one card or the other might be much more worthwhile.
• The only thing we ARE trying to compare is the total value of the points and free night certificates you earn by reaching the big spend thresholds on the cards below.

How we value hotel free night certificates

At Frequent Miler, we value hotel free night certificates based on their maximum point value, then reduce that value by a “fudge factor” to account for the fact that free night certificates expire and are less flexible than actual points… thus, they’re slightly less valuable.

Below are the fudge factors the team developed, along with brief explanations for each. These are numbers less than 1.0, so they can be multiplied by the maximum value of a certificate in order to calculate the value.

• Hilton: 0.85
  • These are the least restrictive certs since they are uncapped and can be used any day of the week, for almost any property in Hilton’s portfolio. The only downside is the 12-month expiry.
• IHG “top-offable”: 0.85
  • These have the same fudge factor as Hilton certs because you can add an unlimited number of points to book more expensive rooms, so they’re easy to maximize.
• Hyatt (12-month expiry): 0.8
  • Unlike Marriott or IHG, Hyatt doesn’t allow adding points to book higher category hotels. On the other hand, Hyatt’s certs work just as well at peak-priced hotels as at standard or off-peak ones.
• Marriott: 0.75
  • While Marriott allows you to add points to top off a free night certificate, it caps the amount at 25,000 points per night.

Based on these “fudge factors,” we’ve arrived at the following values for the certificates that are included in this post:

• Category 1-4 (12-month expiry): 20K points x 0.80 fudge x 1.5 RRV = $240
• Hilton: 175K points x 0.85 fudge x 0.35 RRV = $521
• Marriott:
  • 35K points x 0.75 fudge x 0.77 RRV = $202
  • 50K points x 0.75 fudge x 0.77 RRV = $289
  • 85K points x 0.75 fudge x 0.77 RRV = $491

Note that we’re using 175k points for the Hilton certs, even though they can be used for properties that cost up to 250k/night. However, there are only around 25 of those 250k properties; 100k-200k is much more common. So, we’ve decided to keep the “points maximum” for determining that value at 175k.

Similarly, although the World of Hyatt free night certificate can be used for a Category 4 property at up to 25,000 points per night at peak pricing, we use the “moderate” price level as the value, or 20,000 points.

The Contestants

Hilton Aspire (Amex)

• Bonus categories: 7x on US dining, flights, and car rentals
• Base earning rate: 3x
• Big Spend Bonus: Free night certificate (FNC) after $30k calendar year spend
• Big Spend Bonus Value: $521

Notes: The Hilton free night certificate is potentially the most valuable one out there, as it can be used for a standard room at almost any Hilton property in the world…even one that costs as much as 250,000 points per night. However, as a standalone proposition, the certificate that comes with the Aspire provides quite a bit less return than its lower-cost sibling below. There’s one big reason for that…you have to spend a whopping $30k to get it.

Hilton Surpass (Amex)

• Bonus categories: 6x on US dining, US fuel, and US grocery
• Base earning rate: 3x
• Big Spend Bonus: Free night certificate (FNC) after $15k calendar year spend
• Big Spend Bonus Value: $521

Notes: The Surpass gives you the exact same free-night certificate you get with the blingier Aspire card, but at half the required spend. Most folks will find the bonus categories easier to exploit as well, although there are some people out there who would sooner have a hole in the head than use the Surpass at a grocery store.

IHG Premier/Premier Business (Chase)

• Bonus categories: 5x on travel, dining, and gas stations
• Base earning rate: 3x
• Big Spend Bonus: 10K bonus points + $100 statement credit after $20K calendar year spend
• Big Spend Bonus Value: $159

Notes: The IHG Premier and Premier Business are mirror images of each other in their bonus categories and big-spend bonuses, so we’ll treat them as the same card here. There’s no certificate involved, so we’re valuing the statement credit at face value and the 10k points at ~$59.

Marriott Bevy and Bountiful (Amex/Chase)

• Bonus categories: 4x on restaurants & Supermarkets on up to $15K spend per year (Bevy is limited to US purchases for supermarkets, Bountiful is not)
• Base earning rate: 2x
• Big Spend Bonus: 50K free night certificate after $15K calendar year spend
• Big Spend Bonus Value: $289

Notes: Although they’re issued by different banks, the Marriott Bevy and Bountiful cards are very similar in their bonus structures and identical in their big-spend bonuses. The only difference is that Amex limits the 4x supermarket bonus to US locations and Chase does not.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (Amex)

• Bonus categories: 3x on restaurants & airfare
• Base earning rate: 2x
• Big Spend Bonus: 85K free night certificate after $60K calendar year spend
• Big Spend Bonus Value: $489

Notes: In the past, we’ve never included the Brilliant card in this comparison, partly because it offers a choice reward that can be redeemed for several different options, and partly because you have to spend $60K to get that choice reward. However, you can’t spell “pedantic” without “points and miles enthusiast,” and many folks correctly pointed out that it’s still a hotel card with a big-spend bonus. So, it’s included here. Mea culpa. For this comparison, we’re assuming that big spenders will choose the 85K free night certificate once they’ve reached the $60K threshold.

Marriott Bonvoy Business (Amex)

• Bonus categories: 4x on restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased from U.S. suppliers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping
• Base earning rate: 2x
• Big Spend Bonus: 35k free night certificate after $60K calendar year spend
• Big Spend Bonus Value: $202

Notes: Since the Marriott Business card offers a “big spend bonus,” we felt like we needed to include it in this post. That said, this is undoubtedly the dog of the bunch (no offense, Truffles). The 35k cert that comes with this card requires a whopping $60k in spend. I expect that we’ll learn that this should be kept in the drawer, firmly underneath the socks.

World of Hyatt Visa (Chase)

• Bonus categories: 2x on restaurants, airlines, transit, and fitness clubs
• Base earning rate: 1x
• Big Spend Bonus: Cat 1-4 free night certificate after $15K calendar year spend
• Big Spend Bonus Value: $180

Notes: Along with the Hilton Surpass, this is probably the most common big-spend bonus that “points and miles people” go for. The cert can be used at any Category 1-4 Hyatt property, regardless of whether it’s at lowest, low, moderate, upper, or top pricing. Because of this, it could be used for a hotel that costs up to 25k points/night.

The Results

RRV = Our Reasonable Redemption Value.

Bonus Value = The approximate cash value of the big spend bonus (also listed above).

Total Value = Value of points generated through spend + cash value of bonus.

Return = Total Value / Total spend required for big spend bonus.

Return when doing all spending in category bonuses

There are two general groupings that the cards fall into. The Hilton cards, Hyatt, and the Marriott Bevy/Bountiful offer between a 4.5-5.5% return, while the IHG cards, “new” Wyndham, Bonvoy Brilliant, and the Marriott Business provide 3-4%. No one will be surprised that the Surpass ranks so highly when you spend $15k in its 6x categories.

However, the mid-range Marriott cards are closer to it than before and have actually widened the gap with the World of Hyatt card. This is primarily due to Hyatt and Hilton points losing value in our most recent analysis, while Marriott points continue to hold their value. We make a lot of fun of the Bevy and Bountiful…and rightly so. They’re bizarre cards with a range of perks that don’t match their annual fees. However, if you do get one for a welcome offer, spending to reach the free night cert isn’t terribly far-fetched.

Note the massive difference that the Wyndham changes make on the spending proposition for the business card. The old version ranks second on the list. The new one? Second to last.

Return when doing only half of spending in bonus categories

There’s a back-and-forth to consider when spending in hotel bonus categories, because it theoretically could take bonused spend away from other cards that might provide a greater return. Looking at the return when doing half of the required spend at base levels, we effectively see the same groupings we saw before, just at less attractive levels.

The Bonvoy Brilliant card takes a slight step up due to the relative value of its 85K free night certificate compared to the declining number of points that all cards earn in lower-bonus categories.

Return when doing all non-bonused spend

When you account for all the required spending at base levels, things start to look pretty bleak for everything except for the Hilton Surpass, which maintains some appeal even when doing the required $15k at 3x. In fact, it’s even better than doing half of the spending in bonus categories on the World of Hyatt and Marriott cards. The Bevy, Bountiful, and World of Hyatt all lose ~33% of their return when spending at 1x rather than in their bonus categories, despite the big-spend bonuses. The Surpass, on the other hand, drops by less than 20%

The bottom-dwelling Wyndham Business shows why you should never put regular spend on the card, regardless of which version you have.

Winner

• Hilton Surpass – The Aspire card gets a ton of justifiable love because of its extremely compelling mix of credits along with Hilton Diamond status, but the star for spend is undoubtedly the Surpass. Whether doing all the spending at 3x or mixing in bonus categories, this is the only card that hovers near a 5% return. The Aspire is a great card to product-change to and/or hold for the perks. The Surpass is the one worth spending on.

Loser

• Wyndham Earner Business – Oh Wyndham, what have you done? When we published the first version of this post a couple of years ago, we included the Wyndham Business Earner as an illustration of what a great card it was for gas purchases, offering better returns than most other hotel cards, even with their big spend bonuses factored in. Now, comparing the spending proposition between the two versions simply emphasizes that the new version of the card is probably closer to the sock drawer than a regular wallet fixture.

Bottom Line

I want to reemphasize a key point about this analysis. There are many reasons to spend on a hotel credit card. Many folks will still happily put $15k on the World of Hyatt card, despite the average(ish) returns, simply because the six elite nights that they earn in addition to the free night are very valuable when trying to earn Globalist status. If that’s important to you, the return you’re getting on the card is potentially much higher than the 3-4.5% listed above.

Hotel programs, credit cards, and travel rewards in general need to fit you, how you travel, and where you travel. Brands like Hyatt, which are more geographically limited, are incentivized to make their programs more rewarding as a carrot to keep folks interested when the massive, far-ranging portfolios of Marriott, Hilton, and IHG beckon. Simply because something is more or less “rewarding” doesn’t mean it’s more or less valuable to you. Hopefully, this post provides a good template for examining how you allocate your spending, and perhaps some ideas for further exploration.

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