The Hotels.com^® Rewards Visa^® Credit Card offers a unique rewards program that allows Hotels.com Rewards members to earn “stamps” instead of points or miles, which can be redeemed for future Hotels.com stays.

After collecting 10 stamps — either through spending or paying for Hotels.com reservations with the card — Hotels.com members can redeem them for one free night stay. Just know, the value of each reward night is limited to $110 per night, and cardholders must have an open and active Hotels.com Rewards membership to redeem these stamps.

We’ll take a look at how the Hotels.com^® Rewards Visa^® Credit Card rewards program is structured to help you determine whether this card could be a good fit for your spending.

• Sign-up bonus

  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.

  Cardholders must have a Hotels.com Rewards membership to receive the bonus reward nights. Note, Hotels.com may assess a redemption fee for each reward night.

  If you choose to redeem your reward night for a property that charges more than $125 a night, you can choose to pay the difference, in addition to any additional fees, taxes or other charges.

• Generous travel protections

  Along with cell phone protection, the Hotels.com^® Rewards Visa^® Credit Card offers a bevy of travel-related benefits — these include trip cancellation and interruption protection, travel accident insurance, Roadside Dispatch®, auto damage collision waiver and travel and emergency services.

• Hotels.com Rewards Silver tier status

  Hotels.com^® Rewards Visa^® Credit Card holders who are active Hotels.com Rewards members are conveyed with Silver tier status for the first 12 months of card membership. Typically, to earn Silver tier, individuals must book 10 nights through Hotels.com within a 12-month timeframe.

  Silver tier members qualify for free breakfast and Wi-Fi, airport transfers, spa vouchers, priority customer service, room rate price matching and more at VIP Access properties.

• Annual fee

  The Hotels.com^® Rewards Visa^® Credit Card charges a $0 annual fee.

• Complicated rewards program

  There are three ways Hotels.com members can earn stamps:

  1. Earn 1 stamp each time you spend $500 on purchases with the card,
  2. Collect 1 stamp for every night you stay at an eligible Hotels.com property.
  3. Get 1 stamp when you use your Hotels.com^® Rewards Visa^® Credit Card to pay for your booking (in addition to the stamps you earned for staying at the eligible property).

  Once you collect 10 stamps, valued at $110 each, you can redeem them for for one reward night.

• High spend requirement to earn rewards

  According to the card’s website: “The redemption value of a reward night is based on the average value of the 10 stamps that you collected.”

  Essentially, you’ll either have to spend $5,000 on the card to earn 10 stamps or stay 10 nights at an eligible Hotels.com property before you can earn your free reward night. Plus, your reward night doesn’t cover taxes or fees.

  If you choose to redeem your rewards night at a property valued more than your reward, then you’ll have to pay the difference. If, however, you choose to redeem your rewards for a property valued less than your reward night, you’ll forfeit any difference.

Compare it to the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

 

If you’re not a frequent Hotels.com customer, you may be better served by a more general travel rewards card, such as the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. This card allows you to easily rack up points — which can then be redeemed against future travel costs or transferred to 15-plus airline and hotel partners — through a generous sign-up bonus and everyday spending.

New Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card account holders can enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

Cardholders also earn 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

There is a $95 annual fee — however, the card charges none in foreign transaction fees and offers up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck every four years. Plus, the value of the sign-up bonus more than justifies the cost of the annual fee in the first year.

Cardholders can use their miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase, or redeem them by booking a trip through the Capital One Travel portal.

To see the rates and fees for Hilton Honors American Express Card, please click here.

The Hotels.com^® Rewards Visa^® Credit Card would primarily benefit avid Hotels.com rewards members, who’ll be able to easily rack up enough stamps from eligible Hotels.com stays to qualify for the free night award. Otherwise, the spending requirement to earn stamps seems rather high — as you have to spend $500 to earn one stamp and need at least 10 stamps to earn that free award night.

However, the Hotels.com^® Rewards Visa^® Credit Card does come with a $0 annual fee. It also offers a lengthy period of time to earn the sign-up bonus. You could still take advantage of that, provided your heart isn’t set for a multi-day stay at a 5-five hotel, which could cost you over and above the value of the sign-up bonus.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply

The information related to the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.