The best credit card for hotels
On hotel stays, Sapphire Reserve comes out ahead at $8.20 per $100 spent, $2.20 more than the next card down.
Every card below is scored the way Cardful scores it at a checkout: the rate is multiplied by what that issuer's points are actually worth, so a 4x card and a 3% card can be compared in the same unit. Counts as: Hotels and motels.
| # | Card | Earns | Point value | Per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Sapphire Reserve
Chase · $795/yr
Booked directly with the airline or hotel
|
4x | 2.05¢ / pt | $8.20 |
| 2 |
Classic Green Card
American Express · $150/yr
Travel, including airfare, hotels, campgrounds, car rentals and cruises
|
3x | 2.00¢ / pt | $6.00 |
| 3 |
Strata Premier
Citi · $95/yr
|
3x | 1.90¢ / pt | $5.70 |
| 4 |
Autograph
Wells Fargo · No annual fee
|
3x | 1.65¢ / pt | $4.95 |
| 5 |
Bilt Mastercard
Bilt · No annual fee
|
2x | 2.20¢ / pt | $4.40 |
| 6 |
Sapphire Preferred
Chase · $95/yr
Travel booked anywhere else
|
2x | 2.05¢ / pt | $4.10 |
| 7 |
Blue Business Plus
American Express · No annual fee
2x on every purchase, with no bonus categories to track · Up to $50,000 per year, then the base rate
|
2x | 2.00¢ / pt | $4.00 |
| 8 |
Double Cash
Citi · No annual fee
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
2x | 1.90¢ / pt | $3.80 |
Why dollars and not multipliers
"4x points" is not a number you can compare to "3% back" until you know what a point is worth. Every rate here was converted using a published valuation before the cards were sorted, which is why the order sometimes differs from the one the advertised multipliers suggest.
Point values: The Points Guy, published 2026-08 (source). Not re-confirmed against the latest monthly update: Wells Fargo Rewards.
Your wallet, not this list.
This ranks the whole catalogue. Cardful ranks the cards you actually carry, at the store you are actually on.