Hotels.com® Rewards Visa® Credit Card review: Solid option but occasional travelers have better choices

The Citi Strata Premier card, the revamped version of the Citi Premier® Card, is among the best travel cards for occasional hotel guests. The annual $100 hotel benefit on a hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) can offset the $95 annual fee. You’ll earn 3X ThankYou Points in several common categories like restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, EV charging stations, air travel and hotel purchases. Although its 1X points on all other spending doesn’t match the Hotels.com card’s flat-rate 2.2 percent return value, the Citi Strata Premier card’s widespread bonus category coverage and versatile redemption options make it a better pick overall.

However, the properties available in Citi’s travel portal may be more limited than the range of vacation rentals and non-hotel properties found on Hotels.com. Plus, Hotels.com’s booking rates may also be lower than through Citi’s portal, so if you are looking for a potentially lower cost option with more booking options, the Hotels.com's card might be worth holding onto.

Hilton loyalists or people looking for hotel elite status for no annual fee will enjoy the Hilton Honors American Express Card. While not the most lucrative travel-related credit card, the Hilton Honors program and elite status perks can offer tremendous value. Cardholders automatically attain Hilton Honors Silver elite status, providing benefits like bonus points and a fifth night free on award stays. The card also has a solid welcome offer of 70,000 points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Card in the first six months of card membership. Offer ends July 31, 2024.

You’ll earn 7X points for Hilton purchases, 5X points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. restaurants and 3X points on all other eligible purchases. These everyday boosted rates make the Hilton card a better reward option than the Hotels.com Rewards Visa card. 

Also, while the Hotels.com Rewards Visa card offers additional benefits like Wells Fargo’s excellent cellphone and travel protection, the earning rates just don’t measure up.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $5,700
• Dining out: $3,600
• Entertainment: $2,400
• Gas: $3,100
• Apparel and services: $1,900

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

Beginning in July 2023, the rewards programs of Hotels.com, Expedia and Vrbo merged to form the One Key program, launched by the Expedia Group. Rewards work at any property affiliated with those brands.

While the way you earn rewards has changed, your card still works normally if you are already an active cardmember. Any future changes will be communicated well in advance.