Best Card For Hotels In Asia

Marriott is a good luxury brand choice while traveling to Asia, with 750 open properties and over 560 soon to join in the Asia-Pacific region. Chase & Amex have different versions of the Bonvoy cards to get you your Marriott points. Chase offers the “

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless” or the “

Marriott Bonvoy Bold.” If you're taking a break from Chase because of the

5/24 Rule, you can qualify for the “Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant” through American Express. Marriott has 30 different brands, and Asia prides itself on offering 23 of those. Some of the newer, more popular hotels include the “EDITION Shanghai,” “St. Regis Hong Kong” and “Aloft Shanghai.”

Hilton Honors got our attention mainly because of the 120 new hotels signed on in the Asia-Pacific region in early 2019. That, and the comfort and luxury, which Hilton specializes in. Stock up your points with one of the Hilton cards by American Express: Hilton Honors Surpass, Hilton Honors, Hilton Honors Aspire or Hilton Honors Business. If you like the bigger cities, this is a great option. You’ll find a list of different hotels that have some pretty incredible options. For example, the elegant “Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund." Or the “Millennium Hilton Bangkok,” with its 360-degree view of the city. Or the “Conrad Centennial Singapore” that puts you in the center of the city and offers an unbeatable onsite Cantonese restaurant. The “Hilton Bali Resort” lines the beautiful Bali beaches with private balconies and beautiful Bali gardens.

If Hyatt has a hotel in your target city, this card will get you the most hotel buying power for your points. The only drawback to Hyatt is it doesn't have as many locations in Asia as the larger Marriott and Hilton.

Chase Sapphire made the list because whether it’s the

Preferred or the

Reserve, these cards are so great for travel options. Ultimate Rewards can take you anywhere, but let's focus on Asia. Feel free to transfer your Rewards to “World of Hyatt,” “IHG Rewards Club” or “Marriott Bonvoy” and then proceed to book as normal. We love the Sapphire card because it’s noncommittal. You can mock up an itinerary, see which hotels are in the general area you plan to be, transfer the needed points to the hotel brand you like and book. It’s fast, easy and diverse.

IHG is super diverse, meaning you can book hotels almost anywhere and they can range from luxury to budget. Something to keep an eye on in Asia are the newer IHG brands: the “Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants” and the “Even Hotels,” catering to the wealthy and the wellness enthusiasts. IHG also offers your 4th night free and an anniversary night annually which can be applied to your stay in Asia. Some of our favorite resorts are the “InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, Vietnam” & “InterContinental Koh Samui Resort, Thailand.” We love the ease of accumulating and booking IHG points. With just one credit card, can get you 80,000 points -- and booking is super easy through

ihg.com
. Also, for those of us who don’t mind getting off the beaten path, always check out the “IHG PointBreaks Reward Nights” with a range of hotels at 5,000 - 15,000 points per night, with different parts of Asia featured at each points level.

Wyndham comes in on our Asia list because of its diverse locations and its very simple 3-tier award list. You'll be spending 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points per night -- period. Wyndham doesn’t get as much love and attention as bigger names like Hyatt or Hilton, but it can be just as good, especially when traveling abroad. Wyndham points come after spending $1 with the no annual fee card or after spending $1,000 with the $75 annual fee card. Either way, you collect enough points for 1 night with minimal spending. Known for its hospitality, Asia will not disappoint -- even if you're staying in a smaller city or town in a less popular country. Wyndham points do expire, though, within 18 months of no account activity or after 4 years, so make sure that your travel plans are within that period of time.

The Venture Rewards by Capital One credit card is fantastic for a couple of ambiguous reasons. Miles earned through this card can be used to pay for your hotel stay, no matter where or what hotel you choose. This can be super useful for those of us that gravitate toward Airbnbs or Hotels.com because this particular card will earn 10x miles on “hotels.com/venture.” It’s an all-around great choice, especially if you’re planning on moving around a lot while you're in Asia. You can literally book each night in a different city through hotels.com, earn 10x points and then use your miles earned on the card to pay it off at the end of your trip. This is more of the non-luxury route. While you can use it for luxury stays, you're better off using one of the luxury cards like Hyatt or Marriott for those kind of rooms and use this one for back-packing, hostels, hotels.com or little huts on a hill in Vietnam somewhere.

Radisson Rewards offers some exquisite stays in Asia. And with the Radisson Rewards Premier credit card, you can actually get a huge sign-up bonus with very little spending. Our favorite thing with Radisson are the perks attached to the card. We all know that Asia has hospitality down to a science, but when the card gives you elite gold status right off the bat, you are able to take advantage of room upgrades, early check-ins / late check-outs and an extra 40,000 points each year when your card renews. Something we think that’s pretty neat about Radisson Hotel Group in Asia is its promotion of responsible business, meaning that it's working to eliminate plastic consumption by integrating amenities made from natural materials.

Citi Premier is a great alternative for booking hotels throughout Asia. You choose where, when, for how long and how much you want to spend and then get this card out and erase all those charges with your points. It’s basically as easy as that. Book your hotel, Airbnb or hostel anywhere and use your points to pay your statement credit. This is a great option for those of us who don’t like to be tied to a certain location or hotel brand. While redeeming ThankYou points through airline transfers gives you more value, the freedom of choice is worth using this card to travel Asia. Plus, with the 0% foreign transaction fee and the 3x points earned on travel purchases, don’t forget to use this card while you're overseas for all your purchases.