Best Cards For Hotels In South America

Chase Sapphire leads the wayfor hotels in South America. As we’ve mentioned, when you use your card to book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal you can get up to 1.5 cents out of each point. If you’ve explored the portal and haven't found what you're looking for, you can opt for a 1:1 transfer to Hyatt, Marriott and IHG. If you like flexibility, then this is really the card for you, offering plenty of diverse hotel transfer brands from which to choose.

IHG has some great options for hotels in South America. Let’s start by taking into consideration that IHG has a 4th night free perk, which is a great value if you're staying in one place the whole vacation. If you want to hop around, something helpful about this card is that IHG includes 17 hotel brands, so you can find one almost anywhere you plan to go. This includes luxury options all the way down to comfortable, clean, small town options. And because some of their brands are suites (like Candlewood Suites or Holiday Inn Suites) you can usually get either a small kitchenette or a free breakfast, off-setting the costs of your vacation. This is a Chase card, so be careful tipping the rules scale. But if you still qualify for a Chase card -- and you happen upon one of their sign-up specials -- this is definitely a great hotel card to get

Wyndham may not be as alluring as Chase's cards, but it definitely can hold its own when it comes to booking a hotel in South America. Wyndham has 19 brands with 134 hotels, ranging from standard to all-inclusive. One of our favorite things about Wyndham is that there isn’t a lot of guessing when it comes time to book. You know for certain that you’ll be spending either 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points on your room. With this particular card, your welcome bonus can actually get you up to 4 nights free -- plus automatic Platinum status, opening the door to preferred rooms, early check-in and late check-out. All after only spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. Along with their normal selection of hotels in some of the most popular destinations in South America, and their integration of La Quinta properties, Wyndham now has a Trademark Collection in Latin America which launched with the opening of the Costa Blu Beach Resort. As stated on their site, “Chances Are, You’re About 10 Minutes from a Hotel by Wyndham."

Marriott is one of those hotel brands that's darn near everywhere. It is, after all, the largest hotel chain in the world, with 32 different brands. From luxury like JW Marriott or Ritz-Carlton all the way down to economy picks like Fairfield or Springhill. Marriott is such a popular name that no matter where you go, you’ll be guaranteed a stay that measures up to the standards behind the name. Booking is super easy and there aren’t a lot of surprises. Just look up the area you’re venturing to and you’ll get a list of Marriott brands and the points-per-night cost. Or use cash+points if you're running low. Plus, if you have your 35,000-point anniversary night, take a look around at your options to use it on in South America. You’ll be surprised at the number of luxury selections from which to choose. Marriott is a great addition to your cards if you have South America on the agenda.

Hyatt is low here only because of having fewer hotels in South America. If you are staying in major city, it is still worth a look at Hyatt.