Hotel Points Rankings

Hyatt is our favorite hotel point system.

• The value of their points is exceptional.
• The quality of the hotels is consistently high.
• There’s no nickel-and-diming cardholders. As a Hyatt cardholder, you’re instantly a VIP
• They’re a part of our top partner rewards system (Chase Ultimate Rewards) , making top offs from Chase, both easy and a good value.
• The only downside of Hyatt is they have fewer locations than Hilton, Marriott, or IHG, so smaller or international cities may not have one.

Citi points have limited utility; we don’t generally collect them without a clear use in mind

• Choice Hotels and niche airline partners are the best transfer values.
• If you need to take a break from Chase, already have the top Cap One cards, and Amex isn’t offering elevated SUBs, only then should you consider a Citi card.
• Only the Strata Premier card is worth the trouble as it’s the only Citi card with transferable miles and a 60-80k point SUB
• Points are flexible with a breadth of airline partners, some exclusive to Citi (like Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Turkish, and Singapore, amongst others)

Amex points are great in theory. We just find them harder to collect and more expensive to hold than Chase points.

• If you’re in the points game long enough, you’ll dabble in both main systems (Chase & Amex).
• Amex has a one card bonus per lifetime rule, so ultimately, there will be more of a limit to how many you can collect via sign-up bonuses.
• You’ll need to keep a “fee” card to hold your points.
• Delta and Hilton are solid transfer values and having Amex points gives you top-off flexibility if you are invested in either of those systems.
• We do find Amex travel a higher quality of service over the Chase travel portal.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is our most valued point system.

• These points are the most flexible of any credit card points. You can book travel items directly through the Chase portal, including cruise, car rental, or speciality hotel. (Or transfer points to their partners).
• The quality of their transfer partners (Hyatt, United & Southwest) is unmatched. As is the value you can get when you transfer.
• You can get a “multiplier effect” (either 1.5x or 1.25x) on your Chase Ultimate Rewards points when you have either of Chase’s Sapphire cards.
• We view Ultimate Rewards as the points “savings account” to top off a partner reward system for a flight or hotel. Or to book travel items directly through the Chase travel portal.

IHG is our “utility” hotel points system. If you just need a night or two, and aren’t looking for glitz and glamor, IHG points go a long way.

• The IHG brand consists mostly of Holiday Inns, which are in nearly every small town or international city you might want to stay. We use it as the Hyatt’s “not there” filler.
• There are also several luxury hotels part of IHG’s umbrella, and while redemptions can be high, there is plenty of variety in IHG properties
• The generous sign-up bonuses (especially if you wait for a special offer) will cover 6-8 nights per card.
• IHG is part of the Chase partner rewards system, but IHG redemptions can be very high, so this isn't usually a great transfer option except for topping off.

Capital One is a flexible point system we use for travel items that other systems don't cover

• Partner transfers are niche airlines and hotel brands, making the points more difficult to maximize
• Using an award search tool such as PointsYeah makes finding flights with those airlines more realistic
• Simple redemptions for erasing travel can be useful for cruises & rental cars (value isn’t maximized)
• Capital One is particularly attractive to businesses with large spending

Bilt Rewards are quickly becoming valuable in the points and miles world, but only if you’re a renter.

• Earn up to 100,000 points in rewards from your monthly rent payments by putting it on the Bilt Mastercard
• There is no annual fee or extra charge for doing this as Bilt acts as an intermediary and sends a check if your landlord doesn’t accept credit cards or charges a fee for using one
• You can then cash those points in for high value redemptions
• Bilt has an impressive array of transfer partners that rivals Chase and American Express, so you can turn that rent payment into free airfare and/or hotel stays pretty easily

Quality hotels but points go fast with high per night point cost.

• Amex’s one-card-per-lifetime rule makes it difficult to accrue Hilton points using Hilton cards exclusively.
• Hilton is part of the Amex partner reward system and at 1:2 is a decent transfer value.
• Hilton has high quality hotels and excellent coverage both in the US and internationally.
• We recommend this system as more of a filler. Either as a specific destination or an upscale IHG when no Hyatt stays are available.

Their poor points redemption value leaves Bonvoy near the bottom of our rankings.

• There are multiple cards with great point transfer options. In theory, this is good.
• Finding a solid value for a Marriott stay is a challenge. A one night stay at desirable destinations can match the number of points from one card bonus.
• Values can be found, but they can be frustrating to find, so it isn’t a terrible system. It just doesn’t have the usefulness of many of the other hotel systems.

Wyndham is towards the bottom of our hotel points list. It’s not a good utility point system to just hold points.

• Questionable room quality and cleanliness.
• Their points expire – even when you’re a cardholder.
• Difficulty in collecting points for more than a few stays.
• If you love a specific Wyndham hotel (including resorts), getting a card might be worth it.

The U.S. Bank Loyalty System is a fixed-value travel program with limited upside.

• Points redeem at 1.5 cents each toward travel when booked through their portal with certain cards (this is being changed to 1 cent per point on the Altitude Reserve on December 15, 2025).
• U.S. Bank does not currently have transfer partners, but they announced the Altitude Reserve will have some starting in December, 2025 (they have not announced who)
• U.S. Bank points work fine for people who want a simple rebate toward flights, but it’s not a strategic program for maximizing travel value.