Hotel Credit/Reward cards

EverAfer

I'm planning on putting my entire venue costs, food & bar on a credit card that gives you 1.5 % back. We pay our credit card off every month, so even all of our deposits are paid off. A few people suggested getting the hotel credit card since it'll be a good chunk of money and would earn some free rooms. Plus if I use their credit card at their hotel, it's extra points.

I know savvy people that books their hotel stays off of points. I've never been that good with figuring out the point system.

Has anyone done this for the free rewards? We have the money in the savings, but if I can earn some free rooms, why leave money on the table?

Edited: posted before ready.

hlvonb

I personally do not like the idea of putting that all on credit cards no matter what the points or cash back, etc are. If you have the money, write a check. If you don't have the money, don't put it on a card and possibly end up in debt. You never know what might happen and for whatever reason, you can't pay your credit card that month.

Blergbot

How likely is is that you will use that hotel chain? What if you plan a trip somewhere where they don't have a hotel. What if they do, but it would be convenient to stay somewhere else? Weigh the pros and cons. I tend to think general rewards card are better.

Jells2dot0

As pps mentioned, there are some credit cards that give cash back, as opposed to airline miles and hotel points. There is also nothing wrong with using the credit card for some of the deposits/payments and writing checks for others. Only you know how much you have stocked away in your savings, so if an issue does arise, maybe you can cover the wedding costs and emergency! That being said, I agree with @blergbot- you need to pick a card that best fits your needs. I use two CCs that I pay off monthly- Starwood Preferred Guest AmEx and United MileagePlus Club card. I have elite status with both programs and am a frequent business and leisure traveler, so it works well for me. I always use my points and miles. My United Card has a large annual fee that includes a Club membership, so I do NOT recommend that for someone who never flies United. However, it also has no foreign transaction fees, which is something important to me because I go overseas a lot. My DH has a card through Wells Fargo that gives him rewards he can use for gift cards or get cash back. He usually chooses the gift cards because he can give them out as gifts to his kids. As you can see, there are so many options out there! Maybe if you could narrow down what is important to you, someone on here will have a specific card in mind that may be a good fit!

pipeTsquared

I agree with others. Other CC offer different things.

For big things (and where planning on the wedding) we use our CC because they all give us airmiles and we fly a lot to FH home country so it is worth it (also we pay them off straight away)

There are loads of options

My Parents do airmiles, my brother and sister both have ones that give you gift vouchers for a specific shop, it all depends what the best 'perk' is for you

csuave

I also had the money in the bank but wanted to use a card for rewards and some of the extra protections/insurance it can offer.  I used my Discover It card and got 1% cash back bonus but I think at one time they had the extra 5% category on hotels so I got extra on reception payments then.  I also used the online shopping link (shop Discover) to book our $3,000 honeymoon on Expedia and got 5% cash back bonus (after the trip) on it = to $150.  And I used it to redeem $45 in cash back bonus money for a $50 gift card to QVC for my reader and $20 for a $25 gift card to Cheryls cookies for thank you cookies for the ladies that threw my shower.  I'm now using $20 for $25 Shutterfly gift cards to make photo books.  Fun fact, they also have $20 for $25 BBB cards but I didn't end up needing any of those since our registry was entirely purchased.

I don't travel that much anymore so I like the cash back but I have also used the Capital One card and it is easy to get a flight or use cash back and if you take a honeymoon out of the country that card does not charge a foreign exchange fee.

sarahufl

I like the cash back option more than the travel points. Before you open a card, look and see how easy it is to redeem them. I used to be able to redeem the hell out of Delta Sky Miles, but now they require you to use so many miles to get a ticket they aren't worth it half the time. I like the cash option because then I can buy whatever I want with it.

melbelleup

I do the cash back as well either through my chase freedom or my discover card. I figure if you already know you'll be spending the money, might as well get points on it. They also have for hotels, flights, food, shopping etc. Basically, it's amazing.

EverAfer

Thanks ladies.

Well, right now I have a card that gives 1.5% cash back and up to 5% if it's charges at a particular place, last quarter it was amazon.  The hotel we're getting married in has plenty of locations.  I moved in with FH earlier this year to a different state, so it would be great to get the occasional freebie room so i can visit old friends or for us to go away for a weekend here and there.

I figured, with the current cash back card, we might get $150-$300 back.  But with the hotel's own CC-they'll give you 5 points per 1$ if you spend it at one of their location (which we are for the wedding). By the time we're done with the wedding, I calculated we would be able to get enough points for 4-8 nights stay, depending on what category the hotel fits in.

I'm glad to see other brides figuring a way to get something out of the reward system. It's money we're definitely spending anyway.  

@hlvonb, I used to be a cash only girl.  But CCs make it so easy to not use cash.  I actually got one of my trips to Germany mostly paid for using points I accrued over 2 years without even trying. It's kinda nice to get something back, as long as you can pay it off every month.

cruffino

I travel a lot for work, and we travel as a couple quite a bit as well. We have a chase southwest airlines card and a chase Marriott card.

I have booked numerous free rooms and free flights on both. We pay our balance every month. I also online shop through the southwest portal as well for extra points.

So I can say from experience that you can reap the rewards for travel if you're smart about it and don't get into debt.

That being said, I've been thinking about changing to either a capital one card or an amex. It makes more sense to me to consolidate our spending on one card, and therefore consolidate our travel rewards, and not be locked into certain brands. So I'm looking into that option right now.

AprilH81

As long as you 1) have the money already put back and 2) are disciplined enough to pay the bill in full each month there is no reason to pay with a cash/check.  Use the card (and the protections it provides) for maximum benefit.

blabla89

I've never done it with brand-specific hotel rewards, but Amex is great for flexible reward points. They sometimes offer introductory offers like 25k points if you spend $2,000 in the first two months. Depending on where you're honeymooning, you might be able to rack up enough points to cover one of your plane tickets.

lc07

AprilH81 said:

As long as you 1) have the money already put back and 2) are disciplined enough to pay the bill in full each month there is no reason to pay with a cash/check.  Use the card (and the protections it provides) for maximum benefit.

This! Ever try to "charge back" when you wrote someone a check? It doesn't work.