More bang for your buck — Hotel credit card bonuses with low spending requirements
Editor's Note
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Some hotel credit cards, such as the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express, offer sky-high welcome bonuses of 150,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening (Annual fee $450, see rates and fees). However, you'll usually need to spend several thousand dollars in the first few months to earn the biggest bonuses. If that's not ideal for you, not to worry — these hotel card bonuses require spending $1,000 or less, and the bonuses are nothing to sneeze at either.
These bonuses are ideal if you're opening your first travel credit card and are nervous about being able to meet the minimum spending requirement. You'll be able to earn a valuable bonus without spending more than you normally would.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Best hotel credit cards with low spending requirements
- Hilton Honors American Express Card: Best no-annual-fee card (See rates and fees)
- IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card: Best ongoing benefits
- Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card: Best for stays in Europe and Japan
- Wyndham Rewards® Visa Signature® Card: Best anniversary bonus
- Best Western Rewards® Premium Mastercard: Best for budget stays
Comparison of the best hotel credit cards with low spending requirements
| Card | Bonus | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | Earn 70,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the card in the first three months of card membership. | $0 (see rates & fees) |
| IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card | Earn 125,000 bonus points, plus a reward night after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. | $89 |
| Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card | 32,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. | $0 |
| Wyndham Rewards Visa Signature Card | Earn up to 30,000 points; 15,000 points after your first purchase in the first 90 days and another 15,000 points after spending $1,000 in the same timeframe. | $75 |
| Best Western Rewards Premium Mastercard | 50,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first three billing cycles after account opening. | $59 |
Hilton Honors American Express Card
Current welcome bonus: Earn 70,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the card in the first three months of card membership. According to TPG's valuations, the total bonus is worth $420. Award night redemptions range from 5,000 points to 95,000 points (up to 120,000 points at a couple of hotels). This bonus isn't available to those who currently have or have had this card.
Other benefits: Earn 7x points at participating Hilton hotels and resorts, 5x at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations and 3x for all other eligible purchases. Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status. Earn Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year. Enrollment required for select benefits.
Annual fee: $0 (see rates and fees)
Quick take: The Hilton Honors American Express card offers complimentary Hilton Silver status, which gets you access to Hilton's 5th night free on award stays. It also has solid earning potential at Hilton properties and a healthy welcome bonus that can get you up to 18 award nights (if you take advantage of the 5th night free). This is the only Hilton credit card with no annual fee (see rates & fees), so if you like Hilton properties this is an an easy card to hold long term.
Apply here: Hilton Honors Card from American Express
IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card
Current welcome bonus: Earn 125,000 bonus points, plus a reward night (worth up to 40k points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. This bonus is worth up to $825 (including reward night) according to TPG's valuations.
Other benefits: IHG Platinum status as long as you keep the card and earn up to 25x points at IHG hotels and resorts, 2x points at gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores and 1x on all other purchases. Every year you'll get a reward night certificate valid at hotels costing up to 40,000 points per night. Fourth night free on award stays of 4+ nights.
Annual fee: $89
Quick take: The IHG Premier credit card has the biggest annual fee and the largest minimum spending requirement of any card on this list, but it has the goods to back it up. The cheapest IHG hotels normally cost 10,000-20,000 points per night, but with the quarterly PointBreaks promotion you can book hotels for as little as 5,000 points a night. The annual free night alone can get you a stay easy worth $100+.
Apply here: IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card
Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card
Current welcome bonus: Earn 32,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days. That's worth $192 based on TPG's valuations, but I'd personally value it higher due to the great deals that can be found in Europe and Japan. Award night redemptions range from 6,000 points to 75,000 points. Bonus points are only available for those who haven't previously had this card.
Other benefits: Earn 15x at Choice Privileges properties, 5x on purchases of Choice Privileges points or Choice Hotel gift cards and 2x on other purchases. Enjoy complementary Elite Gold Status, which gets you a 10% point bonus every time you purchase a stay with Choice Hotels. Earn 8,000 anniversary bonus points every year you spend at least $10,000 by your account anniversary date.
Annual fee: $0
Quick take: This card offers complimentary Elite Gold status, good earning potential at Choice properties and a welcome bonus worth up to five award nights. With no annual fee, it's a card that'll earn a long-term place in my wallet. Choice Hotels may not be as popular (or nice) in the U.S., but overseas in place like Norway or Japan they can be great deals. And Choice Privileges often has solid promotions for buying Choice points, matching elite status or easily earning points.
Wyndham Rewards Visa Signature Card
Current welcome bonus: Earn 15,000 bonus points after making one purchase or balance transfer and earn an additional 15,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days. According to TPG's valuations, 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points are worth $330. Award night redemptions at all Wyndham properties cost 7,500-30,000 points, or you can redeem 1,500-6,000 points plus a variable amount of cash.
Other benefits: Earn 5x on eligible purchases at Wyndham properties, 2x on eligible gas, utility and grocery store purchases and 1x on other purchases. Enjoy Wyndham Rewards Platinum status, which provides many benefits including early check-in, late check-out, upgrades on Avis and Budget car rentals and you can match your status to Cesars Rewards status. No foreign transaction fees. Earn 6,000 bonus points — which TPG values at $66 — annually after your account anniversary.
Annual fee: $75
Quick Take: This card provides Wyndham Platinum elite status, good earning at Wyndham properties and a bonus that can get you up to four award nights or up to 20 nights of points plus cash. The 6,000 anniversary bonus points essentially cover the annual fee, so this could be a long-term card if you like to stay at Wyndham properties.
Best Western Rewards Premium Mastercard
Current welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first three billing cycles. Based on TPG valuations, 50,000 Best Western points are worth $350. Award night redemptions range from 8,000 points to 70,000 points.
Other benefits: Earn 10x on eligible Best Western room night purchases and 2x on all other purchases. Earn 20,000 points during each period of 12 complete, consecutive billing cycles in which at least $5,000 is spent. No foreign transaction fees and automatic Platinum status.
Annual fee: $59
Quick take: If you stay at Best Western properties — including some of the company's more upscale brands — the welcome bonus can get you one to six nights. But on popular dates, you might not even have enough points for a single night because recently Best Western nearly doubled the maximum amount an award night can cost overnight with no prior warning.
Pros and cons of hotel cards with low minimum spending requirements
Hotel cards with low spending requirements open the world of booking free nights with points to just about anyone with a moderately healthy credit score. You don't need to be a big spender to get value from opening any of the cards on this list. And with such small spending requirements you could even open more than one card and earn several different intro bonuses.
The downside of the small spending requirements is that they are rarely attached to the best welcome offers (worth over $1,000). So while these cards are great to get your feet wet, eventually you'll want to graduate to cards with better ongoing benefits and bigger rewards. And the jump isn't as big as you'd think, many of the best rewards credit cards have minimum spending requirements of $5,000 or less. There are even TPG staff and TPG readers that find outsized value in premium travel credit cards with annual fees that top $400, in addition to having bigger spending requirements.
Summary Best hotel credit cards with low spending requirements
- Hilton Honors Card from American Express: Best no-annual-fee card
- IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card: Best ongoing benefits
- Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card: Best for stays in Europe and Japan
- Wyndham Rewards® Visa Signature® Card: Best anniversary bonus
- Best Western Rewards® Premium Mastercard: Best for budget hotel stays
Bottom line
Staying in hotels doesn't have to break the budget, there are plenty of hotel rewards credit card options that can help you defray the costs. Many of the best credit cards offer valuable welcome bonuses that can be worth $100s or $1,000+, but you'll have to spend a certain amount (aka the minimum spending requirement) to earn these bonuses.
These spending requirements don't have to stand between you and a hefty card bonus. There are hotel credit cards with reasonable minimum spending requirements. These cards provide the best of both worlds by giving you the chance to reward yourself for your everyday purchases without having to commit to putting a lot of expenses on a card.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors Amex Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors Aspire Card, click here.
Additional reporting by Jason Stauffer.