How to book a Barcelona hotel room for 4 on points

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card

A lot of frequent-flying families pick a city in Europe as their first long-haul trip on miles and points. However, if you’ve ever actually tried to book a hotel room for four people in European cities, you probably know that not all rooms allow occupancy by more than three people. Certainly, that is the case with many points-friendly hotels. In this installment in our series on European cities with points hotels that have rooms to accommodate a family of four (so far we’ve covered London, Paris, Rome, Florence and Portugal) ) is the home of architect Antoni Gaudí’s masterpieces: Barcelona.

If you’re headed to Barcelona, book your Sagrada Familia tickets and then check out these hotels that can accommodate four people on points:

Use your Hilton Honors points

Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona

Marriott charges a cash upgrade in Barcelona

Marriott has great points hotel options in Barcelona, such as Hotel Arts, W Barcelona, Barcelona Edition, but they do not allow four to a room. However, you can always call the hotel directly and I have heard anecdotal evidence of families being allowed to stay there with four people. If you have a family of three, your options open up greatly.

We checked Category 6 Le Meridien Barcelona that allows four people in its Corner Suite room for 40k (off-peak), but the room requires a 650-euro-per-night supplement. That’s not a TPG-approved redemption.

You can earn Marriott points with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card, which is offering 100,000 Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, or the  Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card which is offering 75,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months of account opening. Alternatively, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio.

IHG hotels for families in Barcelona

Holiday Inn Express Barcelona – City22 @

A choice of four-star hotels with Chase Ultimate Rewards

With the limited number of traditional points hotels to choose from, families visiting Barcelona can look to the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal in order to redeem points for a stay.

Capri by Fraser Barcelona

Readers recently discussed the best UR hotels in Barcelona in the TPG Family Facebook Group and a reader suggested Capri by Fraser Barcelona. (Make sure you’re following TPG Family on Facebook for more travel tips from our community.)

Family Rooms: From 6,088 points (the exact number of points is dynamic and changes based on the season and which type of Chase card you have). 

Location: Between the Marina Metro stop and La Sagrada Familia

Food: Breakfast included in some rates or offered at €14.50 per person, depending on your room rate.

Room: The apartments at the lowest room rate are 484 square feet with one queen bed or two twin beds and one double sofa bed and a kitchenette.

Extras: Families rave about the free laundry and a play area for kids. While the neighborhood isn’t a tourist area, you are near the highly rated Marta’s private paella cooking classes and the zoo.

Hotel Barcelona Universal

The Hotel Barcelona Universal is not much to look at from the outside but can provide an inexpensive base for walking and using the metro while surrounded by independent shops and restaurants.

Family Rooms: From 7,774 points (the exact number of points is dynamic and changes based on the season and which type of Chase card you have)

Location: El Raval, close to Los Ramblas
Room: The hotel offers triple rooms for families that are 366 square feet with three single beds (two can be pushed together).

Food: Breakfast is included in some room rates or available for 17 euros per person.
Extras: Guests are given a free drink token for the hotel’s rooftop bar upon arrival.

American Express points options in Barcelona

Hotel Neri

This chic boutique hotel is nestled into a corner of the Gothic Quarter with apartments bookable with Amex Membership Rewards points.

Family rooms: $352 or 35,236 Membership Reward points (as checked for dates in December )

Location: Gothic Quarter, next to the Cathedral of Barcelona
Rooms: Families of four get a brand-new sunny apartment in the Apartment Annex. Each apartment has one bedroom, a separate living room with sofa bed and bathroom. Families will also love that the apartments come equipped with kitchenette, dishwasher, washer/dryer and daily cleaning.
Extras: While certainly not cheap at $352 or 35,236 Membership Rewards points (as checked for a December stay), the Hotel Neri can be a good value when you factor in your American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits. With daily breakfast for two adults plus a $100 food and beverage credit, you start to cut into the cost. Also, get 5x Membership Rewards points when booked on amextravel.com using a card like The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and 2x Membership Rewards points on each dollar of eligible purchases made when you book using a Membership Rewards program-enrolled American Express card on the American Express Travel website.

Use an “eraser” card

Paying for your hotel with a credit card with an “eraser” feature can open up a whole different range of possible accommodations. Consider using a card like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card where you can redeem earned miles for a statement credit as long as the purchase codes as “travel.” Here’s how to redeem Capital One miles at a fixed value. The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card offers a similar benefit.

Citi Prestige® cardholders can book four nights but just pay for three. (As of Sept. 1, 2019, cardholders can only get the fourth night free on two hotel stays per year.)

Novotel Barcelona City

Novotel is a popular four-star European chain that is part of Le Club AccorHotels. Le Club recently teamed up with Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) so you can now earn both Flying Blue/Air France miles and hotel points when flying with the airlines or staying at a Le Club property.

There are many other ways to boost your Flying Blue account balance if you’re looking to cash in on airline miles that are easy to earn. The program is a 1:1 transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards,

Bottom line

Barcelona is an enchanting city for families with interesting architecture, lovely beaches and tasty tapas around every corner. Is it on your family’s shortlist of European cities to visit?

Here’s some more information about Barcelona:

• What to Do in Barcelona With Kids
• 9 Common Mistakes Tourists Make in Barcelona
• 6 Things Even Repeat Travelers Need to Know Before Visiting Barcelona
• Second Cities: Destinations to Add onto a Trip to Barcelona

Featured image by Querbeet/Getty Images