26 credits · 23 cards · $7,950 a year at face value
Portal hotel credits: every card that has one.
These credits pay only on prepaid bookings made through the card issuer’s travel portal, which makes the portal, not the hotel, the merchant of record. Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and IHG treat that as a third-party stay: no elite benefits at check-in, no points, no qualifying nights. If you hold hotel status, most of these are worth less than zero per stay. The two luxury programs that transmit bookings as qualifying rates are marked.
Every card with one, sorted by face value.
| Card | Credit | Per year | Paid out as | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Platinum Card$895 annual fee | Hotel Credit (FHR / The Hotel Collection) Prepaid Amex Travel bookings only. FHR: no night minimum, and bookings are transmitted as direct/qualifying rates: points and elite recognition are generally earned at major chains, with FHR perks stacking on top. |
$600 | $300 twice a year; unused amounts are lost | portal, status honored unverified |
| American Express Business Platinum$895 annual fee | Hotel Credit (FHR / The Hotel Collection) Prepaid AmexTravel.com bookings only (pay-at-property FHR does not qualify). FHR: any stay length; THC: 2-night minimum. Added in the Sept 2025 refresh, mirroring the consumer card; FHR recognition caveats apply. |
$600 | $300 twice a year; unused amounts are lost | portal, status honored unverified |
| American Express Platinum Card for Schwab$895 annual fee | Hotel Credit (FHR / The Hotel Collection) Schwab Platinum: the same term as the Platinum Card per Amex’s Schwab terms page. Prepaid Amex Travel bookings only. FHR: no night minimum, and bookings are transmitted as direct/qualifying rates: points and elite recognition are generally earned at major chains, with FHR perks stacking on top. |
$600 | $300 twice a year; unused amounts are lost | portal, status honored unverified |
| American Express Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley$895 annual fee | Hotel Credit (FHR / The Hotel Collection) Morgan Stanley Platinum: the same term as the Platinum Card per Amex’s Morgan Stanley terms page. FHR: no night minimum, and bookings are transmitted as direct/qualifying rates: points and elite recognition are generally earned at major chains, with FHR perks stacking on top. |
$600 | $300 twice a year; unused amounts are lost | portal, status honored unverified |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve$795 annual fee | The Edit Hotel Credit | $500 | $500 a year in 2 uses of $250, resets on the calendar | portal, status honored unverified |
| Chase J.P. Morgan Reserve$795 annual fee | The Edit Hotel Credit | $500 | $500 a year in 2 uses of $250, resets on the calendar | portal, status honored unverified |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business$795 annual fee | The Edit Hotel Credit Two $250 credits per calendar year on prepaid 2-night-minimum Edit bookings ("$250 per transaction" maximum). |
$500 | $500 a year in 2 uses of $250, resets on the calendar | portal, status honored |
| Robinhood Platinum Card$695 annual fee | Premium Hotel Credit Portal booking: whether elite status and stay credit are honored is not stated: treated as a prepaid third-party rate. |
$500 | $250 twice a year; unused amounts are lost | status trap |
| Bilt Palladium Card$495 annual fee | Bilt Travel Hotel Credit "$400 annual Bilt Travel Hotel credit distributed as $200 semi-annually" on 2-night-minimum stays at Bilt Travel Portal properties; halves do not roll over. |
$400 | $200 twice a year; unused amounts are lost | status trap unverified |
| Citi Strata Elite$595 annual fee | Citi Travel Hotel Credit Prepaid 2+ consecutive-night stays booked through cititravel.com; applied as an instant discount at booking (can also offset taxes/fees). Keys off BOOKING date, not stay date: a December booking for a January stay draws from the current year. Remainder under $300 is splittable across later qualifying bookings in the same calendar year. |
$300 | $300 a year, resets on the calendar | status trap |
| Citi Prestige$495 annual fee | 4th Night Free (twice a year) Fourth night refunded on a 4+ night stay booked through Citi Travel, up to two times per calendar year; valued at $150 a night. Portal booking is the merchant of record; hotel status is not honored. |
$300 | $300 a year in 2 uses of $150, resets on the calendar | status trap unverified |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve$795 annual fee | $250 Select Hotels Credit (2026) One-time 2026 benefit (not confirmed to recur): prepaid 2+ night Chase Travel bookings at select brands: IHG, Montage, Pendry, Omni, Virgin Hotels, Minor, Pan Pacific. Chase states these bookings still earn hotel points and stay credit. |
$250 | $250 a year, resets on the calendar | portal, status honored ends 2026-12-31 unverified |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business$650 annual fee | Delta Stays Hotel Credit No enrollment needed, unusually for Amex. |
$250 | $250 a year, resets on the calendar | status trap |
| Chase J.P. Morgan Reserve$795 annual fee | $250 Select Hotels Credit (2026) One-time 2026 benefit (not confirmed to recur): prepaid 2+ night Chase Travel bookings at select brands: IHG, Montage, Pendry, Omni, Virgin Hotels, Minor, Pan Pacific. Chase states these bookings still earn hotel points and stay credit. |
$250 | $250 a year, resets on the calendar | portal, status honored ends 2026-12-31 unverified |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business$795 annual fee | $250 Select Hotels Credit (2026) Prepaid 2+ night Chase Travel stays at IHG, Montage, Pendry, Omni, Virgin, Minor and Pan Pacific, 2026-01-01 through 2026-12-31 only. |
$250 | $250 a year, resets on the calendar | portal, status honored ends 2026-12-31 |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Reserve$650 annual fee | Delta Stays Hotel Credit $200 on the personal Reserve ($250 is the Business version). No enrollment needed. |
$200 | $200 a year, resets on the calendar | status trap |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business$350 annual fee | Delta Stays Hotel Credit $200 on Platinum Business ($150 on the personal Platinum). No enrollment needed. |
$200 | $200 a year, resets on the calendar | status trap |
| Chase United Club$695 annual fee | Renowned Hotels & Resorts Credit Up to $200 back per anniversary year on prepaid bookings made directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts. |
$200 | $200 a year, resets on your card anniversary | status trap unverified |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum$350 annual fee | Delta Stays Hotel Credit $150 on the consumer Platinum ($200 figures in some articles are the Business version). |
$150 | $150 a year, resets on the calendar | status trap |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Gold Business$150 annual fee | Delta Stays Hotel Credit $150/yr on Gold Business ($100 on personal Gold). No enrollment needed. |
$150 | $150 a year, resets on the calendar | status trap |
| Chase United Quest$350 annual fee | Renowned Hotels & Resorts Credit Up to $150 back per anniversary year on prepaid bookings made directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts. Verify per chain before relying on status. |
$150 | $150 a year, resets on your card anniversary | status trap unverified |
| Citi Strata Premier$95 annual fee | Citi Travel Hotel Benefit Citi’s exact language: "$100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through cititravel.com or 1-833-737-1288. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking." Single-use per calendar year. For status holders this is the reference trap: reaching it requires routing a $500+ stay away from status-earning direct booking. |
$100 | $100 a year, resets on the calendar | status trap |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Gold$150 annual fee | Delta Stays Hotel Credit $100/yr on the Gold tier ($150 Gold Business, $150 Platinum, $200 Reserve). No enrollment needed. |
$100 | $100 a year, resets on the calendar | status trap |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred$95 annual fee | $100 Chase Travel Hotel Credit Doubled from $50 to $100 in the June 15, 2026 refresh. Applies to hotel stays booked through Chase Travel each account anniversary year. |
$100 | $100 a year, resets on your card anniversary | status trap |
| Chase United Explorer$150 annual fee | United Hotels Credit $50 back on each of the first and second prepaid United Hotels bookings each card anniversary year. |
$100 | $100 a year in 2 uses of $50, resets on your card anniversary | status trap |
| Bilt Obsidian Card$95 annual fee | Bilt Travel Hotel Credit "$100 annual Bilt Travel Hotel credit distributed as $50 semi-annually (2-night minimum stay at Bilt Travel Portal properties)"; halves do not roll over. |
$100 | $50 twice a year; unused amounts are lost | status trap unverified |