India’s travel and tourism sector has grown rapidly in recent years. On a trip, whether an official or family vacation, the major expenses usually include travel tickets, hotel accommodation, food, etc. When it comes to hotel accommodation, there are certain credit cards where the reward points can take care of the stay.

The reward points can pay for the hotel accommodation either partially or fully, depending on the number of points you have accumulated. Two such cards include the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card and the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card. What are the features and benefits of these cards, and which one is a better hotel credit card? Let us discuss.

Features and benefits of American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card

The Platinum Travel Credit Card is one of the most popular credit cards from American Express. The card has a 1st year joining fee of Rs. 3,500 + Taxes and provides a welcome gift of 10,000 reward points. It provides one reward point for every Rs. 50 spent (except for fuel, utilities, insurance premiums, etc.). The renewal fee is Rs. 5,000 + Taxes.

When you use the card for spends with merchants listed on the American Express Reward Multiplier platform, you get 3X reward points. So, instead of the regular one reward point, you will get three reward points through the Reward Multiplier platform for every Rs. 50 spent.

Milestone benefits

The card has two milestones:

1. 15,000 bonus reward points on spending Rs. 1.9 lakhs in a card membership year
2. Additional 25,000 bonus reward points and Rs. 10,000 Taj Stay Gift Voucher on spending Rs. 4 lakhs in a card membership year

So, on a total spend of Rs. 4 lakhs in a card membership year, you get the following benefits:

1. 8,000 base reward points @ 1 RP/Rs. 50 spent. Accelerated reward rate of 3X through Reward Multiplier platform
2. 40,000 bonus reward points and Rs. 10,000 Taj Stay Gift Voucher

The reward points don’t have any expiry date. American Express credit cards have one of the lowest exclusion categories for earning reward points. Even though the spends on fuel, utilities, insurance premiums, etc., don’t earn reward points, they count towards the Rs. 1.9 lakh and Rs. 4 lakh milestone spends. The card also provides eight complimentary access (two per quarter) to domestic airport lounges.

Spend-based offers to boost overall reward rate

American Express also comes up with various offers throughout the year that enhance the reward rate further. For example, they usually roll out the festive spend-based offer during Diwali. On spending a specified amount during the offer period, the cardholder gets a gift voucher of a specified amount and can choose from specified brands. Similarly, American Express rolls out other spend-based offers during the year from time to time.

From time to time, they also roll out spend-based offers specific to the Reward Multiplier platform. On spending a specified amount through the platform, the cardholder gets 5X to 20X reward points. Sometimes, the offer is for a gift voucher of a specified amount of specified brands instead of reward points.

How to use reward points for booking hotel accommodation?

In the above section, we have understood how to use the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card to earn the maximum reward points. Now that we have the reward points, let us understand how to use them for booking hotel accommodation.

American Express has several airline and hotel loyalty transfer partners, one of which is Marriott Bonvoy. You can transfer your Platinum Travel Credit Card reward points to Marriott Bonvoy in the 1:1 ratio. The Marriott Bonvoy points can be further used to book hotel accommodation at various Marriott hotels in India and across the globe. Marriott International has 150+ hotels in India and 8,900+ hotels under 30 brands spread across 141 countries.

The other option is to redeem Platinum Travel Credit Card reward points against gift vouchers of various hotels. Some of these include ITC Hotels, Taj Hotels, The Postcard Hotel, etc. You also have the option to redeem reward points against gift vouchers of online travel aggregators like Cleartrip, EaseMyTrip, MakeMyTrip, etc., and further use those gift vouchers for booking hotel accommodation.

To summarise, American Express gives you a number of options to redeem reward points against hotel gift vouchers (Taj Hotels, ITC Hotels, etc.) or transfer them to Marriott Bonvoy. You can then proceed to book hotel accommodation for your trip, whether official or family vacation.

Features and benefits of Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card

The Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card is India’s first hotel loyalty co-branded credit card. The card has a Rs. 3,000 + Taxes joining and annual renewal fee. You get a welcome benefit of 1 free night stay (with a redemption value of up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at participating Marriott hotels. The card also gives you 10 Elite nights, qualifying you for Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite Status. The one free night stay and 10 Elite nights are provided on renewal also on payment of the annual fees.

The reward structure for the card is as follows:

1. 8 Marriott Bonvoy points per Rs. 150 spent at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty program.
2. 4 Marriott Bonvoy points per Rs. 150 spent on travel, dining, and entertainment categories.
3. 2 Marriott Bonvoy points per Rs. 150 spent on all other purchases, subject to excluded categories (fuel, wallet load, gift voucher purchases, rent, Government transactions, etc.).

The card offers complimentary access to domestic airport lounges 12 times a year. Similarly, complimentary access is provided to international airport lounges 12 times a year.

Milestone benefits

The card has the following milestone benefits:

1. One free night award on spending Rs. 6 lakhs in a card anniversary year
2. Additional one free night award on spending Rs. 9 lakhs in a card anniversary year
3. Additional one free night award on spending Rs. 15 lakhs in a card anniversary year

A free night with a redemption value of up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points can be redeemed with the above award.

How to enjoy free hotel accommodation with the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card?

With the card, you can earn up to four free night awards in a card anniversary year, which include one free night award as a welcome benefit and three as milestones for spends up to Rs. 15 lakhs. You can use these awards to book four free night stays at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. The regular spends will earn you 2 to 8 Marriott Bonvoy points, depending on the spending category. These points are automatically added to your Marriott Bonvoy account after the credit card monthly statement generation.

Comparison of the credit cards

Let us now compare the American Express Platinum Travel and Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank credit cards.

Which credit card is better?

If you are flexible to stay at Marriott Hotels, Taj Hotels and other hotels during your trips, you may consider the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card. It offers you the option to transfer points to Marriott Bonvoy or redeem them for the purchase of gift vouchers of other hotels or travel aggregators. Also, if your annual spends are limited to Rs. 4 lakhs or slightly higher, you may consider the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card. The reward rate of this card peaks at Rs. 4 lakhs and then declines.

If you are a Marriott Hotels loyalist, you can consider the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card. It provides up to 4 free night awards for spends of up to Rs. 15 lakhs in a year. The card also provides you up to 8 Marriott Bonvoy points for every Rs. 150 spent, depending on the spend category. It also provides you with 10 Elite nights qualifying you for Silver Elite status.

Marriott loyalists can even consider a combination of American Express Platinum Travel and Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card to maximise the benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty program. If you prefer stays at Accor hotels or ITC Hotels, you can consider a different credit card like Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card. So, which credit card is better for you depends on your hotel’s preference, annual spends, and other factors.

Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.