How to get free hotel elite status from UK credit cards
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This article looks at the different ways you can get elite status with hotel chains via UK credit cards.
If you are just getting started with miles and points, you have probably realised by now that your travel life could be improved if you had airline or hotel elite status.
There is no easy route to airline status
If you want fast-track airline status, you’re out of luck. There are no credit cards or other schemes which offer instant airline status.
Your best option if you want British Airways Executive Club Silver status, which gets you lounge access and free seat selection at the time of booking, is probably to book yourself a Qatar Airways business class flight to Asia in their next sale.
If you start your trip in mainland Europe, you should be able to pick up a flight to Asia for a decent price in a Qatar Airways sale. You will earn 560 tier points for this (140 x 4 legs) which is just 40 short of the 600 tier points needed for British Airways Executive Club Silver status – although you still need to fly four BA segments to be promoted. You get a great holiday and you get to try the best business class product out there.
Another option is the double tier points offer from BA Holidays which we cover here. You would earn 320 tier points under this offer for a business class trip to, say, Athens or Malta. Do two of those and a Silver card is yours.
Free hotel status is a lot easier to get
Hotel elite status is a lot easier to get. It can also be more beneficial. After all, if you are flying in Business Class or First Class anyway then status doesn’t get you much on top. British Airways gives Silver and Gold members free seat selection, and a Gold can access better lounges, but that’s about it.
Hotel status can get you an upgrade to a room you would never consider booking for cash. It can also be valuable – getting free breakfast for two for seven nights can represent a chunky saving.
How can you get free hotel elite status from UK credit cards?
Not all hotel statuses are equal. The benefits vary but, importantly, so does the willingness of chains to deliver them.
In general, I value a benefit which is ‘guaranteed’ substantially higher than a benefit which is ‘subject to availability’ – especially as ‘subject to availability’ tends to mean ‘if we feel like it’ rather than ‘if it is physically possible’.
Let’s have a look at the two UK credit cards which offer hotel elite status:
Marriott Bonvoy American Express
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 2 Marriott Bonvoy points per £1 spent
- Earn 6 points per £1 spent at Marriott hotels
- Points convert at 3:1 into Avios or other airline miles
Other information:
- 15 elite night credits per year to help you towards higher status
- Free night, up to 25,000 points, when you spend £25,000 per year.
- Upgrade to Gold Elite status when you spend £15,000 in a card year
- Annual fee: £95
Representative 54.5% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £95 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 30.7% APR variable.
You will receive 20,000 points as a sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the 15 elite night credits per year, the free night (up to 25,000 points) for spending £25,000 and Gold Elite status for spending £15,000.
You will receive 15 elite night credits per year in Marriott Bonvoy. The first batch will arrive within 60 days on applying and then in Spring in each subsequent year.
15 elite nights will automatically get you Silver Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy and put you nearer to Gold Elite and higher tiers.
If you spend £15,000 per card year, you will be upgraded to Gold Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy.
If you spend £25,000 per card year, you will receive a free night voucher, valid at any hotel where reward nights cost up to 25,000 points.
You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.
Marriott Bonvoy covers AC Hotels, Aloft, Autograph, Courtyard, Delta Hotels, Design Hotels, Edition, Element, Four Points, Le Meridien, Marriott, Renaissance, St Regis, Sheraton, Sonder, The Luxury Collection, The Ritz-Carlton, W and Westin.
Marriott Bonvoy gives you 15 elite status nights each year when you hold the American Express card. This is enough to give you Silver Elite status and also puts you nearer to Gold Elite.
The benefits of Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite are not huge. You can see the different Marriott tier levels here.
The key benefits of Silver Elite status, which usually requires 10 nights in a calendar year, are:
- 10% bonus on base points earned
- ‘Priority’ for late check-out requests
…. and that’s it, at least in terms of stuff you will find genuinely useful. It isn’t a lot but it should stop you getting the room overlooking the bins.
If you spend £15,000 per year on the card you will be upgraded to Gold Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy. You can see the full list of Marriott Bonvoy Gold benefits here.
The 2pm late check-out is ‘based on availability’ so not guaranteed. The only other benefits offered will be an ‘enhanced’ room (in the category you booked) and 25% bonus points.
If you are looking for Marriott Bonvoy Gold status, you should remember that you can also get Marriott Gold for free with American Express Platinum just for holding the card.
The sweet spot with Marriott Bonvoy is Platinum Elite status. This gets you ugprades, free executive lounge access, free breakfast at most brands and guaranteed 4pm late check-out. You normally need 50 nights per year to get Platinum Elite, but the 15 elite night credits you receive via the credit card take this down to 35 nights. This is achievable for many business travellers.
You can apply for the card here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 50,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within three months
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios and Virgin Points
- You can also convert to other airlines, Eurostar and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- £300 per year of restaurant credit
- £100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols
- Annual fee: £650
Representative 701.4% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £650 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 30.7% APR variable.
You will receive 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £6,000 within three months of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (usually at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.
For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of your supplementary cardholder, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)
Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class
£150 per year to spend in over 160 UK restaurants
£150 per year to spend in over 1,200 international restaurants
£100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols, instore or online (no minimum spend required)
£300 per year of dining credit – £150 to be spent at 150+ UK restaurants and £150 to be spent at 1,200+ restaurants outside the UK
The dining and Harvey Nichols benefits are only confirmed until the end of 2024. It is not yet clear if they will continue into 2025.
You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.
This is a more complex card.
The Platinum Card comes with a £650 annual fee. Because you can get a generous 50,000 Membership Rewards points sign-up bonus (converts into 50,000 Avios or 50,000 Virgin Points amongst other things) it may be worth giving the card a try to see if it works for you.
Note that, if you later cancel your Platinum card and get a fee refund, you will retain the hotel status cards until they naturally expire at the end of the year. The definition of ‘year’ varies by programme – all Hilton status cards run until March, for example.
Our comprehensive Amex Platinum review covers the full list of card benefits. I want to focus here on the hotel status cards offered:
- Marriot Bonvoy (Sheraton, Renaissance, Moxy, Westin, W etc) hotels Gold Elite status
- Hilton Honors (Hilton, Conrad, DoubleTree, Waldorf Astoria, Hampton) Gold status
- MeliaRewards (Melia, INNSiDE, Tryp, ME) Gold status
- Radisson Rewards (Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn) Premium status
We have looked at the benefits of Marriott Bonvoy Gold status already. This is what the other Amex Platinum hotel cards get you:
Hilton Honors Gold offers you:
- free breakfast (this is the best perk of any card on the list, although in the USA this is replaced with a fixed value food and beverage credit which rarely covers the cost)
- an upgrade to a ‘preferred’ room (may be a better view rather than a bigger room)
- 80% bonus points
- no resort fees on reward nights
- late check-out if available
The inclusion of free breakfast as a Hilton Gold benefit makes it, for most people, the most attractive mid-tier hotel status. You can see the benefits list on the Hilton website here.
MeliaRewards Gold offers the following benefits:
- 30% bonus points
- free breakfast for a companion (so basically 2-4-1)
- free wi-fi
- 3 x 20% off vouchers for room bookings
- 4pm late check-out at city hotels, 2pm at resorts
Late check-out IS guaranteed as long as the hotel is not 100% full. You will also receive free wi-fi. There is no upgrade benefit. You can see the benefits list on the Melia website here.
Radisson Rewards Premium status will get you:
- 10% off food and drink
- one category room upgrade “when available”
- 27 points per $1 vs 8 points per $1 for a base level member
- early check-in and late check-out “on request”
- access to ‘Discount Booster’ – extra savings if you agree to receive fewer points for your stays
Nothing is guaranteed – there is no free breakfast. However, in my experience, you can do well as a Radisson Rewards Premium member. Whilst Premium is not technically their top tier, hotels take it more seriously than they take, say, Hilton Honors Gold. You can see the benefits list on the Radisson website here.
You can apply for the card here.
Got a small business?
If you have your own small business, you can get the same hotel benefits with the American Express Business Platinum card.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.
Conclusion
It is very easy to add a couple of hotel elite status cards to your wallet purely by applying for the right payment cards and, where necessary, putting a certain level of spend through them.
For bigger spenders, especially heavy travellers, American Express Platinum is well worth a look.
The generous sign-up bonus on offer (50,000 Amex points is worth 50,000 Avios or other airline miles when transferred), airport lounge access via Priority Pass and the free hotel status cards mean that you don’t have much to lose by giving it a try.
Even if you decide to cancel your Amex Platinum card at some point, the hotel status cards should continue until they naturally expire – usually the following March.
Hotel offers update – October 2024:
Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.
Want to buy hotel points?
- Hilton Honors is offering an 80%-100% bonus when you buy points by 27th November 2024. Click here to buy.
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