When many people think about earning points and miles with credit cards, they may often only think about airline loyalty programs. However, thinking inside the box like this will make us miss out on other great opportunities for earning and redeeming points on hotel stays! After all, we still need a place to stay after flying business class to a destination!
“Good” hotel credit cards are not as obvious as their airline and frequent flyer co-branded card counterparts. This comes from the fact that there aren’t as many co-branded hotel credit cards (at least in Canada) and not as many bank transfer partners. However, if we look between the lines, there are some gems out there that can make our next hotel stay worthwhile.
Let’s take a deep dive into the best hotel credit cards in Canada for July 2026 and how to use them to our advantage!
The Best Hotel Credit Cards in Canada
As there are quite a few hotel credit cards on the Canadian market, we’ve curated a short list of the best choices available that may deserve a place in your wallet and shared how you can utilize these cards to either save money or improve the experience of your next hotel stay.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Cards: Free Nights & Progress Towards Status
American Express offers the only hotel co-branded credit cards in Canada in partnership with Marriott Bonvoy, the world’s largest hotel brand.
While there are two Marriott Bonvoy credit cards available to Canadians, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is the personal version and the most obvious choice for the majority of Canadians. This card currently offers a welcome bonus of up to 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card offers benefits that include an annual Marriott Bonvoy free night certificate and 15 elite qualifying nights towards Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
70,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
$3,000
$630+
$120
Yes
–
The strength of this credit card is that it offers an annual Marriott free night certificate worth 35,000 Bonvoy points upon the cardholder’s anniversary. We estimate that Marriott Bonvoy points are worth ~0.8 cents per point, making this free night certificate worth over $250 in value!
The potential value of the annual free night award far outweighs the card’s $120 annual fee, making this a keeper credit card year after year. If you are paying cash for your stay, you will earn 5 Bonvoy points per dollar spent at Marriott properties, which is a decent earn rate.
There is also a small business version of this card, the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card, which currently offers a welcome bonus of up to 80,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
The American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business Card offers benefits that include an annual Marriott Bonvoy free night certificate and 15 elite qualifying nights towards Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
80,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
$5,000
$720+
$150
Yes
–
This card is nearly identical to the personal version, with the addition that it also earns 3 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar spent on gas, dining, and travel.
As you can see, both of these Marriott Bonvoy American Express cards are strong options to get a free night certificate for a minimal annual fee and receive great earning rates on paid stays. Together, they create an excellent credit card combination, and it can be well worth holding both of these cards for the long term.
Additionally, an underrated strength of both of these cards is that cardholders receive an automatic 15 elite qualifying nights each calendar year as they work towards Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Marriott Bonvoy lifetime status. However, note that you will only receive 15 elite qualifying nights total, even if you hold both cards at the same time.
For more information about earning higher levels of status, check out our Miles Ahead Podcast episode about Shortcuts to Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status.
American Express Cobalt Card: Excellent Hotel Transfer Partners
The American Express Cobalt Card is a fan favourite at Frugal Flyer as a result of its high earning rates and excellent transfer partners! While many of us primarily use it to transfer our American Express Membership Rewards points to frequent flyer programs such as Air Canada Aeroplan for flight redemptions, there is a case to be made for it as a hotel credit card as well.
The American Express Cobalt® Card gives cardholders the opportunity to earn 5x Membership Rewards on eligible restaurant, food delivery, and grocery store purchases in Canada. With the American Express Membership Rewards® program, it makes for an excellent everyday credit card.
15,000 Membership Rewards points
$9,000
$300+
$191.88
Yes
–
American Express Canada Membership Rewards points earned on American Express Canada cards, such as the Cobalt card, transfer to Marriott Bonvoy at a rate of 1:1.2. This is actually stronger than our American Express US counterparts, who transfer at a lower ratio of 1:1 to Bonvoy
Thus, if we earn 5 points per dollar spent on groceries and dining using the Cobalt card, we can think of this as earning 6 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar if we transfer the points out. This makes the American Express Cobalt Card the strongest hotel point-earning card in Canada if you are often spending and earning bonus points on dining and grocery purchases, even outshining the Marriott Bonvoy co-branded cards!
American Express Platinum Card: Instant Hotel Elite Status
The American Express Platinum Card is known for its hefty metal card and global lounge access program, but it also has a place as a hotel credit card! While this is a premium credit card with an annual fee of $799, it also currently offers a welcome bonus of up to 170,000 Membership Rewards points.
The American Express Platinum Card is a premium card offering a $200 travel credit and $200 dining credit. From access to participating airport lounges and special benefits at participating fine hotels around the world, to exclusive events and elevated service, experience the world with the many benefits of Platinum.
170,000 Membership Rewards points
$45,000
$3,400+
$799
Yes
Jul 28, 2026
The Platinum Card comes with automatic Marriott Bonvoy Gold status and Hilton Honors Gold status as a benefit for cardholders. This makes it the only credit card in Canada that gives “complimentary” hotel elite status for holding the card! Most notably, being a Hilton Honors Gold status member grants free breakfast at eligible Hilton Hotels, which is a significant money-saving benefit.
Another hotel perk of the Platinum Card is that it grants access to American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts, which is exclusively available to cardholders. In the American Express Travel Portal, you can book a paid hotel stay through Fine Hotels and Resorts that comes with some great perks, including a daily breakfast for two guests, guaranteed late check-out, and room upgrades if available.
The Platinum card also offers a $200 travel credit usable per cardholder anniversary year, which can also be applied towards bookings in the Fine Hotels & Resorts program.
You can consider paying for hotel stays using the Platinum Card, as it earns 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on travel purchases.
TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card: Flexible Hotel Redemptions
While we often recommend booking stays directly with the hotel to ensure that we get our elite nights credited and our elite status honoured, there are a few unique cases where booking with Expedia makes sense.
The first is for independent hotels that are not part of the larger hotel programs, where we can’t earn points or status anyway. The other is if Expedia actually offers the hotel for much cheaper than the hotel itself, which can happen!
This is a great use case for the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card comes into play as an excellent option that currently offers a welcome bonus of up to 146,000 TD Rewards points.
The TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card earns 8x TD Rewards on purchases at Expedia for TD, plus a $100 Expedia for TD credit and TD Rewards birthday bonus.
146,000 TD Rewards points
$7,500
$730+
$139 (FYF)
Yes
–
Expedia for TD is available exclusively for TD Rewards members to book their travel. Everything on there is identical to the normal Expedia platform, except for the fact that you can redeem your TD Rewards points. When redeeming TD Rewards points for Expedia bookings, including hotel stays, 200 TD Rewards points equals $1 towards your booking.
If you use your TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card when paying for your booking on Expedia for TD, you will earn 8 TD Rewards points per dollar spent, which translates to 4 cents per dollar. This is a very strong earn rate, and we recommend considering using this card when making a paid stay via Expedia.
If you would rather book hotel stays directly with the hotel, you can also redeem TD Rewards points for “Book Any Way Travel”, which is when you redeem points against an eligible travel purchase already made on your TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card. When redeemed through this method, 225 TD Rewards points equals $1 towards your booking, with the rate increasing to 200 TD Rewards points equals $1 for every dollar spent over $1,200 on the same booking.
Read our TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card review for more information about how you can make this card work for you.
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card: Cash Out Points On Any Hotel Stay
Another personal favourite of mine, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card, is great for making hotel redemptions as Scene+ points are easy to use and get maximum value from.
The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card earns an impressive 6x Scene+ points at Empire-affiliated grocery stores, 5x at all other grocery stores and restaurants, and 3x on gas, transit, and streaming. Plus, the card offers no foreign transaction fees.
Scene+ points are redeemed at a rate of 100 Scene+ points = $1 against any travel purchase, making this a powerful everyday card for those who want strong earning rates without the complexity of transfer partners.
Earn when you apply through Frugal Flyer.
50,000 Scene+ points
$7,500
$650+
$120
No
Nov 1, 2026
Scene+ points can be redeemed at a rate of 1 cent per point when redeemed towards any travel expenses that are charged to the card, meaning that 100 Scene+ points equals $1 CAD off of your hotel booking. The card currently has an excellent welcome bonus of up to 50,000 Scene+ points.
With its strong earn rate of up to 6 Scene+ points per dollar spent on groceries, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is a great way to earn points quickly and cash out your Scene+ points at a fixed rate, and at the best possible value, for your next hotel stay.
When redeeming Scene+ points for a hotel stay, you can either book via the Scene+ Travel Portal or apply Scene+ points towards a travel purchase already made on your card, as both redemption options cash out Scene+ points at the same rate.
While the Scene+ travel portal is run by Expedia, much like its TD counterpart, the Scotiabank Gold American Express card earns up to 4 Scene+ points per dollar spent on travel purchases when booking through the Scene+ Travel Portal. This makes the earning rate similar to the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card.
Check out our in-depth guide on the Scene+ Travel Portal powered by Expedia to learn more about how you can maximize your next redemption!
Summary of the Best Hotel Credit Cards in Canada
We’ve compiled a comparison list of the best hotel credit cards in Canada, sorted by the value offered by the welcome bonus and the exclusive FlyerFunds Rebate available when applying through Frugal Flyer.
| Credit Card | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
170,000 Membership Rewards points Estimated value: $3,400 Ends Jul 28, 2026 |
|
 |
146,000 TD Rewards points Estimated value: $730 |
|
 |
80,000 Marriott Bonvoy points Estimated value: $720 |
|
 |
50,000 Scene+ points and $150 FlyerFunds Estimated value: $650 Ends Nov 1, 2026 |
|
 |
70,000 Marriott Bonvoy points Estimated value: $630 |
|
 |
15,000 Membership Rewards points Estimated value: $300 |
|
The Value Offered by Hotel Credit Cards in Canada
The important features of a hotel credit card are good point-earning rates so that you can parlay those points into free stays, free night certificates, and complimentary hotel status. If you think about it, these are the same principles that we have when picking a good airline credit card!
By choosing a good credit card welcome bonus and maximizing our credit card spending, we can earn a great deal of points and certificates that we can use towards a great stay for our next getaway.
While we use the term “loyalty” frequently when talking about the most rewarding hotel programs, there is also a case for diversity in the hotel loyalty programs from which you want to collect points and free night certificates.
While there may only be one or two major airlines that fly out of your local airport, there can be dozens of hotel chains that are available for you to stay at once you get to your final destination. With multiple options from multiple hotel chains, it is imperative that you have flexibility for where you can stay based on the best value redemption and amenities at the property.
Thus, when thinking about good hotel credit cards, you should keep in mind the hotel loyalty programs that are available to you. Our favourites, and also the largest hotel programs, in order are Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, Wyndham Rewards, and IHG One Rewards.
My Canadian Credit Cards of Choice for Hotel Stays
The current iteration of my wallet has the American Express Marriott Bonvoy, American Express Cobalt, and Scotiabank Gold American Express credit cards. Here’s a breakdown of how I use these cards in the context of collecting hotel points and making redemptions
The American Express Marriott Bonvoy card is a keeper card year after year for me because of the free night certificate worth 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. The vast majority of the time, I can use one of these certificates on a hotel stay worth way more than the $120 annual fee, so I get net positive value from it every year. If I need to make a paid Marriott stay, I will also use this card.
The American Express Cobalt Card is the strongest points-earning card in my wallet for dining and groceries. While I mostly save my Membership Rewards points to transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan, if I am in need of Marriott Bonvoy points for a stay, I won’t hesitate to transfer some out to top up my balance.
The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is used for independent hotels on Scotiabank’s Expedia Travel Portal or for hotels that I book directly on this card. At a redemption rate of 1 cent per Scene+ point, I think it presents decent value for hotel stays here and there!
Conclusion
Hotels are often the overlooked part of the points and miles game, but there is no reason they should be. There are many strong options for hotel credit cards in Canada that can help you stay at your next destination for less. If you venture into the US credit card market, there are even more hotel credit cards that are available to you, and they are some of my favourites to use.
Looking for where to start with travel credit cards in general? Check out our picks for the best travel credit cards in Canada!
Frequently Asked Questions
The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is our pick for the best hotel credit card in Canada, as it offers access to the Marriott Bonvoy program and includes an annual free night certificate plus complimentary elite qualifying nights to work towards status.
If you don’t want to be bound to a specific chain, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is the pick, as Scene+ points are easy to earn and redeem for maximum value at any hotel chain, whether it is independent or part of a larger brand.
The American Express Platinum Card provides cardholders instant and complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold status, simply for holding the card.
There are two cards that offer free night certificates in Canada: the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card.
Holding either of these cards will award you with a free night certificate upon your cardholder anniversary that can be used for a redemption up to 35,000 Bonvoy points.
Quentin Tsang
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