Clark Says These Credit Cards Are a ‘Waste of Your Money To the Max’ – Technologist

Are you a frequent traveler like money expert Clark Howard?

If so, there’s a good chance that a travel rewards credit card belongs in your wallet. But do you have the right one?

Clark has long cautioned against paying for co-branded credit cards with your favorite airline, but he has another type of co-branded travel card on his “do not apply” list these days: co-branded hotel credit cards.

“The frequent stay tie-in credit cards with hotel programs are a waste of your money to the max,” Clark says. “I mean, just worthless.”

During a recent episode of The Clark Howard Podcast, Clark explained why he’s so against them in 2024. And, you might be surprised to learn that it’s less about the cards themselves and more about the recent practices of the companies issuing them.

In this article, we’ll walk you through his gripe with major hotel chains and tell you what type of rewards credit card he suggests you apply for instead.

Clark’s Big Gripe: Hotel Chains Are Devaluing Loyalty Points and Perks

If you have a co-branded hotel credit card, you probably signed up with good intentions. You’re brand loyal, you love the service you receive from a particular line of hotels when you travel, and you’re hoping the card will allow you to leverage your spending into room upgrades and free nights in the future.

That all makes sense… until the loyalty rug is pulled out from under you.

The problem? Promises are no longer being met and loyalty points are being devalued.

Most hotel co-branded credit cards, like the ones offered by big chains like Marriott and Hilton, carry a hefty annual fee.

Customers are usually showered with promises of things like enhanced points multipliers for the hotel rewards program, free room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, rewards program tier boosts, and even discounted room rate opportunities.

But Clark told listeners during his recent rant that hotel chains are both devaluing the points earned in their loyalty programs and dropping the ball on some of these promises. Hence, lowering the value of those credit card points you’re earning.

He zeroed in on Marriott as the biggest offender in recent years:

“I kind of turned sour on Bonvoy, which is Marriott’s program, probably two years ago,” Clark said. “It became clear that Marriott was just pulling a fake on you. It was a bait and switch. Marriot is the world’s largest hotel brand. When they took over Starwood, they immediately started the process of devaluing the Bonvoy program. And now it’s a joke. Now hotels, en masse, in the Marriott program are no longer honoring virtually any of the privileges that various levels of Elite Status are supposed to receive.”

What Does Clark Mean When He Talks About Devaluing Points and Benefits?

When Clark says they’re devaluing the points you earn, he is referring to “moving of the goalposts” for how many points are required for things like free nights at a specific hotel, room upgrades, etc.

Rather than sticking to a traditional “static” rewards night program that holds the value of points firm, companies like Marriott have made changes to allow individual hotels more control over the points value of a free night. This means it may cost you more points for a comparable free night from one hotel to the next, even if they are in the same tier of quality, date and locale.

And the “power shift” back to individual hotels has made room consistency an issue, as well as allowed for Elite Status benefits to be less consistently applied from one hotel to the next.

“People who live on the road– staying in hotels night after night after night– hit a level you’re supposed to get room upgrades, maybe free breakfast, this, that or the other,” Clark explains. “And Marriott Hotels, as well as all the different affiliated brands, have basically said: ‘Forget it. We’re not doing anything for you. And if you thought we were going to do any of those things, it’s not happening.’ And Marriott’s doing nothing about it. Nothing.”

Clark did point out that Hyatt remains a standout in this area, as they are one of the only major hotel brands that still offers a static rewards night structure.

Clark Says There Are Two Instances Co-Branded Hotel Credit Card May Still Make Sense

With the frustrating changes at large hotel chains like Marriott, is there ever a time you should consider carrying one of those co-branded cards with a sizeable annual fee?

During his rant, Clark highlighted two scenarios in which it may still make sense:

Corporate Travel

If you’re not footing the bill for your travel and your employer happily puts you up in a Marriott or Hilton property, Clark says it may still make sense to stay loyal to one particular brand so that you can rack up points.

“If you are on the corporate treadmill and your company is paying for your stays and you want to earn points on a particular program so that when you take a family trip or a personal trip, you get your nights for free … Fine,” he conceded.

But he said that non-corporate travelers should not be brand loyal and, thus, have no need for the credit card.

He says shopping across all of the brands for the best combination of low price and highly-rated recent reviews from real guests is the best way to find a deal that will make you happy on your next stay.

Bonus Chasing

Clark does not generally recommend chasing a short-term benefit on a long-term credit card decision. But he does acknowledge that some of these co-branded hotel credit cards send out solicitations with some pretty great welcome bonus offers.

“If you get that solicitation in the mail with all these huge sign up bonuses and all that, if you want to pick up the initial sign up bonus fine, use those points. Get the free stay nights and then don’t renew the card.”

One example of how that might work: Occasionally, the $95 annual fee Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase will offer a welcome bonus that could land you as many as five free nights if you meet the spending requirement. You could turn that into a week-long vacation and then cancel the card before the second year of membership dues are required.

It’s worth noting that doing this may impact your credit score both on the application and upon closure, so choose your moves wisely.

Clark Says These Travel Credit Cards Are a Better Deal

So we’ve established a few things:

• Clark is mad at large hotel chains like Marriott for devaluing their points and loyalty programs
• He believes being brand loyal to hotels won’t pay off in 2024
• He thinks there are better deals to be had by shopping around

“My experience staying in hotels as much as 100 nights each year is: The brand name is not what matters anymore.”

But now you’re probably wondering: What credit card should you use for finding these better deals on hotels?

Clark has a clear and consistent answer on that one. He believes the Capital One Venture and Chase Sapphire lines of travel cards are the best on the market.

Not only do these allow you to earn points no matter where you stay, but they also may offer you a better opportunity to redeem your earned rewards on free hotel nights.

“I’ve noticed, for those of you who have the Chase Sapphire product or the Capital One Venture X product, the points required to redeem a hotel stay are so much lower than they are with the hotel programs themselves,” he said.

Clark carries the card_name in his own wallet and uses it often.

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Do you agree with Clark about the status of hotel rewards programs? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the Clark.com community.

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