Free Hotel Elite Status From UK Credit Cards

Started to collect points towards your next hotel stay? You probably know about the various different hotel loyalty programs and the various benefits you can get from an increased tier including free breakfast, upgrades, and more. In this post, we are going to take a look at what free hotel elite status you can get from UK credit cards.

What UK credit cards give free hotel elite status?

IHG Rewards Club Credit Card

IHG has a wide range of hotel brands including Atwell Suites, Avid, Candlewood Suites, Crowne Plaza, EVEN, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, Indigo, HUALUXE, InterContinental, Kimpton, Regent, Six Senses, Staybridge Suites & voco.

The FREE IHG Rewards Club Credit Card gives you IHG Gold Elite status when you open your account with them. This, unfortunately, doesn’t really offer much in terms of benefits. In Europe, you will get a welcome gift of a drink or some points and you might get a bit luckier securing a later checkout.

You can view the card here – https://www.creation.co.uk/credit-cards/ihg-rewards-credit-card

It is possible to earn higher levels of status with IHG via your credit card as points obtained from spend also count towards elite status. It would mean, however, that you’d need to spend £40,000 a year for Platinum Elite or £75,000 for Spire Elite (the card earns 1 point per £1.)

You can see all the benefits Elite status with IHG gets you here – https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/content/gb/en/enjoy-rewards

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

Marriott has a wide range of hotel brands including AC Hotels, Aloft, Autograph, Courtyard, Delta Hotels, Design Hotels, Edition, Element, Four Points, Le Meridien, Marriott, Renaissance, St Regis, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, The Ritz-Carlton, W & Westin.

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express gives you 15 elite status nights each year which is enough for Silver Elite status. As these are elite status nights it also means you would be closer to getting higher levels of elite status with Marriott, Gold needing an additional 10 nights, Platinum Elite an additional 35 and Titanium Elite a huge additional 60 nights!

You can view the card here – https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/marriott-bonvoy-credit-card

Silver Elite status, unfortunately, doesn’t have much in the way of useful benefits other than a 10% bonus on points earned from stays and higher priority for late checkout. If you put £15,000 in a year through the card you will be upgraded to Gold Elite status. Gold Elite has more useful benefits such as 2pm checkout at most brands, an Enhanced Room Upgrade & a 25% bonus on points earned from stays.

You can see all the benefits Elite status with Marriott gets you here – https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/member-benefits.mi

You can also get Gold Elite status with Marriott by holding the American Express Platinum Card (see below)

American Express Platinum Card

At £575 a year The Platinum Card from American Express doesn’t come cheap BUT it does come with a whole range of travel benefits unapparelled in the UK. As there is a sizeable sign-up bonus of 30,000 membership reward points (35,000 if you are referred) you may find it make sense for you to try the card, for a year at least.

For example, 30,000 membership reward points converts into 60,000 Hilton Points or 45,000 Marriott Points. Check your eligibility for the sign-up bonus here – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/amex-changes-sign-up-bonus-eligibility/

You can view the card here – https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/charge-cards/platinum-card/

If you cancel before a year is up you will receive a pro-rata refund on the annual fee and you get to keep your hotel elite statuses until they expire at the end of the hotel’s loyalty program’s year.

With the Platinum Card you will get comprehensive travel insurance, airport lounge access & Addison Lee cashback to name a few things (read more about the benefits here) but what we want to focus on here is the free hotel elite status you will get…

Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status

Gold Elite comes with benefits such as 2pm checkout at most brands, an Enhanced Room Upgrade & a 25% bonus on points earned from stays.

You can see all the benefits Elite status with Marriott gets you here – https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/member-benefits.mi

Hilton Honors Gold Status

Gold status comes with benefits such as FREE breakfast, upgrade to a preferred room, late checkout & a 80% bonus on points earned from stays.

You can see all the benefits Elite status with Hilton gets you here – https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/member-benefits/

MeliaRewards Gold Status

Gold status comes with benefits such as free breakfast for a companion, free wi-fi, 3 x 20% off vouchers for room bookings, late checkout & a 30% bonus on points earned from stays.

You can see all the benefits Elite status with Melia gets you here – https://www.melia.com/en/meliarewards/elprograma/home.htm#tusVentajas

Radisson Rewards Gold status

Gold status comes with benefits such as a welcome gift, 20% off food & drink, room upgrade if available, early/late checkout & a 35% bonus on base points earned from stays.

You can see all the benefits Elite status with Radisson Rewards gets you here – https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/rewards/benefits

Conclusion

As you can see it’s quite easy to obtain free hotel elite status from UK credit cards either by holding them or reaching a certain spend level. What is your favourite free hotel elite status from a UK credit card?