10 Best Credit Card Shortcuts For Free Hotel Elite Status [2022]

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Having an Elite status with a specific hotel program can be beneficial to elevate your stay’s experience at a particular hotel or resort. Being an elite member, you can receive daily complimentary breakfast, room upgrade, club lounge access, and late check-out, to name a few. The good news is, you can
receive all of these elite benefits even when you stay with points. 
Generally, earning a valuable elite status with a specific hotel program can take several qualifying nights. Fortunately, credit cards offer automatic complimentary elite status levels without a
single stay, and this is the fastest way to attain those hotels’ elite statuses. However, it’s worth noting that not all hotel elite status levels are valuable. For example, Marriott Gold Elite is useless to me, but the next tier level Marriott Platinum Elite offers much better benefits.
Therefore, for this post’s purpose, I will only focus on the elite status that is considered valuable and can be obtained automatically by simply having a hotel credit card
Best Credit Card Shortcuts For Free Hotel Elite Status
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection
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    IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) Platinum Elite

    Chase IHG Premier Credit Card offers complimentary IHG Platinum Elite status without a single stay. This status is just one below the IHG Spire Elite, IHG’s highest elite status. 

    IHG Platinum Benefits:

    • Points Don’t Expire
    • Complimentary Room Upgrades
    • Guaranteed Room Availability
    • Extended Check-Out
    • Priority Check-In
    • Complimentary Internet
    • Welcome Amenity
    • Raid the Bar
    • $30 In-Room Spa Credit
    • 50% Bonus Earnings on Top of Base Points
    • Learn more about IHG Platinum Elite

    Hilton Honors Diamond Elite

    American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card is one of the best premium hotel credit cards out there. You receive complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status without a
    single stay by just having the Aspire card. Diamond is the highest elite status in the Hilton Honors program,
    so you can expect to receive every possible benefit that Hilton offers to
    its top-tier elite members. 

    Hilton Honors Diamond Benefits:

    • 100% Bonus Points on stays
    • Complimentary room upgrades
    • Free continental breakfast
    • Executive lounge access
    • Premium WiFi
    • 48-hour room guarantee
    • Two complimentary bottles of water
    • Fifth night free on reward stays
    • Learn more about Hilton Honors Diamond

    Hilton Honors Gold Elite

    There are currently four (4) credit cards that offer complimentary Hilton Honors Gold
    status. 
    • American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card
    • American Express Hilton Honors Business Card
    • American Express Platinum Card
    • American Express Business Platinum Card

    While Hilton Honors Diamond is Hilton’s highest elite status, Hilton Honors Gold provides good
    benefits such as complimentary room upgrades and free
    breakfast. 

    Hilton Honors Gold Benefits:

    • 80% Bonus Points on stays
    • Complimentary room upgrades
    • Free continental breakfast
    • Two free bottles of water
    • Fifth night free on reward stays
    • Learn more about Hilton Honors Gold

    Radisson Rewards Gold Elite

    Radisson Rewards Premier Credit Card offers you an automatic complimentary upgrade to Radisson Rewards Gold Elite status without a single qualifying night stay.

    Radisson Gold Benefits: 

    • Earn 25 points per $1 spent on qualifying hotel stays
    • 15% discounts on food and beverage
    • Two complimentary bottles of water
    • Complimentary room upgrade
    • Early check-in and late check-out
    • In-room welcome gift
    • Learn more about Radisson Rewards Gold Elite

    Wyndham Diamond & Platinum Elite

    Barclay Wyndham Rewards Business Credit Card offers complimentary Diamond Elite status in the Wyndham Rewards program. If a business credit card is not for you, the consumer version of Barclay Wyndham Rewards Plus Credit Card offers complimentary Wyndham Platinum Elite status. 
    Wyndham Diamond elite is higher than Platinum elite in the Wyndham Rewards program. While elite
    benefits in the Wyndham program are not that great, there’s one single benefit
    that I think is worth looking into. 
    The partnership between Wyndham Rewards and Caesars Rewards allows you to match your Wyndham Rewards elite status to Caesars Rewards tier status. The Platinum and the Diamond benefits in the Caesars Rewards program are more appealing such as free casino
    parking, FREE Night in the Bahamas, and 2 Free Nights in Dubai.

    Wyndham Rewards Platinum, Diamond & Caesars Rewards Platinum, Diamond Benefits:

    Wyndham Rewards Benefits Caesars Rewards Benefits
    • Preferred room choice
    • Early check-in and late check-out
    • Avis and Budget Car Rental Upgrades
    • 15% bonus points on stays for Platinum and 20% bonus points on stays for Diamond.
    • Diamond has complimentary Suite Upgrades and welcome Amenities at check-in.
    • Diamond can gift one Gold level membership to family or friends. 
    • Learn more about Wyndham Rewards benefits
    • 15% discounts at Casino gift shops for Platinum, and 20% discount for Diamond. 
    • Complimentary valet & self-parking at many destinations
    • Complimentary stay at Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas
    • 2 free nights at Caesars Bluewaters Dubai for Diamond Elite members
    • 10% discount on select Norwegian Cruise Line vacations for Platinum, and 20% discount for Diamond. 
    • Learn more about Caesars Rewards benefits

    Honorable Mention: World of Hyatt Discoverist

    The Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card gives complimentary Hyatt Discoverist status. While Discoverist is just one status over the regular member, it still offers a few good benefits such as late check-out and the ability to earn American Airlines bonus miles through reciprocal benefits between Hyatt and AA.

    Hyatt Discoverist Benefits:

    • 10% Bonus on eligible stays
    • Complimentary bottled water
    • Complimentary preferred room upgrade within type booked
    • Elite check-in
    • Late check-out until 2PM
    • American Airlines AAdvantage Bonus
    • Learn more about World of Hyatt Discoverist
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