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The 5 Best Compasses for Hiking of 2024

One of the essentials of hiking, a compass is a necessary tool to plan a route, find points of interest, and self-rescue in an emergency

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The best compass is one that you know how to use and have with you. It can help you take a bearing of a distant object, follow a route through wilderness, and orient yourself on a map. Even if you prefer digital navigation aids, like a handheld GPS , you should always have a compass on hand to ensure you never lose your bearings if the GPS runs out of battery power. Whether you are a novice to the world of orienteering or looking to level up, here are some things to consider before making your purchase of the best compass for hiking.

• Best Overall: Silva Ranger 2.0
• Best Budget: Survive Outdoors Longer (S.O.L.) Sighting Compass with Mirror
• Most Durable: Cammenga 3H Cammenga G.I. Military Lensatic Compass
• Best for Kids and Beginners: Silva Starter 1-2-3
• Best for Travel: Suunto MC-2G Global Compass

How We Picked the Best Compasses for Hiking

As an avid hiker and wilderness adventurer, I recognize that the compass is one of the most important essentials in my backpack. Even though it’s packed most of the time, I know it could easily save my life someday if I become lost, disoriented, or forced to maneuver off trail.

My compass expertise sharpened over the years I taught orienteering courses for Appalachian Mountain Club’s Mountain Classroom program. I gained experience by teaching compass skills and setting up compass orienteering challenge courses in the woods. I have spent many seasons getting to know my way around a compass.

In choosing the best compass for hiking, I looked at a few main criteria:

• Quality: There are plenty of affordable plastic compasses out there, but in a real bind, you want to have the assurance that your instrument will get you to where you need to go. If it’s a matter of life or death, the best compass is the one that will be reliable and trustworthy.
• Features: While a beginner needs few features so they can learn the basics, an experienced orienteer should choose a compass with features that make their instrument a multi-use tool. Mirrors, rulers, magnifying glass, and lanyards can have other uses in the field for first aid, survival, and hygiene.
• Durability: If you’re throwing your compass into your hiking backpack for the day, it’s important that it’s durable enough to survive the trek. I looked for compasses that were waterproof, protected, and proven industry leaders.

Best Compasses for Hiking: Reviews and Recommendations

Silva Ranger 2.0 Silva

• Type: Mirrored baseplate
• Weight: 3.88 oz
• Dimensions: 5 x 11 x 2 in
• Materials: Plastic
• Sighting mirror
• Lanyard with distance measurements
• Declination adjustment with included tool
• Complicated features not good for beginner

The Silva Ranger 2.0 is a quality mirrored baseplate compass that is the perfect fit for hiking, bushwhacking, hunting, or forestry. If you are comfortable with mirrored baseplate compass use, it is the best compass for hiking.

This compass includes a mirror for sighting. By tilting the mirror at 45° angle, the user can keep an eye on the needle by looking at the bezel in the mirror while sighting the direction. This is especially helpful over long distances.

In addition, the Ranger comes with a magnifying glass, luminous markings, and a separate “slope card”. Experienced hikers can use the slope card to measure grade on a map or assess avalanche risk.

The lanyard of the Ranger 2.0 is unique in that it has four scales of measurement to help the hiker measure distances on a map. Since it is soft, it’s more useful than a straightedge when tracing a path on a map.

The adjustable declination of this compass allows the hiker to adjust the compass to their location. This saves time as well as reducing the possibility of user error when adjusting for declination with each bearing.

While the bells and whistles of this compass are sweet, they can also be overwhelming. If you are new to orienteering and looking for something the same quality but less overwhelming, try the Silva Explorer . It’s a quality baseplate compass that will help a hiker with basic orienteering.

Survive Outdoors Longer (S.O.L.) Sighting Compass with Mirror S.O.L. Survive Outdoors Longer

• Weight: 3.53 oz
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 3.94 x 0.79 in
• Low light visibility
• Less Durable

If you’re looking for an affordable compass that still comes with the bells and whistles of its higher price competitors, the Survive Outdoors Longer (S.O.L) Sighting Compass with Mirror is the best budget compass.

This is a mirrored baseplate compass that is great for hiking or bushwhacking. Some of the notable features include a mirror, rulers in both millimeter and inches, and magnifying glass. Luminous markings on the orienting arrow, needle, and direction of travel marking glow in the dark after briefly being exposed to a light (like your flashlight).

The SOL compass also has a clinometer on the baseplate that allows you to measure a slope angle.

One of the most useful features of this compass is the ability to adjust declination. A small tool comes with the compass that allows you to fine-tune the bezel to compensate for declination and calculate your bearing with the proper offset for your region every time.

Although this compass has held up well, its materials appear far less durable than its Silva and Suunto counterparts. My only real complaint is that I find the bezel ring a little tough to spin. Nevertheless, this compass is great value. The fold down mirror protects the compass when not in use so you don’t have to worry about it being destroyed in your pack.

Cammenga 3H Cammenga G.I. Military Lensatic Compass Cammenga

• Type: Lensatic
• Weight: 7.04 oz
• Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 6 in
• Materials: Aluminum
• Low light capability
• No declination adjustment capability

Similar to the compass used by the US military, the Cammenga Lensatic Compass is great for shooting a line to a distant object using a sight wire. This is helpful for tracking a route back to your car after a day in the woods or crossing wilderness using azimuth.

This model has some serious benefits that make it a favorite of military and civilians alike. The tough aluminum casing means it is durable and easy to toss into your pack. The housing is air filled which means the needle is more sensitive to movement but will not develop bubbles in the housing.

Perhaps most importantly, this compass comes with tritium lighting — a radioactive phosphorescence that glows in the dark (don’t worry, it’s not harmful with the amount used). This makes the Cammenga the best compass for night use as well.

While this compass is great for finding and following a sight bearing, it’s challenging to use with a map. There are no magnetic declination adjustments which makes it difficult to account for actual north. The main measurement of this compass is in Mils (short for mili-radians) whereas most hikers prefer degrees. Also, it doesn’t have grid lines like the baseplate compasses so it is challenging to line up with the grid. Still, it’s hard to argue that there is a more durable field compass on the market. If the price tag has you sweating, consider the more affordable 9077 Lensatic Military-Style Compass from Brunton .

Silva Starter 1-2-3 Silva

• Type: Baseplate
• Weight: 1.4 oz
• Dimensions: 2 x 3 x 0.4 in
• Easy to use
• Lightweight

If you are looking for a simple and sleek starter compass, the Silva Starter 1-2-3 is your best bet. The compass is small and light with an easy-to-read housing. It’s also waterproof which makes it a durable choice to bring into the field.

This starter compass is high quality with few bells and whistles. This helps beginners focus on the basics and not get overwhelmed by features on mirrored baseplate counterparts. There are mm and inch ruler markings on the side of the baseplate and clear degree parks on the bezel.

The bezel ring is fairly large and turns really smoothly. This is perfect for children and others learning the basics, easily putting “red in the shed” and orienting the compass.

Being so simple, this compass does not come with declination adjustment capacity so users pairing this with a map would need to adjust each bearing for declination. Overall, it is exactly what it’s supposed to be: a great starter compass.

Suunto MC-2G Global Compass SUUNTO

• Weight: 2.65 oz
• Dimensions: 2.56 x 3.98 x 0.71 in
• Materials: Plastic and stainless steel
• Global needle

Compasses are usually created to work in their specific hemisphere (north or south). However, Suunto’s “global needle” works in both, so whether you’re trekking through a U.S. national park, climbing a peak in New Zealand, or crossing glaciers in Patagonia, this compass will do the job. This makes the Suunto MC-2G Global Compass the best compass for travel. 

This instrument also comes with all the extras. The signing mirror, ruler, clinometer, and magnifying lens are all useful tools that a seasoned compass-user will find valuable. Another feature that makes navigating on a hike much easier is the ability to adjust declination to the area. The lanyard has a small adjustment key attached so you can adjust your declination to every new location traveled. This compass also comes with luminous points and bezel for low light navigation.

While the MC-2G is about as loaded with features as you can get, it is a tool for an experienced user and could easily overwhelm a newbie. If you are looking for a simpler model that can still take on both hemispheres (and half the cost), consider the Silva Ranger Global Compass . It can be used in all three magnetic zones and has the same simple features you see on the Silva Starter.

What to Consider When Choosing a Compass for Hiking

Types of compasses.

Before you look at brands or features on a compass, it’s important to know the types available . There are three main types of hiking compasses: baseplate, mirrored baseplate, and lensatic. All can be used to orienteer through wilderness. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Baseplate Compass: A baseplate compass is great for hiking since it pairs well with a map. As the name implies, a liquid filled housing contains the needle and sits on a clear baseplate. The liquid allows the needle to move slowly and smoothly. The clear baseplate permits you to see through to the map to set waypoints and align the compass to north. The plate usually has a straightedge on the side for drawing lines between waypoints and a ruler to determine distances.
• Mirrored Baseplate Compass: The addition of the mirror on a traditional baseplate compass adds versatility, allowing the user to see the compass dial and the background at the same time. The mirror opens with the hinge at the direction-of-travel arrow, and there is usually a v-notch on the base of the mirror that the user can use as a sight for finding objects in the field. By keeping the mirror at a 45° angle, you can align the compass to a target by looking through the notch then by looking at the mirror align the orienting arrow to the north arrow. This adds accuracy but can also add challenge. Therefore, a typical baseplate compass is better for beginners.
• Lensatic Compass: Also known as the military compass, the lensatic compass is a great companion to those who know how to use it. They are usually air-filled, which results in a faster moving needle and more durable compass. This compass type is mainly used to get a site bearing and are more challenging to use with a map. However, the military lensatic compass is durable, has night capacity, and greater precision than its baseplate companions.

Features to Look For

Most compasses come with the same basic features including a needle that points to magnetic north, direction of travel arrow, and moveable bezel ring. However, the best compasses for hiking add a few more features that make them a multi-use tool. Here are some additional items that will make the compass even better.

• Mirror: As mentioned above, some baseplate compasses come with a mirror. While it can help with accuracy, the mirror can also double as a signaling device as well as serving as a hygiene mirror for first aid in the wilderness.
• Magnifying Lenses: Some baseplate and lensatic compasses come with a small magnifying lens. This is helpful when reading fine print on a map and can be used as a tool for fire starting.
• Glow in the Dark Indicators: Luminescent markings are usually made from strontium-alumina based pigments and can help you make your way in the dark.
• Declination Adjustment: Gridlines on maps are aligned to geographic north while the compass is oriented to magnetic north. If you don’t account for this difference, you’ll be off course. Some baseplate compasses come with a declination screw that can be adjusted to match that of your region. This allows the user to change the declination to match the area. It’s very useful for backcountry navigation with a map.
• Clinometer: A small moving arrow in the liquid-filled housing allows the user to measure slope and steepness.
• Global Needle: If you plan to take your compass into the southern hemisphere, be sure to get one with a global needle that is designed for both hemispheres.

Q: Is a liquid filled compass better?

A liquid filled compass isn’t necessarily better, but it does have its benefits. Most baseplate compasses are liquid filled, which means the needle is rotating through a liquid. This slows the needle, making it less sensitive to movement in your hand. But aggressive movements, such as bumping around in your bag or drops, can develop bubbles in the liquid or create leaks which will impede the accuracy of the compass. Some liquid filled compasses are also sensitive to temperature extremes.

Q: What should I look for in a hiking compass?

If you are new to hiking compasses, you should look for a user-friendly design that’s easy to use. Make sure your basic hiking compass has: ●  A clear baseplate for seeing a map underneath ●  Easily moveable bezel ring ●  Clearly marked direction of travel arrow ●  Needle that orients to magnetic north ●  Orienting arrow and lines

Q: How much does a good compass cost?

Compass price varies wildly depending on quality and features. A good compass can cost anywhere from $15 to $100. A solid, reliable hiking compass like the Silva Explorer or Suunto A-30 fall into the $20 to $30 range. If taken care of, these can last for a lifetime of adventures.

Q: Do compasses lose accuracy?

It is possible for the needle in your compass to demagnetize over time if you store it near a strong magnet. However, the most likely need for a new compass is wear and tear from being crammed into a backpack, falling onto rocks, or tolerating extreme swings in temperature. If taken care of, a good compass could easily last a lifetime.

Best Compasses for Hiking: Final Thoughts

Whether you are headed into the woods on a hunt, staying on a hiking route, picking out a peak on a map, or following a course – the best compass is one you know how to use and keep on your person. Make sure one is tucked into your bag on every adventure.

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For more than 125 years, Field & Stream has been providing readers with honest and authentic coverage of outdoor gear. Our writers and editors eat, sleep, and breathe the outdoors, and that passion comes through in our product reviews. You can count on F&S to keep you up to date on the best new gear. And when we write about a product—whether it’s a bass lure or a backpack—we cover the good and the bad, so you know exactly what to expect before you decide to make a purchase.

Lindsey Lapointe is an avid outdoor adventurer. Her favorite activities include hiking, backpacking, camping, kayaking, and canoeing. She also spends time rock-climbing, skiing, and fishing. She’s worked as a freelance adventure writer for multiple sites and publications. She enjoys testing outdoor gear and passing her expertise to Field & Stream readers.

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May 31, 1987 Summer Reading; 'A Skinny Kid Who Sang Boleros' By RICHARD LOURIE WHO KILLED PALOMINO MOLERO? By Mario Vargas Llosa. Translated by Alfred Mac Adam. leasure aside, there are a number of good reasons serious writers turn to genres - science fiction, espionage thrillers, detective stories. The genres provide the security and the challenge of classical forms; both the sonnet and the whodunit pre-exist in some Platonic realm as an ideal design. The genres also make the writer tell a story. And at some point in the early 20th century, good writing and good stories went their separate ways. Proust writes great pages but gives the reader no incentive to turn the page, whereas the good storytellers make you turn the page to find out what happens next, and to get away from the writing you just read. The genres now seem to mirror the new world we live in. Technology is creating ethical dilemmas (Baby M) that are science fiction come to life; the recent sex-and-espionage scandal at the United States Embassy in Moscow could have appeared first in any fat thriller in the airport newsstand rack; and murder is as fresh as today's paper. It is also as old as the Bible, where God, the first detective, questioned Cain. Now Mario Vargas Llosa, whose books include ''The War of the End of the World'' and ''The Perpetual Orgy,'' a study of Flaubert, has tried his hand at detective fiction. That hand proves very deft. Evoking landscape and mores in writing that is spare, rich and cruelly beautiful, he both satisfies the requirements of the genre and demonstrates that it too can resonate like any other form of fiction. Moving at a slow pace that only heightens the tension, the novel manages to meditate on evil, art, love and race while going about its business of solving a crime, all in the span of 150 pages. Alfred Mac Adam's able translation helps to cast the spell, stumbling only on a certain kind of macho talk. The crime is the torture and murder of Palomino Molero, ''a skinny kid who sang boleros.'' The time is the 50's, the place the sticks of Peru, where the local brothel is chased from one end of town to the other by the priest, where movies are shown outdoors against the side of the church, and where the local police do not even have a vehicle of their own and must hitch rides on chicken trucks. The investigators are Lieutenant Silva and his young assistant, Lituma. Silva is a master of interrogation, adapting his techniques to his subject; sometimes his approach is almost sadistic in its meanderings, at other times it combines ''infinite respect with extraordinary politeness.'' Lituma is eager to learn, impressionable, given to sentiment and imagination. Though the narrator is omniscient, it is only Lituma's thoughts and fantasies that are ever entered, as, in pursuit of the guilty, his innocence is lost. The victim's own life points the detectives to those who may have taken it. Exempt from the draft, Molero had enlisted anyway. It was love that drove him, the sort of love that is only sung of in songs, an ''impossible love,'' one that broke through the barriers of skin color and class, itself a violent act. Admiring Molero for having known a great love, the kind everyone desires and no one believes in, Lituma sadly reflects that he has probably spent too much time in the local brothel to be capable of such high emotion. Silva, meanwhile, is caught in a double obsession: to solve the murder and to sleep with the Rubenesque wife of a local fisherman. The atmosphere is constantly charged with a lazy, dangerous sexuality. Mating donkeys bray as the two detectives question an old woman at whose inn Molero had stayed with Alicia Mindreau, a colonel's daughter -the woman he loved and died for. We now learn that there were four players in the drama, the victim and the three suspects: Colonel Mindreau, a martinet for whom racism is not a moral flaw but a self-evident fact; Alicia, a brat in her late teens, a snob whose nose seems to ''grade people according to their smell,'' but who is also entrancing and possibly mad; and Ricardo Dufo, an officer in love with Alicia, the type of weak male for whom jealousy is inevitably the dominant emotion. The crime is solved. Or is it? Every clean line that Mr. Vargas Llosa draws he then immediately smudges into ambiguities. Not murky, but all too vivid, these are the ambiguities of reality itself, of which passion and evil are prime elements. The lesson of this book is the same one Silva teaches to the ever-curious Lituma: ''The truths that seem most truthful, if you look at them from all sides, if you look at them close up, turn out either to be half truths or lies.'' Mr. Vargas Llosa uses the detective plot to demonstrate that our concepts of law and justice, symbolized by the solution of crime, do not take sufficient stock of the true nature of evil. Evil is so blinding in its power, so deranging in its derangement, that the book's title and point of departure - ''Who Killed Palomino Molero?'' - is also the point on which the story comes to rest after its terrible journey. Richard Lourie's novel ''First Loyalty'' has just appeared in paperback. Return to the Books Home Page

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U.S. Issues Travel Ban on Sri Lankan Military Leader How It Implicates the Country's President Too

by Randle DeFalco

February 20, 2020

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extrajudicial killing , Gotabaya Rajapaksa , Human Rights , International Criminal Law , LTTE , Sri Lanka , War Crimes Act

The U.S. State Department’s announcement of a travel ban on Sri Lankan Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current commander of the Sri Lankan Army and acting chief of the Defense Staff, along with his immediate family, may hold implications for other Sri Lankan leaders who were directly involved in war crimes allegedly ordered by Silva. That includes the country’s current president, Gotabaya “Gota” Rajapaska, who was a U.S. citizen at the time the alleged war crimes took place during the country’s civil war that ended in 2009.

The Feb. 14 designation was made pursuant to the “Anti-Kleptocracy and Human Rights” provisions of Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act . The law provides in subsection (A):

Officials of foreign governments and their immediate family members about whom the Secretary of State has credible information have been involved in significant corruption, including corruption related to the extraction of natural resources, or a gross violation of human rights shall be ineligible for entry into the United States.

In announcing the travel restrictions in a statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the department said the designation was based on “credible information of his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th Division of the Sri Lanka Army during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s Civil War in 2009.”

Allegations Against Silva

Silva has faced allegations of participating in atrocities on various fronts during the latter stages of the war, which pitted his government forces against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that ended in the brutal defeat of the Tigers. The International Truth and Justice Project has amassed a 137-page dossier documenting Silva’s roles in the civil war and a variety of alleged war crimes, ranging from attacks on civilians and medical facilities, to the notorious executions of LTTE soldiers, along with their family members, including women and children, following their surrender.

In response to the news development, Just Security Executive Editor Beth Van Schaack said:

Allegations of war crimes have followed Silva for years. At the top of the list is his operational role in brutally bringing the country’s civil war to a close, which involved the shelling of Tamil civilians trapped in so-called No Fire Zones on the front lines and the execution of surrendering Tamil Tigers, known as the “white flag incident.”

The longstanding allegations have not stopped Silva from continuing to wield considerable influence, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, for years following the end of the war. In 2012, Silva was appointed to a United Nations Special Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations, a panel tasked with advising then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Amidst backlash against Silva’s appointment, he was removed from the panel within weeks of being named to it.

Later, troops under Silva’s control who were deployed to U.N. peacekeeping operations were accused of grave abuses, including the sexual abuse of children in Haiti . After Silva was appointed army chief, non-essential Sri Lankan troops were banned from participating in U.N. peacekeeping missions because of his dubious record.

Despite these continuing allegations and Sri Lanka’s 2015 pledges to the U.N. to pursue accountability for the commission of international crimes and human rights abuses, scant progress toward any form of meaningful accountability has been made . To the contrary, according to Van Schaack, “the government of Sri Lanka has responded to [Silva’s] depredations with promotions rather than prosecutions.”

Implications for Sri Lankan President Gota Rajapaksa

The State Department designation was somewhat unusual, given the lack of earlier signaling that such a decision was pending. That might mean there is more to come. The designation may have implications for politics and post-conflict justice in Sri Lanka, as Silva’s actions likely also incriminate recently elected Sri Lankan President Gota Rajapaksa in various international crimes.

Silva and Gota are often viewed, including in Tamil news outlets , as closely linked figures with longstanding ties. As Just Security’s Ryan Goodman previously noted :

“[N]ot only was [Rajapaska] the self-proclaimed mastermind of the military’s actions and thus criminally liable under well-settled international rules of command responsibility; there is also prima facie evidence in the public record that he ordered the execution of political leaders and their families upon their surrender, that he directed the systematic bombing of civilian hospitals, and that he repeatedly suggested that he could target and deliberately kill innocent civilians in order to win the war against the LTTE. That’s just the public record.”

Gota is alleged to have been the overall architect who ordered the commission of atrocity crimes at the top levels of command, as he helped oversee the brutal final phases of the war as defense minister to his brother, then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa (as discussed at length on  Just Security   here ,  here , and  here ). But it is Silva who is alleged to have received these commands and directly ordered units under his command to carry them out. Indeed, there is evidence tying Gota directly to Silva’s actions at the heart of the new travel ban. An army officer told Britain’s channel 4 in 2011, “The defence secretary phoned Brigadier Shavendra Silva and ordered him not to take them prisoner, but to kill them. … I can confidently state that those who ordered the killings were Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Brigadier Shavendra Silva.”

As discussed in previous Just Security posts , Rajapaska theoretically could face criminal liability in U.S. Courts pursuant to the War Crimes Act of 1996 as he was a U.S. citizen during the time he is alleged to have participated war crimes (even though he renounced his U.S. citizenship in order to be eligible to run for president). Various civil lawsuits also were brought against Rajapaska in the United States , leading up to his election in November . As president, he currently enjoys head-of-state immunity. Silva was also sued in the U.S., but the case was dismissed because he was deemed entitled to diplomatic immunity.

When considered in light of the lack of apparent current avenues for prosecuting Silva (and Gota) for war crimes, the travel ban currently provides at least some small measure of accountability.

Image – Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (R) along with Army Commander Shavendra Silva (L) stand to attention during Sri Lanka’s 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Colombo on February 4, 2020. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)

About the author(s), randle defalco.

Fellow at Just Security. Follow him on Twitter ( @randledefalco ).

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US imposes sanctions on Sri Lankan army chief over war crimes

• Shavendra Silva blacklisted for ‘gross human rights violations’
• Up to 70,000 Tamils killed during final stages of civil war

The US has imposed sanctions on Sri Lanka’s chief of army staff, Lt Gen Shavendra Silva, for war crimes committed at final stages of the conflict against the Tamil Tigers in 2009, when up to 70,000 Tamil civilians were killed.

The US travel ban against Silva and his family marks the first time any of the leading suspects in the mass killings have been held accountable on the world stage.

The sanctions come three months after the election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the defence secretary during the brutal counter-insurgency. His victory increased fears there would be a return to impunity for war crimes, and a creeping erosion of human rights protections.

During the 2008-09 conflict, General Silva was the commander of the army’s 58th division, which was accused of shelling “no-fire zones” where ten of thousands of civilians had been told by the government to take shelter as it mounted a final offensive.

Hundreds of Tamil Tiger fighters also disappeared after surrendering to Silva’s troops. His promotion to army chief in January 2019 triggered widespread outrage.

Frances Harrison, the programme coordinator of the International Truth and Justice Project , which advocates for accountability for mass crimes in Sri Lanka, said: “How on earth did the government of Sri Lanka think it would not have consequences when they appointed one of the most notorious commanders to head the army?

“Shavendra Silva’s promotion to army commander and acting chief of defence showed utter disdain for international law and disrespect to victims of the civil war.”

Harrison, the author of Still Counting the Dead: Survivors of Sri Lanka’s Hidden War, said: “Eyewitnesses say he was present at the surrender of hundreds of Tamils on the last day of the war who have subsequently disappeared in army custody – for years those mothers have been sitting in the hot sun in the roadside holding up photos of their children desperate to know what happened.

“This is not justice. It’s humiliation.”

The state department designation holds him accountable, through command responsibility for “in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th division of the Sri Lanka army during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009”.

Sri Lanka has ignored UN human rights council resolutions it signed agreeing to establish a system to hold to account the perpetrators of mass killings.

Since Silva became head of the army and Rajapaksa was elected president, victims’ families and witnesses have been under pressure to withdraw their testimony, according to Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“After that, families of the disappeared, have been receiving threats from security forces asking them to withdraw their protests, and their complaints,” Ganguly said. “They have been getting calls from the intelligence agencies asking about their meetings and plans.”

In a statement accompanying the sanctions announcement, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said: “We urge the Sri Lankan government to promote human rights, hold accountable individuals responsible for war crimes and human rights violations, advance security sector reform, and uphold its other commitments to pursue justice and reconciliation.”

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Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon Series) Audio CD – Abridged, July 22, 2008

Over the course of ten previous novels, Daniel Silva has established himself as one of the world’s finest writers of international intrigue and espionage―“a worthy successor to such legends as Frederick Forsyth and John le Carré” ( Chicago Sun-Times )―and Gabriel Allon as “one of the most intriguing heroes of any thriller series” ( The Philadelphia Inquirer ).

Now the death of a journalist leads Allon to Russia, where he finds that, in terms of spycraft, even he has something to learn. He’s playing by Moscow rules now.

It is not the grim, gray Moscow of Soviet times but a new Moscow, awash in oil wealth and choked with bulletproof Bentleys. A Moscow where power resides once more behind the walls of the Kremlin and where critics of the ruling class are ruthlessly silenced. A Moscow where a new generation of Stalinists is plotting to reclaim an empire lost and to challenge the global dominance of its old enemy, the United States.

One such man is Ivan Kharkov, a former KGB colonel who built a global investment empire on the rubble of the Soviet Union. Hidden within that empire, however, is a more lucrative and deadly business. Kharkov is an arms dealer―and he is about to deliver Russia’s most sophisticated weapons to al-Qaeda. Unless Allon can learn the time and place of the delivery, the world will see the deadliest terror attacks since 9/11―and the clock is ticking fast.

Filled with rich prose and breathtaking turns of plot, Moscow Rules is at once superior entertainment and a searing cautionary tale about the new threats rising to the East―and Silva’s finest novel yet.

• Language English
• Publisher Brilliance Audio
• Publication date July 22, 2008
• Dimensions 5 x 1.38 x 7 inches
• ISBN-10 1423328035
• ISBN-13 978-1423328032
• See all details

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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Brilliance Audio; Abridged edition (July 22, 2008)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1423328035
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1423328032
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.38 x 7 inches

About the author

Daniel silva.

Daniel Silva is the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Unlikely Spy, The Mark of the Assassin, The Marching Season, The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, Prince of Fire, The Messenger, The Secret Servant, Moscow Rules, The Defector, The Rembrandt Affair, Portrait of a Spy, The Fallen Angel, The English Girl, The Heist, and The English Spy. His books are published in more than thirty countries and are bestsellers around the world. He serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and lives in Florida with his wife, CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel, and their two children, Lily and Nicholas.

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7 Best Hotel Credit Cards of 2024

Money.com has partnered with CardRatings.com for our coverage of credit card products. Money and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Our site does not include all card companies or all available card offers.

Whether on vacation or business, hotels can make or break your travel experience — and your budget as well.

Hotel credit cards can help alleviate some of that cost, or simply make your stay a lot more comfortable and enjoyable thanks to the many benefits they offer.

Here, we picked some of the best hotel credit cards from a variety of hotel chains that can reward frequent travelers and occasional vacationers alike.

Our Top Picks for Best Hotel Credit Cards of 2024

• Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card — Best for Luxury Travel
• Hilton Honors American Express Card — Best No Annual Fee
• IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card —Best Overall Value
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card — Best for International Travel
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card — Best for Business
• Wyndham Rewards Earner® Business Card — Best for Small Businesses
• Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card — Best for Budget Travel

Other Hotel Credit Cards We Considered

Best hotel credit cards reviews.

The companies in our top picks are listed in alphabetical order.

• High 14x points reward rate at Hilton properties
• $200 in flight credits (up to $50 each quarter) on qualifying airfare purchases
• Annual free night
• No TSA PreCheck or Global Entry statement credit

Terms apply. Please click here for applicable rates and fees.

Why we chose it: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card delivers on all fronts, from high point earnings to valuable statement credits, all for a very competitive annual fee in the luxury category.

The Hilton portfolio is one of the largest and most recognized in the world. The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers very high rewards for many different categories. This includes 14x points on Hilton purchases, the highest among the cards we researched. It also offers a high 7x points on select travel and U.S. restaurants.

Points aren’t the only way to save, though, as the card offers a variety of statement credits. Cardholders can get up to $400 in statement credits for their expenses at participating Hilton resorts, a $200 flight credit for qualifying flight purchases (divided into $50 each quarter) and a $100 property statement credit when booking a minimum two-night stay at Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Resorts or Conrad Hotel & Resorts. (Terms apply.)

There’s also a large amount of insurance coverage, including trip cancellation and delay insurance, baggage insurance plan and car rental loss and damage insurance*.

All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by Money.com

• 7x Hilton Honors Bonus points at the Hilton
• 5x points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations
• Car rental loss and damage insurance*
• No annual free night
• No trip cancellation/delay insurance

Why we chose it: The Hilton Honors™ Card by American Express’ high rewards on hotel spending as well as everyday categories make it one of the best options for consumers looking for a no-annual-fee hotel card. (Terms apply.)

The no-annual-fee card_name offers 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on eligible purchases made with your card at Hilton portfolio hotels and resorts. It also offers 5x on everyday categories like U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations, which makes earning free nights and other perks a lot easier than many of its competitors.

Cardmembers get automatic Hilton Honors™ Silver Status with the card, which earns you 12x additional points per dollar. After spending $20,000 in a calendar year, the card also offers a bump up to Hilton Honors™ Gold Status, which earns 18x points per dollar, totaling 25x Hilton Honors bonus points per dollar when using the card at Hilton hotels.

The card also offers purchase protection, extended warranty and car rental loss and damage insurance*. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide flight or baggage insurance.

• Anniversary free night
• Low $99 annual fee
• TSA PreCheck(R), Global Entry or NEXUS statement credit every four years
• 5x points on travel, dining and gas
• No rental insurance

Why we chose it: The card_name offers some of the best rewards in its class, including an annual free night, a TSA PreCheck® statement credit every four years and 10x on IHG® purchases.

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card has some of the best rewards and perks available among cards with annual fees in the $100 range.

This includes 10x points for purchases made at IHG® properties, which include well-known hotels such as the Regent, Intercontinental® Hotels and the Holiday Inn®, as well as lower cost options like Hotel Indigo® and Candlewood Suites®. In addition, cardholders get 10x points for being a hotel member and 6x bonus points for being a Platinum member, a status that’s granted automatically upon card approval.

Beyond the 10x points on hotel purchases, the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card offers 5x points on travel, dining and gas, providing big opportunities to accumulate points toward stays, room upgrades and more.

Like other cards on this list, it also offers a free night every year and a statement credit for TSA PreCheck®, Global Entry or NEXUS of up to $100 every four years, a unique benefit in this class.

The card also has a pretty broad suite of insurance coverage, including purchase protection, baggage delay insurance, lost baggage reimbursement and trip cancellation/delay insurance. It lacks any sort of rental insurance, however, which could be a bummer if vacations include a roadtrip.

• $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: up to $25 per month for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit every four or four and half years
• Marriott International has properties in the most countries out of any hotel chain
• Airport lounge access with Priority Pass Select (enrollment is required)
• Very expensive $650 annual fee

Why we chose it: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card has a wide array of insurance coverage*, along with high-value statement credits and perks that could make up for its high annual fee.

If you have a long list of countries you want to visit, then this Marriott hotel card might be of interest. Marriott International the most countries out of any other hotel chain, with nearly 8,000 properties in 131 countries.

This card also provides a $100 fee credit every four years for Global Entry when you pay for the application with the card_name , which makes returning to the U.S. much smoother. Cardholders also have the option of receiving a fee credit every four and a half years for TSA PreCheck® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck® official enrollment provider). Keep in mind that, if approved for Global Entry, you’ll also be approved for TSA PreCheck® at no additional charge.

The card_name offers 6x points at Marriott properties and a $100 luxury property credit for qualifying charges at luxury hotels The Ritz Carlton or St. Regis. You can also earn 3x Marriott Bonvoy points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines, along with up to $300 in monthly $25 statement credits for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide.

There’s also a long list of insurance coverage for your travels, such as trip cancellation and delay insurance, car rental loss and damage insurance and baggage insurance plans*, among others.

After spending $60,000 in a calendar year on the card, cardholders get an Earned Choice Award (only one per year). This can be in the form of five suite nights awards, each of which can be redeemed for a room upgrade, a free night valued up to 85,000 points or $1000 when purchasing a Marriott Boutique Bed for your home.

As other cards on this list, the card_name offers an annual free night at participating Marriott Bonvoy® hotels.

• 4x points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. gas stations
• 4x points on wireless phone services from U.S. providers and on U.S. shipping services
• Free night award after each renewal month, plus additional free night after spending $60,000 in a calendar year
• $125 annual fee is higher than most competitors
• No flight cancellation/delay insurance

Why we chose it: The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offers the chance of two free nights each year and rewards business owners with 4x points on U.S. wireless phone and U.S. shipping services. (Terms apply).

The card_name offers 6x points at Marriott properties, as well as automatic Gold Elite Status.

In addition to points, Gold Status offers 25% more points than the regular member rate. Cardholders also get 15 Elite Night Credits each anniversary year, which helps reach the next step in the Marriott Bonvoy membership program (Note that you need 50 Elite Night Credits to reach Platinum Elite Status).

The card also offers 4x points for everyday spending and business-related transactions, such as worldwide restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. phone and shipping services.

When it comes to additional hotel perks, the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offers the usual annual free night reward, and a second free night after spending $60,000 in a calendar year. There’s also the Amex Business Card Rate, which is a 7% discount on eligible reservations as a benefit of being a Marriott Bonvoy® Member and a Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card Member when booked directly with Marriott. (Terms apply).

Insurance wise, purchase protection, extended warranty, baggage insurance plan and car rental loss and damage insurance* are included. Note, however, that it does not offer trip cancellation insurance.

• Receive 7,500 point bonus each account anniversary
• 6x points on gas
• 4x points on dining and groceries
• Automatic platinum level
• No insurance coverage

Why we chose it: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has one of the broadest range of budget options among hotel chains in the USA, and their Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card has enough rewards to take full advantage of it.

While most hotel chains have a very broad range of options, not all have budget hotels widely available nationwide. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts does. With multiple low-cost options such as Days Inn, Microtel Inn & Suites, Travelodge, Super 8 and more all over the country, cardholders will, more often than not, find a budget option for their travels.

The Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card will increase savings even further as it offers 6x points on Wyndham purchases, as well as on gas. In fact, gas expenses alone could earn over 7,500 points in a year, enough to redeem for a night at various Wyndham properties, which might make this card even more appealing for road trip enthusiasts. On top of that, it also offers 4x points on dining and grocery stores (excluding Walmart® and Target®), as well as 1x point on all other qualifying purchases.

There’s also a 7,500 point bonus each anniversary year, which might be enough for a free night since, as mentioned above, Wyndham has multiple properties with rooms that can go for as low as 7,500 points. If redeemed for a go free® nights cardholders get a 10% discount, leaving 750 points in your account to start saving for the next one. (Do note that rooms for 7,500 points are not available at all participating hotels, so make sure there are rooms at this price where you’re going or save up for a costlier stay.)

There’s also a Wyndham Rewards PLATINUM upgrade, which includes perks such as free Wi-Fi, early check-in (upon request), Avis® and Budget® complimentary rental upgrades, and more.

Unfortunately, the card does not offer insurance or protection beyond standard fraud liability protection, so make sure to have insurance when you get those free rental car upgrades.

All information about the Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card has been collected independently by Money.com.

• Annual 15,000 point bonus
• 8x on qualifying gas purchases
• 5x on marketing and select utilities
• No statement credits
• No travel-related insurance

Why we chose it: The Wyndham Rewards Earner® Business Card provides high rewards on both hotel purchases and business-related expenses for a modest annual fee, on top of a generous annual bonus that could be redeemed for up to two free nights.

This Wyndham card gives you 8x points at Wyndham, in addition to 12x points as a Diamond level member (automatic upon card approval) — this translates to 20x points per dollar when making eligible purchases at qualifying Wyndham properties.

The card is also roadtrip-friendly as it earns 8x points on gas, which is double what cards in its class offer, and still more than even the most premium cards. Making it even more convenient for cross country trips, Wyndham has the most properties in the U.S. of any hotel chain, and includes budget hotels such as Days Inn and Howard Johnson.

As far as business rewards go, you can earn 5x points on marketing and advertising, including most digital platforms like Google Ads and Facebooks, and on utilities, such as phones and electrical service.

Although it doesn’t offer an annual free night, the card does offer 15,000 bonus points each anniversary year. That can be redeemed for up to two nights, depending on the room cost (Wyndham rooms start at 7,500 points). Cardholders also get a 10% discount when redeeming points for go free® nights, a program that offers nights at a fixed points value, which could be 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 depending on the hotel.

Unfortunately, there are no insurance policies other than cell phone protection and the standard fraud liability protection, which is this card’s biggest drawback. If you plan on traveling by plane a lot, consider other of our picks for a more comprehensive insurance package.

All information about the Wyndham Rewards Earner® Business Card has been collected independently by Money.com.

Best Western Rewards® Premium Mastercard®

• 40,000x points when you spend $5,000 every 12 billing cycles
• High 10x points in Best Western purchases
• Early check-in and late check-out (based on availability)

This card offers up to 20x points when booking at a Best Western, 10x through the card itself and 10x for being a Best Western Rewards® member (the card also gives automatic Platinum status). In addition to these high rewards, cardholders get 40,000 points after spending $5,000 with the card every 12 billing cycles, a very low spending requirement compared to others. However, the rewards aren’t high enough to make up for its $89 annual fee.

All information about the Best Western Rewards® Premium Mastercard® has been collected independently by Money.com.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

• One free night annually
• $95 annual fee is low compared to competitors
• 3x points on groceries, dining and gas up to $6,000 combined
• Spending cap on rewards

This Marriott card by Chase is a great option if you value the Marriott brand, which has the largest hotel network in the world. It offers 6x points at the Marriott, which can become 17x points thanks to member rewards and the automatic Silver Elite Status.

All information about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card has been collected independently by Money.com.

World of Hyatt Credit Card

• Large suite of insurance coverage
• Discoverist status automatic upgrade
• Low reward rate
• $95 annual fee is too much for what it offers

The World of Hyatt Credit Card by Chase shines due to its coverage, which includes baggage delay insurance, lost baggage reimbursement, trip cancellation/delay insurance, purchase protection and rental collision waiver. While this is a large plus, its rewards are lackluster, especially given the card’s $95 annual fee.

All information about the World of Hyatt Credit Card by Chase has been collected independently by Money.com.

Best Hotel Credit Cards Guide

How do hotel credit cards work, how to choose the best hotel credit card, how to maximize the value of your hotel credit card, how to redeem your hotel credit card rewards, latest news on hotel credit cards.

A hotel credit card is a co-branded card issued by a hotel line and a financial institution such as Chase Bank or American Express®. These cards usually provide high reward rates for booking stays, buying tickets for shows or merchandise at all the hotels under the brand’s umbrella. These rewards are in addition to the ones you’ll get as a loyalty member, as these cards will automatically grant you member status with the brand.

Overall, hotel credit cards work just like regular credit cards, meaning you’ll have a credit line for an established amount that you can use, and you have to make at least a minimum payment each billing cycle.

Reward structures are similar to regular credit cards too, you earn a certain amount of points, statement credits or other miscellaneous benefits depending on how much you spend and where.

Here are some of the difference on how rewards work:

• Hotel credit cards offer more points than average credit cards do when you make eligible purchases at participating hotels, including at restaurants within hotel premises, gift shops and more.
• Points are added to the ones you get as an elite status member of the hotel brand, a status that also comes automatically with card enrollment. This increases the points earned significantly.
• Unfortunately, points tend to be limited to the particular brand instead of the issuer’s. For example, points earned through the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, which is issued by Chase, can’t be used in the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal.
• Points have drastically more value when redeemed for hotel purchases such as hotel stays or room upgrades when compared to statement credits or gift cards, for example.

Hotel benefits

Some offer other such as a free night every year, free breakfast, special discounts, priority booking, early check-in and much more depending on the hotel and the type of card. These, of course, will depend largely on the type of annual fee the card charges.

There are roughly four tiers of annual fees when it comes to cards. These are, typically, no annual fee cards, budget or low cost ($50-$99), mid-range ($150-$300) and luxury or premium ($350+).

Pros and cons of hotel credit cards

Hotel credit cards are packed with perks, but whether a card is worth it for you will depend on many factors. Here are some pros and cons to consider:

• Rewards at the hotel are very high and are added to rewards earned as a member
• Many cards offer at least one free night annually
• Hotel-related perks such as early check-in, free breakfast and room discounts
• Usually offer travel benefits like rewards for buying tickets, travel-related insurance and more
• Many of the major hotel brands have large networks of hotels for different budgets and locations
• High reward rates are typically limited to purchases within the hotel brand, not everyday spending
• Flight-related perks aren't as abundant as with more general travel cards
• Points tend to be much less valuable when redeemed outside of the hotel

Hotel credit cards vs. travel credit cards

While travel credit cards could encompass hotel, airline and general travel-focused cards, travel cards — such as the ​​Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card — usually reward you for a variety of travel-related expenses, for example, airline tickets and rentals, such as the. Hotel credit cards, on the other hand, are specifically designed to give you higher rewards and specific perks when you make purchases within their hotel line.

Travel cards

• Usually offer much higher rewards for travel purchases, including airfare and rental cars
• Can offer high rewards in hotels regardless of brand
• More versatility and options when transferring reward points
• Offer a wider variety of insurance policies, such as rental insurance and baggage protection
• Tend to have more bonus categories than branded hotel cards

Hotel cards

• Points earned at hotels surpass those of travel cards, which, at the most, grant 10x points, while hotel cards offer up to 14x, on top of points acquired through membership, totaling well past 20x points per dollar
• Have hotel-specific perks such as free stays, free Wi-Fi and free breakfast
• Bumps up your member status at the hotel chain, which in turn increases the amount of perks
• Points can be worth a lot more during specific times of the year or in specific hotels within the brand, depending on time, location and any deals available

Not all hotels are made equal, and neither are their credit cards or membership rewards programs. When choosing a hotel credit card, it’s important to take into account not just the card itself, but the hotels it works with.

1. Compare credit card basics

As with any other credit card, you should compare features like the annual fee, APR, the issuer and a baseline of the rewards offered.

As mentioned above, there are different tiers, according to the annual fee. Once you’ve decided how much you’re willing to pay, you can start to compare rewards, benefits, insurance and the hotel network. Once you’re comparing within each category, you’ll more easily find standouts that deliver far more benefits than their direct competitors.

2. Think about how often you travel

If you travel once or twice a year to visit family, you might enjoy the occasional free night, but a co-branded hotel card won’t be the best option for you. Instead, you can take a look at our best travel credit cards . With these cards, there are more travel rewards and benefits like higher points for ticket purchases, flight cancellation insurance and the such, along with higher rewards on everyday purchases.

However, if you travel often for work or you vacation a few times a year, you’ll probably really take advantage of all the benefits that come with a hotel credit card.

As you accrue points, you’ll go up in member status, get more free nights, and enjoy amenities like free Wi-Fi, discounts and priority booking. This could make your trips more comfortable and a lot cheaper.

3. Analyze rewards and perks

Once you have a list of the cards you’re strongly considering, you can start comparing their rewards. Remember, however, that points systems can vary greatly due to issuer, hotel brand and the actual hotel you try to redeem them at.

With this in mind, look at the versatility each hotel brand has. If their network is large enough and their affiliates cover a wider spectrum of budgets and locations, you can at least get an idea of how many options you’ll have when redeeming.

Consider the everyday spending categories the card rewards you for as well. If your goal is to amass enough points to get free nights or large discounts, you may benefit from high reward rates in categories such as gas, dining and grocery shopping. While some cards could look a lot more tempting than others due to that reward rate at the hotels, others could actually deliver more value through regular spending throughout the year.

4. Consider which hotel brand appeals to you the most

One of the main issues with hotel credit cards is that they’re made for a specific hotel chain. While they can be used for any type of purchase (including rival hotels), the highest reward rates and perks are limited to that brand.

The good news is that hotel chains actually have a lot of different hotels under their name, and some can range from very low cost rooms to fine hotels and luxurious villas in any part of the world. All the big names have thousands of properties across the globe, but all are different, so compare the range of options in terms of prices, locations and variety of properties and amenities. Also, see if you recognize any that you particularly enjoy, or that you already use frequently due to your traveling circumstances.

It’s also a good idea to look at the different perks each brand offers for its elite members. Most hotel credit cards grant a certain level of membership, but the benefits that come with it depend on the hotel’s membership program. Look into the details, whether the program offers free nights, free Wi-Fi, room upgrades or more. The program itself could be a deciding factor in your credit card choice.

Use for everyday expenses

One of the best and easiest ways to accrue points is to use your credit card regularly, not just at the hotel. In some cases, cards earn a lot of points for everyday purchases like groceries, gas and utilities. Also, some cards give large bonuses or other perks when a certain spending threshold is reached.

Use your annual free night

This doesn’t necessarily add to your points, but if the card offers a free night per year (and most do), make sure to not let it go to waste. If you don’t get the chance to travel or vacation, using this perk at the end of the year to relax or take a quick trip somewhere ensures that you truly take advantage of your benefits.

Look for transfer possibilities

While using your card within the hotel’s loyalty program is likely the best option, there are some cases in which transferring to a partner can increase the value of your points. Read the fine print and look for transfer partners in the card’s network to see if there’s a chance to get more for your points whether through converting them into miles or to a credit card issuer’s points system such as Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Investigate which hotels waive resort fees

Resort fees can increase the standard room prices, sometimes significantly so. Some hotel brands waive these fees if you pay with points. Before choosing a card, look for specific hotels within the brand’s umbrella that do this.

Research prices and overall demand in different seasons

Hotel pricing changes constantly, and the same is true for the amount of points needed to get free nights or room upgrades. Stay on top of these changes to at least have an idea of when and where you can make the most out of your points.

How much is a hotel point worth?

Hotel points vary significantly depending on the card issuer and hotel brand, as well as how, when and where you redeem them.

While you can redeem points for a variety of things, such as gift cards, room upgrades or even retail deals through a hotel’s loyalty program, one of the most common and sought-after perks are free or discounted nights.

Here’s a table showing the approximate range of points needed for a free night in some of the most well-known hotel companies in the world.

Keep in mind, however, that the amount of points needed changes depending on the specific hotel chosen, the style of room, its location and when the points are redeemed as a room’s price can change drastically with the seasons.

Not all chains will have the lowest-cost rooms in the US (or any given country, for that matter) or at the time of booking. As mentioned above, it’s best to research each hotel chain and see what budgets they cover and where before making a final decision.

In most cases, points are automatically transferred from your credit card program to the hotel’s program after each billing cycle, although in some it might take up to 12 weeks for the transfer.

In order to redeem the points, you need to log into your hotel’s loyalty program and look for redemption options, such as hotel rooms, upgrades, gift cards or transfer points to partners such as airlines or even other hotel chains. You can also use your points to get higher membership status.

• The Biden administration is moving to ban and remove hidden fees in a wide array of industries. Read the details: Biden Moves to Ban ‘Junk Fees’ Charged by Banks, Hotels, Ticket Sellers and More
• Travel insurance is always a good choice, but it can add to the already high expense involved in traveling. Read our guide and learn How to Find Cheap Travel Insurance for Your Next Trip .
• Traveling with someone can raise the bill quite a bit. However, there’s an offer by Southwest Airlines credit cards that can help with that: This New Credit Card Offer Comes With a Very Rare (and Valuable) Travel Bonus
• If your spreadsheets aren’t quite cutting it and you’re having trouble budgeting and finding good deals on travel, This New Vacation Calculator Can Help You Choose (and Pay for) Your Next Trip

Best Hotel Credit Cards FAQs

What hotels have their own credit card, why is it important to have a hotel credit card, which card is best for hotel rewards, what rewards and perks can you expect with a hotel credit card, can you use a hotel credit card for everyday purchases, are there any fees associated with using a hotel credit card, how we chose the best hotel credit cards.

Finding the best hotel credit cards meant looking not just into the cards themselves, but into the different hotel chains that co-branded them, among other factors listed below:

Points and overall rewards

We compared the amount of points each card gave for eligible purchases at each hotel chain as well as points awarded for everyday spending categories such as dining or gas, which could make accumulating points much easier.

Hotel-specific perks

Points aren’t the only way to earn with hotel cards. We looked at the perks each card gives you within the hotel or in the process of booking, such as annual free nights, status upgrades, complimentary room upgrades and more. We also compared the perks that each separate hotel offers with the member status the card provides.

When traveling, insurance is a big deal. Hotel cards should have a good amount of coverage, such as trip cancellation and delay insurance, baggage insurance and rental insurance. There’s also other coverages for everyday spending such as extended warranty and purchase protection. We took these insurance policies into account when making our selections.

Welcome offers

Although welcome bonuses and intro offers in general change consistently, and we don’t include them in reviews, we looked at them to get an idea of what and how much each card regularly offers. Customers should be able to start enjoying their new card as soon as possible.

Summary of Money’s Best Hotel Credit Cards of 2024

To see rates and fees for the card_name , please visit this link . Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Hilton Honors American Express Card , please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, please visit this link . Terms apply.

* Insurance disclosures for American Express Cards on this page:

Trip Delay Insurance: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Global Assist Hotline: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

Extended Warranty, Purchase Protection, Baggage Insurance Plan: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

Car Rental Loss & Damage Insurance: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

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