Get Instant Hotel Status With These 7 Travel Credit Cards

Having status with a hotel brand can impact every aspect of your stay, right from the beginning. For example, many hotels have dedicated check-in lines for elite members -- a perk that has saved me time on multiple occasions checking into a busy hotel.

More importantly, though, status can also save you money. From room upgrades to free breakfast, hotel status could easily be worth $25 or more on every hotel stay. (And when I say "or more" here, I mean it; I've gotten $250 worth of status perks from a single hotel stay before.)

While you'd normally have to stay with a hotel brand a few dozen times a year to get decent status the old fashioned way, there's a potential shortcut: travel rewards cards. You can find a ton of great cards that offer automatic elite status on top of their other benefits.

The best status you can get with a card

Most hotel brands have four or five tiers of elite status. Some of them make it easy to get high-tier status with a credit card, others are much stingier about it. These are the cards that offer the highest status you can get with a hotel credit card for each brand.

1. Amex Hilton Honors Aspire: Diamond status

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (see rates and fees) conveys Diamond status, which is Hilton's highest elite tier. Diamond members get access to just about everything, from room upgrades to food and beverage credits, as well as access to the executive lounges at properties that offer them. Terms apply; enrollment may be required.

2. Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card: Diamond status

Unlike other programs, the best card for status with Wyndham isn't a personal card, it's the business card: the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card. With it, you get complimentary Diamond status, Wyndham's top elite status tier. The benefits include things like suite upgrades and a welcome amenity, but perhaps the most interesting is the ability to status match with the casino program, Caesars Rewards.

3. Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant: Platinum Elite status

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (see rates and fees) offers cardholders complimentary Platinum Elite status. While this is technically mid-tier for Marriott's Bonvoy program, this is actually comparable to Hilton's top tier. For instance, Platinum Elite members get room upgrades, a food credit, and lounge access (where available). Terms apply; enrollment may be required.

Apply now for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.

4. IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card: Platinum Elite status

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card comes with complimentary Platinum Elite status with IHG's One Rewards program. It's the second-highest tier, but while that offers perks like room upgrades and a "welcome amenity," you're still a tier short of free breakfast.

5. Choice Privileges Select Card: Platinum status

Cardholders with a Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® get complimentary Platinum status, the second-highest status offered by Choice Hotels's Privileges program. While this sounds good, the program itself is a little thin on perks. The most notable Platinum benefits are a points bonus and early/late check in/out.

6. World of Hyatt Card: Discoverist status

With the The World of Hyatt Credit Card, cardholders earn complimentary Discoverist status, which is just one level above the base Member status. While not a high elite tier, you do still get a few potentially useful perks, including late checkout (when available), premium internet, and a free bottled water.

Marriott and Hilton status in one card

Having a dedicated hotel credit card for your favorite brand (or two) makes sense. But what if there were an easier way to get status with multiple brands with one card?

7. Amex Platinum Card

The Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates and fees) offers status with not just one hotel brand, but two: Marriott and Hilton. Specifically, cardholders get complimentary Gold Elite status (tier two out of five) with Marriott, and Gold status (tier three out of four) with Hilton. Terms apply; enrollment may be required.

Apply now for The Platinum Card® from American Express.

On top of status with two popular hotel brands, you'll get a lot of other valuable travel benefits from this card. My personal favorite is the airport lounge access, a perk that has personally saved me about $200 this year alone. Terms apply; enrollment may be required.

Weigh the fees and other perks

While I think I've really hammered home the potential perks of status, don't let status alone drive you to get one of these cards. For one thing, they all have annual fees -- some of them quite high. So make sure you can get enough value from the card's other perks to make that fee worth paying.

One of the most common ways you can make a hotel card pay for itself is through free night certificates. Most of the cards here come with some sort of annual free night award that, when used wisely, could be worth the cost of the card or more.

Another perk you'll see on the most expensive cards are statement credits for various things, such as credit towards hotel purchases or dining expenses. If you can use these credits organically, they're a great way to recoup some of a big fee. But if you're not already spending on these things, don't overvalue the credits. Crunch the numbers, be realistic, and you could wind up with a really great card that also happens to come with status.