Visa Infinite Hotels have become a new option for more US-based travelers than ever. Here’s a look at how you can use this collection to your benefit.
The Visa Infinite Hotels program (or in its full name: the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotels Collection) is Visa’s exclusive collection of hotels reserved for Visa Infinite cardholders only.
2016 marked the beginning of the Chase Sapphire Reserve and updated Ritz-Carlton Rewards credit cards that both offer Visa Infinite benefits.
Unlike Visa Signature Hotels, US-based users must verify their cardholder status before proceeding to access the list of available hotels. (Note: you can actually search and find other country-specific Visa Infinite sites that do not require verification, like Canada) Of course, you’ll want to head back to the US-based site when booking with a US card.
Here’s what you get
Visa Infinite Hotels build upon the main seven benefits of the Visa Signature Hotels Collection with an eighth exclusive benefit that could bring at least double the value to travelers.
To begin, the 7 Visa Signature Hotels benefits are already included in booking Visa Infinite Hotels:
- Best available rate guarantee
- Automatic room upgrade upon arrival, when available
- Complimentary in-room WiFi, when available
- Complimentary continental breakfast daily
- $25 USD food or beverage credit
- VIP Guest status
- 3PM check-out upon request, when available
Building on these, the Visa Infinite 8th benefit includes one of the following:
- An additional $75 Food & Beverage credit, on top of the existing $25 Food & Beverage credit
- A $100 spa credit
- A $100 golf credit
- A room rate credit of $100
(All credits are USD)
Visa notes that these benefits are available at more than 200 properties, but are not inclusive, and may vary by the property.
Here’s what the main search page looks like once you login with your account number.
The Visa Infinite Hotels 8th benefit is also designed to be as unique as each of the locations available. Visa says it “elevates the luxury experience.” Bottom line here: Don’t expect to see the same benefit at different properties.
Limitations
Just as access is limited to Visa Infinite Hotels, the additional benefits have their own limitations. Here’s how Visa puts it:
Enjoy an additional complimentary benefit available at a special collection of properties in the Visa Luxury Hotel Collection. Some properties may require a minimum night stay or require booking certain room categories. Please consult the terms and conditions for each property.
Hotel Rewards Earning
An additional benefit not officially stated in Visa’s list is the ability to earn rewards with each property’s own hotel program.
So if I’m staying at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort for a week, I can earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points as usual with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Then I can earn Hyatt points as well, all while reaping the Visa-exclusive benefits by booking through the Infinite Collection.
I was able to “double-dip” like this for a stay in New York through a Visa Signature Hotels booking. Thanks to a promo from Hilton, I was able to earn 15,000+ Hilton Honors points for just two nights. That’s in addition to the Ultimate Rewards earned with my payment.
This is one of the main differences between Visa’s Luxury Hotel Collection and the offerings of American Express (American Express Travel & AMEX Fine Hotels and Resorts).
Earning hotel-specific points in addition to Membership Rewards points is not available when booking with American Express.
Even though AMEX changed its rules for Platinum Card members to be able to earn 5 MR points for hotel bookings made through AMEX Travel, hotel-specific points remain unavailable. AMEX also notes that bookings with Fine Hotels and Resorts are not eligible for 5x MR points with the Platinum Card.
Visa Infinite Hotels
The majority of Visa Infinite Hotels are actually outside the U.S. So with approximately 200 properties available with these benefits around the world, you may need to be a bit more selective with your choices.
An interesting note is that Visa says the collection is “powered by” the Kiwi Collection. This is another luxury hotel collection featuring its own set of perks. Kiwi Collection hotels also accept Visa benefits at its properties, but travelers can only choose one set of perks when booking.
There are 50 Infinite U.S. locations in Visa’s collection, in Arizona (2), California (14), Colorado (3), Washington D.C. (1), Florida (10), Hawaii (3) Illinois (2), Louisiana (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (2), New York (5), Oregon (1), Rhode Island (1), Texas (2), Utah (1), and Wyoming (1).
Have you stayed at any Visa Infinite Hotels? Share your experience in the comments.
Featured image courtesy of Viceroy Bali Hotel via Visa.
