Advertiser disclosure: The Miles Genie has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. The Miles Genie and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Editorial disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses, and recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
For more information about our trip to Italy, check out these links!
- How we booked our flights to Italy entirely on points and miles
- How we booked our hotels in Italy entirely on points and miles
- Getting around Italy/transportation logistics
- Packing everything in a carry on
- How to stay connected while traveling without paying ridiculous data roaming charges
- Venice
- 21 hotels in Venice that you can book with points
- Recommendations and photos from our time in Venice
- Florence/Tuscany
- Amalfi Coast/Positano/Capri
- Rome
Venice hotels on points
I’ll list properties in Venice that you can book with Chase Ultimate Rewards points, World of Hyatt points, Marriott Bonvoy Points, or Hilton Honors points.
The quickest way to earn points for a free hotel stay is to earn a welcome bonus by opening a credit card.
Some hotel co-branded cards have great benefits, but if you haven’t already opened a Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card, I suggest opening one before opening any other cards.
Earn 60,000 points (worth at least $750) when you open a card_name
Current offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
card_name is a great card for anyone, but especially beginners. The welcome bonus is worth at least $750 when you redeem through Chase’s redemption portal, but the points can be even more valuable when you transfer to partners.
This is a great card to use for everyday spending since I value Ultimate Rewards higher than hotel points. The annual fee is $95.
Check out our list of 36 redemption ideas!
As of August 16, bonus categories have been added and/or improved!
- Earn 5 points per dollar on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Earn 2 points per dollar on other travel purchases
- Instead of the old earn rate of 2, you can now earn 3 points per dollar on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout)
- 3 points per dollar on online grocery purchases (this excludes Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3 points per dollar on select streaming services
- Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
Also, receive credit of up to $50 annually on hotel stays purchased through Ultimate Rewards. New cardmembers will receive this credit immediately and existing cardmembers will start earning after the next anniversary.
Each anniversary, you’ll receive bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year. This excludes any sign up bonus points, so it’s only on points earned from spending.
The annual fee is $95, but the welcome offer alone is worth a lot more than that.
Option #1: Use the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal to book Venice hotels
Chase Ultimate Rewards can be redeemed for travel two different ways. First, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards to airline and hotel partners. The other option is to book travel on the Chase Ultimate Rewards website and essentially use your points as cash. Click here for more information about when I would and would not use each option.
Transferring points to airline and hotel partners is usually my preferred way of using UR, but if there are no good options with their transfer partners, you can redeem your points to book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal.
The way this works is that you use your points as cash to book any hotel available in the portal. While booking through the portal is not the highest redemption value for your points, it definitely gives you more options than if you only have points for a hotel program such as Hilton or Marriott.
As I stated in my post about our hotels in Italy, I ended up using the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal to book all of our hotels in Italy.
- Cost: 1 point per 1.5 cents of the price listed on the Ultimate Rewards booking portal if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve. For Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Business Preferred cardholders, it’s 1 point per 1.25 cents.
- For example, if a room is $150, it will require 10,000 UR points if you have the CSR. With the CSP or CIBP, a $150 room would require 12,000 points.
Click here for more information about using Chase’s booking portal vs. transferring Ultimate Rewards to partners.
Other options for Venice hotels on points:
If you have points with Hyatt, Marriott, or Hilton, or if you have points that can transfer to any of these programs, you may want to consider these options.
World of Hyatt in Venice
You can redeem World of Hyatt points at 5 properties in Venice.
How to earn World of Hyatt points
- World of Hyatt credit card welcome bonus
- WOH credit card spend
- Paid stays at Hyatt properties
- Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
- Don’t forget about the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping portal since UR transfer to Hyatt!
There is a Hyatt co-branded credit card, and this card is almost always on the list of our favorite offers, but I suggest opening a Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card first.
Transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points are the currency earned from certain Chase cards:
I suggest opening one of these first for 2 main reasons: First of all, the welcome offers are better than that of the World of Hyatt card. Also, Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to 11 airline programs or 3 hotel programs, so you have more redemption options. Hyatt is a transfer partner, so you have the option to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt.
With the World of Hyatt credit card, you’ll only accumulate World of Hyatt points and you are limited to redemptions with Hyatt.
Once you have a transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card, the World of Hyatt card would be a great one to open. We keep this card open year after year for the benefits.
World of Hyatt credit card from Chase
The World of Hyatt credit card is the only Hyatt-co-branded credit card and Chase is the issuer.
Welcome bonus: The welcome offer on the World of Hyatt credit card from Chase is 30,000 Hyatt points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, plus 2 bonus points per dollar on purchases that normally earn up to 1 point per dollar for the first 6 month on up to $15,000.
After spending $3,000 in 3 months, you earn 25,000 Hyatt points. After spending $6,000 total in 6 months, you earn an additional 25,000 points. 50,000 World of Hyatt points is enough for 2 nights at a category 6 property.
Earn rate: The earn rate is 4 World of Hyatt points per dollar at Hyatt, 2 points per dollar at restaurants, 2 points per dollar on airfare purchased directly from airlines, 2 points per dollar on local transit, and 2 points per dollar on gym memberships.
Other benefits: There is a great benefit that may make this card worth keeping year after year. At your first cardmember anniversary and each anniversary thereafter, you will receive an annual free night certificate which is good for any Hyatt property that is category 1-4.
This card also comes with Discoverist status, which is mid-tier at best, but Discoverist status will get you free premium internet and late checkout. In our experience, Hyatt is generous with room upgrades, even for lower status!
The annual fee is $95, but there are so many properties for which you can use the annual free night with rates significantly higher than $95. This is a 5/24 card, so it’s a card you will want to open before opening cards from other banks. Click here for the top cards for beginners.
Hyatt’s award chart is favorable to transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards
As you’ll see with Marriott, some programs have inflated award charts. That may result in a low cents per point value when transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points. I try to save my Ultimate Rewards points for redemptions that result in a value of 2 or more cents per point. In order for me to transfer Chase UR to Hyatt to book an award stay, I want to make sure the value of using points is going to be somewhere around 2 cents per point.
Getting 2 cpp value is often possible with Hyatt’s redemption chart.
In March, Hyatt will be rolling out off-peak/standard/peak pricing. This is good and bad. The good news is that standard pricing remains the same and off peak is lower. The bad news is that if your plans involve peak dates, more points are required. Even at peak pricing, Hyatt points still have the potential for great value.
Redeem World of Hyatt points at 5 properties in Venice
The prices in this list are for random dates in 2020. Depending on your travel dates, prices could go up or down.
Remember, these rates are before taxes and fees, which can significantly increase your paid total. When you redeem Hyatt points for a free stay, you do not have to pay taxes or resort fees.
I’m going to go ahead and list off-peak/standard/peak pricing, but any rooms booked prior to March 2020 will be at the standard rate.
1. Hyatt Centric Murano Venice (Hyatt category 3)
- 9,000/12,000/15,000 World of Hyatt points per night
- $181 per night
2. Palazzo Sant’Angelo sul Canal Grande (Hyatt category 7)
- 25,000/30,000/35,000 World of Hyatt points per night
- $591 per night
3. Hotel Ai Reali (Hyatt category 7)
- 25,000/30,000/35,000 World of Hyatt points per night
- $1,000 per night
4. Centurion Palace (Hyatt category 8)
- 35,000/40,000/45,000 World of Hyatt points per night
- $452 per night
5. Ca’ Sagredo Hotel (Hyatt category 7)
- 25,000/30,000/35,000 World of Hyatt points per night
- $334 per night
Marriott Bonvoy options in Venice:
How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points:
- Welcome bonuses and everyday spending with Marriott co-branded credit cards from American Express and Chase
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless from Chase
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold from Chase
- Marriott Bonvoy Business card from American Express
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express card
- If you have a Chase Sapphire credit card that earns transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1 ratio. I do not recommend this, though and I’ll explain why in a moment.
- American Express Membership Rewards points also transfer to Marriott, but again, it’s not a good value.
- Paid hotel stays at Marriott properties.
Marriott Bonvoy cards issued by Chase are 5/24 cards. If you’re a beginner, it is very important to plan your strategy around Chase’s 5/24 rule. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, stop reading now and read this post first.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® credit card from Chase
Although I don’t value Marriott Bonvoy points as much as Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Amex Membership Rewards points, this card’s welcome bonus and benefits consistently land the card on our list of top offers
Current offer: Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
The annual fee is $95. This card is worth keeping year after year because it comes with a free night worth up to 35,000 points starting at your first anniversary of card membership.
Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. After that, the following earn rates apply:
With this card, you earn 6 points per dollar at Marriott properties (for a total of up to 17 points per dollar, depending on your elite status), and 2 points per dollar on everything else. The earn rate on this card seems high, but remember, Marriott points aren’t as valuable as other points.
This card also comes with Marriott silver status.
Receive 15 elite qualifying nights annually. Also, for every $5,000 you spend, earn 1 Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status.
You can redeem Marriott points for free nights at Marriott properties across the world. Also, you can transfer points to many airlines at a 3:1 ratio (with a 15,000 point bonus for every 60,000 transferred).
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points (or Amex points) to Marriott, but it’s usually not a good value
If you have a Chase Sapphire credit card that earns transferable Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. I think Ultimate Rewards are more valuable that Marriott points though.
Marriott’s award chart is inflated compared to some other programs like Hyatt.
A standard night at Marriott’s highest category is 85,000 Marriott points. That’s more than double the amount of one night at Hyatt’s highest category properties. So if you have 85,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you could book 1 night at a category 8 Marriott property or 2 nights at a category 8 Hyatt property. Of course, this is subject to availability, but it just shows that Hyatt points generally go further.
If you want to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book Marriott hotels, you are probably better off using the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal. Click here for more information about using Ultimate Rewards points to book Marriott properties.
With Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you’re probably better off using the redemption portal. Click here for more info about using Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book Marriott properties.
There are 12 Marriott Bonvoy properties in Venice
The prices in this list are for random dates in 2020. Depending on your travel dates, prices could go up or down.
On March 4, 2020, Marriott Bonvoy will be making some category changes. I’ll make a note of any properties slated for a category move. You can see the full list of properties subject to change here.
1. Palazzina, Venice, a Member of Design Hotels™ (Marriott Category 8):
- Cost: 70,000/85,000/100,000 points per night
- Value: 342 Euros per night
2. AC Hotel Venezia (Marriott Category 5)
- Cost: 30,000/35,000/40,000 Marriott points per night
- Value: 250 Euros per night
New category after March 4, 2020: 6
3. Grand Hotel Dei Dogi, The Dedica Anthology, Autograph Collection (Marriott Category 6)
- Cost: 40,000/50,000/60,000 Marriott points per night
- Value: 232 Euros per night
New category after March 4, 2020: 7
4. The Gritti Palace (Marriott Category 8)
- Cost: 70,000/85,000/100,000 points per night
- Value: 936 Euros per night
5. The St. Regis Venice (Marriott Category 8)
- Cost: 70,000/85,000/100,000 points per night
- Value: 838 Euros per night
6. Hotel Danieli (Marriott Category 8)
- Cost: 70,000/85,000/100,000 points per night
- Value:606 Euros per night
7. JW Marriott Venice Resort and Spa (Marriott Category 6)
- Cost: 40,000/50,000/60,000 Marriott points per night
- Rate: 418 Euros per night
New category after March 4, 2020: 7
8. Courtyard Venice Airport (Marriott Category 5)
- Cost: 30,000/35,000/40,000 Marriott points per night
- Rate: 153 Euros per night (~$280 per night)
9. Four Points by Sheraton Venice Mestre (Marriott Category 3)
- Cost: 15,000/17,500/20,000 Marriott points per night
- Value: 114 Euros per night
10. Four Points by Sheraton Padova (Marriott Category 3)
- Cost: 15,000/17,500/20,000 Marriott points per night
- Value: 70 Euros per night
New category after March 4, 2020: 2
11. AC Hotel Padova (Marriott Category 2)
- Cost: 10,000/12,500/15,000 Marriott points per night
- Value: 68 Euros
12. AC Hotel Vicenza (Marriott Category 1)
- Cost: 5,000/7,500/10,000 Marriott points per night
- Value: 62 Euros per night
New category after March 4, 2020: 2
Hilton Honors in Venice
Hilton points are very easy to earn, but like Marriott, redemption prices are inflated. 2 cents per point probably isn’t going to happen.
How to earn Hilton points:
- welcome bonuses from Hilton co-branded credit cards from American Express
- everyday spending on Hilton co-branded credit cards from American Express.
- Hilton Honors points can be transferred from American Express Membership Rewards at a ratio of 1,000 MR: 2,000 Hilton Honors points
- Shopping through Hilton’s shopping portal.
- And of course, paid stays at Hilton properties will earn Hilton Honors points
If you do not collect Hilton points, Amex Membership Rewards is a transfer option, but even with a 1:2 ratio, it’s usually not a great value.
There are 3 Hilton Honors Marriott properties in Venice
Hilton no longer publishes an award chart. In fact, they did away with categories altogether. Now, there are ranges for the amount of points a property may require for a free stay. Different properties may have different rates depending on what they consider their peak dates.
This is frustrating as it makes it difficult to plan your earning strategies if you are looking to stay at a Hilton property. The good news is that you can check Hilton’s website to find out what the maximum cost would be for a standard room.
1. Hilton Molino Stucky Venice (Hilton)
- Cost: 70,000 Hilton Honors points per night max
- Value: 332 Euros per night
2. Hilton Garden Inn Venice Mestre
(Hilton)
- Cost: 40,000 Hilton Honors points per night max
- Value: 83 Euros per night
3. DoubleTree by Hilton Venice – North
(Hilton)
- Cost: 30,000 Hilton Honors points per night max
- Value: 83 Euros per night
Final Thoughts
From budget hotels to luxury hotels, there are several options for hotels in Venice.
World of Hyatt points or Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred to World of Hyatt are probably going to be the most valuable ways to book free nights in Venice.
Chase Ultimate Rewards gives you lots of hotel options. You can redeem via the redemption portal or you can transfer to a hotel program. The best way to book just depends on paid rates and availability.
There are also some good options for Venice hotels if you already have Marriott or Hilton points. In most cases, I would not transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards or Amex Membership Rewards to Marriott, though. Also, I would not transfer Amex MR to Hilton.
You can find 25 great ways to redeem the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s welcome bonus here. You’ll see Hyatt stays plus some redemptions worth well over $1,000.
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