Plenty of credit cards offer hotel statement credits to cardmembers as a benefit. The Delta Air Lines and American Express family of cards is no different, with one of the more underrated credits offered on most of the Delta cards being the annual Delta Stays credit.

While this is a valuable benefit that can help offset some of the annual fees the cards charge, many cardmembers forget to use it before it expires at the end of the year.

So, let’s dive into how to use — and maximize — the Delta Stays credit.

What is the Delta Stays credit?

The Delta Stays credit is an annual statement credit on select Delta Amex cards for prepaid hotels or vacation rentals booked through Delta’s hotel platform, powered by Expedia. It offers $100 to $250 back each calendar year, depending on which card you have.

Which cards offer the Delta Stays credit?

Six of the seven Delta cards receive the credit; the only one that doesn’t offer the credit is the entry-level Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card. Here are the annual amounts broken down by card:

Related: Current welcome offers on Delta Amex cards

Key terms

Here are some important things to note when using the credit:

• Only prepaid stays are eligible.
• The amount of the credit is per calendar year.
• The credit does not have to be used all at once. It can be used on multiple stays until you reach the full value.
• There is no minimum night requirement for this credit, which is an advantage considering some other credit cards’ hotel statement credits require you to book at least two nights.
• If your stay costs more than the credit value, it will effectively be applied as a discount.
• If you have multiple Delta cards, you will receive multiple credits. However, the credits cannot be stacked on the same reservation.
• You’ll earn 2 or 3 SkyMiles per dollar spent (depending on which card you have), as well as Medallion Qualification Dollars.

If you have hotel elite status, keep in mind that you typically won’t receive any of those benefits or earn loyalty points when booking through an online travel agency like Delta Stays. So, if you stay at a hotel chain where you hold status, be prepared for your benefits to not be honored.

My recommendation is to use hotel credits like these at the hotel chains you don’t have any status with or at boutique hotels not part of a loyalty program.

Related: Benefits galore: Why the Delta Reserve Amex is my favorite cobranded credit card

How to use the Delta Stays credit

Booking with this credit is simple and can be done in just a few easy steps:

• First, go to the Delta Stays website and select the “Stays” (for hotels) or “Vacation Rentals” tab.
• Then, input your destination, dates, and number of nights and travelers.
• Next, select the property you want to stay at.
• At checkout, select a prepaid rate to qualify for the credit. Many prepaid rates are fully refundable, giving you flexibility if your plans change — but avoid options that say “Reserve now, pay at hotel” since they aren’t prepaid.
• Finally, pay with your Delta credit card.

After you book and pay for a hotel through Delta Stays, the terms and conditions state that the credit can take up to 90 days to post to your account. However, the credit usually posts much quicker than that, typically within four days.

Related: Maximize hotel free night certificates by planning your credit card applications

How the TPG staff has maximized the credit

This credit is an easy way to reduce travel costs, and when used strategically, it can even cover an entire night’s stay. Here’s how a few of us at TPG have put this perk to work.

Making early flights easier

Nick Ewen, TPG’s senior editorial director, used his credit after a weeklong getaway to Prince Edward Island. With a 9 a.m. departure from the airport in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the next day, he stayed at a hotel just steps from the terminal. Instead of dealing with a predawn drive, he simply walked from his room to the airport — about 50 steps away.

The room cost $252, but thanks to the up to $200 credit on his Delta Reserve, he paid just $52 out of pocket. It was a stress-free end to his trip and a smart way to maximize the credit’s value.

Turning a long drive into a short hop

Gabrielle Bernardini, TPG’s senior points and miles editor, used her credit on a family trip to Italy. After exploring the Dolomites, she needed to catch an early morning flight from Venice to Sicily. Rather than waking up in the middle of the night for a three-hour drive, she booked a night at an independent hotel just 10 minutes from the airport.

The stay cost $184, but after applying her Delta Stays credit from her Delta Gold, she paid only $84. It made an early travel day much smoother — and cheaper.

My plan for a free night in South Africa

As for me, I’m planning to use this year’s credit during an upcoming trip to South Africa. I’ll be there for a few weeks, so covering even one night makes a difference.

I’ve chosen the Hyatt House Johannesburg Rosebank, which comes in under $100 per night. I don’t hold elite status with Hyatt, so I’m not missing out on any perks by booking through Delta Stays — and I’ll effectively get a free night just by using the credit on my Delta Gold.

Related: Why the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card is still one of the best cards I’ve added to my wallet

Tips for using the Delta Stays credit

To get the most value from your annual Delta Stays credit, keep these tips in mind:

• Watch the calendar. The credit is issued per calendar year and doesn’t roll over. Avoid booking stays at the very end of December because if you book Dec. 30 or 31 and the credit posts in January, you’ll lose that year’s credit entirely. Treat it as a use-it-or-lose-it perk.
• Target short stays. The credit works best on one- or two-night stays costing $100 to $250 (depending on which card you have). This keeps your out-of-pocket cost low and your value high.
• Compare prices. Rates through Delta Stays can sometimes be higher than booking directly with the hotel. For instance, when I looked at my South Africa hotel, the Delta Stays rate was $14 higher than booking directly with Hyatt. The small difference didn’t bother me since the stay was effectively free, but it’s worth checking.
• Look beyond the big chains. Booking boutique hotels or vacation rentals can be a smart move since you won’t miss out on hotel loyalty points or elite perks you might otherwise earn from major chains.
• Consider using it abroad. Hotel prices in some international destinations can be far lower than in the U.S. Some TPG staffers, like me, prefer to use this credit abroad, where it can sometimes cover multiple nights.
• Book prepaid stays. To trigger the credit, you must book a prepaid stay through the Delta Stays website. If it’s not prepaid, you won’t receive the statement credit.

Bottom line

The Delta Stays credit is a simple way to get real value from your Delta credit card. Depending on your card, you’ll get $100 to $250 back each year on prepaid hotel bookings made through the Delta Stays portal, helping to offset the annual fee and perhaps even cover a full night’s stay.

Just be sure to use it before the calendar year ends, and give yourself enough time for the credit to post. A little planning can turn this often overlooked perk into an easy win.

Related: Which credit card should you use for Delta Air Lines flights?

I just had a two-night weekend getaway that cost over 100,000 points less than it used to cost.

It also came with, essentially, a complimentary dinner thanks to a $100 credit we used for food, along with some pretty indulgent daily breakfasts for two at no additional cost.

Oh, and the best part? I still earned some Marriott Bonvoy points and elite status credits for the stay, too. And because of my Marriott Platinum Elite status, we even got access to the on-site club lounge.

If you’re waiting for the catch, I totally get it. You probably should be with the way things go these days.

But there’s no catch — there’s just the reality that the relatively new Chase Points Boost feature, which has been added to cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) this year and can make your points worth up to a fixed 2 cents in value each, really shouldn’t be overlooked or underestimated, especially when paired with Chase’s The Edit hotel collection and benefits at eligible hotels such as the JW Marriott, Anaheim Resort.

That’s especially true since Chase’s The Edit hotels are pretty reliably a part of the Points Boost list of booking options that stretch your points and offer elitelike perks.

Over 100,000 points saved

My recent two-night stay at the JW Marriott in Anaheim, California, would have cost 166,000 Marriott Bonvoy points if I had booked with points already in my Marriott account or transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards at a 1:1 ratio.

However, since the hotel was a part of the Points Boost offerings, each Chase Ultimate Rewards point used was worth 2 cents toward the stay, dropping the points rate for the two-night stay to around 59,000 points.

Because the hotel was a Points Boost booking option with Chase, as indicated below, it also meant spending 20,000 fewer Chase points than it otherwise would have cost me using points from my Sapphire Reserve. (While we are on the topic, the Sapphire Reserve arguably has a best-ever offer available right now.)

Related: Why I’m obsessed with the new Points Boost option

Over $200 in benefits enjoyed

This being a new great way to book trips for fewer points would have been enough for me to be thrilled, but since the hotel is part of Chase’s The Edit, it came with valuable perks, too.

In this case, we both got a complimentary full daily breakfast, which consisted of either the full buffet or an entree, a side and a beverage at the hotel’s restaurant.

Special shoutout to both the breakfast burrito and the chilaquiles. On paper, the cost for each of these two breakfasts for the two of us was around $100 per day, though odds are we would have found somewhere to eat for less if it wasn’t going to be covered by this perk, so I’ll value each of those breakfasts for two at $50 here.

Booking via Chase’s The Edit also got us a $100 property credit that we used for a mix of drinks and dinner one night at the bar. I’m not one to turn down a complimentary meal — in this case, a poke bowl and a fried chicken sandwich — so this was a pretty darn excellent perk just for booking via Chase.

We also received a “welcome amenity” in our room thanks to booking through The Edit. It was small but appreciated: a note, sparkling water and a few macarons.

All told, for our two-night stay, we enjoyed over $200 in on-site additional benefits just by booking via Chase’s The Edit program.

Over 3,000 Marriott points and elite night credits earned

Usually, when you book a hotel stay via a third-party site, you aren’t eligible to earn points or even sometimes use your elite status perks.

But when booking via Chase’s The Edit, things can work differently. You will see if the stay is eligible within that hotel loyalty program at booking, as indicated in this case by the “Marriott Bonvoy Eligible” designation below.

I was able to add my Marriott Platinum number at check-in — the hotel even proactively asked for it.

You can also potentially add your number via Chase’s website. This integration resulted in over 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and two elite night credits earned on the stay.

Transparently, I’m not 100% sure how the system landed at that number, though I’m assuming it’s some of the incidental and on-property charges that qualified rather than the full base rate, whether by my intent or accident. But it was still nice to earn something.

It’s also worth mentioning here that our lounge access benefit, thanks to my Marriott Platinum status, was also honored. This enabled us to grab some sodas, waters, snacks and desserts, and honestly spend very little out-of-pocket cash on food and drinks the entire weekend.

Bottom line

Chase’s Points Boost has changed how I approach using (and earning) points for some trips.

This is especially true for trips when the hotel we want is in a hotel loyalty program that doesn’t have a fixed award chart, like Marriott Bonvoy, and falls pretty high on the points price spectrum using the program’s own points. However, when the cash price for a property falls in a $400 to $600 per night range, which is common for somewhat upscale properties within the Westin or J.W. Marriott brands, at 2 cents per point via PointsBoost, it means it will cost just 20,000-30,000 Chase points per night.

Once you add the $100 property credit and complimentary breakfast, you could be looking at a pretty darn great deal that is better than most other options and is worth checking before booking your next trip.

Chase Sapphire Reserve: Earn 125,000 bonus points after $6,000 in spending in the first three months. You can use those points for up to $2,500 in travel via Points Boost.