Question
I was wondering if anyone has knowledge or personal experience with the MBNA Elite Rewards Visa card in terms of redeeming points for free hotel stays.
I'm using the Starwood AmEx as my primary card and MBNA's Amtrak as my back-up, but I would like a card for the sole purpose of hotel stays. The Starwood card is fantastic, but I'm limited to Starwood properties which don't have locations everywhere I go. The Elite Rewards Visa advertises free stays for 5,000 points at Ramada's, HoJo's, Days Inns, etc.
Does anyone know if all hotels in the aforementioned hotel chains participate? I would imagine that 5,000 points for a hotel in New York City would be just a little too good to be true.