Starting the day with a good breakfast when traveling can mean the difference between a great day and a bummer of a day. Especially if you hit any snags like canceled flights. That’s why it’s a good idea to stay at hotels with free breakfast. Not only will you save money but you’ll be fueled for your day.
There are three ways you can get free breakfast at hotels without paying extra: having elite status, using certain credit cards, and knowing which hotels include breakfast.
But not all hotels with free breakfast are alike. Some hotels offer a free continental breakfast, others offer a limited hot menu, and some let you order anything you want. Here’s how to get the best free breakfast at hotels.
Contents
Elite Hotel Status Gets You Free Breakfast
Some hotels give free breakfast if you’re an elite member of their loyalty program:
- Club Carlson Concierge status (free continental breakfast)
- Hilton Gold and Diamond status (free continental breakfast instead of points at Conrad, Curio, Doubletree, Hilton, and Hilton Garden Inn. Some hotels give you a free full breakfast aka order off the menu.)
- Hyatt Globalist status (free full breakfast aka order off the menu for hotels without a Regency or Grand Club)
- Marriott Gold and Platinum (Free full breakfast aka order off the menu for hotels without a lounge)
I know what you’re thinking, “I don’t stay at hotels enough to earn elite status.” But no worries, there’s a shortcut to getting hotel elite status.
Two words: credit cards
Free Hotel Breakfast From Credit Cards
Hilton and Marriott
Enjoy free breakfast at Hilton hotels if you have elite status
Not only do credit cards help your credit and get you free trips and lots of other benefits, you can also get free breakfast.
You get free hotel elite status with these credit cards which equals free breakfast at Hilton and Marriott hotels:
- Hilton Honors Aspire card
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card
- Ritz-Carlton Rewards
Ritz-Carlton is part of the Marriott brand of hotels. You get Ritz-Carlton Gold status from the Ritz-Carlton Rewards credit card which gives you free breakfast when you stay at Marriott hotels.
Free Breakfast at Other Hotels
You can get free hotel breakfast at other hotels as part of your American Express Platinum and Visa Signature card benefits.
American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts
Two people eat for free every morning by booking your hotel with American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts
If you have an American Express Platinum (personal) or (business) card, you get free daily breakfast for two people when you book your hotel stay through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts.
There are no fees to use the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program because it’s a free added benefit of your American Express Platinum card.
Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection
Use Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection and get free daily continental breakfast
Like American Express, Visa also offers a hotel program that’s free for all Visa Signature cardholders. And when you make your hotel reservation through the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection you get free daily continental breakfast.
Here’s a list of several airline miles and credit card point cards that include the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection benefit:
- British Airways
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Club Carlson
- Fairmont
- FlexPerks Travel Rewards
- Freedom Flex
- World of Hyatt
- Ink Cash
- Ink Plus
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold
- Ritz-Carlton
- Southwest Premier Business – You can fly free for two years with the Southwest cards.
- Southwest Performance Business
- United Club Infinite
- United MileagePlus Explorer
Hotels With Free Breakfast for Everyone
You can get free breakfast at certain hotels without having elite status, credit cards, or having to pay more for a room with a breakfast rate. All these hotels include free breakfast for everyone in the room.
But the type of breakfast varies depending on the hotel. So be sure to see which hotels with free breakfast serve the breakfast you want.
Best Western
Stay at Best Western and get free breakfast
Free breakfast is included with every stay at:
- Best Western (hot breakfast)
- Best Western Plus (hot breakfast)
- Best Western Premier (hot breakfast)
Choice
Comfort Suites hotels offer free daily hot breakfast
You get free breakfast when you stay at:
- Comfort Inn (hot breakfast)
- Comfort Suites (hot breakfast)
- EconoLodge (continental breakfast)
- MainStay Suites (continental breakfast)
- Quality Inn (hot breakfast)
- Sleep Inn (hot breakfast)
Club Carlson
Start your morning right with a free hot breakfast at Club Carlson’s Country Inn & Suites
Every guest at Country Inn & Suites gets free hot breakfast.
Hilton
Hilton’s Embassy Suites includes free hot breakfast
You get free breakfast at these Hilton hotels:
- Canopy by Hilton (continental breakfast)
- Embassy Suites (hot breakfast)
- Hampton Inn (hot breakfast)
- Home2 Suites (continental breakfast)
- Homewood Suites (hot breakfast)
Hyatt
Get free breakfast at Hyatt Ziva
Breakfast is included at:
- Hyatt House (hot breakfast)
- Hyatt Place (hot breakfast)
- Hyatt Zilara (all-inclusive hotel)
- Hyatt Ziva (all-inclusive hotel)
IHG – Intercontinental Hotels Group
You get free hotel breakfast at IHG hotels like Holiday Inn Express & Suites Calgary
Free hot breakfast is included at all Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites hotels.
Marriott
Hot breakfast every morning at Towneplace Suites by Marriott
You get free breakfast at these Marriott hotels:
- Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott (hot breakfast)
- Residence Inn by Marriott (continental breakfast)
- SpringHill Suites by Marriott (continental breakfast)
- TownePlace Suites by Marriott (hot breakfast)
Starwood
Breakfast is included at Starwood Element hotels
A hot breakfast is included at Element hotels.
Wyndham
Many Wyndham hotels like Baymont Inn Statesboro give you free breakfast
You can enjoy free breakfast at:
- Baymont Inn (hot breakfast)
- Days Inn (hot breakfast)
- Howard Johnson (continental breakfast)
- Knights Inn (continental breakfast)
- Microtel (continental breakfast)
- Ramada (continental breakfast at most locations)
- Super 8 (hot breakfast)
- Travelodge (continental breakfast)
Conclusion
You can save money and start your day with a free breakfast when you travel, if you know which hotels offer free breakfast.
Some hotels include free breakfast with all stays. But make sure you know what type of breakfast you’re getting. Because some hotels offer a hot breakfast while others only offer a continental breakfast.
You can also get free breakfast at Club Carlson, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Starwood hotels if you are an elite member in their loyalty program.
All isn’t lost because you can still get free breakfast even if you aren’t loyal to a hotel, simply by having certain credit cards. The American Express Platinum (personal) or (business) gets you free daily breakfast when you make your hotel reservation using the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program.
And if you have a Visa Signature card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you get free daily continental breakfast when you book your hotel through the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection.
Which are your favorite hotels with free breakfast?
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Debra Schroeder is a travel writer with 26 years of experience using miles and points to travel the world. A former 12-year travel industry executive, she knows how to find the deals and how to creatively finance trips, like getting a trip to Hawaii for practically free or a $26,000 trip to Australia for $208. She’s always looking for the best deal, whether it’s a hostel, luxury resort, or somewhere in between.
The Cubicle Chick
Sunday 15th of January 2017
I love hotels that have free breakfast but it definitely has to be a good breakfast. I've seen some hotels with free breakfast that should not be served at all, free or paid. - yolonda
adriana
Sunday 15th of January 2017
These are such great tips! There really is so many awesome ways to save on travel. I love my travel credit card - it's so easy to earn points for miles!
Chrishelle
Thursday 12th of January 2017
The last time I stayed in Atlanta I booked through hotel.com and we were able to get a nice room at the Marriot and it included breakfast at the bistro for one low price.
Shaney Maharaj
Thursday 12th of January 2017
I actually assumed that most hotels gave free breakfast until I traveled to New York! This will definitely become handy when I am traveling again to the USA.
Kathy
Wednesday 11th of January 2017
There are a lot of hotels that offer free breakfast. We always make sure to go to the ones that do. That way you are saving money by getting free breakfast, and you don't have to go somewhere to find breakfast.