The Small Luxury Hotels of the World program offers customers a curated collection of boutique accommodations. Each property provides guests a unique element of charm and personalized service. While booking these exclusive properties sometimes poses a challenge, there is now a new booking option: the Capital One Travel Portal.

The Capital One Travel Portal

In 2021, Capital One joined American Express, Chase, and others in providing a dedicated travel portal. Through the Capital One Travel Portal, select Capital One credit card holders are able to access general flight search capabilities, the Capital One hotel programs (Premier Collection and Lifestyle Collection), and more travel booking tools (i.e. rental cars). The portal also offers a host of customer-friendly features like price drop protection, best price guarantee, and price matching. As an added bonus, with the right credit card, customers are able to earn up to 10X Capital One Miles on travel purchases made via the portal.

Credit. The Points Guy. Capital One Travel Portal.

Small Luxury Hotels Benefits For Capital One Credit Card Holders

Capital One made a strong start to 2024 by announcing a surprising addition to the Capital One Travel Portal: Small Luxury Hotels (SLH). Through the new partnership, select Capital One credit card holders gain access to roughly 200 SLH member hotels via the Capital One Premier Collection. In addition, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Business holders get exclusive hotel benefits, which include:

• $100 Experience Credit
• Daily Breakfast For Two
• Free Wi-Fi
• Early Check-In
• Late Check-Out
• Room Upgrades, Including Suites (When Available)
• 10X Capital One Miles (Cash Bookings)

If these benefits look familiar, they should. The SLH partnership with Hyatt offers almost identical benefits to World of Hyatt members.

Credit. Capital One Travel Portal. Premier Collection.

Credit. Capital One Travel Portal. Premier Collection Hotels.

Final Thoughts

With the addition of the SLH properties to the Capital One Travel Portal, the value of both the portal and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Business increases significantly. In general, the best option for booking a cash SLH stay is the Capital One Travel Portal, while the best award redemption option remains World of Hyatt. The major downside with booking a cash SLH stay via the Capital One Travel Portal, or World of Hyatt, is the 10-20% inflation in price versus a direct booking with the property. However, the additional benefits (i.e. breakfast, upgrades, etc) outweigh the cost in both cases.

Now, the most important question: Where does this leave the World of Hyatt and SLH partnership?