Red Roof Inn credit card: you can do better

After many months of waiting since the initial announcement, I have some good news: the Red Roof Inn credit card is here!

Actually, the word “good” is awfully strong here. Maybe “interesting” would be more appropriate? I mean, Red Roof Inn is a pretty big domestic chain:

So let’s take a look at this credit card, yet another new product issued by Comenity Bank, aka Alliance Data. Some of you may be wondering, “Does this card have a sweet sign-up bonus that will get me to sign up and give it a whirl, like the Club Carlson card did when it launched a few years ago?”

The answer to that question is no. This card comes with a 6,000-point bonus, which is exactly enough to get you one free room night at any Red Roof Inn. That’s right: any Red Roof Inn. No categories to be found here, much like the Wyndham Hotels rewards approach. Though as opposed to the Wyndham portfolio, most Red Roof Inn rooms will be pretty similar, so there aren’t many sweet spots to be found.

As for spending bonuses, you get:

• 5 points per dollar spent at Red Roof Inns. This is in addition to the 10 points per dollar you already get as a Redicard member, which means you’re getting 15 points per dollar with the card.
• 2 points per dollar spent on gas and fast food.
• 1 point per dollar everywhere else.

Unless the points are really valuable, those rewards don’t sound very good either. As always, your baseline should be a no-fee 2% cash back credit card like the Fidelity Amex or the Citi DoubleCash.

So how much are the points worth? I checked rates for several RRIs near me next weekend, and they’re all in the $50-80 range, meaning this card earns you maybe a little over 1%, which is a lot less than 2%. But there are some going for around $120 in the NYC metro area, in which case you’re earning around 2% on all purchases, 4% on gas and fast food, which is respectable. Ditto for the San Franciso Airport Red Roof Inn. Those hotels seem to be the exception, though–most are below $100, so most people won’t hit the 2% mark.

There’s no annual fee for the Red Roof Inn credit card… but then there are no perks as there are with a lot of other hotel cards. If you do want to stay at a Red Roof Inn, you’d be better off earning cash back on a 2% card and then using that to pay for your stay.

Bottom line: there is no compelling reason to sign up for the Red Roof Inn credit card. Pass.