Stash Rewards’ New Credit Card Wants to Disrupt Hotel Loyalty

Stash Hotel Rewards, a five-year-old loyalty program for independent hotels, unveiled on Tuesday its Hotel Rewards Visa Card, a hotel loyalty card that allows travelers to earn points for any hotel stay, regardless of whether it is part of the Stash Network. Founder and CEO Jeff Low says the team encountered a climate of frustration among travelers and hoteliers, most of whom formerly worked at chain hotels, with loyalty programs that existed at brands like Marriott or Hilton. “One of the things we heard...was you could only redeem at other Hiltons, if you earned Hilton points, for example,” Low says. “Another is that it’s similar to what you see with trying to book a flight across the country now with your miles...it’s unavailable, and that's often the case. The other frustration is that points expire, and people feel gamed by the whole system.” Such grievances bred fertile ground for Stash to brainstorm possible solutions and develop a model that is “more tran