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There are 31 Palace hotels in France
In 2010, France’s Ministry of Tourism introduced a new category of hotel that would be recognized as better than 5 star: Palace Status. If you see this demarkation on the outside of a hotel, rest assured, you are staying in the very best of the best. In fact, only 31 hotels across the whole of France have earned the honor. While 5 star hotels offer bilingual services, spa facilities, concierge, etc – Palace hotels offer those certain “je ne sais quoi” factors such as history of the hotel site, environmental policy, character, et al. Check out the list, and you’ll certainly see that it is chalked full of the most famous and esteemed hotels France has to offer, and unless I’m overlooking one, the only redeemable with points is the Park Hyatt Paris.
The 31 hotels currently deemed “Palace” worthy:
- Hôtel du Palais – Biarritz (Pays Basque)
- Hôtel Le Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme – Paris
- Both of these hotels are bookable with Hyatt points
- Hôtel Les Airelles – Courchevel (Alps)
- Hôtel Berrière Les Neiges
- Hôtel L’Apogee – Courchevel
- Hôtel Le Cheval Blanc – Courchevel (Alps)
- Hôtel Le Bristol – Paris
- Four Seasons Hotel George V – Paris
- Hôtel Lutétia – Paris
- Hôtel Le Meurice – Paris
- Hôtel Le Plaza Athénée – Paris
- Hôtel Le Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, a Four Seasons Hotel – Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (Côte d’Azur)
- Hôtel La Réserve – Ramatuelle (Provence)
- Hôtel Le Byblos – Saint-Tropez (Provence)
- Le Château de La Messardière – Saint-Tropez (Provence)
- Le Royal Monceau – Paris
- Shangri-La Hotel– Paris
- Mandarin Oriental – Paris
- Hôtel Le K2 – Courchevel (Alps)
- La Réserve Paris – Paris
- The Peninsula – Paris
- Le Royal Evian – Evian-les-Bains (Alps)
- Le Cap-Eden-Rock – Antibes (Côte d’Azur)
- La Bastide de Gordes – Gordes (Vaucluse)
- Les Sources de Caudalie – Martillac (Gironde)
- Les Prés d’Eugénie – Eugénie-les-Bains (Landes)
- Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France – Saint-Barthélémy Island
- Byblos Saint-Tropez
- Château de la Messardière – Saint Tropez
- Château de Saint-Martin & Spa –Vence
- Villa La Coste – Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade
How does a hotel gain Palace status in France?
It’s a two phase process whereby the ministry of tourism awards the distinction:
Booking the Park Hyatt Paris or Hôtel du Palais Biarritz with World of Hyatt points
If you’re looking to score a deal, search for the Park Hyatt Paris in calendar mode. Remember both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards are transfer partners of Hyatt and 35k would be the off peak rate at category 8 hotels.
Personally I love visiting Paris in the winter – the temps don’t get too cold, the city is gorgeously dressed for Christmas, and it’s far less touristy. Just be prepared for some cloudy days, sporadic rain or even some snow.
And here is the Hôtel du PalaisBiarritz which is a category 7 hotel… starting late October through Feb 25k a night. You will find 30k nights in June/Sept as well.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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