# Hotel gift cards or a crypto hotel booking site? > Bitrefill hotel gift cards or a crypto hotel booking site? Face value, $0.26 more per Airbnb card, US-only rules and refunds compared, checked October 12, 2026. - URL: https://staysats.com/bitrefill-gift-cards-vs-hotel-booking/ - Last updated: 2026-10-12 - Publisher: StaySats (https://staysats.com) You can pay for a stay in crypto in two ways. Buy a gift card and book on the brand's site, or book on a site that takes crypto directly. Here is what each costs, who can use it and what happens when a booking is cancelled. **Quick answer — Hotel gift cards or a crypto hotel booking site: which is better?** Hotel gift cards bought with crypto on Bitrefill cost face value, or $0.26 more per Airbnb USA card. You then book and cancel on the brand's site, under its rules. The Airbnb card is for US residents and stays under 28 nights. **StaySats** books the hotel itself, on request, and holds your crypto until the hotel confirms. ## Gift card facts (Bitrefill pages, checked October 12, 2026) | Attribute | Value | | --- | --- | | Airbnb USA card | $25 to $500; costs face value plus $0.26 per card, so $25.26 for a $25 card | | Airbnb card rules | US residents with a US-based payment method; airbnb.com only; not for stays of 28 nights or more; up to 9 cards a day | | Hotelgift USD card | 50 to 2,000 USD at face value; redeemable worldwide on hotelgift.com; 750,000+ hotels in 170+ countries | | Global Hotel Card by Expedia | 50 to 500 USD at face value; "works only in United States"; globalhotelcard.com only; 600,000+ properties | | Coins at Bitrefill | BTC, Lightning, ETH, USDT, USDC, SOL, LTC, DOGE, DASH and Binance Pay | | Expiry | Airbnb and Global Hotel Card funds do not expire, per their card terms | | StaySats instead | The booking itself, paid from a crypto balance (top-up from $25); booked on request and charged only when the hotel confirmation number is issued | > **Disclosure** We sell hotel bookings paid in crypto, so we are one of the two options on this page. Our offer is included and marked. Gift card facts come from Bitrefill's product pages and the card terms shown there, read on October 12, 2026. This page is written by the StaySats research desk, TravelGoat LLC. Named reviewers will be listed here when appointed. ## How does a hotel gift card bought with crypto work? Four steps, two sites. Bitrefill sells the code; the brand handles the booking. 1. **Buy the code** — Pick a card on Bitrefill, such as Hotelgift or Airbnb, and pay with BTC, Lightning, USDT or another coin. 2. **Receive it by email** — Bitrefill sends the code, or shows it after checkout. 3. **Book on the brand's site** — Choose the hotel or home on hotelgift.com, globalhotelcard.com or airbnb.com, and enter the code at payment. 4. **Pay any difference** — If the stay costs more than the card, you pay the rest with another payment method, such as a card. ## Gift card or StaySats booking, side by side Gift card facts from Bitrefill's pages, read on October 12, 2026. Our column is marked. | | Hotel gift card (Bitrefill) | StaySats booking (ours) | | --- | --- | --- | | What you buy | A code to spend on the brand's own site | The hotel booking itself | | Cost above the stay | None on Hotelgift and Global Hotel Card; $0.26 per Airbnb USA card | The price found live for your dates; the final total, with any local tax paid at the hotel, is confirmed before you are charged | | Who can use it | Airbnb: US residents with a US payment method. Global Hotel Card: US only. Hotelgift: worldwide | No residence rule; no hotels in sanctioned places, and Spain not available yet | | Long stays | Airbnb card not valid for 28 nights or more | Set by the hotel's rate rules | | Paying the exact amount | Fixed or custom card values; the rest by another method | The exact total of the stay is held on your balance | | If the hotel cancels | The brand's own policy applies | 100% in USDT or USDC within 7 days, or balance credit if you choose it | | If you cancel | The brand's cancellation policy applies | The hotel's refund, minus its penalty, as balance credit | | Coins | BTC, Lightning, ETH, USDT, USDC, SOL, LTC, DOGE, DASH, Binance Pay | BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC; no Lightning | | Leftover value | Stays on the brand account | Stays on your balance and never expires | *Checked on October 12, 2026.* ## What does a hotel gift card cost? Most travel gift cards on Bitrefill cost exactly their face value. On October 12, 2026, that was true of Hotelgift (50 to 2,000 USD), Global Hotel Card by Expedia (50 to 500 USD), Flightgift and Delta. Airbnb USA cards cost $0.26 more per card: 1.04% extra on a $25 card and 0.26% on a $100 card. In both cases you also pay the network fee of your crypto transfer. With a gift card, any amount above the card value is paid by another method. At StaySats, you pay from your crypto balance, at the price found live for your dates. The final total is confirmed with the hotel before you are charged. ## Who can use each gift card? The rules depend on the card, and they are strict. - **Airbnb USA:** only US residents with a US-based payment method can redeem it, on airbnb.com only. It cannot pay for reservations of 28 nights or longer. Airbnb may limit you to 9 cards a day. - **Global Hotel Card by Expedia:** its Bitrefill page says it "works only in United States". You book on globalhotelcard.com, not on expedia.com, with up to 4 cards per reservation. - **Hotelgift USD:** redeemable worldwide on hotelgift.com, with up to 3 codes combined. At the hotel, you still show your ID at check-in, whichever way you paid. ## What happens if the booking is cancelled? With a gift card, the brand's own cancellation policy applies, because the brand made the booking. Global Hotel Card's page says you can cancel online without penalty when you follow the property's policy. Bitrefill's "Fair Refund Policy" covers the code purchase, not the stay. Check where a refund goes before you book. With StaySats, the rule is ours and published. If the hotel can't host you, you get 100% of the stay back. It comes in USDT or USDC within 7 days of your request, or as balance credit if you choose it. If you cancel a refundable rate, the hotel's refund, minus its penalty, comes back as balance credit. Details: [refunds](https://staysats.com/refunds/). ## When does a gift card make sense? A gift card is the better choice in four cases. - **You already chose the property** on Airbnb, Hotelgift or Global Hotel Card. - **You are a US resident** with a US payment method, for the Airbnb and Global Hotel Card codes. - **You pay with Lightning:** Bitrefill accepts it; StaySats does not. - **You want to pay part in crypto and part by card:** the code covers part, a card covers the rest. For Airbnb, read our dated answer: [Does Airbnb accept crypto?](https://staysats.com/does/airbnb-accept-crypto/) ## When does a crypto hotel booking site make sense? A booking site such as StaySats is the better choice in four other cases. - **You live outside the US** and want a hotel, not only what Hotelgift lists. - **You stay 28 nights or more**, which the Airbnb card does not allow. - **You want stablecoins back if the hotel cancels**, rather than value stuck with a brand. - **You want one payment for the whole stay**, from a balance held, not charged, until the hotel confirms. See [how it works](https://staysats.com/how-it-works/) and [pricing](https://staysats.com/pricing/), or compare other sites in [crypto hotel booking sites compared](https://staysats.com/best-crypto-hotel-booking-sites/). ## Hotel gift cards or a booking site: FAQ ### Are Bitrefill hotel gift cards sold at face value? Mostly, yes. On October 12, 2026, Hotelgift, Global Hotel Card by Expedia, Flightgift and Delta cards were sold at face value on Bitrefill's US pages. Airbnb USA cards cost $0.26 more per card, so a $25 card costs $25.26. You also pay the network fee of your crypto transfer. ### Can I use a Bitrefill Airbnb card outside the US? Only if you are a US resident with a US-based payment method. The card terms say it can be redeemed worldwide by US residents, on airbnb.com only, so the stay can be abroad. It cannot pay for reservations of 28 nights or longer, and Airbnb may limit redemption to 9 cards a day. ### Which hotel gift card works outside the US? Hotelgift, per its Bitrefill page: the code is redeemable worldwide on hotelgift.com, which lists over 750,000 hotels in 170+ countries. Global Hotel Card by Expedia works only in the United States, per its Bitrefill page. Neither card is a booking: you still book on the brand's own site. ### Which Bitrefill alternative books the hotel itself? A crypto booking site makes the booking for you, instead of selling a code. Travala, Travorio, KryptoMate, Cryptorefills, LockTrip and StaySats sell hotel bookings paid in crypto, per their own pages read on October 12, 2026. Their refund rules differ: see [crypto hotel booking sites compared](https://staysats.com/best-crypto-hotel-booking-sites/). ### Is a gift card cheaper than booking with StaySats? A gift card adds little or nothing above its face value. StaySats shows the price found live for your dates, and the final total is confirmed with the hotel before you are charged. The total then depends on the price each site shows for the same room. We have not measured that comparison yet, so we make no price claim. ### What if I don't spend the whole gift card? The rest stays on your account with the brand. Airbnb and Global Hotel Card funds do not expire, per their card terms on Bitrefill. You cannot move that value back to crypto. At StaySats, unused balance also stays on your account and never expires. ### Do I need ID to buy a gift card or to book? Bitrefill sets purchase limits by account level, and higher limits need a verified account, per a search snippet we could not verify. StaySats asks for the lead guest's name and an email address, with no ID upload at checkout. In both cases, the hotel checks your ID at check-in. ### Can I pay part with a gift card and part with crypto at StaySats? No. StaySats takes payment from your crypto balance only: no gift cards, no cards and no bank transfers. The exact total of the stay is held on your balance at checkout. We book the room on request and charge it when the hotel confirmation number is issued. Top up from $25 with BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC. ## Sources (checked October 12, 2026) 1. [Travel gift cards (US)](https://www.bitrefill.com/us/en/gift-cards/travel/) — Bitrefill (checked 2026-10-12) 2. [Airbnb USA gift card](https://www.bitrefill.com/us/en/gift-cards/airbnb-usa/) — Bitrefill (checked 2026-10-12) 3. [Hotelgift USD gift card](https://www.bitrefill.com/us/en/gift-cards/hotelgift-us/) — Bitrefill (checked 2026-10-12) 4. [Global Hotel Card by Expedia (USA)](https://www.bitrefill.com/us/en/gift-cards/global-hotel-card-usa/) — Bitrefill (checked 2026-10-12) 5. [Flightgift USD gift card](https://www.bitrefill.com/us/en/gift-cards/flightgift-us/) — Bitrefill (checked 2026-10-12) 6. [How do I travel using crypto?](https://help.bitrefill.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019472559-How-do-I-travel-using-Crypto) — Bitrefill help center (2025-03-25) --- StaySats: StaySats is a hotel booking site paid only in crypto: BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, with USDT on TRC-20 or ERC-20. You top up a balance from $25, and a booking is held, not charged, until the hotel's confirmation number is issued.