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Hilton Card Guide
Hilton is a hotel brand with a large global footprint. They guarantee connecting rooms which is a nice perk for families looking to book multiple rooms!
A Hilton co-branded credit card is a good way to earn a lot of Hilton points quickly. With the right card, you can enjoy even more benefits like free night certificates, statement credits for purchases at Hilton, or extra perks like flight credits and cell phone protection.
Hilton offers four different credit cards. With so many options and differing benefits, it can be hard to know which one to get. To make it even more confusing, Hilton made a lot of changes to their cards in 2024. This guide breaks down the current fees and benefits of all the cards to help you decide which card is best for your travel needs.
Key Differences
The main differences between the Hilton cards are:
- Annual fee
- The number of points you earn for different purchases
- Free night certificates and credits towards Hilton purchases
- Level of status you get just by holding the card
- Extra benefits and perks
Annual Fee
The annual fees on the Hilton cards range from $0-$550.
High annual fees may seem intimidating, but don’t automatically dismiss a card just because of the annual fee!
The Hilton cards that come with an annual fee also come with statement credits for purchases at Hilton hotels to help you offset the fee, plus many other benefits just for holding the card.
You can get value out of those cards that far exceeds the annual fee, as long as you’re able to utilize the benefits.
Free Night Certificates and Hilton Credits
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is the only card that comes with an automatic free night certificate just for holding the card.
You can earn a free night with the Surpass card by spending $15,000 in a calendar year. The Business card used to include an annual free night certificate, but it doesn’t anymore.
All of the annual fee cards come with statement credits for purchases at participating Hilton hotels. The amount varies depending on the card. If you stay at Hilton regularly, these credits are an easy way to recoup the annual fee on the card.
Status with Hilton Honors
All of the cards come with automatic Elite level status in the Hilton Honors program. You can get Silver, Gold, or Diamond status depending on which card you have.
Extra Benefits
Additional benefits on the cards vary. The Aspire comes with the most benefits (and also the highest annual fee).
Card Similarities
Standard benefits for all of the Hilton cards include:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Fifth night free when booking with points
- Car rental loss and damage insurance
- Extended warranty and purchase protection
Fifth night free perk: When you book a standard room reward stay for five or more nights, every fifth night is free (up to four free nights per stay.)
This only applies to stays booked fully with points. This is a benefit for elite members only. If you hold any of the Hilton credit cards, you get automatic elite status and are eligible for this benefit!
Personal Credit Cards
Hilton Honors American Express
Annual Fee: $0
Key Benefits:
- Automatic Silver status
- Earn an upgrade to Gold status after spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year
- 7x points on purchases with Hilton
- 5x points at U.S. gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores
- 3x points on all other purchases
This is a great card for earning Hilton points with no annual fee. The automatic silver status makes you eligible for the 5th night free on award redemptions which is a valuable perk.
Community Referral
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card
Annual Fee: $150
Key Benefits:
- Automatic Gold status
- Earn a free night award after spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year
- Up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made at Hilton properties (up to $200 annually)
- Executive status with National Car Rental Emerald Club
- 12x points on purchases made with Hilton
- 6x points at U.S. gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores
Gold status has several perks like a daily food and beverage credit or complimentary breakfast and complimentary room upgrades.
The free night award is a nice perk if you’re able to take advantage of it, but you have to spend $15,000 on the card to earn the free night.
If you stay at Hilton several times a year, it’s easy to recoup the annual fee by using the quarterly Hilton credits. If you’re not planning to stay at Hilton that often, these credits are harder to use so keep that in mind.
Community Referral
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
Annual Fee: $550
Key Benefits:
- Automatic Diamond status
- One free night award on sign-up and each year of card membership
- Up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for purchases made directly with Hilton (up to $400 per year)
- Up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for airline purchases made through AMEXtravel.com (up to $200 per year)
- Up to $199 statement credit annually for CLEAR Plus membership
- Executive status with National Car Rental Emerald Club
- Cell phone protection
- 14x points on Hilton purchases
Enrollment is required for select benefits. This is a premium card that comes with premium benefits. If you stay at Hilton at least twice a year, it’s easy to make up the annual fee with the $400 Hilton credits and free night certificate.
Hilton doesn’t have a cap for free night awards so you can use them for almost any standard award night, regardless of what the cash or point price is. This makes it easy to get a lot of value out of the free night certificate! You can also earn additional free night certificates by spending on the card. You get a second certificate when you spend $30,000 in a calendar year, and a third certificate when you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year.
This card comes with a slew of other benefits that add value to the card if you’re able to use them. For example, book a 2-night minimum stay at hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com or over the phone and get up to $100 in credits for qualifying charges at participating Waldorf Astoria and Conrad hotels.
Community Referral
welcome offer:
175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points + Free night certificate
Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
You also earn a Free Night Certificate after opening the card and every year on renewal.
All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by Katie’s Travel Tricks. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is no longer available through Katie’s Travel Tricks.
Business Credit Card
Business credit cards are a useful part of an overall credit card strategy. You don’t need to have a large business or an LLC to get a business credit card.
Small businesses and side hustles also count as a business! Things like selling items on Facebook marketplace, tutoring, babysitting, consulting, and selling on Etsy all qualify you for a business credit card.
To learn more about business cards and how to apply, check out our post on business credit cards.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
Annual Fee: $195
Key Benefits:
- Automatic Gold status
- Up to $60 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made at Hilton properties (up to $240 annually)
- Executive status with National Car Rental Emerald Club
- 12x points on Hilton purchases
Enrollment is required for select benefits.
Upgrade to Diamond status if you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year. Earn 5x points on every purchase for the first $100,000 spent. After that, you get 3x points.
Community Referral
welcome offer:
earn 175,000 points
Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases with your Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership
(Reader Referral) All information about The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card has been collected independently by Katie’s Travel Tricks. This card is no longer available through Katie’s Travel Tricks.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com
Table Comparing the Hilton Cards
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card | Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | Hilton Honors American Express Business Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $0 | $150 | $550 | $195 |
| Free Night Award | N/A | After spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year | One every year just for holding the card.
Earn a second free night award after spending $30,000 in a calendar year. Earn a third free night after spending $60,000 in a calendar year. |
N/A |
| Hilton Credits | N/A | $50 quarterly (up to $200 per year) | $200 semi-annually (up to $400 per year) | $60 quarterly (up to $240 per year) |
| Elite Status | Silver
Free upgrade to Gold when you spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year. |
Gold
Free upgrade to Diamond when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year. |
Diamond | Gold
Free upgrade to Diamond when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year. |
| Earning Rates | 7 x at Hilton
5x at U.S. gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets 3x everything else |
12x at Hilton
6x at U.S. gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets 4x online retail 3x everything else |
14x at Hilton
7x at restaurants and select car rentals 7x on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com 3x everything else |
12x at Hilton
5x everything else on first $100k spent each year, then 3x. |
| Extra Perks | National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status | Clear Plus membership
$200 cell phone protection $200 airline credit National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status Plus more |
National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status |
Enrollment is required for select benefits.
Hilton Card Eligibility
Lifetime Language
American Express has a rule where you can only earn a welcome offer on a card once “per lifetime.” That means if you close a card and decide later that you want to reopen it, you likely won’t be eligible to receive a welcome offer on that card.
Not all card applications will have this language in the fine print, but many do. If your application doesn’t include that language, the lifetime rule shouldn’t apply.
Data points show that “lifetime” is usually 7 years.
Amex Pop-Up
If American Express decides it doesn’t want to give you a bonus, it will give you a pop-up window before you submit your application that states this.
You may see this pop-up because you’ve gotten a bonus on this card in the past 7 years, or for any other number of reasons.
If you get the pop-up you can choose to continue with the application, but you won’t be eligible to receive the welcome offer.
Holding Multiple Hilton Cards
You can hold all of the Hilton cards at the same time.
Other Cards for Earning Hilton Points
American Express Membership Rewards Points transfer to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio. That means for every 1,000 American Express points you transfer, you’ll get 2,000 Hilton points!
Because of this transfer ratio, American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points are a valuable way to earn even more Hilton points.
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