Hilton Honors American Express Card Review

Please Note: The Hilton Honors American Express Card and the Hilton Honors Aspire® Card are currently unavailable through this site.

The Hilton Honors American Express Card allows cardholders to earn and redeem points on hotel stays in more than 100 different countries and over 5,600 hotels. There’s no annual fee, making it convenient and cost-effective to maintain. The Hilton Honors American Express Card offers seven times the Hilton Honors bonus points for every dollar spent directly with a participating Hilton resort or hotel, five times points on purchases at U.S. restaurants, gas stations, and supermarkets and three times points on all other qualifying purchases.

Even the introductory bonus offer for new members is quite generous, allowing them to earn 75,000 bonus points after $1,000 in purchases in the first three months. There are no foreign transaction fees, making international travel easier and more convenient. Among hotel credit cards, the Hilton Honors American Express Card has high reward rates for Hilton hotel stays and reasonable reward points on everyday purchases.

What we like about Hilton Honors American Express Card

• No annual fee keeps the card’s costs down.
• The Hilton network is far-reaching, enabling you to earn points at over 5,600 hotels in more than 100 countries.
• No foreign transaction fees ensure you don’t have to worry about fees while using the card abroad.
• Points are great for frequent travelers as they are redeemable for hotel stays, airfare, cruises, shopping, car rentals and dining.
• A generous introductory offer can jumpstart your point balance.
• You gain automatic Silver Status in Hilton’s Honors program, which grants you benefits including late check-out, your fifth standard reward night free, elite tier rollover nights, digital check-in and the ability to choose your room.
• The point program is flexible. Your points don’t expire as long as you use your card at least once per year. There is no cap on the number of points you can earn and no blackout dates. You can use partial points to book rewards and you can transfer points to over 40 airline partners.

Things to consider

• Points are only redeemable on travel through the loyalty program.
• If you earn a free night’s stay certification, it’s only redeemable if a standard room is available.
• The transfer rate for airline partners is lacking.
• There are few premium travel perks unless you upgrade to the next level card.

Hilton Honors American Express Card reward details

The Hilton Honors American Express Card comes with a new member offer of 75,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after making $1,000 worth of qualifying purchases within the first three months. You’ll also get seven Hilton Honors bonus points for purchases at a Hilton resort or hotel, five points for every dollar spent at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations and three points per dollar spent on all other qualifying purchases.

Points are worth around $0.05 each when redeemed for hotel stays. The redemption options for this card include transferring points to Hilton’s airline partner program, redeeming them to rent a car or receiving credit at Amazon.com. The point-earning potential is great for card users who travel and dine out often.

Hilton Honors American Express Card fees

There are no annual or foreign transaction fees with the Hilton Honors American Express Card, making it a great choice for those who do a lot of traveling both in the U.S. and abroad. Penalty fees do apply for late payments and returned payments, and these fees are pretty standard, coming in at $39 per occurrence. There are no over-limit fees, eliminating any stress about overspending or reaching the card limit.

How does it compare to other Hilton rewards cards?

The Hilton Honors American Express Card is the only Hilton-branded card with no annual fee. That said, of all the cards within the Hilton family, its benefits are the most basic. The has an annual fee of $95 See Rates & Fees but comes with Gold status and Priority Pass Select. American Express also has a platinum Hilton card, the Hilton Honors Aspire® Card, which comes with an annual fee of $450 and features the most extensive list of perks, including travel credits and airport lounge access.

If you travel often, you may want to consider opting for the or Hilton Honors Aspire® Card as you have more earning potential and can potentially earn your annual fee back in rewards points and benefits throughout the year.

Card	Annual Fee	Intro Bonus	Credit Needed	Key features
Hilton Honors American Express Card	$0	75,000 Hilton Honors points for spending $1,000 in the first three months	Good to Excellent	Seven points for $1 spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels or resorts. Five points for $1 spent on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations. Three points for $1 spent on all other qualifying purchases.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card		125,000 Hilton Honors points for spending $2,000 in the first three months. Terms Apply.	Good to Excellent	12 points for $1 spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels or resorts. Terms Apply. Six points for $1 spent on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations. Terms Apply. Three points for $1 spent on all other qualifying purchases. Terms Apply.
Hilton Honors Aspire® Card	$450	150,000 Hilton Honors points for spending $4,000 in the first three months	Excellent	14 points for $1 spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels or resorts. Seven points for $1 spent on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations. Three points for $1 spent on all other qualifying purchases.

The bottom line

The Hilton Honors Card from American Express doesn’t offer the richest Hilton benefits when compared to some of their other hotel reward cards, but it’s an excellent option for travelers who want to experience Hilton reward perks without having to commit to an annual fee. If you’re a frequent traveler and want to earn higher points per dollar spent, the or Hilton Honors Aspire® Card are worth a look, as long as you don’t mind the annual fee.

For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, please click here

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