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Travelers have dozens of ways to earn Hilton Honors points. That's a big deal if you're building a stash to fund a free night at some of Hilton's most luxurious properties or several nights at one of Hilton's budget-friendly brands. But all else being equal, the best way to earn a lot of Hilton points quickly is via credit card — either by netting a sign-up bonus on a Hilton credit card or initiating a transfer from one of Hilton's partner programs.
Read on to learn about all the credit cards that earn Hilton Honors points.
Hilton Amex Cards
American Express issues all four Hilton-branded credit cards, and you'll earn Hilton Honors points every time you swipe your card. In addition to a valuable welcome bonus, each co-branded card offers a slew of perks that can be valuable to even the most infrequent Hilton traveler.
For instance, you'll enjoy complimentary Hilton elite status as long as you keep your account open. This perk alone unlocks a fifth night free on reward stays, helping you stretch your hard-earned points to the max.
Among these card options are three cards for personal use:
$0Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- Earn 7X Points per dollar on eligible purchases charged directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Honors portfolio of brands
- Earn 5X Points per dollar on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations
- Earn 3X Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
$0 introductory annual fee, then $150Rates & Fees
(Terms Apply)
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
$550Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly through select rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
Plus, Amex issues one Hilton card for small business owners:
(Terms apply)
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $8,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of card Membership. Offer ends 7/29/2026.
- Enjoy a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $195.
- Get up to $60 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Hilton Honors American Express Business Card.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold Status with your Hilton Honors Business Card. With Hilton Honors™ Gold Status, you can enjoy benefits at hotels and resorts within the Hilton Portfolio. As a Gold member, earn an 80% Bonus on all Base Points you earn on every stay.
- Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on eligible purchases made directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn 5X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on other purchases made using the Hilton Honors Business Card on the first $100,000 in purchases each calendar year, 3X Points thereafter.
- You may receive an upgrade to Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status through the end of the next calendar year if the total eligible purchases that you spend on your Card Account during a calendar year reach $40,000 or more.
- Terms apply.
- 12X Hilton Honors points on eligible purchases made directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
- 5X Hilton Honors points on the first $100,000 spent per calendar year on other eligible purchases; 3X thereafter
Related: Hilton Gold Benefits: Free Breakfast, Room Upgrades, and More
Cards That Earn Points Transferable to Hilton Honors
If you collect transferable points, you can pick and choose between partner programs with which to redeem your rewards. The benefit of earning this type of reward is that you're not tied to redeeming them with a specific program, as is the case with Hilton's co-branded cards.
Presently, two major transferable rewards programs offer transfers to Hilton Honors: American Express Membership Rewards and Bilt Rewards. But as you'll quickly see, both programs don't provide the same value on Hilton transfers.
American Express Membership Rewards
Several Amex cards earn Membership Rewards. Better yet, Amex offers transfers to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio, so you'll collect two Hilton points for every Membership Rewards point you transfer. And sometimes, Amex will even offer a transfer bonus to Hilton Honors.
At first glance, that ratio looks pretty good. However, based on recent AwardWallet user redemptions, Hilton points are worth about 0.61¢ apiece. Comparatively, Amex points are worth about 2¢ per point. In other words, Hilton isn't Amex's most valuable transfer partner. But it can make sense in the right circumstances.
The following personal cards earn Amex Membership Rewards and are open to new applicants:
$325Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on cruises booked and paid through amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
$895Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- Earn 5X points on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings.
(This card is not available through AwardWallet)
$150
- 3x Membership Rewards® on travel
- 3x Membership Rewards® at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on transit including trains, buses, ferries, subways, and more
- 1x Membership Rewards® on other purchases
And here are the top three business cards that earn Amex points:
$375Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
- U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
- Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
- Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
$895Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 2X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
No annual feeRates & Fees
(Terms Apply)
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
Related: 5 Excellent Redemption Strategies for Amex Membership Rewards Points
Bilt Rewards
The Hilton Honors program is one of 23 transfer partners of Bilt Rewards. If you’ve got a stash of Bilt Points, you can transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to Hilton Honors — though, as you might expect, this isn’t one of the most valuable redemption options.
But if you’re a Hilton Honors loyalist and don’t need to maximize every last Bilt Point, it can be worth engaging with the Bilt ecosystem. That could mean adding a Bilt credit card to your wallet, earning points by paying rent, and taking advantage of other ways to build your balance.
$0
- Up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments
- 1X points + 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases
$95
- Up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments
- 1X points + 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases
- 3X points on your choice of grocery (up to $25K/year) or dining. Your 3X category choice remains in effect for the entire calendar year.
- 2X points on travel
$495
- Up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments
- 2X points + 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases
Related: Guide to Bilt Rewards Transfer Partners: Which Redemptions Offer the Best Value?
Loyalty Programs That Offer Point Transfers to Hilton Honors
Filed under “ways that are nice to know about but that you should probably avoid” are the additional loyalty programs that offer point transfers to Hilton Honors. According to Hilton, the two programs that provide this functionality are Amtrak Guest Rewards and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Virgin points are redeemable in innumerable ways. And they're pretty valuable, too; AwardWallet users redeem Virgin points for an average of 3.55¢ apiece! Generally speaking, that value comes from booking award flights in premium cabins, not transfers to Hilton.
But if you're not keen on putting your points towards flights, cruises, experiences, or others, you can also transfer your Virgin points to Hilton Honors points. For every 10,000 Virgin points you convert, you'll get 15,000 Hilton Honors points. To make a transfer, dial 1-800-365-9500.
Now for the fun part. How many cards earn Virgin points? Well, a lot. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and its parent program, Virgin Red, are accessible via a large number of transferable rewards programs. This means that any card earning one of the currencies below offers transfers to Virgin, which can be transferred to Hilton Honors. Clear as mud, right?
Of that list, some of our favorite cards that earn points that can be transferred to Virgin points — and potentially onwards to Hilton Honors points — include:
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
- Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
$95
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
$95Rates & Fees
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
$95Rates & Fees
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
Amtrak Guest Rewards
If you're looking for a way to redeem your Amtrak points without spending them on more rail travel, you can kick off a transfer to Hilton Honors. Hilton will let you exchange 5,000 Amtrak points for 10,000 Hilton Honors points. To make these redemptions, you'll need to call Hilton at 1-800-307-5000.
By extension, that means the Amtrak Guest Rewards® Preferred Mastercard® and Amtrak Guest Rewards® Mastercard® technically earn Hilton Honors points. Both cards award Amtrak points on multiple spending categories and offer sizable welcome bonuses:
- Amtrak Guest Rewards® Preferred Mastercard®: Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three billing cycles of account opening.
- Amtrak Guest Rewards® Mastercard®: Earn 12,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three billing cycles of account opening.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this article demonstrated that dozens of cards earn Hilton Honors points — either directly or indirectly. Coupled with all the other ways to earn Hilton points, earning the rewards necessary to redeem for that next free night should be a breeze.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Card (Rates & Fees), Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees), Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees), The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees), American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees), American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees), American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees), The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
