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Offers for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, Hawaiian Airlines® Business Mastercard®, Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® and Virgin Atlantic® World Elite MasterCard® are not available through this site. All information has been independently collected by AwardWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers.
All information about Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by AwardWallet
Multiple credit cards earn Hilton points; there are four such cards currently available to new applicants in the U.S., all issued by American Express. They are:
- Hilton Honors American Express Card
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
- The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
These cards are great, but they aren't the only ways to boost your Hilton Honors points balance. Plus, the ability to pool Hilton Honors points (at no cost) extends your earning capabilities to family and friends. Let's review all the options and full card details below.
American Express Hilton Honors Cards
While these cards vary greatly in the benefits and fees they carry, they all provide some type of complimentary elite status with Hilton Honors and access to a valuable perk: a fifth night free on award stays.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire CardAnnual Fee$550Welcome Offer
Earn 180,000 Bonus Points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.- 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
- 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
Hilton's premium card, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers complimentary top-tier Diamond status and an annual free night award valid at nearly any property worldwide. While the $550 annual fee is steep, you'll get up to $250 in annual airline fee credits, up to $250 in annual resort credits, up to $100 in on-property credits on select stays, and a Priority Pass airport lounge membership. Those can more than offset the card's annual fee each year. Full details are in our Hilton Aspire review.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® CardAnnual Fee$150Welcome Offer
Earn 170,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.- 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 Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
- 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 Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card comes with a modest $150 annual fee but still offers mid-tier Hilton Gold status, which is the best mid-tier hotel status available. This status provides bonus points earning on paid stays, room upgrades at check-in (based on availability, but suites aren't included), and daily breakfast or food and beverage credits. You'll also get 10 Priority Pass lounge visits annually and can earn a free night award by spending $15,000 on purchases annually. Check out our Hilton Surpass card review for more information.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
The Hilton Honors American Express Business CardAnnual Fee$95Welcome Offer
Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first three months of Card Membership.
- Welcome Offer: Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first three months of Card Membership.
- Earn Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card: 12X directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio, 6X at U.S. gas stations, on U.S. purchases for shipping, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants, 3X on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold Status with your Hilton Honors Business Card.
- Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Earn another Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend an additional $45,000 in purchases on your Card in the same calendar year.
- Terms apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 12X directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
- 6X on Select Business & Travel Purchases
- 3X Everywhere Else
- Welcome Offer: Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first three months of Card Membership.
- Earn Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card: 12X directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio, 6X at U.S. gas stations, on U.S. purchases for shipping, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants, 3X on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold Status with your Hilton Honors Business Card.
- Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Earn another Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend an additional $45,000 in purchases on your Card in the same calendar year.
- Terms apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 12X directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
- 6X on Select Business & Travel Purchases
- 3X Everywhere Else
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card offers benefits similar to the Hilton Surpass and also has a $95 annual fee (Rates & Fees). You'll also be able to enroll in Priority Pass for 10 lounge visits annually and can earn a free night award after spending $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year. Earn another free night award after spending $60,000 on purchases in a calendar year, and this would put you past the $40,000 spending threshold to qualify for a bump to Hilton Diamond status. More details are in our full review of the Hilton Business Card card.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Hilton Honors American Express Card
Hilton Honors American Express CardAnnual Fee$0Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earn 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn 5X Points per dollar on 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.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status with your Card. Plus, spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn an upgrade to Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- No Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 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.
- Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earn 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn 5X Points per dollar on 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.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status with your Card. Plus, spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn an upgrade to Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- No Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 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.
If you're looking for a card with $0 in annual fees (Rates & Fees), consider the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. You'll get complimentary Hilton Silver status, which is the lowest tier but qualifies you for free bottled water on each stay and the fifth-night-free perk when using points. If you spend $20,000 or more on purchases, you'll move up to Gold status. For further details, check out our Hilton Amex card review.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Other Cards With Points That Transfer to Hilton Honors
You can transfer points from several programs to Hilton Honors:
Thus, cards earning these points can earn Hilton points indirectly. Here are a few examples:
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles: You'll transfer HawaiianMiles to Hilton at a 1:1.5 ratio, with a minimum transfer of 10,000 miles (which yields 15,000 Hilton points). You can earn HawaiianMiles with the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Business Mastercard® and Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®, both issued by Barclays in the U.S.
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points: With the Virgin Atlantic® World Elite MasterCard®, you'll earn points that you can transfer at a ratio 1:1.5 — meaning 10,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points convert to 15,000 Hilton Honors points. Is this a great value? Consider that AwardWallet readers typically redeem Virgin Atlantic points at 4.92¢ but redeem Hilton points at just 0.58¢ each.
- American Express Membership Rewards: You can transfer Amex points to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio, and you'll also encounter occasional transfer bonuses to improve this option. While it's not a great option unless you make a redemption with outsized value, it's nice to have this option to top off your Hilton account with a few missing points for an award stay.
Related: All of the Cards That Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points
Bottom Line
Hilton Honors points may not command the value of other points, but they are still very easy to earn and redeem for hotel stays. With multiple credit cards that earn Hilton points, you've got multiple ways to stock up on points. Like all things, Hilton points have pros and cons, but we think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Hermoso lugar para poder disfrutar de el, me encantaría poder conocerlo en algún momento, esta bueno que generen promociones del mismo.
I do love Hilton, however, lately I’ve only been finding that even though I have over 200k points I cannot cover anything but maybe 2 nights with my points. I know that points and cash can be used, but I find that it’s difficult to get something with Hilton to cover a family of 4 too. I love Hyatt for family stays more but as you always say they do not have a big foot print. So that is why I love Hilton because they do and they have great promos, etc. Just have to try and get more points with them, I guess.
I just wish they would let us get the bonus offer more than once in a lifetime ?
that’s for the comprehensive list!
Decent increase in bonus points.
This post reminded me that I have 2 of the HH basic Amex cards. (I had one and my Citi HH transformed into the other one when Citi stopped being a HH partner) I need to get rid of one of there — although there is no annual fee, it does stop me from getting more valuable Amex Cards. (They will only let you have a certain number of their credit cards.) But I’ll definitely keep one of them open for the rare occasion that they are worth more than other spend. Thanks
Nice bonus on the Aspire card! very tempting to get it!
The basic AMEX Honors card Is simple and good.
Hilton points redemptions are high however. A three night stay at a Hampton Inn was 105,000 points!!
I love my HH cards…
Nice bonus offers on the Ascend and Aspire. I wish the Aspire had better bonus categories, though. It seems to me like they only want to appeal to road warriors with it; otherwise, it is illogical to have a card with a $450 fee that provides lesser benefits at gas stations and grocery stores than even its no AF counterpart.
The Aspire is definitely for road warriors. 14x points — dang.
Keep in mind that like other “premium” cards there are benefits that offset the fee. $250 annual airline credit,$250 resort credit, not to mention the annual free weekend night cert, etc… not to mention Diamond status. Also, 7x Hilton points at restaurants, imho is equal to 3x that the CSR offers.
Do other hotel chains allow points pooling? Or is this a Hilton perk specifically? I wish airlines and the like would allow this….
Hilton specifically allows pooling, but Marriott, Hyatt, and Club Carlson easily let you share. Club Carlson is the most liberal/easiest. Hyatt has a simple form to send it.
After the decrease in the rewards value on the SPG Preferred Amex, the basic no-annual-fee HHonors Amex deserves a second look!
Hilton cards have their place if you are a Hilton stayer. Increased bonuses are a plus.
Great information – thanks!
Thanks for the comprehensive list.
I am interested to know why you don’t recommend transferring Amex membership points to Hilton at a rate of 1:2? W the current sign up bonus of 60k for the Amex platinum card that would equal 120k Hilton points which is 3-4 nights or possibly $300-$800.
That same 60k points could cover a one-way business class ticket to Europe. Given the number of available options to pick up Hilton points, whether through credit cards or actually staying with them (and the ability to pool points), we’d avoid using Membership Rewards for conversion unless it was to top off an award that yielded a savings of greater than $.005 per point in value.
Yea, no brainer there.
I don’t currently have any Hilton cards. May need to think about one!
HH points easy to earn and redeem. But are seriously devalued points system over last few years.
Need to see a Canadian co-branded card!
They may be useful cards but the sign-up bonus are all very weak. For comparison, I value it at 0.5c and Chase UR at 1.5. $450 HH card only gives the same bonus as UR fee free cards.
Thanks for sharing your specific valuation math. It always helps to compare with my own, to keep me up-to-date and insure I’m not missing something.
Thanks for the great reminder!!!
I think Hilton is one of the best hotel loyalty schemes. It is great that there are so many different cards that can be used to earn points.
I like HH points. Great list. Thank you