AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Offers for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card 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
American Express offers four excellent Hilton credit cards. Each one comes with solid benefits that can deliver long-term value for Hilton members. The $0 annual fee Hilton Honors American Express Card isn’t typically the card from this group that grabs our attention, but with a welcome offer of 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus points and no annual fee, this card is a good option for Hilton fans that only plan to stay a few nights per year, or don't want to pay an annual fee. (Rates & Fees)
- 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.
What Makes This Offer Special?
Any co-brand credit card that doesn’t charge an annual fee is good to have on your radar — especially when it allows you to earn a high-value welcome bonus. The current welcome offer for the Hilton Amex is 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus points, which is a better-than-usual offer for this card.
The Hilton Rewards program usually charges between 5,000 and 95,000 Hilton points for an award night. So you could turn this offer into as many as 20 free nights at low-cost properties or splurge on a luxury redemption for a night at a top-tier hotel. If you're looking for inspiration, check out our roundup of budget-friendly redemptions or Hilton's most luxurious awards.
Hilton Amex Feature Benefits
Complimentary Hilton Silver Status
The Hilton Amex comes with complimentary Silver elite status. This is the lowest elite level in the Hilton program, but there is one huge benefit that you don’t want to overlook:
As a newly minted Hilton elite, you’ll get access to the incredible 5th Night Free benefit on reward stays. That means you’ll only pay for four nights on a five-night stay when you redeem Hilton points. There's no limit to how many times you can use this benefit, so the points savings can really add up.
And since you'll keep Silver status for as long as you hold this no-annual-fee card, the 5th Night Free is one of the best reasons to hang on to your Hilton Amex for the long term.
Spend Your Way to Hilton Gold Status
You can also achieve Hilton Honors Gold status — which is our favorite mid-tier hotel elite status. Hilton Gold includes free breakfast, Wi-Fi, priority check-in/out, and possible room upgrades.
Hilton Amex cardmembers can earn Gold status perks by spending $20,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year. If that spending seems a bit steep, you may want to consider one of the other Hilton co-branded credit cards:
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (earns instant Diamond status)
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (earns instant Gold status)
- The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (earns instant Gold status)
No Foreign Transaction Fees
An improvement over its predecessor, the Hilton Amex now features no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees). That's a big plus for those using the card overseas.
Points Earning Potential and Category Bonuses
The Hilton Amex earns points fast, making it easy to build a sizable balance of points in a short space of time.
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.
Application Restrictions
As with all of Amex’s rewards-earning credit cards, you can only receive a welcome bonus on a particular card product once per lifetime:
“Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.”
Hilton and Amex revamped their credit card portfolio a few years ago. When it did, the Hilton Aspire and Hilton Business Card were considered new products. However, the Hilton Amex wasn't considered a new credit card product. So, if you held an old version of the Hilton Amex, you won’t be eligible to receive the welcome bonus on the revamped Hilton Amex.
However, for those folks that held the Citi® Hilton Honors™ Visa Signature® , you'll be eligible to receive a welcome bonus on the new card — provided you canceled your card before it was converted to the new product.
Final Thoughts
The Hilton Honors American Express Card is a top card for occasional travelers and those that can’t justify paying an annual fee for Hilton’s premium Amex offerings. The card comes with a high-value welcome offer, no foreign transaction fees, and charges no annual fee (Rates & Fees).
You'll start off with complimentary Silver status and have the opportunity to shoot for Gold with an achievable spend. And you’ll find it simple to redeem points for free nights with Hilton's revenue-based rewards program.
If you want a card with better perks and points-earning potential, check out the full lineup of Hilton Honors cards from Amex. Or, if you want the added flexibility of transferring points 1:1 with other airline or hotel partners, discover some of our favorite cards that earn flexible or ‘transferable’ rewards points.
- 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.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: 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.
The 5th Night FREE is only on STANDARD AWARDS and not on PREMIUM AWARDS. Just got to know it yesterday when I was booking 5 nights and the hotel did not have any STANDARD AWARDs but all AWARDS were listed as PREMIUM AWARDS and so I was not given the 5th Night FREE.