
This is significantly below the 1 cent per point/mile valuation offered by most general-use rewards cards. It also means you’ll need roughly 50,000 Hilton Honors points to book a rewards night at the average Hilton hotel, according to WalletHub research. However, Hilton’s credit cards provide up to 12 points per $1 spent at Hilton properties, which tilts the value proposition in a cardholder’s favor if they regularly patron the chain.
Best Hilton Credit Cards
Credit Card | Best For | Annual Fee |
Hilton Honors American Express Card | No Annual Fee | $0 |
Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card | Diamond Status | $450 |
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Any Hotel | $95 |
Amtrak Credit Card | Hilton Rewards Partner | $79 |
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | Initial Bonus | $95 |
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card | Business | $95 |
Other Hilton Credit Cards
Citi® Hilton Honors™ Reserve Card
Quick Take: Citibank is no longer accepting new applications for this card, as of June 2017.
More Details: You’ll earn 10 points per $1 spent through Hilton, 5 points per $1 on car rental and airfare purchases, and 3 points per $1 on everything else.
While cardholders also get complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and do not have to worry about foreign transaction fees, this card does charge a $95 annual fee that could alter its value proposition depending on your spending habits. However, this can be partially offset by those who qualify for a free weekend night by spending at least $10,000 on purchases each year.
Citi® Hilton Honors™ Visa Signature® Card
Quick Take: Citibank is no longer accepting new applications for this card, as of June 2017.
More Details: You’ll receive 6 points per $1 spent with Hilton, 3 points per $1 spent at supermarkets, gas stations and drug stores, and 2 points per $1 on everything else. Cardholders also automatically earn Hilton Honors Silver status and receive a 10,000-point bonus each year they spend at least $1,000 at Hilton properties.
It does not have an annual fee but does charge a 3% foreign transaction fee. What’s more, it’s important to note that Visa Signature cards have a feature known as No Preset Spending Limit (NPSL). That means your spending limit is determined on a monthly basis and you’ll never really know how much available credit is left at your disposal. It also complicates credit reporting and may lead to underserved credit score damage.
You also have to recognize the possibility that the best credit card for saving money on hotel stays might not bear the Hilton brand name. That means you should check out what other hotel rewards credit cards have to offer if you want to be really thorough.
Methodology for Selecting the Best Hilton Credit Card
There are seven factors to consider when comparing Hilton credit cards in search of the best offer for your particular needs:
- Minimum credit score required
- Annual fee
- Initial bonus
- Earning rate on Hilton purchases
- Earning rates on other purchases (if you plan to use the card for non-Hilton spending)
- Starting Honors status level
- Foreign transaction fee (if you plan to travel abroad)
As you can see, interest rates and balance transfer fees aren’t on the list. That’s because rewards cards should only be used for expenses that you can pay off in full by your monthly due date. Rewards cards tend to charge high interest rates, which means carrying a balance would significantly diminish the value of your earnings.
How much you plan to spend also plays a big role in terms of both your ability to pay the monthly bills in full and how rewarding a given credit card will be. On that note, when evaluating cards with initial rewards bonuses, we include the bonus if a cardholder would earn it by spending an average of $700 per month for up to four months. And for our heavy-spender category (10X the average person's hotel spending), we double the expected spending. Any other bonuses past the four-month mark that require spending to earn are included in calculations if the spending requirement can be met based on the standard spending assumptions we used. Those spending assumptions are derived from Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Hilton Honors Rewards Program Summary
Unlike Hilton’s credit cards, the overall Hilton Honors loyalty program is beneficial only to those who regularly stay at Hilton properties. In other words, while the right Hilton Honors credit card could provide significant initial value, allowing you to stay at a Hilton property without ever stepping foot in one before, there are no sign-up bonuses for joining the program absent of a credit card and most of its perks are provided proportionally to your stay frequency.
With that being said, opening a Hilton Honors credit card is an excellent way for a newly brand-loyal guest to expedite worthwhile perks. That’s because it’s far more cost effective to garner Hilton status by opening one of the company’s co-branded cards – even if it has an annual fee – than by qualifying based on how often you stay at Hilton properties each year. (see http://g.co/ng/security#xss) (see http://g.co/ng/security#xss)