Best Hilton Credit Cards

No, Hilton Honors is not a credit card. Hilton Honors is the name of the loyalty rewards program for the Hilton hotel chain. However, there are several co-branded credit cards that have Hilton Honors in their name. Those include the Hilton Honors American Express Card, the Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card, and Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, among others.

What you should know about the Hilton Honors program:

• How the program works: The Hilton Honors program offers different levels of benefits depending on how often you stay at Hilton properties around the world and how much you spend with your Hilton credit card.
• Benefits offered: Free WiFi, digital check-in and check-out and room discount rates are some of the benefits you will enjoy, even by just registering as a free member.
• Levels of benefits: There are 4 different status levels: Member, Silver, Gold, and Diamond.
• Points Expiration: Points expire after 24 months of account inactivity.

It is worth noting that certain Hilton credit cards offer complimentary Silver, Gold, or Diamond status. So, if you're interested in participating in the Hilton Honors program, applying for one of their co-branded cards might be best option. That's because you'll have access to certain benefits just by being a cardholder. 

Best Hilton Credit Cards in 2022

It is worth noting that all these credit cards require at least good credit for approval. So, make sure you know where you stand before applying. You can check your credit score for free, right here on WalletHub.

Both Hilton Honors Surpass Card and Hilton Business Credit Card offer complimentary Hilton Gold status. The perk provided by these Hilton credit cards lasts as long as each card is open. But it isn't exactly free considering the Hilton Honors Surpass Card has an annual fee of $0 intro 1st yr, $95 after and the Hilton Business Credit Card charges $95. 

Still, those fees are a bargain compared to what it would normally cost to earn Gold status: 28 nights, 14 stays or 52,500 base points earned. It's also worth noting that Hilton Honors Surpass Card members who spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year get an upgrade to Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year. 

Credit cards that give you Hilton Gold status:

This card offers complimentary Hilton Gold status among other perks. In addition, you can earn 130,000 points for spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. The annual fee is $0 intro 1st yr, $95 after. All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has been collected independently by WalletHub. The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is no longer available to new applicants through WalletHub, but may be available on the American Express website.

It offers complimentary Hilton Gold status. And you can earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. The annual fee is $95.

This card offers Hilton Gold status, but you need to enroll first. In addition, you can earn 100,000 points for spending $6,000 in the first 6 months. The annual fee is $695. 

It offers complimentary Hilton Gold status upon enrollment. And you can earn 120,000 points for spending $15,000 within 3 months. The annual fee is $695. 

There is another Hilton credit card that gives Hilton Gold status, too, just not automatically. The Hilton Credit Card offers complimentary Silver status. But cardholders who spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year get upgraded to Gold status through the end of the next calendar year. This card has a $0 annual fee. 

Hilton Gold status offers special perks when staying at Hilton properties, such as complimentary room upgrades if available, a free continental breakfast and 80% bonus points on stays. 

The Hilton Credit Card annual fee is $0 per year. Hilton Credit Card's $0 annual fee is lower than the average annual fee among new credit card offers right now. It's not the only fee you need to worry about with the Hilton Honors American Express Card, though

Hilton Credit Card Fees

• Annual Fee: $0
• Cash Advance Fee: 5% (min $10)
• Foreign Fee: 0%
• Max Late Fee: $40

Hilton Honors points expire after 15 months with no account activity as well as when you close your account with unused rewards. To prevent Hilton Honors points from expiring, redeem your points on a regular basis and make sure to cash in any unredeemed rewards before closing your account.

When Hilton Honors points will expire:

• After 15 months without account activity.
• When you or Hilton closes the account.

Even though Hilton Honors points expire only in these select situations, it's still a good idea to avoid building up a big Hilton Honors rewards balance because that would make you more vulnerable to rewards devaluation.

If you're trying to choose a hotel rewards program and are concerned about rewards expiration policies, you can see how the Hilton Honors points expiration policy compares to other popular companies' policies in the table below.

Hilton Honors Points Expiration vs. The Competition 

Hilton points are worth 0.58 cents each, on average. That means 10,000 Hilton points have a value of about $58. Plus, Hilton points are less valuable than the average hotel points, which are worth roughly 0.95 cents each.

It's important to remember that the value of Hilton points depends on how they are redeemed. They have the most value when used for Hilton Honors hotel reservations. You can easily calculate the value of Hilton points for any redemption method, though. Just divide the dollar value of your redemption item by the number of points needed to get it.

How to Earn More Hilton Points

One of the best ways to increase the number of Hilton points that you earn is to apply for a Hilton credit card. That can also help you reach a higher status tier in the Hilton Honors loyalty program, further boosting your earning potential.

Hilton Points vs. The Competition

How to Calculate the Value of Hilton Points

The easiest way to calculate the value of Hilton points is to determine the dollar value of what you're redeeming for, minus any taxes and fees that you'll still have to pay, and then divide that amount by the number of points you're required to redeem. For your convenience, here's the formula:

Dollar Value of Redemption Item / Number of Hilton Points Needed = Hilton Point Value

To upgrade a Hilton Honors card, log in to your online account and scroll down to “Amex Offers & Benefits” to see if you have a targeted upgrade offer from American Express. If this reveals an offer for a Hilton Honors credit card upgrade, click “Request an Upgrade” before the expiration date on the offer. Some cardholders also report getting upgrade offers by email.

If you don't have any targeted offers, call American Express at 1 (800) 528-4800. When you call, the representative will check to see if there are any targeted offers that haven't shown up in your online account. Even if there aren't any offers, you can still ask for an upgrade – if your account has been open for at least a year.

If you upgrade your Hilton Honors card without a targeted offer, you won't be eligible for any initial bonuses on the new card. In contrast, targeted offers often come with bonus points for spending a certain amount of money in the first few months after the upgrade. That's why you should always check for targeted offers first when upgrading a Hilton Honors card.

Whether you request an upgrade through a targeted offer or by calling Amex, they'll do a soft pull of your credit to determine your final eligibility. It won't impact your credit score, but it will help Amex make the decision of whether to accept or deny the upgrade.

The Hilton Honors Amex card primarily uses the Experian credit bureau for approval. That doesn't mean that it won't use the other two major credit bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax.

There is no significant difference between these three reports, anyway, since their source is your financial activity.

As for reporting, Amex uses all three major credit bureaus, on a monthly basis.

You can get a Hilton credit card authorization form by calling the Hilton location you will visit and asking them to send one to you by email (Hilton does not provide a general form to use for all locations). The authorization form will let the Hilton hotel know that your stay can be charged to someone else's credit card, or that someone else's stay can be charged to yours. When the guest arrives at the Hilton hotel, they must present the Hilton credit card authorization form at the front desk in order to check in. This lets the hotel know that the booking is valid and wasn't made with a stolen credit card.

A Hilton credit card authorization form is useful for situations like gifting a vacation to someone or having a company card pay for an employee's stay during a conference. The form will include information like the names and contact information of the guests and the owner of the credit card, the booking confirmation number and the credit card number. It will also specify what charges the cardholder is willing to pay for – for example, you might authorize the room expenses to be charged to the card, but make the guest pay for incidentals. The form will require the cardholder's signature, too.

Hilton credit card free night certificates are good for a free weekend night stay in a double-occupancy room, including taxes, at nearly 6,000 Hilton properties. The Hilton Aspire, Hilton Surpass, and Hilton Business credit cards all give free night certificates. Certificates are valid for one year from the date they're earned and can only be used for weekend stays. Normally, at least. To accommodate customers whose travel plans have been affected by COVID-19, Hilton credit card free night certificates earned March 11-April 30, 2020 are valid through August 31, 2021, and certificates issued May 1-December 31, 2020 are valid for 24 months from the date they're issued. They can also be used on any weeknight.

The criteria for earning free night certificates vary. The Aspire card, for example, gets you a free night certificate upon account opening and every year that the card is renewed. You'll receive a second free night when spending $60,000 on the card in a calendar year. All eligible Hilton credit cards will award you at least one free night certificate after you spend a specific amount every year. You'll receive an e-mail with your free night rewards number and booking instructions within 8-12 weeks after you qualify.

To redeem your Hilton credit card free night certificate, you'll need to visit the Hilton website and search for Hilton hotels with “Standard Room Reward” listed in the results. You cannot redeem the free night certificate online, so once you've found an available room, you'll need to call Hilton customer service at 1 (800) 446-6677 to apply the free night toward your stay.

You should get a Hilton credit card, rather than a Marriott credit card, but not just any will do. Out of all the Marriott and Hilton credit cards, the best offer is the Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card because it offers an initial bonus of 150,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months and plenty of benefits for hotel stays and airlines.

If you prefer Marriott, you should consider getting the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card. It is the best of the Marriott cards because it offers 100,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. Plus, it has many hotel-related benefits such as free nights and Silver Elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, among other perks.

Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card vs. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless:

Between these 2 massive hotel brands, there are 8 co-branded credit cards available: 4 for each hotel, and 6 total for consumers. They all require good credit or better, but not all of them have the hefty annual fee of the Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card, and all offer different levels of hotel perks. Each brand has a card with no annual fee, too.

Here are other good Hilton credit card options:

Here are other good Marriott credit card options:

Ultimately, both Hilton and Marriott credit cards can offer solid value to frequent travelers. So, the decision really comes down to your hotel preferences. If you cannot decide between the two, you should consider getting a travel credit card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This card offers 5 points / $1 spent on any travel purchases booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards.