Best Hilton Credit Cards

The best way to get Hilton Diamond status is by having the Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card. Diamond Tier status comes complementary with this card.

You can also reach Diamond status by spending $40,000 a year on either the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card or Hilton Honors American Express Business Card.

Lastly, if you don't want to deal with credit cards, you can get the status by completing 30 stays, or 60 nights or earning 120,000 Hilton points in one calendar year.

Hilton points are worth 0.59 cents each, on average. That means 10,000 Hilton points have a value of about $59. 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

You can log in to your Hilton credit card account by entering your username and password on the American Express website underneath the words “Log In to My Account.” This will let you manage all Amex credit card accounts you have, including any of the Hilton Honors Amex cards. Cardholders who do not yet have a username and password can create one by clicking “Create New Online Account.” The site will ask you for your credit card number and the 4-digit security code on your card. Once you have verified your identity, you can create a username and password.

Hilton credit card log in steps:

1. Go to the American Express login page.

2. Enter your username and password.

3. Select “Cards – My Account” from the dropdown menu.

4. Click the blue “Log In” button.

There used to be some Hilton credit cards issued by Citibank, but all existing accounts were replaced with Amex credit cards in 2018. So if you used to have a Citi card, you'll no longer be able to access the Hilton credit card login through the Citi website, and will have to follow the steps for the Amex website.

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.

• 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 

Two credit cards offer Hilton Gold status automatically: the Hilton Honors Surpass Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. The Gold status provided by these Hilton credit cards lasts as long as each card is open, but it isn't exactly free considering the Surpass Card has a $95 annual fee and the Business Card charges $95. Still, those fees are a bargain compared to what it would normally cost to earn Gold status: 40 nights, 20 stays or 75,000 base points earned. It's also worth noting that Surpass cardholders 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.

There is another Hilton credit card that offers Hilton Gold status, too, just not automatically. The Hilton Honors American Express Card gives 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.

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 gives a bonus of 150,000 points to new cardholders who spend $4,000 in the first 3 months, $250 in credits annually for incidental charges from airlines, and $250 annually for eligible Hilton Resorts purchases. Plus, signing up will get you a free weekend night at a Hilton property. You'll also get complimentary Diamond Status in the Hilton Honors loyalty program, which gives your 5th night free when you book with rewards points, free breakfast, executive lounge access, and more. The annual fee is $450.

Between these 2 massive hotel brands, there are 8 co-branded credit cards available: 4 for each hotel, and 5 total for consumers. They're all for good credit or better, but not all of them have the hefty annual fee of the Hilton Aspire Credit Card, and all offer different levels of hotel perks. Each brand has a card with no annual fee, too.

The Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card is the best of the Marriott cards because its sign-up bonus of 100,000 points after spending $3,000 in 3 months. Plus, you get a free night after each account anniversary. You'll also get Silver Elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, which comes with late check-out, extra point-earning potential, and more. The annual fee is only $95.

If you're not keen on paying for your hotel loyalty, the Hilton Honors American Express card and the Marriott Bonvoy Bold card are these hotel brands' no-annual-fee options. Each gives complimentary Silver-level status in the corresponding loyalty program, and both give good signup bonuses and points-earning potential. The Hilton Honors Amex Card comes with the famed 5th Award Night Free perk, too.