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Hilton used to partner with Citi for the issuance of their co-branded credit cards. In January of 2018, Hilton dumped Citi for Amex, and four new Amex Hilton cards hit the market:

  • Hilton Honors Card (No annual fee)
  • Hilton Honors Ascend Card ($95 annual fee)
  • Hilton Honors Business Card ($95 annual fee)
  • Hilton Honors Aspire Card ($450 annual fee)

As of right now, the bonuses for each are as follows:

Amex CardSign-up Bonus
Hilton Honors Card75,000 points for $1k spend in the first 3 months
Hilton Honors Ascend Card100,000 points for $3k spend in the first 3 months
Hilton Honors Business Card125,000 points for $5k spend in the first 3 months
Hilton Honors Aspire Card100,000 points for $4k spend in the first 3 months

The 75k, 100k, and 125k bonuses for the first three cards are all marketed as limited time offers that end June 27, 2018. Amex must receive your application by today, so I would apply before midnight tonight ET.

Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Travel Credit Cards.

Hilton Honors Card

Quick Facts

  • Sign-up Bonus: 75,000 points for spending $1,000 within three months of opening the card
  • Elite Status: Automatic Silver Status; Spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year and you can earn an upgrade to Gold status through the end of the next calendar year
  • Category Bonuses: 7x at Hilton hotels; 5x at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations; 3x on everything else
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees
  • No Annual Fee

Hilton Honors Ascend Card

Quick Facts

  • Sign-up Bonus: 100,000 points for spending $3,000 within three months of opening the card, and a free Weekend Night Reward (at any Hilton excluding those listed here) after your first anniversary of card membership
  • Ongoing Spend Bonus: free Weekend Night Reward after you spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year
  • Elite Status: Automatic Gold Status; Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year
  • Category Bonuses: 12x at Hilton hotels; 6x at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations; 3x on everything else
  • Lounge Access: 10 free Priority Pass Lounge visits per calendar year
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees
  • Annual Fee: $95

Hilton Honors Business Card

Quick Facts

  • Sign-up Bonus: 125,000 points for spending $5,000 within three months of opening the card
  • Ongoing Spend Bonus: free Weekend Night Reward (at any Hilton excluding those listed here) after you spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year, spending $60k in a year will earn you a second
  • Elite Status: Automatic Gold Status; Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year
  • Category Bonuses: 12x at Hilton hotels; 6x at U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchases directly from U.S. service providers, U.S. purchases for shipping, at U.S. restaurants, on flights booked directly with airlines or with AmexTravel.com, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies; 3x on everything else
  • Lounge Access: 10 free Priority Pass Lounge visits per calendar year
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees
  • Annual Fee: $95
The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, where you could spend a Free Weekend Night Reward
The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, where you could spend a Free Weekend Night Reward

How to Use Hilton Points for Maximum Value

I still agree with the strategies outlined in this post. Save your Free Weekend Night Certificates for top tier Hiltons, and use your points on [what used to be called] Category 1 to 3 Hiltons, that cost anywhere from 5k to 20k points a night. You can find locations for good redemptions (when it’s actually worth redeeming points because the rooms tend to be more expensive) in these posts:

The Citi card offers listed in those posts are dead, as like I said above, Hilton now exclusively partners with Amex.

But you’ll still get the fifth night free on award stays as a cardholder of any of the Amex Hilton Cards, as that is a benefit of Silver status (and all cards come with Silver or higher Hilton status). So like before, you’ll still get the most value per point redeeming on five night stays as you’ll only pay for four award nights.

Points & Money Awards

While I still consider the Free Weekend Night certificates the best option for getting top tier Hilton stays totally free, it’s not likely you’re going to earn a ton of those, and who would want to stay somewhere for just one or two nights if they travel far to get there? That’s where Points & Money Awards come in… making top-tier properties more affordable.

Hilton Cairo World Trade Center Residences, 20k points/night or 80k points for five nights if you have a Hilton Amex Card
Hilton Cairo World Trade Center Residences, 20k points/night or 80k points for five nights if you have a Hilton Amex Card

Thankfully you don’t need 40% of the points necessary to book a Free Night to book a Points & Money Award like you used to. Read more about Hilton Honors Points & Money Awards in Hilton Changes: Revenue-Based Pricing and Points & Money Awards.

In Regards to Eligibility

At this point, you cannot apply for all three of these cards today and expect to get approved. The shared wisdom is that you can be approved for no more than one Amex card in a five day period. Also don’t forget that you are limited to holding four to five American Express credit cards. Both personal and business count toward this limit. (AMEX Everyday, Delta, and SPG are credit cards.)

Separately, you are limited to holding four to five American Express charge cards. Both personal and business count toward this limit. (AMEX Platinum is a charge card.) If you’re not sure how many you have, don’t worry, Amex will likely let you know before officially pulling your credit.

If you are trying to get back under the Chase 5/24 limit, then the Hilton Honors Business Card is the choice for you. Business cards from Amex (and most other banks) do not typically count towards your 5/24 total.

Bottom Line

If you were contemplating one of the three limited time elevated sign up bonuses, on either the Hilton Honors Card, Hilton Honors Ascend Card, or Hilton Honors Business Card, now’s the time to act. Apply before midnight tonight (ET) as the bonuses are scheduled to end June 27, 2018 (today).

The 100k bonus on Amex’s premium Hilton card, the Aspire, is not marketed as a limited-time bonus and has no published expiration date.

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


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