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American Express recently made some changes to their lineup of Hilton cards. These changes aren’t massive, but they are an improvement over the previous offers available. 

Not all Hilton cards got an update – the high annual fee Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was left untouched, while the other mid-tier cards had some compelling changes to them.

Let’s take a look at what changes were made, and decide if these cards are worth being on your radar.

Overview of Card Offers

You’ll notice a common theme among all of these cards: an elevated bonus. No one is going to complain about earning more points when you open the card. But what helps set them apart compared to their previous offers is the inclusion of a statement credit. 

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card had an all time high bonus of 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first three months of card membership, but note that this offer is no longer currently available. 

We’ve never seen a bonus on any Hilton card above 150,000. The high bonus makes the Hilton Business Amex a very attractive card if you’re in the pursuit of Hilton Honors points.

In addition to the bonus, you would’ve received a $150 statement credit after your first purchase on the card in your first six months. Considering the annual fee on this card is $95, you’re basically being paid $55 to open the Hilton Business Amex card, but note that this offer is no longer currently available.

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first three months of Card Membership.

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Everything else about the card remains unchanged. You’ll still earn 12X Hilton Honors points for every dollar spent on hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio. 6X points per dollar at U.S. gas stations, U.S. shipping purchases and on wireless phone providers in the U.S. And 3X points on all other purchases. 

The free weekend night after spending $15,000 in a calendar year hasn’t gone away either, and you’ll still earn Hilton Honors Gold status just for being a cardmember.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

Similar to its sibling business card, the Hilton Honors American Express Card also had an elevated bonus. You would’ve earned 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first three months after opening the card. And yes, you also got a statement credit, this time of $100, after your first purchase in the first three months of opening the card, but this offer is no longer available.

The Hilton Honors American Express Card has no annual fee, meaning you were being paid $100 to open this card. Everything else stays the same, such as Hilton Silver Status and 5X Hilton bonus points for every dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. restaurants.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

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. Offer ends 4/17/24.

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Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

Finally, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is our last card that received an update. This card also came with an all time high bonus of 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $2,000 in the first three months of card membership, but this offer is no longer available. 

The statement credit is identical to the business card: you got $150 after your first purchase in the first three months of card membership. This offset more than the $95 annual fee ($0 for the first year), meaning you’ll pocket $55 just for opening the card, but this offer is no longer available.

You’ll still earn 12X bonus Hilton Honors points for every dollar spent at Hilton hotels and resorts, 6X bonus points for every dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and at U.S. gas stations, and you’ll also earn 3X bonus points on all other purchases.

For people who can spend $15,000 on the card in one year, you’ll earn a free weekend night. Bump that spend up to $40,000 and you’ll be eligible for Hilton Diamond status.

Which Hilton Honors American Express Card Should You Pick?

There’s a lot to consider when deciding which Hilton Honors American Express card you should pick, but we think there’s a clear winner here: The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card.

Why do we think this one wins out? Let’s take a look at some of the major considerations that point towards The Hilton Honors Business card being the best option among the three.

The Bonus

The first reason why we think The Hilton Honors Business Card wins is, quite simply, it is tied for the best bonus among all three cards. If you really stretched it out, you could get a ton of free Hilton nights from just one welcome bonus. 

While this doesn’t in itself justify the business card above the Hilton Surpass® Card, it is a big contributor that should at least eliminate the Hilton Honors American Express Card from consideration. 

Winners: Hilton Business Amex and Hilton Honors Surpass Card

The Annual Fee

The next thing to consider is the annual fee. This is really a moot point on all three cards, as the statement credit more than makes up for the annual fee you’ll be paying on any of the cards.

If we had to pick a winner when it comes to the annual fee, it must be the personal Hilton Honors card. It has no annual fee, making it a great card to keep long term. The statement credit on the Hilton Honors card isn’t the highest, but compared to the annual fee it is the highest at $100 versus $55 for the other two cards.

Winner: Hilton Honors American Express Card

The Free Night

Both the Hilton Business card and the Hilton Surpass card offer the ability to earn a free weekend night after spending $15,000 in a calendar year. This really isn’t that much, only $1,250 a month. For many people, if you put all of your daily spend on this card you could easily earn a free weekend night every year.

The personal Hilton Amex card doesn’t have the opportunity to earn a free night, so that makes it pretty impossible to win this category.

Winners: Hilton Business Amex and Hilton Honors Surpass

Impact on 5/24 Status

Finally, there’s only one card that won’t impact your 5/24 status. The Hilton Business Amex will not count towards your 5/24 status. So if you’re trying to get below 5/24 or stay below 5/24, there is really only one choice here: the Hilton Business Amex card.

Winner: Hilton Business Amex

Final Verdict

When you consider that you’ll be getting the highest bonus, be able to earn a free weekend night and that it won’t impact your 5/24 status, The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is the winner.

If you’re way past 5/24 with no intention of getting below in the near future, the Hilton Honors Surpass should be your second choice.

The only thing the Hilton Honors Card has going for it is that the net value of the statement credit is the highest, but you’ll still make some money with the other two options. Choosing the Hilton Honors Amex makes sense if you’ve already gotten all the other available Hilton cards, otherwise it isn’t quite as compelling currently.

Why Hilton Points Are Overlooked

Hilton points are often overlooked in favor of more popular options like Hyatt or Marriott, but they really shouldn’t be.

You can get every 5th night free on award bookings so long as you’re Hilton silver or higher. Signing up for any of these cards gets you at least silver status, so you’ll automatically start getting that fifth night free. 

Although top tier Hiltons take a lot of points (95,000), most options will require less. And if you’re trying to transfer points from American Express to Hilton, you’ll find that the transfer ratio is actually quite favorable. Much more so than transferring those same Membership Rewards to Marriott.

Hilton gets a bit of a bad rap because they used to be one of the least valuable hotel points. But the ease of earning, and the favorable transfer ratios should bring them back into favor over time.

Final Thoughts

No matter which card you choose, you’ll be happy to know you’re getting one of the best available Hilton Honors bonuses available. Not only in points, but the offering of a statement credit really helps set these new offers apart.

If we had to pick one to recommend to everyone, it would be The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. You get all of the same benefits as the Hilton Honors Surpass, but without taking up a 5/24 slot.

The Hilton Honors Surpass is a great daily spender if you’re looking to rack up hotel points, but otherwise it should be prioritized only if you’re well beyond 5/24 and not looking back anytime soon.

For those considering the no annual fee Hilton Honors Card, it really only makes sense if you’ve opened up all the other Hilton Honors cards, including the Aspire. It has the lowest bonus. All it really has going for it is the no annual fee and the high statement credit.

Many people have taken Hilton off their radar, but you should really dig into it to decide if it is worth putting it back. There’s a lot of compelling reasons pointing towards the favorability of the Hilton Honors program – and not just these updates to the Hilton Honors cards – that may convince you it’s worth looking into.