The
Hilton Honors American Express Card is a good credit card for travelers with good credit or better who like staying at Hilton hotels but not enough to get a hotel credit card with an annual fee. The Hilton Honors Credit Card has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, and no shortage of rewards points.
Spending
$2,000 in the first
6 months your account is open earns you
80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points - worth around
$488 in Hilton reservations, per our calculations. On top of all that, you earn 7 points per $1 on Hilton stays, 5 points per $1 spent at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations, and 3 points per $1 for all other eligible purchases. The thing you have to keep in mind about those earning rates, however, is that Hilton points are worth about half a cent each. Credit card points are usually worth around twice as much.
Below, you can find more information to help you decide whether the Hilton Honors Amex Card will be worth it for you. We’ll start with a quick recap of the card’s key terms, followed by some additional commentary.
Hilton Honors Credit Card’s Key Terms
- Credit Score Needed: 700+ (good credit)
- Annual Fee: $0
- Initial Bonus Offer: 80,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $2,000 in the first 6 months
- Regular Rewards Rate: 3 - 7 points / $1
- Foreign Fee: 0%
- APR: 20.99% - 29.99% (V)
There’s more to the Hilton Credit Card’s story, though. Keep reading for additional details to help you decide whether or not to apply for the Hilton Honors Card.
Hilton Honors Credit Card Review Highlights
Great-value card bonus
You’ll earn
80,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $2,000 in the first 6 months. That’s not the biggest bonus available, but it is efficient.
Modest ongoing rewards
Considering the relatively low value of an Honors point, the Hilton American Express Card’s ongoing earning rates of 3 to 7 points per $1 spent amount to just 1.89% to 4.41% “cash” back, in the form of Hilton credit. That’s pretty good relative to the average cash rewards card’s offer of
1.15% back on all purchases.
No annual fee
As a result, it is
$22.29 per year cheaper than the average credit card, according to WalletHub’s latest
Credit Card Landscape Report.
Complimentary Silver status
Silver status is just one step up from basic Honors membership, but getting it for free from the Amex Hilton Card is still a nice benefit, given that you usually have to stay in a Hilton hotel at least four times per year to qualify. Silver status gets you a 15% bonus on all the points you earn.
Above-average APR likely
The Hilton Amex Card’s APR ranges from
20.99% to 29.99% (V). The
market average for a card that requires excellent is
18.04%, while the average for a good-credit is
24.12%. And since the rate you get depends on your overall creditworthiness, people with excellent credit can expect something toward the low end, while applicants with good credit can expect a high-end rate. As a result, both groups are likely to overpay on interest if they carry a balance from month to month with the Hilton Amex.
Good or Excellent Credit Required
You need at least good credit to qualify for the Hilton American Express Card, so make sure to
check your credit score for free on WalletHub before applying.
To see where the Hilton Honors Card from American Express ranks among its siblings, check out our comparison of
Best Hilton Credit Cards. And if you aren’t wedded to Hilton, our editors’ picks for the
best hotel credit cards overall definitely are worth a look, too.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.