American Express and Hilton have four co-branded credit cards. These cards offer valuable benefits for those who stay at Hiltons with any frequency, so if you travel frequently, it’s worth having one of these cards in your wallet.
At the moment, all four cards are offering limited time welcome offers. I wanted to post a reminder of this, as the offers on the personal cards are expected to be pulled in the coming days, so this is your last chance to apply.
In this post:
Limited time Hilton Amex Card welcome offers
At the moment, some of the Hilton Honors Amex cards are offering limited time welcome offers, while others have standard offers that are worth considering. Let’s go over the details, starting with the most basic card, all the way up to the most premium card.
Hilton Honors Amex Card 80,000 points offer
The Hilton Honors American Express Card has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), and has a welcome offer of 80,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $2,000 within the first six months.
Beyond the welcome offer, the Hilton Honors Amex Card features the following perks in the long run:
- 7x points for eligible spending at Hilton hotels
- Hilton Honors Silver status for as long as you have the card
- Hilton Honors Gold status when you spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year
Read a full review of the Hilton Honors Amex Card.
Hilton Honors Surpass Card 130,000 points offer
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card has a $150 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and has a welcome offer of 130,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $3,000 within the first six months. While this is not a limited time offer, it is worth considering..
Beyond the welcome offer, the Hilton Honors Surpass Card features the following perks in the long run (the card was recently refreshed):
- 12x points for spending at Hilton hotels
- Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as you have the card
- Hilton Honors Diamond status when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year
- Up to $200 in Hilton credits per year — up to a $50 statement credit for Hilton stays per quarter
- A Hilton free night reward when you spend $15,000 on the card in a year
- National Emerald Club Executive status
Read a full review of the Hilton Honors Surpass Card.
Hilton Honors Business Card 175,000 points offer
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card has a $195 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and for applications through June 5, 2024, the card has a welcome offer of 175,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $8,000 within the first six months. As a point of comparison, previously the card offered up to 130,000 points.
Beyond the welcome offer, the Hilton Honors Business Card features the following perks in the long run (the card was recently refreshed):
- 12x points for spending on eligible Hilton purchases
- 5x points on other purchases made on the first $100,000 in purchases each calendar year (3x points thereafter)
- Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as you have the card
- Hilton Honors Diamond status when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year
- Up to $240 in Hilton credits per year — up to a $60 statement credit for Hilton stays per quarter
Read a full review of the Hilton Honors Business Card.
Hilton Honors Aspire Card 175,000 points offer
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has a $550 annual fee, and for applications through April 17, 2024, the card has a welcome offer of 175,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $6,000 within the first six months. As a point of comparison, previously the card offered up to 150,000 points.
Beyond the welcome offer, the Hilton Aspire Card features the following perks in the long run (the card was recently refreshed):
- 14x points for spending at Hilton hotels
- Hilton Honors Diamond status for as long as you have the card
- Up to $400 in Hilton resort credits annually — up to a $200 statement credit for Hilton resort stays semi-annually
- Up to a $200 flight credit annually — up to a $50 statement credit for flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel once per quarter
- Up to a $189 CLEAR Plus credit annually — enroll in CLEAR and charge it to your card, and you’ll be reimbursed up to $189 per year
- A Hilton free night reward every year, a second one when you spend $30,000 on the card in a year, and a third one if you spend $60,000 on the card in a year
- National Emerald Club Executive status
Read a full review of the Hilton Aspire Card.
The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Are you eligible for Hilton Honors Amex cards?
Anecdotally Hilton Honors Amex cards are pretty easy to be approved for:
- Each of these cards is considered a separate product, so you’re eligible for the welcome offer on each card, within the typical “once in a lifetime” rule
- The standard American Express card application rules apply, including that you’re generally limited to having five Amex credit cards at a given point (this doesn’t include charge cards and hybrid cards)
- For those with excellent credit, I find Amex credit cards to be among the easiest to be approved for
- If you are worried about Chase’s 5/24 rule, applying for the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card won’t count as a further card toward that limit
Which Hilton Honors Amex offer is best?
If you’re trying to decide which of these offers makes the most sense, here are a few considerations:
- If you’ve already had a Hilton Honors Amex card, pick up a card that you haven’t had before, so you’re eligible for the welcome offer
- If you’re looking for a personal card, you really can’t go wrong with the Hilton Honors American Express Card or Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card; I’d say the latter is worth the annual fee, given the better bonus and incremental perks
- Personally I think the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is worth the fee, especially if you stay at Hilton resorts at least once every six months
- If you’re looking for a business card, the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is your best bet, and fortunately, it’s a great card with a solid bonus
Bottom line
At the moment we’re seeing limited time welcome offers on some of the Hilton Honors’ co-branded credit cards.
If you’re looking for a no annual fee card, then the Hilton Honors American Express Card is for you. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a card with stronger perks and an even better bonus, I recommend the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card or Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. Meanwhile if you’re looking for a business card, the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is for you.
Do you plan on picking up a Hilton Honors Amex with these bonuses?
The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Hilton Honors American Express Card (Rates & Fees), The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees).
Wow. Wow. This article just screams of sellout. American Express just did a massive and I mean massive increase on their Hilton cards while cutting benefits. Nowhere does it say it on that. Sure let’s sign up now. Two days after they upped the fee up on the business card from $95 to 195. Oh, and let’s sign up also because they got rid of their free night.
I really like your column. But not this time. Swing and a miss
@ Dublin -- Thanks for reading! I always post about limited time offers on cards, and this is no exception. We just saw a new limited time offer rolled out on the business card, and that's why I published this post. I also do link to the card changes in this post.
Welcome offers of course often coincide with benefit changes, i understand that a lot of folks who are new to this game haven't clocked that fact but since you went so far as to comment, i have to ask: wtf are you on about, friend?