Bottom Line

The Hilton Honors Amex card can be a great entry point into the points and miles world if you prefer Hilton and want a credit card with no annual fee. However, it offers few benefits beyond spending multipliers and Hilton Silver status. Its current sign-up bonus is 70k points—significantly lower than the 130k sign-up bonus on the Hilton Surpass card. If you won’t use the Surpass benefits after the first year, it might be worth paying the Surpass’s $150 annual fee for the higher sign-up bonus, then downgrading later to the no annual fee Hilton Honors card.

Why You Might Want This Card

This is the only personal Hilton-branded card with no annual fee, which makes it especially appealing if you’re just starting out. You can also earn a 70,000-point sign-up bonus after spending $2,000 within six months—enough for a few free nights. The card provides 7x points on Hilton purchases, 5x on restaurants and supermarkets, and 3x on everything else; however, unless you plan to put significant spending on this card, you may be better off pursuing the sign-up bonus on a different card. You’ll receive complimentary Hilton Silver status plus travel insurance and purchase protections, but these perks are relatively limited.

Exceptions To The Rule

Here are some exceptions where the card might not be good for you:

• You want more generous Hilton benefits and don’t mind paying an annual fee to get them.

About Hilton Honors

Hilton is a key component of the points strategy for hotel stays for 3 big reasons:

1. Points are easy to accumulate

2. They have locations in nearly every city globally

3. The perks are great for cardholders

Hilton currently has 4 different cards to choose from -- and they don’t have the strict limitations on carrying different cards as Marriott and Hyatt do. That could easily add up to 500,000 points per person over a few years, which equates to 20-25 hotel nights. The cards also have high multipliers... as high as 30x on Hilton spends, which can be coupled with membership bonuses and 5-7x on select categories and 3x on everyday spending.

Most Hilton cards also come with Gold status. That gives you room upgrades (really nice ones usually) and complimentary breakfast, along with all of the standard hotel membership bonuses.

The downfall of Hilton points is they’re not a good value for transfer. So unless you’re just topping off your points to have enough for booking, it isn’t a good value to transfer Amex Points to Hilton points.

Booking can be a little tricky, so utilize the Points Explorer Tool on their site.

Where Hilton Honors Fits In This Point Ecosystem

The Hilton Honors Amex card is an excellent introductory choice because it doesn’t come with an annual fee. Its logical upgrade is the Hilton Honors Surpass card, which costs $150 per year but offers stronger benefits and a higher 130,000-point sign-up bonus. The Hilton Aspire card stands at the top with 175,000 points and robust perks, although its $550 annual fee makes it ideal only for those who stay at Hilton properties three to four times a year. Finally, the Hilton Honors Amex Business card, with a $195 annual fee, delivers benefits similar to the Surpass and can be an attractive alternative if you need to manage your 5/24 status.

Personal Experience