Best Amex Hotel Card
I like hotel credit cards, and Amex has a solid selection from Hilton and Marriott. But given the variety of useful Amex products and the five credit card limit, one must be selective in which they pick. Beyond that, maximizers should be thoughtful on which to hold long-term. What’s the best Amex hotel card available for new applications with an annual fee around $100? Let’s take a closer look at the features of the Hilton Amex Surpass, Hilton Amex Business, and Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex.
Current Welcome Offers
Perhaps the biggest factor for many prospective cardholders is the current welcome offer for each. Right now, the $95 annual fee Surpass comes with 150k Hilton Honors bonus points after a cardholder spends $3k within six months. The $95 annual fee Hilton Business card offers 165k bonus points after a cardholder spends $5k within three months. The $125 annual fee Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex’s currently-increased offer is 125k bonus points after spending $5k within three months.
MtM assesses the Hilton currency’s average value at 0.5 cents per point and Marriott at 0.67 cents per point. With a bit of flexibility, I’ve been able to easily obtain at least 0.5 cents per Hilton point and 1 cent per Marriott point, and often more. The Hilton cards often sport a welcome offer similar to the current ones. Marriott’s elevated offer is substantially higher than the more normal offer I often see around 75k bonus points. Between that and the overall value one can obtain from the points, the decision’s pretty easy.
Edge: Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex
Bonus Categories
Let’s look at card bonus categories with the Surpass. The card offers the following earning structure:
- 12x at Hilton Honors properties
- 6x at US supermarkets, gas stations, and restaurants
- 3x everywhere else
The Hilton Business card provides the following:
- 12x at Hilton Honors properties
- 6x at US gas stations, shipping providers, and wireless phone services
- 3x everywhere else
Finally, the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex’s earning structure is:
- 6x at Marriott Bonvoy properties
- 4x at US gas stations, shipping providers, and wireless phone services
- 2x everywhere else
The Hilton Business and Marriott Bonvoy Business cards’ bonus categories are relatively similar. Higher earning at US gas stations is nice, but there isn’t much else to draw one in to spend on these cards beyond paid hotel stays. The Surpass offers excellent earning in staple categories of supermarkets, restaurants, and gas stations. Most all individuals can earn handsomely there.
Edge: Hilton Amex Surpass
Big Spend Bonuses
Each card offers additional awards for hitting certain annual big spend thresholds. The Surpass provides a free night certificate, what I consider to be the best of any hotel chain, after spending $15k in one calendar year. The Hilton Business card provides a cert at that same $15k level and another at $60k. Both cards also provide Hilton Honors Diamond elite status when a cardholder hits $40k spend. A Marriott Business cardholder earns an additional 35k free night award after spending $60k annually.
The two Hilton cards clearly tower above the Marriott Business card here. They each offer a superior free night cert at a substantially lower $15k spend threshold. The second cert at $60k puts the Hilton Business card slightly ahead of the Surpass.
Edge: Hilton Amex Business
Perks
The Hilton Surpass and Business cards each come with Hilton Honors Gold status by simply holding one. I consider Hilton Gold as the most superior mid-tier status of any hotel chain; it unlocks a daily food and beverage credit domestically and free breakfast internationally, among other benefits. Each card also provides 10 Priority Pass lounge visits per year. You can read more about this sneaky-good benefit here.
The Marriott Business makes things murky. The card comes with Gold elite status in the Bonvoy program. In my view, the benefits at this level are nowhere near Hilton’s Gold status. Cardholders also obtain 7% off the standard rate of a standard room when booking directly. In reality, this benefit is largely hollow, as individuals can often obtain a superior discount on the Marriott site. The card offers premium internet access at properties, if that matters to you.
But the Marriott Business card offers one other thing the Hilton card doesn’t. A 35k free night award upon card anniversary. No spend requirement is involved for this one; don’t confuse the anniversary free night award with the additional big spend option. Many consider the anniversary cert alone as a good enough reason to hold onto the Marriott Business card.
Edge: Toss-Up!
Analysis
If you’re taking notes, you’ve probably noticed things are pretty even. Each card has an edge in one category, and the perk category is too close to call. In my view, all three cards are worth obtaining sooner or later, it’s just a matter of how to prioritize them. And, of course, the best card for a given individual is a highly personal decision. You’ve probably heard this before. Let’s zoom in a bit more here.
Those of you who prefer Hilton properties currently will want to focus on one of those two cards, obviously. Individuals whose spending focuses more on staple categories of supermarkets, dining, and gas and who don’t spend at high levels will probably win most with the Surpass. Hilton fans who spend a lot should pick up the Business card first. In my view, it’s the best hotel card out there for big spenders.
Of course, Marriott fans should definitely consider the Bonvoy Business card. But they should only apply when a significantly higher welcome offer is currently available, such as now. Given Amex’s once per lifetime language, obtaining a “normal” welcome offer is clearly subpar. From what I’ve noticed, heightened offers are seemingly more frequent with the Hilton cards. For this reason, individuals who like both chains (or have no strong preference either way) may be better off choosing a Hilton card when an elevated Bonvoy Business offer isn’t available.
Conclusion
You may have noticed that I didn’t include the $250 annual fee Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex card in this comparison. First, it’s obviously in a different fee range than the cards in the $100 neighborhood. Second, I think any of the three options above are clearly better to pursue before the Bevy. Regardless, Amex provides several solid hotel card options across multiple chains and annual fee levels. Again, I think they’re all worth picking up – just reflect on your situation and prioritize accordingly. What’s your favorite mid-tier Amex hotel card and why?
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Of course outside of the Surpass (which I really like) the other 2 require you to have a legitimate business. While I realize anyone can set up a business (to sell on EBay for example) you should have a separate TIN and business (can be a sole proprietorship that you can combine w personal tax return) in order not to fraudulently get these cards. Also numerous articles have stated you shouldn’t use the business card for personal expenses for a variety of reasons so you need true business expenses to hit the initial spend.
I realize many scam this but Amex especially monitors these activities and also may report business activity to the IRS so make sure you are careful and doing this above board
Lol