Hilton Honors American Express Business Card Review
American Express took over the entire Hilton portfolio, they used to share the portfolio with Citibank, in early 2018. Upon taking over the portfolio they revamped the whole Hilton credit card lineup and they even introduced a business credit card. This is the first co branded business card Hilton has ever had.
Hilton is the third largest hotel chain in the world with over 5,000 hotels and resorts in their portfolio. They have hotels in over 100 countries and boast 13 unique hotel brands. The brands include Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Curio, Hilton, Hampton etc.
The Current Sign Up Bonus vs The Historical High
LIMITED TIME OFFER:
- Earn 125,00 Hilton Honors points after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months of card membership.
- Expires 6/27/18
With this being a brand new card the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card’s current offer is also the historical high by default. The details of the bonus are as follows:
- Earn up to 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points
- Get 75,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership
- Get an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you make an additional $1,000 in purchases with your new Card within your first 6 months.
CLICK HERE to get more details and learn how to apply for this card and other business credit cards!
Bonus Restrictions
Note that American Express currently has a “one bonus per product per lifetime” policy and you are only eligible for this bonus if you have not had this card before.
American Express will only approve 1 credit card every 5 days. They will also only approve 2 credit cards in a rolling 90 day period.
These rules may come into play if you have recently applied for an American Express card or two. Charge cards, like the American Express Platinum, do not come into play with these figures, only credit cards.
Learn more: Compare this and other offers and apply online by CLICKING HERE.
Earning Structure
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card has the following earning structure:
- 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
- 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service producers and U.S. purchases for shipping
- 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S. restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, and car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
Cardmember Perks
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card comes with the following card member perks:
- No foreign transaction fees
- One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $15,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- A second Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $60,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- 10 free priority pass lounge passes
- Complimentary Hilton Honors gold status. Earn Diamond status after spending $40,000 in purchases within a calendar year
CLICK HERE to get more details and learn how to apply for this card and other business credit cards!
Fees
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card comes with a $95 per year annual fee which is NOT waived the first year.
Sign Up Bonus Value – $400 (Net $305)
Hilton Honor points are valued at $0.004 each. 100,000 points would be worth $400. You get a net value of $305 after taking the $95 annual fee into account.
Summary
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card comes with a great earning structure and instant Hilton Honors Gold status (which rivals most other hotel program’s top status). It is possible to quickly amass Hilton points by taking advantage of the 6X earning categories or via paid stays. The Hilton Honors Business Card is also a part of the Amex Offers program, which can help offset, if not cover, the annual fee.
The card has a similar earning structure and perks as the personal Ascend card (old Surpass card). It mainly differs with the 6x earning categories, focusing on large business expenses instead of personal expenses.
The best perk of the card is the free night certificate after $15,000 in spend. That gives you a chance to get out sized value. Since it works at almost any hotel in the Hilton family you could get more than $1,000 in value from the one night stay. Assuming you get at least $250 in value from it that would bring you an additional 1.66% return on your first $15,000 in spend. Add that to the standard 1.2% you earn from the 3 points per dollar, assuming all non bonused spend, and you are getting a return of 2.86% on non bonused spend. A pretty great return!
Learn more: Compare this and other offers and apply online by CLICKING HERE.
Long Term Keep or Cancel
If you are able to spend $15,000 on the card every year then the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is a long term keeper. That is assuming you can use the free weekend night certificate.
Hilton Honors Gold status, along with Amex Offers, should offset the $95 annual fee. As long as you use the free breakfast perk a few times per year, especially with a family, you are coming out ahead!
If you don’t find value in either of those perks then this wouldn’t be a long term keeper for you. It would still be worth getting for the sign up bonus in order to pad your Hilton Honor points. But, you would probably want to cancel it after the first year.
Conclusion
It is nice to see another hotel brand get a business version of their credit card. It is surprising that more hotel chains do not have a business version in their lineup.
This is a pretty solid offer for a new card. The Hilton Honors American Express Business card comes with some nice perks, a rewarding earning structure, and a reasonable annual fee.
The real beauty of the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is that it is a business card. Because it is a business card it will not count towards Chase’s 5/24 rule if you were to apply. You can get the perks and bonus that the personal Ascend card offers, without adding to your 5/24 count.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
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