UPDATE: This offer has expired.
A few months ago American Express launched a few new Hilton co-branded credit cards and are now even increasing the sign up offers! There are two personal cards and one business card and if you were to apply and be approved for all three that would earn you 300,000 bonus points (after meeting the minimum spend requirements). One thing to note is that the Hilton Ascend Card is not being launched as a “new” product which means that anyone who has had the Hilton Surpass card in the past will not be eligible for the welcome bonus.
Key Links:
Personal Cards:
- Hilton Honors Ascend Card from American Express – Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. $95 annual fee. Plus, earn a free weekend night award after your first anniversary of Card Membership. Offer ends 06/27/2018. *Terms apply.
- Hilton Honors Card from American Express – Limited Time Offer: Earn 75,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors Card after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 06/27/2018. No annual fee. *Terms apply.
Business Card
- Hilton Honors American Express Business Card – Limited Time Offer: Earn 125,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your Card in the first 3 months. $95 annual fee. *Terms apply.
Personal Version Differences
There are two different personal cards, the Hilton Honors Ascend Card from American Express that comes with a $95 annual fee and the Hilton Honors Card from American Express which carries no annual fee. Aside from the annual fee and the welcome offer, the main difference between the two cards are the number of points you earn on purchases, the automatic status you receive, and the opportunity to earn another free night annually. So for paying an annual fee you’ll earn these better perks:
- 25,000 more points from the welcome offer – The Ascend offers 100,000 points while the regular offer is for 75,000 points. Let’s say you value Hilton points at 0.6 cents per point, the increased 25,000 points is worth $150.
- Free night certificate from the welcome offer – The Ascend offer will also give you a free weekend night certificate after your first anniversary year. I personally value this certificate at a conservative $250 value, although I really think most people will get a much higher value, but I like to be conservative when giving numbers.
- Status – The Ascend card will automatically give you Gold status where the other no annual fee personal card comes with Silver status. While both give you status, having Gold status at Hilton is pretty good. Gold status gives you complimentary breakfast and the possibility of getting lounge access. Definitely a good status to have to save you some money on your Hilton stays.
- Another free night certificate – On an annual basis (separate from the welcome offer certificate), with the Ascend card you can receive another free night certificate after you spend $15,000 on the card annually. This is actually a pretty low spend to earn the free night certificate, so something you absolutely might consider!
So for the 25,000 extra points, the free night certificate, and automatic Gold status, I personally think the Ascend offer is better. But if you are looking for a no annual fee card, then the other card could be better for you longer term. Remember though, if you are looking to really increase your Hilton points, you are eligible to earn both offers since they are different products!
Business Version
Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is a relatively brand new card where everyone is eligible for the welcome offer (as long as you are approved for the card). This card also has some great benefits, including:
- Free weekend night certificate – Spend $15,000 on purchases on the card in a calendar year and you’ll receive a free night certificate which you can use on a weekend at most Hilton hotels. You can receive this free night every year once you meet the spend threshold. This is the same free night certificate that you’ll receive on an annual basis with the Ascend card (personal version).
- Priority Pass lounge access – You’ll receive 10 complimentary Priority Pass lounge passes per year.
The business card comes with the highest bonus out of all three cards, which makes this offer extremely attractive! With this card offer you can receive 125,000 bonus points after meeting the minimum spend requirements!
What are Hilton Points Worth?
Last year Hilton introduced an entirely new program. Instead of “Hilton HHonors”, they are now “Hilton Honors” and the name change came along with an entirely new redemption process. Hilton got rid of their award chart and you’ll now be charged a certain number of points depending on the price of the hotel, although it is not a fixed rate. They also introduced a points and cash option where you can pick the amount of points and cash you’d like to use based on a sliding scale for every hotel stay.
Below is the old reward chart that they got rid of. So the points required will not exceed the higher range amount for each category.
As I mentioned above, Hilton points are worth around 0.6 cents per point. This means 75,000 bonus points are worth about $450, 100,000 bonus points are worth about $600, and 125,000 bonus points are worth about $750. And one thing to point out is that all three cards give you automatic status (the two cards that carry an annual fee give you Gold status and the no annual fee card has Silver status). Having status is important with Hilton (even if it is the lowest level status) because you will then receive your 5th night free when using points for your stay. This will make your points for further and ultimately be worth more if you like to stay at properties for a longer time. You can read more about the perks of Hilton status here.
Overall…
These are three great offers for the card and if you are looking to rack up your Hilton point balance, I highly recommend them!
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