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Credit card bonus offers come and go, but if you’re looking to use points and miles to help offset the cost of your next getaway, you should take a look at the limited-time welcome offers now available on several Hilton credit cards.
Hilton has four different American Express credit cards — three personal cards and one business one — so you can pick the card that works best for your needs, with options ranging from a no-annual-fee card to a high-end luxury travel card.
Let’s take a look at the welcome bonuses that new card members can potentially earn with each Hilton credit card right now.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card welcome bonus offer
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card is currently offering new card members the chance to earn 130,000 bonus points plus a free night certificate when you spend $2,000 in purchases in the first three months after opening the account.
Although we’ve seen higher offers in the past, you can easily redeem the 130,000 bonus points for multiple nights at thousands of Hilton properties. Plus, you can use the included free night certificate to book a night at any Hilton property so long as there’s standard room availability.
The card comes with a $95 annual (see rates and fees), you’ll find it easy to offset the cost with the many benefits, such as complimentary Gold elite status. If you want to know more about this card, you can check out our full review of the Hilton Surpass to get all the details.
Learn more about the Hilton Honors Amex Surpass card.
Hilton Honors American Express Card welcome bonus offer
If you prefer a card with no annual fee (see rates and fees), the Hilton Honors American Express Card is offering 70,000 bonus points plus a free night certificate to new card members when you spend $1,000 in the first three months after opening the account.
While that’s not as many points as the Hilton Surpass, it’s a very nice bonus for a card that won’t cost you anything to keep year after year. And Hilton points don’t expire as long as you either earn or use points at least once a year, which you can easily do just by using the card itself. And this is all on top of the statement credit — which is easy to earn since you have an entire year.
Learn more about the Hilton Honors Amex Card with no annual fee.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card welcome bonus offer
For small business owners, the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is currently offering 150,000 bonus points plus a free night certificate when you spend $4,000 on the card in the first three months after opening the account.
Just like the Hilton Surpass, the Hilton Business Amex has a $95 annual fee (see rates and fees), and the bonus categories on this card have been specifically selected for small business owners who want to use the card to pay their regular monthly expenses. You can find out more details in our review of the Hilton Business Amex card.
Learn more about the Hilton Honors Amex Business card.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card welcome bonus offer
Finally, if you’re looking for a high-end luxury travel credit card, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is the way to go, with 150,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within your first three months of card membership.
If you stay at Hilton hotels frequently, the Hilton Aspire card can be a terrific choice, as it comes with a slew of Hilton perks. But the card also carries a $450 annual fee (see rates and fees) so you have to really be able to take advantage of those benefits for the card to make sense.
All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by CNN. The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is not currently available through CNN.
How much are these Hilton credit card offers worth?
Although the points you can earn from these welcome offers might sound high compared to many other travel credit cards, not all points are created equal.
Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Hilton Honors points at 0.6 cents apiece, which makes the 150,000-point offers on the Hilton Business card worth $900 towards Hilton hotels. Note that that’s before you factor in the free night certificate, which could save you hundreds of dollars depending on where you stay.
Further, the Hilton Aspire card includes 150,000 bonus points like the Hilton Business card, but you will not receive a free night certificate as part of the welcome offer.
Meanwhile, the 130,000-point offer included with the Hilton Surpass card is worth $780 before you factor in the free night certificate. Despite being lower than the Hilton Business card, this is still a solid points haul.
Finally, 70,000 bonus points that come with the no-annual-fee Hilton Amex Card are worth $420 toward travel based on The Points Guy’s valuations. While it’s not as high as the other Hilton cards, it’s still a decent bonus offer for a card with no annual fee, even when compared to other travel credit cards.
Which Hilton credit card should you consider?
With four different Hilton credit cards to choose from, you might be asking yourself which one is the best. Truly, it depends on your personal travel needs.
If you stay at a Hilton property just once or twice a year, then the no-annual-fee Hilton Amex Card may offer everything you need. However, thanks to its higher welcome bonus offer, the Hilton Amex Surpass card could be more valuable in your first year as a card member.
Bonus points aside, you’ll also get Gold status with the Hilton Amex Surpass, and significantly more points on your Hilton purchases — which could be well worth the $95 annual fee. And although Gold status is only Hilton’s midtier elite status level, it still provides late checkout, complimentary breakfast and space-available upgraded rooms.
The Hilton Amex Business card is similar to the Hilton Surpass card, except as noted earlier, its bonus categories are slightly different, as they’re focused more on typical business expenses. And business travelers will also enjoy the Priority Pass select membership that comes with 10 complimentary airport lounge visits per year.
If travel is high on your radar this year — including staying at multiple Hilton properties — then the Hilton Amex Aspire card might be worth considering, even with a less competitive welcome bonus and higher annual fee.
The card comes with complimentary Diamond elite status, up to $250 in annual airline fee credits for incidental charges at one airline of your choice, up to $250 in credits for incidentals charged to your card at participating Hilton resorts and an unlimited Priority Pass airport lounge membership.
Also, starting when you open your account and at each account anniversary thereafter (meaning each year on the date you first opened the card), you’ll earn a free night reward certificate with the Hilton Amex Aspire card that can be used at almost any Hilton property.
Ultimately, the average person will more likely be drawn to one of the lower-cost Hilton cards, especially with the strong welcome offers. So if you’ve been eyeing a particular Hilton hotel or resort, now’s a good time to consider one of these credit cards to help you plan your next vacation.
Learn more about the Hilton Honors Amex Card.
Learn more about the Hilton Honors Amex Surpass card.
Learn more about the Hilton Honors Amex Business card.
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