Overview of the Hilton HHonors™ Card from American Express

Last Reviewed: 10/22/2010

The Hilton HHonorsTM Card from American Express is a serious player in the hotel credit card space.  More often than not it ranks very highly in the GetDebit Ranking Engine when we screen for hotel credit cards using the default spending profile.   An equally formidable player is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card From American Express, but you should review both carefully before deciding which piece of plastic to bond with.

One thing to keep in mind is that you get the most value for your rewards when you redeem them for free stays at any Hilton brand hotel (surprise surprise!). But as you will see, these are hardly serious flaw for most folks, and the positives of the card more than offset any negatives.

Hilton HHonorsTM Card from American Express Details

The table below summarizes some of the key aspects of the rewards program:

Snapshot: Hilton HHonorsTM Card from American Express
Rewards 6 bonus points per dollar spent at supermarkets, drug stores, stand-alone gas stations and home telephone, wireless, cable, satellite TV and internet service providers, and Hilton Family hotels; 3 bonus points per dollar on all other purchases.
Estimated dollar value per Hilton Honors™ Points $0.0047. Read our post What is the Value of Hilton HHonors™ Points for more information on how GetDebit arrived at this estimated value.
Redemption requirements None
Sign up bonus 20K Hilton HHonors Bonus Points (only first-time Hilton HHonors cardmembers are eligible.)
Other bonuses During your 1st 18 months of cardmembership, you receive 2,500 HHonors bonus points for each of your first 4 stays at Hilton hotels when u charge $100 or more per stay.
Rewards expiration Points have no expiration date as long as you receive points on your card at least once every 12 months.
Rewards Caps None
Annual Fee None
International Transaction Fee 2.7%

What can Hilton HHonors™ Points Be Redeemed For?

Hilton HHonors points can be redeemed for a variety of worldly pleasures, including (of course) hotel stays at Hilton brand hotels, vacation packages, Hilton Grand Vacations, car rentals, cruises, entertainment parks, and shopping and dining experiences. The GetDebit post What is the Value of Hilton HHonors™ Points provides more detail on the actual rewards available for some of these reward types. If you want to really delve into some of the non-hotel rewards, try visiting the Hilton Rewards Page .

GetDebit’s Final Assessment of the Hilton HHonors™ Card from American Express

This Hilton HHonors™ Card from American Express definitely dominates, like Williams in Enter The Dragon. The fact that you get 6 points per dollar spent on major categories (gas, supermarkets, drugstores, telecom services, and Hilton Hotels) is pretty amazing. At our own internal calculation of $0.0047 per point, that’s about 2.82 cents per dollar spent across these major categories. No wonder the card places at or near the top of several key categories.   That said, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card From American Express is, generally speaking, a bit more fearsome, so you would be wise to check out our review of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card From American Express before making any life-altering decisions.

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