So you want to apply for a Hilton Honors card but don’t know which one to choose. American Express offers three personal and one business Hilton Honors cards. This article compares and reviews the personal cards in order to help you determine which is the right card for your situation.
- Hilton Honors Card (no annual fee)
- Hilton Honors Surpass® Card (mid-tier card; $150 annual fee)
- Hilton Honors Aspire® Card (premium card; $550 annual fee)
Main Features and Benefits
Hilton Honors Card | Hilton Honors Surpass Card | Hilton Honors Aspire Card |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $0 | $150 | $550 |
| Bonus Offer | 100,000 points after $2,000 spend in 6 months | 170,000 points after $3,000 spend in 6 months | 180,000 points after 6,000 spend in 6 months |
| Earning Rates | - 7x on Hilton properties - 5x on restaurants, groceries and gas - 3x on all other | - 12x on Hilton properties - 6x on restaurants, groceries and gas - 4x on online retail - 3x on all other | - 14x on Hilton properties - 7x on restaurants, flights and car rentals - 3x on all other |
| Elite Status | Complimentary Silver Status | Complimentary Gold Status | Complimentary Diamond Status |
| Elite Status after spend | Gold Status after $20,000 spend in a calendar year | Diamond Status after $40,000 spend in a calendar year | N/A |
| Annual Free Nights | None | Earn a Free Night Reward after $15,000 spend in a calendar year | One Free Night Reward per year; plus additional free nights after $30,000 and $60,000 spend each calendar year |
| Hilton Credit | None | $200 per cardmember year ($50 per quarter, valid at any Hilton property) | None |
| Hilton Resort Credit | None | None | $400 per cardmember year ($200 semi-annually, valid at select resorts) |
| Airline Flight Credit | None | None | $200 per calendar year |
| National Car Rental® Status | None | Emerald Club Executive® status | Emerald Club Executive® status |
| CLEAR® Plus Credit | None | None | $189 in statement credits per calendar year |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None | None | None |
Who are these cards for?
Of course, these Hilton Honors cards are targeted to travelers who frequent Hilton properties. If Hilton is your preferred hotel chain and you stay at at least a few times a year, then one of these cards will provide you great value. Even if you only stay once a year at Hilton properties, these cards could still make sense, depending on how you use them.
Card Features
Welcome Bonus
Historically, the no annual fee card welcome offers have been between 50,000 and 75,000 points. The Surpass card welcome bonus usually ranges between 100,000 and 150,000, while the Aspire card is typically between 125,000 and 175,000 points. Sometimes American Express will offer a free night reward as a welcome bonus, however that usually comes with a reduction in points offered.
These welcome offers change frequently, so it can pay to wait and then pounce when the offer is most to your liking. Keep in mind that the spending requirements also change, so you’ll need to weigh the welcome bonus against the spending requirements as well. The biggest welcome bonuses I’ve seen are happening right now after American Express announced a refreshed Hilton Honors card lineup on October 19, 2023.
- The Hilton Honors Card is offering 100,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first six months of account opening
- The Hilton Honors Surpass® Card is offering 170,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first six months of account opening
- The Hilton Honors Aspire® Card is offering 180,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in the first six months
Winner: Hilton Surpass
Earning Rates
- Best card for those staying at Hilton properties: Hilton Aspire earns 14x at Hilton properties compared to Hilton Surpass at 12x and Hilton Card at 7x
- Best card for those wanting to maximize points earned on food, gas and grocery: Hilton Surpass earns 6x compared to the Hilton Card at 5x and Hilton Aspire at 3x
- Best card for those wanting to maximize points earned on travel: Hilton Aspire earns 7x compared to 3x on the other cards
- Best card for those wanting to maximize points earned with online spending: Hilton Surpass earns 4x compared to 3x on the other cards
Winner: Depends on which categories you’re going to use your Hilton card
Card Benefits
Elite Status
The Hilton Card comes with complimentary Silver Elite Status (which becomes Gold Elite Status after spending $20,000 in a calendar year). Silver Elite Status gets you perks like:
- Free WiFi
- Late checkout
- 2 free water bottles per stay
- Fifth night free on award stays (redeem 4 nights for 5 night stay)
The Hilton Surpass comes with complimentary Gold Elite Status (which becomes Diamond Elite Status after spending $60,000 in a calendar year). Gold Elite Status gets you all the Silver perks plus:
- Space-available room upgrades to preferred rooms at most brands, including Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Curio, DoubleTree and Canopy
- Complimentary breakfast for you and one registered guest; includes free continental breakfast at Waldorf-Astoria, Conrad, Curio, Hilton and DoubleTree and hot, cooked-to-order breakfast at Hilton Garden Inn
The Hilton Aspire has automatic Diamond Elite Status which includes all of the Gold perks plus:
- Space-available room upgrades including suites
- Executive lounge access at applicable properties
- 48 hour room guarantee
Which card wins this category depends on how much you value or will take advantage of elite status perks. The most valuable perks are the fifth night free on award stays, the room upgrades and executive lounge access. More information on Hilton elite status benefits.
Winner: Hilton Aspire
Annual Free Nights
at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives! (Photo courtesy Hilton Hotels)
Free nights can be earned with both the Hilton Aspire and Hilton Surpass cards. However, the Hilton Aspire is the only card that gives you a free night with no spending requirement.
With the Hilton Aspire card, you get the free night automatically each cardholder year when you pay the annual fee. In addition, you can earn a second with $30,000 spend and third free night with $60,000 spend in a calendar year.
With the Hilton Surpass card, you only get a free night if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year. The great thing about this perk is that free night rewards are valid at almost any property in the Hilton portfolio. This means you can redeem them at some of the fanciest hotels in the world!
To redeem a free weekend night, Card Members must call 1-800-446-6677.
Winner: Hilton Aspire
$200 Hilton Credit
The Hilton Surpass card gives up to $200 in annual statement credits ($50 each quarter) for purchases made directly with properties in the Hilton portfolio. It is the only card of the three that offers this benefit.
Winner: Hilton Surpass
$400 Hilton Resort Credit
The Hilton Aspire card offers up to $200 in semi-annual statement credits for eligible purchases at participating Hilton resorts. If you’re able to use this twice a year, that’s $400 back in statement credits. You can use this for hotel incidentals, like dining and activities, but it can also be used to pay room charges, making this an easy to use perk. It is the only card of the three that offers this benefit.
Warning: One word of caution is that this perk can only be used at resorts explicitly listed in the link above. There are some Hilton properties whose name contains the word “Resort”, but if they are not listed in that link, you will not earn this credit at those properties.
Winner: Hilton Aspire
Airline Flight Credit
This only applies to the Hilton Aspire card and offers up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back on eligible flight purchases. Having the $200 split by quarter is a little annoying, but even if you aren’t travelling every quarter, buying gift cards directly from the airlines should trigger the credit.
Winner: Hilton Aspire
National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® Status
Both the Hilton Aspire and Surpass cards offer complimentary National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status, including perks like Executive Area Access (for full-size reservations and above) in the USA and Canada.
Note: You must enroll in the National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status through your American Express online account.
Winner: Tie between the Hilton Aspire and Hilton Surpass
$189 CLEAR® Plus Credit
The Hilton Aspire card offers up to $189 in statement credits per calendar year to cover the cost of a CLEAR Plus Membership (excluding any applicable taxes and fees and subject to auto-renewal).
Winner: Hilton Aspire
Foreign Transaction Fees
All three cards have no foreign transaction fees, so they’re all winners when it comes to traveling internationally.
Winner: Tie
Bottom Line
When trying to decide between cards from different tiers, the one question you should ask is, “Do the differences in annual fees justify the perks received?” With these Hilton cards, you need to evaluate whether you can get $150 or more in value from the Surpass card compared to the entry-level Hilton card. Or can you get $400 of extra value from the Aspire card compared to the Surpass card. For me, there is significant value to be utilized with the Aspire card, which makes it a great choice for those who want to earn points to use at Hilton properties.
If a Hilton credit card is right for you too, please consider applying with one of my referral links.
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