If you’re looking for the right Hilton credit card for you and you want to dive into the perks, rewards, and features of all of the Hilton cards, you’re in the right place. Here, you’ll find several tables comparing all of the substantive features of the Hilton credit cards.
Hilton hotel benefits: Perks when staying at Hilton hotels
In most cases, you’ll be getting a Hilton credit card for perks related to staying at Hilton hotels. Here’s how the four Hilton Honors credit cards stack up.
 |  |  |  |
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card |
| Annual fee: No annual fee | Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. | Annual fee: $550 | Annual fee: $195 |
| Complimentary elite status, including a fifth night free on award stays. | |||
| Silver | Gold | Diamond | Gold |
| Earn a higher tier of elite status after qualifying spending on the card in a calendar year. | |||
| Gold / $20k | Diamond / $40k | – | Diamond / $40k |
| Annual free night award, including in your first year of card membership. | |||
| – | – | – | |
| Earn free night awards after qualifying spending in a calendar year. | |||
| – | 1 after $15k | Up to 2: 1 after $30k 1 after $60k | – |
| Hilton statement credits, earned for eligible Hilton purchases. | |||
| – | Up to $200/year (Up to $50/quarter) | – | Up to $240/year (Up to $60/quarter) |
| Hilton Resort Credit | |||
| – | – | Up to $400/year (Up to $100/semi-annually) | – |
| $100 Property Credit for qualifying charges at participating Waldorf Astoria and Conrad Hotels. 2-night minimum stay required. | |||
| – | – | – | |
Hilton elite status: Perks like breakfast, upgrades, and executive lounge access
Every Hilton credit card comes with some form of elite status benefit, plus on each card you can earn a higher level of status through spending. If you want to go directly to top-tier status, getting the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card will grant you Diamond status straight away.
The perks you’ll get with Hilton elite status are many, but here are the most substantive benefits you’ll receive at each level.
| Silver | Gold | Diamond | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonus points earning on stays | 20% | 80% | 100% |
| Free bottled water | |||
| Milestone bonuses | |||
| Daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast | |||
| Space-available room upgrades | |||
| Executive lounge access |
Hilton free night certificates: The most valuable hotel free night award
You can earn a Hilton free night award by spending $15,000 on the , and you can get up to 3 free nights with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
Hilton free night awards have more potential value than any other hotel chain’s free night certificates. While other hotel chains cap the value you can get from your certificates through restrictions on hotel categories or by issuing certificates that can be used for an award stay “up to” a certain number of points, Hilton certificates can be used at almost any hotel within Hilton’s family of brands, worldwide.
As long as a Hilton hotel offers a standard award room with double occupancy, you should be able to book that room using your certificate. You’ll need to call to book—Hilton Free Night Awards cannot be used online—but you can search for award nights for standard rooms online before using your certificate.
Here are a few things to remember about using Hilton free night awards.
- Hilton free night awards expire. Free night rewards expire 12 months from the date they are issued.
- You must book and stay by the expiration date. The stay you book with your Hilton Free Night Award must be completed by the certificate’s expiration date.
- Hilton free night awards can only be used for standard rooms. If a standard room isn’t available, your certificate can not be used for that stay.
- Hilton free night awards are not transferable. The person named on the certificate must be the one who stays.
- About 60 properties are excluded. The vast majority of these properties are Hilton Club and Hilton Grand Vacations Club locations. Hilton has over 7,500 properties within its brand portfolio.
Rewards: Earn Hilton Honors bonus points for spending on your cards
Hilton credit cards earn Hilton Honors bonus points for spending. While the cards earn an impressive number of absolute points, consider that Hilton bonus points will get you less value per point than many other rewards currencies. Here’s what the Hilton credit cards earn:
| | | |
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card |
| Annual fee: No annual fee | Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. | Annual fee: $550 | Annual fee: $195 |
| Hilton purchases made directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio | |||
| 7x | 12x | 14x | 12x |
| Gas at U.S. gas stations | |||
| 5x | 6x | – | – |
| Dining at U.S. restaurants including takeout and delivery | |||
| 5x | 6x | 7x | – |
| Groceries at U.S. supermarkets | |||
| 5x | 6x | – | – |
| U.S online retail purchases | |||
| – | 4x | – | – |
| Flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel | |||
| – | – | 7x | – |
| Car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies | |||
| – | – | 7x | – |
| Other purchases | |||
| 3x | 3x | 3x | 5x on the first $100k of purchases each calendar year. 3x thereafter. |
How to get better rewards on your spending
For Hilton hotel purchases, the rewards you earn with your Hilton credit cards is tough to beat. But hotel and airline credit cards typically offer lackluster rewards for most non-hotel purchases. Here are some alternatives to consider for rewards on your spending.
- U.S. gas stations. Several cards offer 3% cash back or greater rewards on gas with no annual fee. That’s more than you’re likely to get from your Hilton cards. Check out our list of the best cards to use for gas for better alternatives.
- U.S. supermarkets. You can get more Hilton points on your grocery purchases by using your American Express® Gold Card and transferring Membership Rewards® points to Hilton. Or you could get more rewards as cash back from other cards. Look at our list of the best grocery rewards cards for some ideas.
- General purchases. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express will grant you 2x Membership Rewards® points on the first $50,000 you spend on the card each year. If you transfer your points to Hilton, you’ll end up with 4x Hilton points per dollar you spend on general purchases. Also consider using a 2% cash back card.
Other travel benefits: Travel insurance and more
Hilton credit cards offer several non-travel hotel benefits as well. Here are the details.
| | | |
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card |
| Annual fee: No annual fee | Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. | Annual fee: $550 | Annual fee: $195 |
| Flight Credits, earned as a statement credit from bookings directly with airlines or through AmexTravel.com | |||
| – | – | Up to $200 annually (Up to $50 quarterly) | – |
| CLEAR® Plus credit. Up to $209 in statement credits annually. | |||
| – | – | – | |
| National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status | |||
| – | |||
| Baggage Insurance Plan | |||
| – | |||
| Car Rental Loss and Damage Waiver | |||
| Trip delay insurance | |||
| – | – | – | |
| Trip cancellation and interruption insurance | |||
| – | – | – | |
| Global Assist® Hotline | |||
| Standard | Standard | Premium | Standard |
| No foreign transaction fees | |||
Consumer insurance benefits: Protection for the things you buy
The Hilton credit cards can also protect the things you purchase using the card. Here are the details.
| | | |
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card |
| Annual fee: No annual fee | Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. | Annual fee: $550 | Annual fee: $195 |
| Purchase protection | |||
| Extended warranty | |||
| Return protection | |||
| – | – | – | |
| Cell phone protection | |||
| – | – | – | |
Welcome offers: Earn Hilton Honors bonus points when getting a new card
If you’re interested in getting a new Hilton credit card, you can earn a new cardmember welcome bonus. We have complete coverage in our article on the best Hilton credit card welcome offers, but we’ll link you to the best offers throughout this site.
Hilton Honors American Express Card welcome offer
Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/14/2026.
This bonus is earned as Hilton Honors Bonus Points.
Annual fee: No annual fee
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card welcome offer
Offer: Earn 155,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/14/2026.
This bonus is earned as Hilton Honors Bonus Points.
Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card welcome offer
Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/14/2026.
This bonus is earned as Hilton Honors Bonus Points.
Annual fee: $550
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you make purchases with your new Card totaling $8,000 or more in the first 6 months of Card Membership starting from the date your account was opened. Offer expires 1/14/26.
Learn how to apply. (Click on Business Cards on the linked page to find this offer.)
This bonus is earned as Hilton Honors Bonus Points.
Annual fee: $195
